Time to restore local control over zoning—and end Obama’s HUD intrusion
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing allowed HUD to halt distribution of more than $3 billion of annual community development block grants to about 1,200 counties and cities unless the recipients abide by federal dictates on...
Community opposition to multifamily
Overcoming community resistance to multifamily development
Community opposition to multifamily has become one of the top barriers to construction of accessible, sustainable housing in America. But there are strategies developers can use to build political...
The madness of Capitol Hill’s kings
The bill is an economic disaster. It will destroy jobs and harm capital creation. Even in the best of times, such an act would be extremely hurtful to the economy. Under these circumstances, it's...
Affordable housing’s not so affordable solution
Looking for an easy solution to this complicated problem, hundreds of cities and counties have adopted so-called “inclusionary zoning” ordinances, demanding that developers build and sell a certain percentage of the homes they develop...
Our perception of skilled trades needs to change
The U.S. is in the midst of a crisis of masculinity. According to a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, men without four-year college degrees, ages 25 to 54, have left...
When will affordable housing advocates push for more supply and fewer rules?
The lack of market rate supply contributes to high prices that puts market rate housing out of reach, and as long as that problem goes unaddressed, more and more subsidies will need to be...
The hidden virtues of income inequality
The New York Times recently ran a front-page exposé of segregation by wealth in the booming cruise business. The article, by Nelson Schwartz, was entitled “In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in...
Property rights versus labor unions in the Supreme Court
As the Supreme Court’s recent Obamacare case illustrates, the justices no longer enforce most of the Constitution’s limits on the federal government. But a new property rights decision demonstrates how they are super-enforcing the...
We don’t have to ditch capitalism to fight climate change
It is of course possible that the 95 percent-plus of scientists who have explored the topic and the National Scientific Academies of every major nation are mistaken, and that the uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse...
Am I the only techie against net neutrality?
No, I am not a paid shill for the cable industry. I am no fan of Comcast or any other ISP I’ve ever had the “pleasure” of dealing with. I’m skeptical of large corporations...
Tax reform has potential to solve the housing affordability crisis
“Our tax system still siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power and reduces the incentive for risk, investment and effort.”
You might be forgiven if you...
More rent control in California will make the housing problem worse
Rent control is a terrible idea that just won’t die. The latest example is a new bill working its way through the California legislature that would cap annual rent increases at 5 percent for...
Sub-prime bail out
Encouraged by the housing bubble, easy credit, along with the expectation that housing prices would continue to appreciate, many subprime borrowers took out mortgages they could not afford in the long run, particularly if...
Government regulation that actually works
OSHA has a long history of being attacked from all sides. While some criticize it for being too lenient, others routinely refer to it as a job-killer whose regulations stifle job creation, increase labor...
Banning demon coal
One mystery of U.S. politics is why Al Gore, California billionaire Tom Steyer and the green lobby view President Obama as a disaster for global warming. Maybe nobody could satisfy their ambitions. But the...
