Matters of Policy & Politics

In a year full of talk about revolutions past (1776) and present (AI), there’s yet another upheaval to ponder: an emerging “quantum revolution” that will change the boundaries of science and industry as it deeply impacts global commerce and geopolitics -- the US, China, and European nations are all making advancements in the field. Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann and three co-authors discuss their recent Hoover Instit...

California is one of 24 states that allow voters to decide whether initiatives and referenda can become law – i.e., direct democracy. But what does California’s slate of 14 initiatives on the November ballot –  including a “wealth tax” on billionaires, new voter-ID requirements, plus proposed changes to the recall of elected officials – say about the Golden State’s priorities, special ...

As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, it’s not so much “taxation without representation” at issue as it is the question of what modern taxation represents – For some, a chance to strike a blow against wealth disparity while pursuing a socialist dream of expansive government. Nowhere is that more evident than in California and a ballot initiative which, if approved by voters in November, would ...

This week’s bombshell news in Sacramento: California Gov. Gavin Newsom announcing that he and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom are under federal investigation reportedly for tax and financial improprieties – Newsom claiming he’s the victim of a political vendetta as a critic of President Trump, but the story also a window into the unseemly practice of “behested payments” that special interests use ...

On the eve of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, how has the nation’s Declaration of Independence – drafted, debated and signed in a world shaped more by royalty than republicanism – managed to stand the test of time?

They quibbled over the language and the provisions, but in the end America’s Founding Fathers produced a 1,320-word document establishing a newborn republic’s belief...

California’s revised state budget for the new fiscal year beginning in July comes with a plot twist – a deficit that’s no more, courtesy of an unexpected capital-gains tax windfall. But is the same entity that showered Sacramento with billions in tax revenue – California’s vibrant AI sector – also a source of long-term economic and policy concerns (tech-related job losses; competing with farmers ...

America is a land dotted with so-called “company towns” – population centers where a single business or industry dominates not only the local economy, but government and community ethos as well. But what happens when a town and an industry in decline part ways, leaving it to local government and leadership to take up the slack? Hoover fellow Elizabeth Mitchell Edler discusses what transpired in those portions of A...

Before invasions of Ukraine and Crimea and various “resets” of America’s diplomatic approach toward the Kremlin, there was the “Boris and Bill Show” – two chummy and newly-installed presidents meeting multiple times at the tail-end of the 20th Century with the shared goal of bringing Russia into a post-Cold War world order as a peaceful, prosperous (and non-proliferating) society.

Rose Gottemoell...

America, a land rich in growth and prosperity but also blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, faces a quandary: how to keep its economy flourishing while at the same time safeguarding its environment. It’s the topic of the Hoover’s Institution’s upcoming “Markets vs. Mandates” conference. Terry Anderson, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow (adjunct) and one of the founders of &ldq...

The war in Iran finds its way to California in the form of higher fuel prices, but how much of the Golden’s State “pain at the pump” is driven by geopolitics versus decades of arguably misguided state energy policies? Meanwhile, a gubernatorial primary unique in its lack of a clear frontrunner becomes more muddled after former Rep. Eric Swalwell abruptly quits the race following accusations of sexual misconduct. A...

While America’s education system doesn’t lack for shareholders (parents, educators, political and policy leaders, as well as business and community activists), there’s a question as to whether all concerns are being heard and respected. Margaret “Macke” Raymond, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and director of Hoover’s program on K-12 Education, discusses the findings of Hoover&...

With the public’s trust in the media at historic lows and the industry trying to adapt to changing information-gathering tastes, what does the future hold for a struggling “Fourth Estate” (tradition news outlets) and an incipient “Fifth Estate” (bloggers and social media)? David Shribman, a columnist, academic and two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, examines a changed landscape of print media ceding dom...

Can California’s governor’s race get any airtime (a televised debate scratched after a controversy over four candidates who didn’t make the cut), much less any traction with a disinterested electorate?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest in the Golden State including the public ostr...

A worldwide oil shock triggered by hostilities in the Middle East raises questions about the viability of America’s energy strategy and the ability of the US and other developed nations to ride out the current storm. David Fedor, the Hoover Institution’s Stephenson Policy Fellow and a member of Hoover’s George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group, puts 2026’s oil drama in historical context (2008 and the 19...

We know what fate befell Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 B.C., but how does ancient Rome’s treatment of its adversaries and allies and compare to the current American “excursion” in Iran and overall US foreign policy? Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow and a military historian specializing in the rise and fall of Rome, separates fact from fiction regarding Caesar’s th...

Two decades shy of its 100th anniversary of statehood, how is India progressing in its goal of becoming an innovative, prosperous, greener and developed nation? Šumit Ganguly, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and director of Hoover’s Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations, discusses Hoover’s newly released Annual Survey of India 2026. Among the survey topics explored: an assessment of India’s eco...

Assuming we already understand the parameters of “good citizenship” (obey the law; do no harm to others), how to decide what constitutes a “well-informed” citizen? Tom Schnaubelt, executive director of Hoover’s Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) initiative, and Checker Finn, a Hoover senior fellow and chair of Hoover’s Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship, introduce Hoover&rsquo...

California Governor Gavin Newsom pads his frequent-flier miles: after two trips to Europe already this year, a nationwide tour promoting his new memoir (and presidential prospects). Meanwhile, political upheaval finds its way to disaster-prone Los Angeles with a plot twist in an already contentious mayoral race and calls for the chair of LA’s 2028 Summer Olympics to resign over his ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

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Depending on one’s outlook and relationship status (and a willingness to spend lavishly on romantic gestures), Valentine's Day is an annual ritual to be loved or loathed. But is it living up to its unstated end goal – i.e., romance blossoming into love and commitment, which in turn leads to parenthood? Valerie Ramey, an economist and the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow, looks at the economic engin...