Commentary
California's appointed officials miss by billions and keep their jobs
From the bullet train to the Coastal Commission, the state's own auditors and court files show how little a Sacramento failure costs the people who made it.
Two futures are on the ballot Nov. 3: own nothing, or own your life
California's ruling party is already building a world of rationed power, permanent taxes and dependence. There is a better order, built on merit, freedom and private property.
San Diego's power bill was written in Sacramento, and the state's own reports say so
SDG&E customers pay about 45 cents a kilowatt-hour, two and a half times the national average, for costs set by state law and by a utility commission Gov. Newsom appointed.
Rep. Torres blames Trump for California gas prices. Nevada and Arizona prove her wrong.
Same president, same federal gas tax, same price for crude oil. Californians pay $1.52 more a gallon than Arizonans because of what Sacramento Democrats did, not Washington.
Gloria piles a data center ban on top of Sacramento's red tape, for political points
Newsom just loaded data centers with seven new laws. The mayor's moratorium stacks a ban on top to please the doomers, misses the NAVWAR project that started the fight, and keeps San Diego's sky-high power costs on households.
A lie can't buy citizenship. If Omar's was bought with one, it was never hers.
Citizenship obtained by fraud is void from the start. Enforcing that rule is what protects the millions of Americans who earned theirs honestly.
Amnesty for noncitizens who registered but never voted. Prosecute every one who voted.
California's four U.S. attorneys should draw a bright line, and put the blame for the rest where it belongs: on Sacramento.
Inside Todd Gloria's tent city: what the mayor doesn't want you to see
Amy Reichert walked into a city-funded homeless camp the press is kept out of. Her video, and the death toll at these sites, should end the mayor's claims that this is working.
Microsoft and Adobe got caught chasing cheap labor. Good.
The visa system was built to fill jobs Americans can't do. Too often it has been used to replace Americans who can. Washington is finally saying so.
The problem with Full Self-Driving: one Tesla is never enough
We bought one car with FSD. Within three weeks we bought a second, then our daughter purchased a third. Try it once and you'll understand why.
What Trump actually said about Los Angeles and San Diego: the full, uncut remarks
Newsom, Becerra and other California Democrats called the president's Nebraska rally comments a threat to two cities. The unedited transcript shows he was arguing that higher gas prices from the Iran war are a small price to pay for stopping a nuclear Iran.
Veto AB 2218: Equal Protection, Not Racial Preferences
The governor stopped a bill that carves out special state support and consultation rights based solely on Native American ancestry.
AB 52 Codifies Racial Preferences in State Agriculture Policy
California's new law creates official race-based advisory committees, violating the principle that government must treat every resident equally regardless of skin color.
SB 1114 Codifies Unequal Treatment by Government
California's new law singles out sexual orientation and gender identity for special data rules, violating the principle that every Californian must be treated the same under the law.
