There’s only one way to restore reliable water allocations to farmers, avoid turning our cities into rationed “xeriscaped” heat islands, and cope with whatever the climate ultimately delivers. That’s to build more infrastructure to safely and sustainably produce millions of acre feet of new fresh water every year. There are many practical ways to accomplish...
California Government Revenue and Debt Study How Much State and Local Governments Collect and What They Owe By Marc Joffe Visiting Fellow, California Policy Center December 10, 2025
The real story is not ‘climate change.’ Most good news editors, whether they admit it or not, believe themselves Michelangelo’s heirs — men and women who chisel off the unnecessary bits of a reporter’s copy in order to reveal the angel within. Sadly, the Los Angeles Times often seems bereft of these judicious hacks. Take, for instance, a...
When it comes to the achievement of “carbon neutrality” and the requisite energy policies to get there, few choices carry with them more consequences than the planned, nearly total electrification of our economy. And when it comes to electrification, few categories of consumption are likely to outweigh the demands of EVs. With a focus on...
A few years ago I was involved in an effort to qualify a ballot initiative, the “Water Infrastructure Funding Act.” While we failed to gather sufficient signatures to get it onto the November 2022 state ballot, if it had been approved by voters, water scarcity in California would have been eliminated forever. Unfortunately, certain provisions...
It’s amazing what can happen in five years, especially when Gov. Gavin Newsom unilaterally imposed an overbearing pandemic lockdown on California’s school districts during this time period. And for an age group least likely to become ill with COVID-19. The coronavirus had a significant impact on local school district finances and they seemed to survive...
In December 2023, an obscure federal agency known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management produced a “Field Reserve Estimate Summary” in which they claimed that up to 10 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil lay just off the West Coast of the United States. The vast majority of that oil is off the coast...
While California’s economy continues to produce some impressive headline numbers, its trajectory is becoming increasingly dependent on the tech sector. And now that tech has gone all in on artificial intelligence, the state’s finances are vulnerable to either a bursting of the “AI Bubble” or an exit of AI innovators to other states. Gov. Gavin...
Assembly Bill 495 (Celeste Rodriguez, D – San Fernando Valley) was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom, over the objections of many parental rights advocates, attorneys, and policy experts. This explainer breaks down the parts of the law that pose a potential threat to parental rights, and presents three model...
The latest news on history, civics, and patriotism in our public schools is a mixed bag. In the early days of our republic, George Washington understood that civic education was essential for preserving freedom. More recently, the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor reminded us that civic knowledge isn’t inherited genetically but must be...
California’s Little Hoover Commission was created in 1962 “as an independent and bipartisan state agency charged with making recommendations to the governor and Legislature on ways to make state programs more efficient.” Funded by taxpayers, officially nonpartisan, they’ve just released a set of recommendations to lower “The High Cost of Electricity in California.” They’re right about the high...
Ballot initiatives are supposed to empower the people to stand up to moneyed special interests. Fifteen states permit the people to pass laws and amend their state constitutions by popular vote. A fixture in California politics since 1914, the citizen ballot initiative enabled notable victories for the Californians, perhaps most notably Proposition 13 in 1978,...
The California Policy Center is pleased to announce that Will Swaim has been named Chief Executive Officer of the organization, and longtime Executive Vice President Jackson Reese has been promoted to President. The board approved the promotions to ensure CPC’s continued growth and long-term mission. Swaim will continue leading CPC as CEO, advancing the organization’s...
The cost-of-living has become a national issue, a favored topic of partisan debate. The debate is governed by emotions, ideology, and widely divergent economic theories, probably in that order. Our contribution to this debate, drawing on all three of those influences, is simple: Abundance lowers prices, and deregulation enables abundance. Conversely, scarcity increases prices, and...
