Other proposals in the mix include allowing industrial and commercial energy customers to cut the cord that binds them to major utilities, as well as a bid to help California reach its climate goals by fashioning a fully “clean” power supply by 2045. California is at the forefront of the budding consumer choice movement—ratepayers leaving […]
A famous quote from Virgil’s Aenid 5.231, says, “They can, because they think they can,” comes to mind over the recent headline by the San Francisco Chronicle, “California slashes emissions, hits major greenhouse gas goals years early.” The California Air Resources Board (CARB) on June 11th released data showing California’s greenhouse gas emissions, “dropped 2.7 […]
Top air-quality regulators at the state Capitol may be on a collision course with local power players when it comes to how frequently Californians should drive their cars in the state’s internationally lauded fight against climate change. Many regional lawmakers and other officials have started pushing back on the notion that commuters need to limit […]
White House economists have identified a potential stumbling block to maintaining the U.S. economy’s momentum: a lack of well-trained workers. The economy appears poised to expand this year at the fastest clip since the recession ended in 2009. That has allowed employers to extend their streak of consistent hiring, which began in 2010, and push […]
Lawmakers are working on the biggest changes to U.S. retirement savings in more than a decade, exploring several proposals that could make it easier for small companies to offer 401(k) plans and for workers to guarantee themselves an annual income after they retire. The efforts start with a bipartisan Senate bill and House Republicans’ plan […]
The manufacturing sector staged a quick turnaround in June after a fire at the plant of a Ford pickup-truck supplier knocked output lower the previous month, extending a solid run of growth for U.S. industrial activity. The fire, which occurred May 2 at a parts plant in Michigan operated by a unit of China’s Wanfeng […]
As far back as the industrial revolution, major innovations have traveled swiftly from company to company and industry to industry, an economy-boosting phenomenon called diffusion. Today, there is mounting evidence this engine of growth seems to be misfiring, a phenomenon some economists say helps explain the slowdown in productivity growth bedeviling developed economies. Productivity, usually […]
The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly five decades. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., decreased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 in the week ended July 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. This marks the lowest level for claims […]
California gained a meager 800 net jobs in June, while the unemployment rate held steady at a record low of 4.2%, according to data released Friday by the state’s Employment Development Department. The June numbers represent a pullback from May, when the Golden State added 7,200 jobs. And the gains in May were much smaller […]
Renewed economic growth, a booming job market, and the evolving nature of work are transforming the face of the labor market, resulting in changes in the skills American employers need, as well as new and different opportunities for American workers. In the United States, investment in skill development is largely “frontloaded” during the first 25 […]
For the second year in a row, California’s main public pension fund beat its investment return forecast. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System reported Thursday that it had an 8.6 percent return on investments for the fiscal year that ended June 30 — exceeding its expectation of a 7 percent return.
Looking at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, RentCafe found the number of families with children who own their homes in the San Francisco metro area has dropped dramatically, while an increasing number are renting. . . . Researchers at the apartment search site found a 10 percent decrease in homeowner families, meaning 31,000 fewer […]
The U.K.’s government-run healthcare system, the National Health Service, turns 70 this month. There’s not much to celebrate. The NHS is collapsing. Patients routinely face treatment delays, overcrowded hospitals, and doctor shortages. Even its most ardent defenders admit that the NHS is in crisis. Yet American progressives want to import this disastrous model. About one […]
Teacher collective bargaining is a highly debated feature of the education system in the US. This paper presents the first analysis of the effect of teacher collective bargaining laws on long-run labor market and educational attainment outcomes, exploiting the timing of passage of duty-tobargain laws across cohorts within states and across states over time. Using […]
If you’re looking for the most accurate view of economic growth, you won’t find it in the government’s top-line statistics. Last month the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its estimate for the first quarter of 2018; the BEA now says gross domestic product grew 2%, annualized, down from the previous figure of 2.2%. This dramatically […]