Issues
Public policy is too important to be left just to the experts.
PRI’s work encompasses countless studies, commentary, books, podcasts, blog posts, and events surrounding our mission to promote the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. Our areas of research include health care, education, environment, innovation, California reform, and business economics. Explore our topics below.
Health Care
Most Recent Post:
Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Would Import Europe’s Drug Rationing
Sally C. Pipes
March 6, 2026
President Trump’s State of the Union address featured several promising healthcare ideas. Expanding access to patient-owned health savings accounts and routing federal subsidies through them, rather than through insurance companies, would unleash competition by empowering consumers to spend their healthcare dollars as they see fit. ...
Most Recent Post:
Death by a Thousand Cuts: Andrew Gruel on the Cost of Regulations for California Restaurants
Anthony Velasquez
March 4, 2026
The challenge is not a single overwhelming regulation, it is accumulation. California layers rule upon rule, each one defensible on its own. Over time, those requirements reshape how restaurants hire, price, expand (or not), and compete. What appears manageable on paper becomes costly in practice. ...
California Reform
Most Recent Post:
California’s Sanctuary State Paradox
Steve Smith
March 7, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly argued that California cooperates with federal authorities to deport violent criminals who are in the country illegally—an assertion that appears to conflict with the state’s sanctuary reputation. In a recent interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Newsom said that more ...
Education
Most Recent Post:
How a Private Scholarship Fund Makes a Difference for Kids at a California Catholic School
Lance Izumi
February 17, 2026
Based in Oakland, The BASIC Fund is California’s largest non-denominational PreK-8 organization that gives needs-based scholarships to low-income children on a first-come, first-served basis to help pay for tuition so they can attend private schools. The BASIC Fund gives families the opportunity to choose from ...
Environment
Most Recent Post:
Valero Out, Gas Prices Up
Kerry Jackson
February 23, 2026
California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.34 on Feb. 1, the day after Valero began to unwind its refinery. By Feb. 8, consumers were paying on average $4.46 a gallon, the steepest price in the country. Correlation without causation? Possibly. Last year California’s average price increased by 3 ...
Business & Economics
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal
Wayne Winegarden
March 2, 2026