An Intellectual History of California’s Proposition 40
Key Takeaways Taxpayer-supported scholars helped design a levy threatening founder equity and California’s startup economy. Wealth-tax advocates are regrouping, making California’s battle a preview of fights nationwide. On November 3, California voters…
A California Silver Linings Playbook
Tuesday’s election results were ugly. But they may remind old folks and history nuts of 1964, when Barry Goldwater suffered one of the worst defeats in American presidential history. Lyndon Johnson carried…
How California Voters Could Surprise the Machine
With elections across the U.S. set for next week, the focus is on close races that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, along with who will…
CPC’s Local Fiscal Health Dashboard Offers Voters a Useful Tool
With local tax and bond measures on the ballot across California, voters can use California Policy Center’s Local Fiscal Health Dashboard to examine the financial condition of the local governments asking them…
CPC’s 2026 Voter Information Guide
This November, California voters will make choices on a variety of candidates and ballot propositions that could shape the state for years to come. Our election guide is designed to help Californians…
Newsom Vetoes AB 1383 — and Gets This One Right
Every once in a while, Sacramento delivers a surprise. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 1383 this week, stopping a high-profile effort by public safety unions to roll back key provisions of California’s…
Court Challenge Over Orange Unified Ballot Statements Backfires on Union Allies
Teacher union activists are like dogs that chase cars—they wouldn’t know what to do if they caught one. Take the recent case of Darshan Smaaladen, a teacher union ally in the Orange…
Apple Valley: The Town That Can’t Afford to Quit
The Town of Apple Valley’s mission promises “a better way of life through local control of public safety, development, services and amenities.” This leaves unanswered what the town should leave to someone…
Public Sector Pensions Break More Than Government Budgets
In a display of power that ought to be used for public benefit, California’s public servants have instead prioritized their personal financial interests. Unions representing the state’s police and firefighters pushed a…
California’s ballot argument rules give tax proponents an unfair advantage
This year’s California county voter information guides will once again display a serious inequity. Arguments in favor of bond and tax measures will usually be well written and signed by several local…
AB 1383 is a costly pension mistake in the making
California lawmakers are once again advancing a familiar and costly mistake — one that risks leaving future generations to pay the price. Assembly Bill 1383, introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, would…
Los Angeles Unified’s self-inflicted financial crisis
On July 2, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo sent the Los Angeles Unified School District a letter that should alarm every taxpayer and parent in the district. Duardo determined…
California AG Rob Bonta’s War on Affordability
Critics of the policies that have turned California into the most inhospitable place in America to do business or try to make a living tend to focus on outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom.…
Cities Cannot Budget Their Way Out of Mission Problems
California cities continue to struggle with recurring fiscal stress. Los Angeles recently closed a budget gap approaching $1 billion. San Jose addressed a shortfall of roughly $50 million while acknowledging that structural…
California Local Elected Officials Oppose AB 1383
Local elected officials from communities across California have signed a coalition letter opposing AB 1383 (McKinnor). The signatories — from city council members to school board trustees — have direct experience overseeing…
Taxing Away Success
We are witnessing a troubling migration—a flight of capital and talent from states that have adopted increasingly aggressive tax policies. Elon Musk moved Tesla and X from California to Texas; Palantir relocated…
How the Machine Buried Spencer Pratt
Spencer Pratt’s LA mayoral bid surged on Election Day, only to be reversed as California’s entrenched political machine reshaped the final count after the vote. Bill de Blasio appeared on NewsNation on…
California’s “Wealth” Tax is Coming for Everyone
If you own property in California, you’re not safe. A new ballot measure will empower the state to confiscate a percentage of the assets of any resident, even though its initial provisions…
When City Councils Play Secretary of State
In the years since the National Civic League published “Is It None of Our Business?,” the trend of city halls tackling national issues has shifted from a novelty to a standard operating…
CalPERS Pays Million-Dollar Salaries for Below-Median Returns
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) continues to demonstrate a stunning disconnect between its investment performance and the compensation it awards its top administrators. A 255-page forensic investigation conducted by former…
Will Spencer Pratt Realign California?
By every reasonable standard of governance, California’s elected politicians have made a mess of the Golden State. Reciting the litany of failures has become so common that it’s hardly worth the trouble.…
The LAO vs. Sacramento Spin
Yesterday, Governor Newsom released his revised state budget, required annually by May 14th. In what promises to be a challenging budget process due to rising state costs, the Governor and legislature will…
Newsom’s environmental regulators dismissed a port’s safety warnings. Then came the accident.
