Pacific Research Institute

CAPITAL IDEAS: Cracking Down on Fracking in California— Is it The Smart Thing to Do?

May 15, 2019

Environment

DOWNLOAD THE PDF Jerry Brown left office in January as one of the most popular governors in California history. He also left successor Gavin Newsom with a few headaches. Among the more prominent unresolved issues are the high-speed rail project, the housing and homeless crises, and...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Don’t Confuse Private Prisons with The Bastille

April 18, 2019

California

Download the PDF They are not as unpopular in California as President Trump is, but private prisons are becoming a preferred target of politicians. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has a large blue-plate special of problems to solve, is at the forefront of a campaign to end the...

New Study: Costly Regulations Hurt Entrepreneurship, Reform Needed to ‘Break Down Barriers’ for Jobs, Innovation

April 03, 2019

Business Economics

Costly regulations serve as a barrier to entrepreneurship, small business growth, innovation, and job opportunities to lift people into the middle class, concludes the first paper in a new series from the California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download the first...

CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Plastic Police Always on The Job

March 25, 2019

California

DOWNLOAD THE PDF It was inevitable. California lawmakers’ assault on choice continues in 2019. The plastic-bag ban already in effect is not enough to satisfy their appetite for micromanaging others’ lives. After successfully outlawing single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and other large retailers, with the help...

CAPITAL IDEAS: CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It

February 20, 2019

California

It is no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went...

Facing $22 Trillion National Debt, New PRI Report Shows How “15 Percent Solution” Can Cut Debt, Grow Economy

February 19, 2019

Business Economics

On the heels of the news that the national debt has surpassed $22 trillion, the Pacific Research Institute today recommended reforms to bring spending under control, reduce the national debt and maximize economic growth in the latest report in its Beyond the New Normal series. “Just last...

CAPITAL IDEAS: The Ripple Effects of Scientific Illiteracy Can Have Dire Consequences

February 06, 2019

DOWNLOAD THE PDF There is currently a trend toward misunderstanding or misrepresenting science, and it starts early. A grade-school teacher asked the class whether a whale is a fish or a mammal. One boy raised his hand and offered, “Let’s take a vote!” This phenomenon, variously dubbed...

CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Recent History of Manipulative Taxation

January 16, 2019

California

Download the PDF The rest of the country wasn’t surprised when California recently considered becoming the first state in the country to tax text messages. It almost seems as if there is a group of unelected bureaucrats that does nothing but cloister itself behind closed doors...

Studies

CAPITAL IDEAS: Cracking Down on Fracking in California— Is it The Smart Thing to Do?

CAPITAL IDEAS: Don’t Confuse Private Prisons with The Bastille

New Study: Costly Regulations Hurt Entrepreneurship, Reform Needed to ‘Break Down Barriers’ for Jobs, Innovation

CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Plastic Police Always on The Job

CAPITAL IDEAS: CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It

Facing $22 Trillion National Debt, New PRI Report Shows How “15 Percent Solution” Can Cut Debt, Grow Economy

CAPITAL IDEAS: The Ripple Effects of Scientific Illiteracy Can Have Dire Consequences

CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Recent History of Manipulative Taxation

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