R Street Institute

Georgia’s electric monopolies SEEM like the real illusion of choice - R Street Institute As much of the U.S. grapples with crippling summer heat, consumers are left to deal with the rising costs of cooling their homes. Sadly for Georgians, we have the second highest electric retail rates in the Southeast, but before you decide to shop around for a better deal, I have more disheartening....

Ending poverty in California requires good policy, not platitudes - R Street Institute SACRAMENTO – At times, the California Legislature is reminiscent of a high-school student council, except that instead of working with few-hundred-dollar activities budget lawmakers are spending more than $300 billion in revenues. I’m not the first commentator to notice that politicians often ...

Newsom’s Anti-Democratic Assault on Business - R Street Institute He claims to be a defender of democracy but refuses the people a say. SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a defender of democracy as he prepares himself for a possible run for the presidency. In March, he launched a “Campaign for Democracy” and toured some South...

Resolving to Defend AI Innovation in the States - R Street Institute In recent Federalist Society essays, we have documented the growth of state and local proposals to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic systems. The danger of regulatory overreach is already upon us with almost 90 different bills pending currently and some already being implemented....

Patent trolls, legitimate plaintiffs expose flawed patent process - R Street Institute American companies are locked in a fight against trolls. These aren’t the revolting, mythical creatures that lurk under bridges and hinder the quests of various heroes, but they are nonetheless destructive. The real ogres we see today are patent trolls who wage a kind of guerrilla warfare within t...

Apple v. Biden: A Patently Absurd Approach to Innovation - R Street Institute SACRAMENTO — If you find yourself at a libertarian gathering (not usually recommended) and are a mischievous sort who wants to start a squabble that might lead to fisticuffs, don’t raise the usual hot-button issues of, say, the wisdom of driver’s licenses, age-of-consent laws, or bans on the i...

Summer 2023: Trends in Ni****ne & To***co Harm Reduction Research - R Street Institute Author Media Contact For general and media inquiries and to book our experts, please contact: [email protected]. Introduction The world of to***co harm reduction science and regulation is changing at a rapid pace. With all the new and conflicting information out there, keeping up is difficult and time....

Lack of accountability plagues state juvenile justice system - R Street Institute Within a matter of weeks last year, three youths died while in the custody of Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice. One of these incidents was particularly harrowing, after a youth perished during what was called a “fight game.” These were the first juveniles to die under the department’...

How a Drug’s Schedule I Status Restricts Research - R Street Institute Authors Media Contact For general and media inquiries and to book our experts, please contact: [email protected] Introduction From laboratory studies to randomized controlled trials, drug researchis essential to elucidate the potential effects—both therapeutic andharmful—of known and novel substanc...

What does AI need? A comprehensive federal data privacy and security law - R Street Institute Artificial intelligence is ushering in a transformative era at an accelerated pace that could fundamentally alter how our society operates. And undoubtedly, it has caught the attention of many members of U.S. Congress, mostly due to fears about how the technology might be misused or the risks associ...

California’s Budget: A Deficit of Common Sense - R Street Institute SACRAMENTO — One would never know from the new $310 billion state budget that California had been experiencing an enormous $32 billion deficit. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators touted all the spending in the new deal — including a bailout for struggling transit authorities, additiona...

Youth drinking is falling, not rising - R Street Institute Alcohol always gets a bad rap. Perhaps more than any other substance in history, we love to blame alcohol for all our problems. During Prohibition, temperance advocates associated alcohol with everything from laziness and broken homes to poverty and insanity. While we have for the most part moved on...