On October 5, 2026, a towering exhaust-capture boom collapsed onto the Pleiades Leader, an 11-story-tall Japanese car carrier docked at California’s Port of Hueneme. The enormous steel structure crashed across the ship,…
Energy, Population, and Prosperity
In 1968, Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, a neo-Malthusian book that predicted worldwide mass starvation in the near future. Ehrlich was clearly wrong, since the global population is rapidly…
Calculating the Cost of Floating Offshore Wind Electricity
Last month the UC Santa Barbara Community Labor Center released the results of a public opinion poll wherein a majority of respondents expressed support for floating offshore wind. But here’s a question…
Practical Steps to Climate Resilience
With a mission to explore California’s energy and water future, it would be negligent to ignore California’s just released “Fifth Climate Change Assessment.” After all, climate, and its intimate cousin, carbon, are…
The Fuzzy Math Behind Prop 40’s Alleged Healthcare Cuts
Besides making billionaires pay their “fair share”, the case for Proposition 40 revolves around offsetting “catastrophic” federal Medi-Cal cuts. These cuts will likely be reversed by an incoming Democratic Congress, but, regardless,…
Gavin Newsom’s Secret Fracking Ban Comes Undone
California’s governor tried to outlaw oil production by executive fiat. A state judge has exposed the deception. California Governor Gavin Newsom has spent years making it harder to produce oil in his…
The City of Hollister Hasn’t Decided What It’s For
When the one-time money ran out, the city changed neither what it does nor how it does it. “We cannot make payroll next week.” That’s what Ana Cortez, Hollister’s city manager, told…
California’s Latest CAASPP Test Scores Reveal a Continuing Education Crisis
Last week, the California Department of Education released CAASPP (state standardized test) results for the 2025-26 school year. While Governor Newsom says the scores are evidence of “continued progress,” the numbers tell…
California’s Peculiar ‘N-Word’ Case Against Tesla
The state’s lawsuit deserves closer scrutiny. On September 21, I took a long tram ride through Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif. It was a marvel for a white-collar kid from the suburbs:…
The Special Interest Coalition that Thrives on Scarcity
Much of the unrest in the United States stems from unaffordability. Across every political contest from California to the East Coast, the affordability playbook is the same: “the cost of living is…
Observations as a New Water Year Begins
For water users and water watchers, October 1st was New Year’s Day. It’s a good time to step back and comment on where we’re headed with water policy and water projects. There…
Gavin Newsom Walks the AI Tightrope
The California governor embraces the tech’s possibilities with one hand, imposes a mountain of regulations with the other. On a single day last week, Gavin Newsom showed that he remains one of…
El Nino Planning Must Include Dredging
On September 21, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to the “strong and likely historic El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean.” The timing of the announcement is in…
The Energy and Water Footprint of AI
Whether artificial intelligence should be regulated, and if so, how, has almost overnight become one of the biggest political issues of our time. And with AI comes a surge in construction of…
Fight Over Parental Notification Continues After Chino Valley Ruling
SAN BERNARDINO — In a convoluted ruling from the bench Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Superior Court granted in part and denied in part Chino Valley Unified School District’s motion to dissolve…
Comments on the “Water Quality Control Plan” for the Delta
The August 2026 final draft of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) “Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed” has been released. Written comments will be…
Los Angeles Should Follow San Francisco’s Path to Recovery — Says Man Who Helped Set Back Both
A former aide who served and defended two disastrous DAs now offers advice on urban governance. Alex Bastian has lived and worked in California’s two most important cities, and he has advice…
Revisiting the “Crisis” of Sea Level Rise
Whenever a natural disaster occurs anywhere in the world that can be connected in some way with the alleged climate crisis, out come the professionals to make that connection. From the federally…
Where does California get its energy?
Finding quality, consolidated information on energy use in California is surprisingly difficult. The California Department of Energy provides detailed information on electricity production, and a variety of reports on, for example, refinery…
Governor Signs CPC-Sponsored Local Government Transparency Bill
Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1126, a California Policy Center-sponsored bill authored by Senator Steven Choi, Ph.D. (R-Irvine) that will make it easier for taxpayers to access the audited financial records…
Some Unions Actually Have the Power to Save California
There is no special interest in California more powerful than unions. While they aren’t significantly represented in the private sector, where they are present, they have disproportionate influence over what public works…
Without Sediment Removal in the Delta, California Risks Winter Flooding
In the cities and farms immediately south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the worst flooding of the 20th century happened in 1997. Several days of unrelenting rain pummeled the slopes of the…
AI Is Amplifying an Unexamined Government
AI—The Gamechanger For decades, cities and counties operated on an understanding rarely discussed: municipal codes would never be fully enforced. I watched city councils adopt multi-family rental smoking bans and plastic utensil…
Iron Air Batteries—Niche, or Next Big Thing?
