Daily Business Report: Monday, September 22, 2025
Keeping California Gas Prices Stable Amid Shaky Supply Will Be a Challenge, Regulator Says
By Jill McLaughlin | The Epoch Times
With California’s gas prices on the rise amid uncertain supplies, the state’s oil industry watchdog is stressing the need to maintain inventories to avoid price spikes at the pump.
Since Aug. 15, the state’s retail gasoline prices have risen by about 16 cents per gallon, with Southern California recording the highest increases. Summer volatility on the Los Angeles spot market has created upward pressure on prices that will be felt for the next several months, the state Energy Commission said in a news release.
In a Sept. 16 market update sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders, the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight detailed plans to work with the oil industry to keep gas prices from spiking.
California Ties Louisiana for Highest US Poverty Rate in 2024
By Kimberly Hayek | The Epoch Times
California tied Louisiana for the nation’s highest poverty rate last year, with 7 million people—or 17.7 percent of the state’s population—living below adjusted income thresholds.
The numbers come from a report released by the California Budget and Policy Center, a left-leaning think tank based in Sacramento. The group analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data using a supplemental measure that accounts for local costs of living, family size, and medical expenses.
The state’s rate held steady from the previous year but remained well above the national average of around 13 percent. Louisiana posted the same 17.7 percent figure, though the two states face different economic pressures. California deals with high urban housing prices, while Louisiana contends with rural job shortages.
Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Damages a Foundational Pillar of American Democracy
By Joel Fox | California Globe
While violence in American politics is not new, increased political violence is reaching a new height in this country. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University being the latest tragic example. These attacks pull down a foundational pillar of American democracy—working out policy and political differences in the marketplace of ideas.
Kirk’s assassination is particularly telling on this point since he invited debate over issues and received a deadly bullet for his effort. This is not to argue that Kirk’s particular ideas were good or bad. This is to support that debating in the marketplace of ideas is essential for American democracy.
The idea that free competition of ideas through free speech is the best method to separate falsehood from fact goes back to the writings of philosophers John Milton and John Stuart Mill. The phrase “marketplace of ideas” comes from a dissent written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr., in a 1919 case. He encouraged the free trade of ideas in a competitive market.
Debating issues in the marketplace of ideas necessitates vigorous advocacy, but it should not lead to extreme violence. Yet, our recent history says the marketplace of ideas concept is failing. Too often, advocates and believers dismiss the give and take of public intercourse and reach for a gun.
