Kristian Fors independent.org/article/2025/0…

How Prop 103 Broke California’s Insurance Market Kristian Fors delivers a blistering exposé on how outdated regulations, wildfire risk, and political gamesmanship have left homeowners scrambling for coverage—or completely uninsured. @InsuranceHour__

It’s National Whistleblower Day. California law protects those who report waste, fraud, and abuse—and we want to hear from you. Nominate your candidate for a California Golden Fleece® Award today and help us hold public officials accountable.

OUT TODAY: superb report by my colleague Chris Calton on how #NIMBYs block #California #housing & what reforms will spur housing development. Send it to your #YIMBY friends! Independent Institute Kristian Fors #HousingCrisis independent.org/article/2025/0…

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy not only for the loss of his life but for free speech itself. He built a movement by debating on campuses nationwide. Silencing speech with violence is an attack on open dialogue in America. | Williamson Evers

No one should ever be killed for their beliefs or speech. Yet after Charlie Kirk’s murder, some openly celebrated his death. That’s not justice, it’s tyranny. Freedom of speech means nothing if disagreement justifies bloodshed. | Kristian Fors

Kristian Fors independent.org/article/2025/0…

Gov. Newsom is right: California’s homicide rate is lower than many red states. But crime isn’t one-dimensional. A full look at violent, nonviolent crime, recidivism, and law enforcement performance shows partisan control alone doesn’t predict safety. | Jonathan Hofer &

“I wish we would stop calling this homelessness and start calling it what it really is, which is open-air asylum.”

The problem with Prop 13 isn’t that property taxes in CA are low, it’s that the low tax rate is not passed on to the new buyer when the house is sold, which discourages housing mobility for both buyers and sellers. Kristian Fors

"Something about the employment density of LA makes it [LA Metro] very unusable," Kristian Fors

The Efficient Market Hypothesis says stock prices always reflect all information, meaning you can’t beat the market. But real-world behavior, cognitive biases, informational edges, passive investing, and funds that consistently outperform tell a different story. EMH is far from

Today marks one year since the LA wildfires. I evacuated my family’s home during the crisis. These fires weren’t inevitable—they were enabled by policy failure. California can and must do better. Read more in my policy report: independent.org/wildfiresreport

One year ago today, Los Angeles burst into flames. More than two dozen lives lost. Thousands of homes destroyed. Up to $131B in losses. A new California Golden Fleece® report examines how policy failures turned a natural disaster into a catastrophe and what must change before it

California has the worst regulatory rate suppression in the nation. Insurance premiums are restricted from reflecting actual wildfire risk, distorting incentives about where to live, where to build, and how to reduce exposure. When prices ignore risk, the consequences show up

CEQA compliance can cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Big corporations can absorb that. Small businesses cannot. The result is fewer small players and more consolidation. For a state that claims to be progressive, the incentives tell a different story. |

The issue is not a lack of tax revenue. It is misdirected spending. Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions more on questionable programs than on its fire department, while wildfire risk mitigation remains underfunded. Essential services should come first. | Kristian Fors

A year after the Palisades and Eaton Fires killed 31 people and destroyed 15,000+ structures, California hasn’t fixed the root problems. Bad zoning, distorted insurance prices, neglected fire prevention, and preventable failures left LA vulnerable—and still do. Wildfire

Rent vs. buy decisions often ignore the opportunity cost of capital. This new calculator shows what an optimizing homeowner or renter might do by factoring in investment returns, mortgage costs, and inflation-adjusted values. | Kristian Fors & Jonathan Hofer

A new calculator estimates the opportunity cost of taking out a mortgage. In many scenarios, especially in the West, renting and investing can lead to a higher net worth than buying. The American dream may be more flexible than we think. | Kristian Fors & Jonathan Hofer