Housing Market Resilience and Affordability in Houston, Texas
The median price of a single-family home in Houston dropped 8.5 percent compared to January 2008, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. But Houstonians are still much better off than many...
View ArticleShot by the Sheriff
Immigrants have plenty of reasons to fear authority in Arizona. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett shot and killed an unarmed illegal immigrant at point-blank range in 2007 and remains on the force...
View ArticleHave Capital, Will Travel
Interesting story in today’s Washington Post about newly unemployed financiers taking some time off to travel the world. But these young jet setters aren’t just filling the nightclubs of Ibiza, they’re...
View ArticleGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Failure
Reason magazine You can’t really argue with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political success. In 2002 the California Republican Party, still suffering from the anti-immigrant fervor cooked up by former Gov....
View ArticleCan Mayor Bloomberg's Pedestrian Mall Work in Manhattan?
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed turning parts of Broadway in Manhattan into a pedestrian mall last week. It's a quaint idea, but a difficult one to pull off. Whether New York can do it...
View ArticleSecond National Commission Gets It Mostly Right
Public Works Financing Last winter I critiqued the very ambitious report of the National Surface Transportation Policy & Revenue Commission. While that body's report underscored the need for...
View ArticleWhen Will the Recession End?
The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that national output fell 6.2% during the last four months of 2008, a steeper decline than many expected. The preliminary estimate released earlier indicated a...
View ArticlePay Up
Almost any economist could tell you that health insurance mandates increase the price of coverage for everybody. But by how much? Thanks to research recently published in the Forum for Health Economics...
View ArticleSo, Can We Date Conservatives Again?
This past weekend, the American Conservative Union hosted its annual CPAC meeting. Attended by thousands of young self-identified conservative activists from around the country, it’s a good place to...
View ArticleHow Much Will the State Budget Deal Cost Californians?
In an attempt to address its budget deficit estimated at $42 billion, California recently enacted a budget deal consisting of significant tax increases, spending cuts, and, of course, more borrowing....
View ArticleThe Fairness Doctrine: One Battle Won, But the War Goes On
In somewhat characteristic performance last week, the Senate voted to close to kill the controversial Fairness Doctrine, then, shortly afterward, opened to the door to its potential return.In the first...
View ArticleSurprise! AIG to Get Even More Taxpayer Money - $30 Billion More
Back in September 2007--both what seems like ages ago and just yesterday--when the government said it was going to bailout troubled insurer AIG, a number of anti-spenders said that it wouldn't just be...
View ArticleInside the Black Box of Climate Change
Environmental educator Jane Shaw has an interesting article on the professional harrassment academics receive when they voice skepticism about the science behind climate chnage. Tenured professors who...
View ArticleWould the Government Admit Failure?
Economist Bryan Caplan asked an interesting question on his blog today:All ideology aside: If the government had followed a laissez-faire policy for the last six months, and output, employment,...
View ArticleThe Liberaltarian Jackalope
In late January, for the third time since Barack Obama’s historic election, a group of Washington, D.C., writers and think tankers, roughly half liberal and half libertarian, gathered for an evening of...
View ArticleHow Big Government Infrastructure Projects Go Wrong
The recently enacted $787 billion "stimulus" program appears to be the down payment on a sweeping "new New Deal" that will include many other ambitious government programs—including the possible...
View ArticleHouston Considering Privatization of Convention Center and Marketing Activities
According to the Houston Chronicle, officials in Houston are considering the possibility of consolidating and privatizing the city's marketing functions:A committee set up by Mayor Bill White is...
View ArticleHouse Democrats Seek to End DC Voucher Program
Last week the House Democrats passed a spending bill that would end the DC Scholarship program after the 2009-2010 school year. The Washington Post examines the Democrats real motives in defunding a...
View ArticleThe Health-Status Insurance Solution
"Health care reform that reduces costs while expanding coverage is no longer just a dream we hope to achieve—it's a necessity we have to achieve,"declared President Barack Obama as he announced his...
View ArticleIn Defense of Investors
A tip of the hat to Houston Clear Thinkers for these Point-Counterpoint videos drawn from the 1991 film Other People’s Money. You’ll find them remarkably relevant in the current economic policy debate....
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....