The latest studies, editorials, and investigative reports on issues affecting California’s democracy, economy, and opportunities.

October 25, 2019
VIEW IN YOUR BROWSER ([link removed])
[link removed]


** THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE OGRELY
------------------------------------------------------------

Good morning!

Happy Friday! With impeachment talk ([link removed]) on Capitol Hill and the Katie Hill sex scandal ([link removed]) dominating headlines, there’s a good chance you’ve missed a lot of Golden State news. Thankfully, California Policy Center’s newsletter is happy to be here for you!

The Good. After weeks of paying more than $4 per gallon, Californians are finally seeing gas prices drop. Nevertheless, on Monday Gov. Newsom ([link removed]) sent a letter to AG Xavier Becerra’s office calling for an investigation into the cause of California’s high gas prices. While Newsom points to a “mystery surcharge” as his working theory, California’s residents know that the state’s menu of gas taxes (the highest in the nation), cap-and-trade costs, and our own government-mandated boutique blend of fuel are the non-mystery behind the mystery surcharge. There: Your favorite weekly missive just saved the state’s taxpayers millions of dollars in a Becerra-related investigation. You’re welcome!

The Bad. California is jumping into yet another lawsuit, this time against the U.S. Postal Service. On Tuesday, the LA Times ([link removed]) reported that the state is teaming up with New York City to stop foreign sellers from mailing cheap cigarettes to U.S. residents. The state claims that postal workers are looking the other way and allowing smugglers to engage in tax evasion. If a black market in cigarettes sounds like something out of a 1970s Soviet republic, well, as the old Virginia Slims commercial ([link removed]) used to say, we’ve come a long way, baby.

The Ogrely. ABC7 ([link removed]) reported on Wednesday that Los Angeles is the second "Rattiest City" in the U.S. According to Orkin, Chicago took the number one spot, with New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco-Oakland rounding out the top five Rattiest Cities.

The Good. The results are in! Palm Lane Elementary School, a historically failing school in a tough part of Anaheim, has produced an educational turnaround that would be called a miracle if it weren’t so utterly predictable. But as CPC President Will Swaim writes, the price of charter schools – as with liberty itself – is constant vigilance. Click here to find out what changed ([link removed]) .

The Bad. If you’re a Bay Area resident, you know housing prices are going through the roof. In San Francisco, one of the most unaffordable cities in America, officials say they’ll “fix” the housing shortage with Prop A, a $600 million bond set to be voted on November 5. Proponents claim ([link removed]) the “bond will fund the construction of more than 2,800 affordable housing units over the next four years.” In his analysis, California Policy Center fellow Edward Ring concludes Prop A. will do very little to improve the housing situation. Click here to read his evaluation. ([link removed])

The Ogrely. Californians put up with an awful lot that people in the First World don’t. Our public education system can’t produce education but, as CPC contributor Larry Sand points out ([link removed]) , is cranking out a religiously “woke” generation. Our government regulators have shaped a utility system that signals our state’s leadership role in battling climate change, but leads to statewide blackouts. This week, NPR ([link removed]) reported that PG&E’s CEO told regulators at California’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that they need more time to trim trees and update technology to prevent future forest fires. While this takes place, California residents could experience blackouts over the next decade. CPC fellow Edward Ring points out that much of this might have been prevented had ideologues in Sacramento not meddled with electricity. Click here to read
his take ([link removed]) .

Upcoming Events:

Brett Baier at the Nixon Library
Fox News Channel’s Brett Baier returns to the Nixon Library on October 30 for a lecture and signing for his next bestseller, Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win World War II. Baier will tell the gripping story of the secret meeting that hastened the end of World War II—the grossly understudied 1943 Tehran Conference, where FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin plotted the war’s endgame, including the D-Day invasion. To register, click here ([link removed]) .

Hoover's One Hundred Years of War, Revolution, and Peace
On Monday, November 4, the Hoover Institution will host its next A Century of Ideas for a Free Society lecture at 4:30 pm. Historians Niall Ferguson and Victor Davis Hanson will discuss the seminal events of the last century—the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the rise and fall of Soviet communism, and the advent of modernism and globalization—and how Hoover Institution scholars, informed by the lessons of history, have interpreted these tragedies and challenges. For tickets, click here ([link removed]) .

Veterans Day Commemoration
To honor the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will host its annual Veterans Day Event on Monday, November 11. The program, which begins at 11 a.m., will include an honor guard, live music, and remarks by keynote speaker Captain Dan Pedersen, who formed the Navy’s legendary “Topgun” graduate program at Naval Air Station Miramar in March 1969. To register for this event, click here. ([link removed])

A Reagan Forum and Book Signing with Dr. Wilfred McClay
Dr. Wilfred McClay, the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine, will visit the Reagan Presidential Library to discuss “Recovering the American Story: Consciousness and the American Past” on November 15. The event is free and begins at 11 am. For more information, and to reserve your spot, click here ([link removed]) .

Labor and Capital Market Policy: From Ideas to Actions over One Hundred Years
The Hoover Institution will host its final A Century of Ideas for a Free Society lecture on Tuesday, November 19 at 4:30 pm. Caroline Hoxby, John Cochrane, and George P. Shultz will discuss how ideas about the roles of government and private enterprise have changed, how good ideas stressing economic freedom can be advanced into action, and the influence of globalization on the ability of governments to apply good ideas to capital flows and immigration. For more information, and to register, click here ([link removed]) .

Conversation and Book Event with Ambassador Nikki Haley
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will host former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday, December 10 for a discussion about her new book, With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace. Tickets to this event are $85 per person and includes a dinner in the Air Force One Pavilion following the program. To reserve your stop for this exciting event, click here ([link removed]) .

If you have items for events anywhere in the state, please send them to me!

As always, if you’d like to join our movement to save California, we invite you to support us. Click here to donate to CPC ([link removed]) .


** ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
------------------------------------------------------------

The California Policy Center promotes prosperity for all Californians through limited government and individual liberty.

Learn more at CaliforniaPolicyCenter.org.
[link removed]
FACEBOOK ([link removed])
[link removed]
TWITTER ([link removed])
[link removed]
WEBSITE ([link removed])
Support the California Policy Center. Donate Today. ([link removed])

============================================================

** MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO THE CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER ([link removed])

The California Policy Center is a 501c3 non-profit
CA Corp. #3295222. Federal EIN 27-2870463.
Copyright © California Policy Center 2016.
All rights reserved.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
California Policy Center . 18002 Irvine Blvd Ste 108 . Tustin, CA 92780-3321 . USA