We work extensively on both state and national policy, focusing on issues that other groups tend to neglect. Our specialty is in tackling issues that are complex, but don’t necessarily grab major headlines. These are the areas where we think we can have a real impact.
The Issue
Publications
‘Free’ community college plan will harm serious students
Steven Greenhut
It took nearly a dozen years after graduating from college to pay off the student debt I accumulated to get my degree – and that was in the days when tuition to a private university was around…
How Do We Judge the Judges?
Lars Trautman
Social justice and big data are both incredibly popular in California, yet you’d be hard pressed to find many examples of either in its criminal justice system. Lawmakers sought to remedy this…
Is It Time to Tax the Air We Breathe?
Steven Greenhut
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a tax on drinking water as part of his newly unveiled budget, I started thinking: Wait a minute. Didn’t “we” already solve the problem of undrinkable…
, Reason
Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Carries Shades of 1994 Proposition That Killed California GOP
Steven Greenhut
I had yet to migrate to California from the Midwest in 1994 when Proposition 187, which banned most public services for illegal immigrants, passed overwhelmingly. It received nearly 59 percent of…
Georgia’s Insurance Regulation Needs Improvement
R.J. Lehmann & Marc Hyden
Like the underachieving student in the back of the class, Georgia recently earned a C grade for its regulation of the insurance market, as laid out in the annual Insurance Regulation Report Card…
Newsom’s big-spending, pro-union course will run into a fiscal iceberg
Steven Greenhut
Gavin Newsom was inaugurated as California’s 40th governor on Monday, taking over a general-fund budget that is flush with cash, and a state government that is in remarkably good shape – at…
Shades of Prop. 187, as Trump rhetoric diminishes GOP
Steven Greenhut
I had yet to migrate to California from the Midwest in 1994 when Proposition 187, which banned most public services for illegal immigrants, passed overwhelmingly. It received nearly 59 percent of the…
, Reason
California’s Work Rules Sabotage the Gig Economy
Steven Greenhut
An anti-technology movement from early 19th century Britain has long been part of our lexicon. Luddites were knitters who destroyed textile machines to protect their jobs. Today the term applies to…
Gov. Brown’s legacy is significant but wasn’t ‘transformative’
Steven Greenhut
Three years after his failed run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, California’s once and future governor addressed the International Transpersonal Association Conference. I have…
Fix new rules that can sabotage gig economy
Steven Greenhut
An anti-technology movement from early 19th-century Britain has long been part of our lexicon. Luddites were knitters who destroyed textile machines to protect their jobs. Today the term applies to…