Studies
Business & Economics
It’s a Lock: Governor’s veto traps California in obsolete medical research
SACRAMENTO – Last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September 25 “Stem Cell Awareness Day.” That news got by many Californians, who remain unaware of how California is locked into paying for obsolete research, certain to consume billions of dollars but unlikely to come up with any of the cures Californians ...
Drug Pricing
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide-1
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute has just released The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide. This is the latest book from health care scholar, and PRI President and CEO Sally C. Pipes. The book’s foreword is by Steve Forbes: “For anyone interested in getting ...
Commentary
Choice and Good Schools—Swedish Style
Say “Sweden” and most Americans think Volvo and IKEA. There is more to the Scandinavian country, however, than just sturdy cars and innovative furniture. Sweden is the world leader when it comes to parental choice in education. Up until 1991 local governments operated almost all Swedish schools. That changed with ...
Health Care
Presidential Prescriptions: Diagnosing the Candidates’ Health Reforms
Senator McCain proposes positive change, Senator Obama prefers business as usual—only more of it The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) released a voters’ guide to the health policies proposed by presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Presidential Prescriptions: Diagnosing the Candidates’ Health Reforms concludes that Senator McCain’s promise ...
Business & Economics
Lessons from the $388-Million Hyatt Case: How current tax policy hurts California, and how the state can fix its revenue problem
California’s financial problems may have gotten worse by $388 million, according to an August 16 Nevada trial verdict in favor of an inventor mistreated by California’s Franchise Tax Board. The unprecedented case highlights California’s enforcement tactics and points to the solution for state revenue instability. Gilbert P. Hyatt, an electrical ...
Business & Economics
New Report Reveals Which States Have Most Economic Freedom
South Dakota is most free, New York most economically oppressed San Francisco – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released the U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report, a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the Index ...
Education
Do the Math – Or Let Parents Pick a School That Will
Last summer, when the California State Board of Education unveiled a plan to require all 8th graders to take algebra by 2011, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell opposed the move. That stance might strike parents as odd but California educrats have been fighting higher standards in math for ...
Business & Economics
Will a lawsuit today keep Apple away?
Last week Psystar, an obscure Miami-based company, launched a legal attack on Apple that could cripple one of California’s key high-tech innovators. The case offers lessons for entrepreneurs and gives the courts an opportunity to end a legal scam that hurts consumers. In April, Psystar began selling inexpensive Mac knock-offs ...
Commentary
Court Re-Connects with Reality in Homeschool Reversal
SACRAMENTO – Earlier this year, California’s Second District Court of Appeal shocked parents and lawmakers by effectively banning the homeschooling of children. In my column “Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision ,” I pointed out that the court had ignored a longtime state practice that gave approval ...
Business & Economics
How Water, Oil, and Government Mix in California
On August 6, the California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant at Carlsbad in San Diego County, a region with severe water needs in normal times and hard hit by the current drought. The $300-million for-profit venture by the Poseidon Resources Corporation aims to produce as much as 50 million ...
It’s a Lock: Governor’s veto traps California in obsolete medical research
SACRAMENTO – Last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September 25 “Stem Cell Awareness Day.” That news got by many Californians, who remain unaware of how California is locked into paying for obsolete research, certain to consume billions of dollars but unlikely to come up with any of the cures Californians ...
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide-1
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute has just released The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide. This is the latest book from health care scholar, and PRI President and CEO Sally C. Pipes. The book’s foreword is by Steve Forbes: “For anyone interested in getting ...
Choice and Good Schools—Swedish Style
Say “Sweden” and most Americans think Volvo and IKEA. There is more to the Scandinavian country, however, than just sturdy cars and innovative furniture. Sweden is the world leader when it comes to parental choice in education. Up until 1991 local governments operated almost all Swedish schools. That changed with ...
Presidential Prescriptions: Diagnosing the Candidates’ Health Reforms
Senator McCain proposes positive change, Senator Obama prefers business as usual—only more of it The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) released a voters’ guide to the health policies proposed by presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Presidential Prescriptions: Diagnosing the Candidates’ Health Reforms concludes that Senator McCain’s promise ...
Lessons from the $388-Million Hyatt Case: How current tax policy hurts California, and how the state can fix its revenue problem
California’s financial problems may have gotten worse by $388 million, according to an August 16 Nevada trial verdict in favor of an inventor mistreated by California’s Franchise Tax Board. The unprecedented case highlights California’s enforcement tactics and points to the solution for state revenue instability. Gilbert P. Hyatt, an electrical ...
New Report Reveals Which States Have Most Economic Freedom
South Dakota is most free, New York most economically oppressed San Francisco – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released the U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report, a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the Index ...
Do the Math – Or Let Parents Pick a School That Will
Last summer, when the California State Board of Education unveiled a plan to require all 8th graders to take algebra by 2011, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell opposed the move. That stance might strike parents as odd but California educrats have been fighting higher standards in math for ...
Will a lawsuit today keep Apple away?
Last week Psystar, an obscure Miami-based company, launched a legal attack on Apple that could cripple one of California’s key high-tech innovators. The case offers lessons for entrepreneurs and gives the courts an opportunity to end a legal scam that hurts consumers. In April, Psystar began selling inexpensive Mac knock-offs ...
Court Re-Connects with Reality in Homeschool Reversal
SACRAMENTO – Earlier this year, California’s Second District Court of Appeal shocked parents and lawmakers by effectively banning the homeschooling of children. In my column “Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision ,” I pointed out that the court had ignored a longtime state practice that gave approval ...
How Water, Oil, and Government Mix in California
On August 6, the California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant at Carlsbad in San Diego County, a region with severe water needs in normal times and hard hit by the current drought. The $300-million for-profit venture by the Poseidon Resources Corporation aims to produce as much as 50 million ...
