Unemployment

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Local Government COVID-19 Relief Funds Bonuses for Government Workers

Earlier this year, Congress enacted $350 billion in “state and local government aid” as part of the so-called American Rescue Plan.  This is in addition to receiving $150 billion in relief in the first federal Coronavirus Relief Fund enacted in March 2020, and which according to a recent estimate, state ...
Blog

Gallup Survey: Americans Push Back on Government Activism

It was 35 years ago when Ronald Reagan said at a press conference, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  And for most of the last three decades, a majority of Americans agreed with the Gipper.  Last year marked only ...
Blog

30 Million Real Men Don’t Have Jobs

I recently read an eye-popping article by business writer Andy Serwer, who reported that nearly one-third of working-age men in America “aren’t doing diddly squat. They don’t have a job, and they aren’t looking for one either.”  All total, that’s nearly 30 million men. “How do they live? What are ...
Blog

When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks

On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight.  Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
Blog

Could Labor Day Push for Higher Minimum Wage Lead to More Work Being Done by Robots?

Who is going to be first in line to buy if Elon Musk is able to build a humanoid robot in the future? A best guess would be owners of the California companies whose businesses are threatened by the state’s steep minimum wage and other costs heaped on them by ...
Agriculture

Biden, Psaki Add to White House “Dog Days of Summer”

A couple of weeks ago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the White House was working with Facebook and other social media companies to target accounts spreading misinformation. Reaction to her comments and answers from reporters varied, but the lasting takeaway is that misinformation on social media is ...
Blog

When Public Policy Is Predatory

The same city that requires employers to pay workers at least $16.32 an hour, far more than twice the federal minimum wage, also limits how much some businesses can charge for their services. It’s enough to send some companies seeking relief from the court system. Two have done just that. ...
Commentary

Stop The Bid To Expand Medicare

Progressives in Congress are laying the groundwork to expand Medicare by the slimmest of margins later this year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the head of the Senate Budget Committee, is teeing up a $6 trillion legislative package that would, among other things, lower the age at which older adults become ...
Business & Economics

Basic Income: High Praise but Poor Results

Handing out taxpayer dollars in the form of basic incomes is the latest policy rage. The Los Angeles Times reports there’s “a growing enthusiasm for basic income programs.” Vox says “guaranteed income is graduating from charity to public policy.” At KQED, they’re giving Oaklanders tips on how they can apply for the city’s ...
Blog

Getting CEQA Out of the Way of Missing Middle Housing

California is in the grips of an unprecedented housing crisis, which has sent hundreds of thousands of Californians packing for affordable states like Arizona and Nevada. Here in Los Angeles, both home prices and homelessness have hit record highs, a sign of the ironic situation of the Golden State. At ...
Blog

Local Government COVID-19 Relief Funds Bonuses for Government Workers

Earlier this year, Congress enacted $350 billion in “state and local government aid” as part of the so-called American Rescue Plan.  This is in addition to receiving $150 billion in relief in the first federal Coronavirus Relief Fund enacted in March 2020, and which according to a recent estimate, state ...
Blog

Gallup Survey: Americans Push Back on Government Activism

It was 35 years ago when Ronald Reagan said at a press conference, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  And for most of the last three decades, a majority of Americans agreed with the Gipper.  Last year marked only ...
Blog

30 Million Real Men Don’t Have Jobs

I recently read an eye-popping article by business writer Andy Serwer, who reported that nearly one-third of working-age men in America “aren’t doing diddly squat. They don’t have a job, and they aren’t looking for one either.”  All total, that’s nearly 30 million men. “How do they live? What are ...
Blog

When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks

On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight.  Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
Blog

Could Labor Day Push for Higher Minimum Wage Lead to More Work Being Done by Robots?

Who is going to be first in line to buy if Elon Musk is able to build a humanoid robot in the future? A best guess would be owners of the California companies whose businesses are threatened by the state’s steep minimum wage and other costs heaped on them by ...
Agriculture

Biden, Psaki Add to White House “Dog Days of Summer”

A couple of weeks ago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the White House was working with Facebook and other social media companies to target accounts spreading misinformation. Reaction to her comments and answers from reporters varied, but the lasting takeaway is that misinformation on social media is ...
Blog

When Public Policy Is Predatory

The same city that requires employers to pay workers at least $16.32 an hour, far more than twice the federal minimum wage, also limits how much some businesses can charge for their services. It’s enough to send some companies seeking relief from the court system. Two have done just that. ...
Commentary

Stop The Bid To Expand Medicare

Progressives in Congress are laying the groundwork to expand Medicare by the slimmest of margins later this year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the head of the Senate Budget Committee, is teeing up a $6 trillion legislative package that would, among other things, lower the age at which older adults become ...
Business & Economics

Basic Income: High Praise but Poor Results

Handing out taxpayer dollars in the form of basic incomes is the latest policy rage. The Los Angeles Times reports there’s “a growing enthusiasm for basic income programs.” Vox says “guaranteed income is graduating from charity to public policy.” At KQED, they’re giving Oaklanders tips on how they can apply for the city’s ...
Blog

Getting CEQA Out of the Way of Missing Middle Housing

California is in the grips of an unprecedented housing crisis, which has sent hundreds of thousands of Californians packing for affordable states like Arizona and Nevada. Here in Los Angeles, both home prices and homelessness have hit record highs, a sign of the ironic situation of the Golden State. At ...
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