Let’s Face It, California Is Nuts

From Education to Infrastructure, the Golden State Dares to Defy Common Sense

My fellow Californians, the state of our state is nuttier than ever.

In saying that, I do not meant to judge the sanity of individual Californians—to the contrary, national surveys show we have lower rates of mental illness than the country as a whole. And, to be clear, I am referring to more than the agricultural fact that our state’s almond and walnut production has increased even during this drought.

I know you will hear other, more conventional assessments of the state of things in the coming weeks. The beginning of a …

California’s New Homework Assignment Is a Waste of Time

New Local Plans Handed Down by the State Just Further Complicate Our Education System

Don’t tell my kids I said this, but it really is OK for Californians to skip homework assignments—if they come from Sacramento.

If you’ve lived in California for the past two …

California, Where Less Costs More

It's Time to Stop the Unfairness

Is “Eureka” still the state motto? I suppose so. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll soon redesign the California official seal to express the real code we live by: …

Was the 1965 Immigration Act a Failure?

Maybe, Maybe Not, but It Certainly Didn't Do What Its Authors Intended

For as long as America has proclaimed itself a welcoming country of immigrants, policies have been in place to keep specific classes of people out. Naturalized citizenship was limited to …

America’s Immigration Policy Needs Less Emotion and More Reason

U.S. Policymaking Should Be Rooted in Geographic, Demographic, and Economic Considerations, Not in Our Hopes and Fears

Whether you agree or disagree with America’s current or past immigration policies, it’s hard not to shake your head at one distinctively American aspect of immigration policymaking—how it tends to …

The Contradictory Legacy of the 1965 Immigration Act

A Law Designed to Repair Flaws in the Fabric of American Justice Also Created New Ones

At a time when immigration has become a polarizing and toxic topic in our politics, it’s worth remembering that 50 years ago this week President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the …