Iron air batteries appear poised to play, at the least, an important niche role in the emerging electric age. A very recent example of this is the $750 million equity financing that…
California’s Neglected Infrastructure is Harming America
California attracts a lot of criticism, with perhaps the most bipartisan criticism focusing on its punitive cost of living. And this bipartisan criticism even extends to agreement on the reason California is…
CalSTRS is 79% Funded—Well, Maybe
CalSTRS earned 13.9% on investments for the year ended June 30, 2026, up from 8.5%, and called it a significant step toward full funding. The National Association of State Retirement Administrators said…
Is Covering California’s Aqueducts and Canals with Solar Panels Economical?
Earlier this week, a respected YouTube channel covering the future of technology and energy released a video exploring the viability of solar panels covering California’s canals and aqueducts. The videos are hosted…
The Delusional Premises of Woke Greens
While the burgeoning democratic socialist movement is getting a lot of attention in advance of the 2026 midterm elections, a parallel dimension of wokeism quietly continues to advance. For now, the Trump…
California Could Use Some Allegedly “Zany Ideas”
Veteran political strategist Garry South has just published a guest commentary in the San Francisco Chronicle in which he asks the question, “Is Steve Hilton a serious candidate?” South then launches a…
Underwriting Stagnation: Taxpayers Pay for Schools to Stand Still
California Teachers Can Now Veto AI The Union Gets the Final Say California’s largest school districts have done something unheard of in American management: they have given a labor union veto power…
California schools turn to child sacrifice
Archaeological evidence and 16th-century Spanish accounts show that the Aztecs of Central Mexico sacrificed children to appease the rain god Tlaloc. Appalled by the ritual, one of those Spaniards, the Franciscan Bernardino…
Debunking the Allegedly Prohibitive Cost of Desalination
Earlier this summer a guest op-ed appeared in the Orange County Register, “Learning the right lesson from San Diego’s desal water surplus.” But the “lesson” presented was only partly accurate. What the…
A Fact-Based Appraisal of California’s Energy Strategy
The Statistical Review of World Energy is arguably the most authoritative and comprehensive source publicly available for national and global energy statistics. And a funny thing happened between the report issued in…
Large Scale Desalination Could Help Resolve Colorado River Shortage
The operating agreements that govern Colorado River allocations expire at the end of this year, and negotiations between the seven states that share the water are stalled. With the federal government poised…
Dredging the Delta Can Prevent a Catastrophe
It’s January 2027, and for the last few months, a super El Nino has already delivered torrential rains to the Pacific Coast of North America. California’s reservoirs have been releasing record quantities…
In Praise of the Windowless Box: How California’s first data-center ban reveals what cities have forgotten
In June 2026, Monterey Park became the first city in America to permanently ban new data centers. Residents didn’t just pack city council meetings for months—86 percent voted to forbid a building…
Participatory budgeting won’t save California cities
This spring, Marin County launched a second round of participatory budgeting, inviting residents to help decide how another $2.5 million in public funds should be spent. The program reflects California’s growing embrace…
Commercializing Hydrocarbon Production from Air and Water
Whenever evaluating a new energy technology, caution is warranted. During what was arguably the first big cleantech boom around 2009, schemes were sold to angel investors thrilled to find a hot sector…
Ninth Circuit Hears CPC’s First Amendment Challenge to SB 399
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in California Policy Center v. Garcia-Brower, CPC’s lawsuit challenging California Senate Bill 399, a law that violates employers’…
The Dismal Economics of Floating Offshore Wind
There are at least three ways to evaluate the economic viability of energy projects. The easiest way is to just repeat whatever is in a press release. The other extreme, a mandatory…
The Economics of Reconciliation on America’s 250th Birthday
On the advent of America’s 250th anniversary, the conventional narrative is that our country is deeply divided. Typical takes on the state of disunity in the United States include this headline from…
California’s Forgotten 1776 Story
Two hundred and fifty years ago, in the space of 365 days, in one of history’s best two-for-one deals, the world got Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and the Declaration of Independence.…
Choosing the Right Infrastructure Projects Can Deliver Affordable Abundance
The reason to socialize a portion of the cost of major infrastructure is so the ratepayer doesn’t have to bear an unaffordable share of the construction financing payments. The broader benefit to…
Will Swaim: America’s 250th and the Fight for Liberty in California
When I told a friend recently that I was sorry to hear she was getting a divorce, she replied, “You wouldn’t be sorry if you really knew my husband.” When I admitted…
How Steve Hilton Can Become California’s Next Governor
A very successful businessman—and a major contributor to Democratic Party candidates and causes—once explained to me why he talked, acted, and thought like a Republican but never considered supporting any Republican candidate,…
The Best Way to Eliminate Methane Leaks is to Drill
California’s oil industry has been active for well over a century, and Los Angeles was always at the heart of it. By 1894, about 80 wells were already producing oil in the…
Principles for a Californian Realignment: The Grand Alliance
With midterm elections just around the corner, both major political parties are themselves coping with divided constituencies. The Democratic Socialists vie for dominance against more moderate Democrats. MAGA Republicans confront disaffected libertarians…
Subsidizing the Visible Hand: California’s Departure from 1776
As the United States celebrates the semiquincentennial of its founding in 1776, it is worth reflecting on a remarkable historical coincidence: the birth of our nation occurred the same year Adam Smith…
How Much Flow Preserves the Delta?
When choosing what policies and projects might best ensure abundant water for California’s ecosystems, farms, and cities, the role of the delta is central. Even if large scale desalination were to someday…
The Bear Flag and California’s history blind spot
June 14 is the anniversary of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt that helped set California on the path to statehood. But how many California students could explain what the Bear Flag Republic…
The unions that count California’s votes
As Los Angeles County worked through more than 700,000 uncounted ballots after the June primary, the argument focuses on the speed of the count. But it is also worth wondering just who…
In California, the Real Scandal Is What’s Legal
Greetings and welcome to this momentous 92nd edition of the Carnival of Fools! If you’re looking for informed commentary on the state of the war in Iran, then I’m happy to announce…
An Alternative Vision for the Potter Valley Project
A recent article in Grist characterized recent efforts by the Trump administration to preserve Scott Dam as a “culture war crusade.” That is accurate, so long as we recognize that efforts to…
Five Billion Barrels of Crude Oil
There is no realistic scenario imaginable that does not include Californians consuming at least another five billion barrels of oil before the state achieves its much touted official goal of a “clean…
Fine Tuning the “Water Renaissance” Plan
The recently released “Water Renaissance” plan, a product of “conservation groups and tribes,” gets a very big idea right. There is no reason why California’s coastal megacities should have to import water.…
Differentiating Between Capacity and Yield
Whether it’s an energy project or a water project, it’s important to avoid conflating capacity with actual production, or yield. With energy projects, that difference is much more certain than with water…
California Lags Far Behind on Local Government Financial Transparency
Taxpayers have a fundamental right to know how their money is being managed. Three conditions define a best-practice state regime for local government financial reporting. First, the state should require all local…
Why the Paramount-Skydance deal is good for California
By now, almost every Californian with eyeballs and a memory of the recent past can tell you the story of the failed High-Speed Rail – how voters in 2008 approved a roughly…