Research Says Big Federal Grants to Local Governments Breed Corruption
DOGE may not just save money; it may encourage honesty.
State Governments
Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
Hawaii Can Auction Off Your Car Without Ever Convicting You
Civil forfeiture allows the government of Hawaii to take your property and sell it for profit without proving you did anything wrong.
Sell Flavored Tobacco in Massachusetts, Go To Jail
Massachusetts outlawed flavored tobacco. Now, just as criminal justice groups warned, a vape shop owner is serving time.
California's Terrible Wildfires Exposed a Variety of State Policy Failures
The wildfires will be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Hopefully they will also teach policymakers some lessons.
America Is Going Broke. Will the Department of Government Efficiency Help?
Eliminating the deficit requires cutting the biggest spending—defense, Medicare, Social Security. So far, Trump says he won't touch those.
California's Wildfires Exposed Failings of the State's Leadership
The potential risks from a major wildfire have been well known for years, but there was little appetite to solve those problems before disaster struck.
State 'Bias Response Hotlines' Encourage People To Snitch on Their Neighbors for 'Hate Speech'
By the end of 2025, as many as 100 million Americans could live in a state where they can be reported for protected expression.
Why Texas Lawmakers Tried To Stop America's First 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Execution
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death based on outdated and largely discredited scientific evidence.
In Session
Lawmakers across the country introduce bills to strengthen private property rights, crackdown on out-of-control regulators, and get the government out of micromanaging stairways.
As Fires Burn, Private Firms and Personal Effort Step In Where California Officials Fail
Californians are turning to private firefighting and security, but officialdom gets in the way.
If California Can Suspend Permitting Rules After Wildfires, It Can Abolish Them
It shouldn't take a disaster for the state to consider fixing the rules that make it so expensive to building housing there.
Americans Continue Migrating From High-Tax to Low-Tax States
Increasing mobility and remote work make taxes an important consideration in where to live.
Election Reforms Blocked by Elections
Ranked choice voting and nonpartisan primaries suffered a bad election cycle in 2024.
Looting Is Bad. So Are Curfews.
The California National Guard should be helping to put out fires, not helping to restrict people's freedom of movement.
What's Wrong With a Private Firefighter?
Plus: Zuckerberg's metamorphosis, Trump's congestion pricing plans, and more...
California's Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies
This year’s deadly wildfires were predicted and unnecessary.
Despite 2024 Setbacks, Drug Policy Is Still on a Long-Term Trend Toward Reform
Recent election results show the drug war’s punitive mentality still appeals to many Americans, even in blue states.
Athletes Find New Way To Avoid Taxes
Restructured contracts may help franchises who have a certain competitive disadvantage.
Fires Incinerated the Facade of California Governing Competence
Virtue-signaling is no substitute for disaster preparedness.
Why Building a Lot of 'Affordable' Housing Is Bad News for Affordability
Cities become affordable when lots of new housing is built, not when a larger percentage of a small amount of new housing is made "affordable" by regulation.
California Schools Stay Open Despite Plummeting Enrollment
Ballooning costs and shrinking student populations have left districts facing financial crises, but political pressures have kept closures off the table.
Lawsuit Challenges Vermont Climate Program
Is the Climate Superfund Act unconstitutional?
California Gov. Newsom Speaks Loudly, Carries Small Stick
Newsom is a prototypical modern progressive governor whose pro-democracy tour of Southern states evoked more mocking than fear.
An El Paso Christian Charity Is Caught Up in Texas' Border Fight Against the Feds
Annunciation House feeds, shelters, and clothes immigrants. State officials say it's "systemic criminal conduct."
Raising the SALT Cap Is a Gift to High-Tax States
Capping state and local tax deductions sparked a tax migration that rewarded pro-growth states. Raising the cap now would stall reform where it’s needed most.
North Carolina Passes Sweeping Surprise Ban on 'Downzoning'
To the bewilderment of many, North Carolina's hurricane relief bill includes the nation's strongest property rights protections against new zoning restrictions.
Cigarette Taxes and Regulations Continue To Fuel a Thriving Black Market
Burdensome taxes and red tape produce the same results as outright prohibitions.
Kentucky Seizes People's Booze, Auctions It Off To Fund Anti-Booze Group
Selling vintage spirits is better than pouring them down the drain, but the state shouldn't use the proceeds to fund a private corporation.
I Tried Lab-Grown Salmon. Here's What It Tasted Like.
Cultivated meat is getting better and better. That's why states keep trying to ban it.
Families Need Affordable Housing, but New York Residents Use Red Tape To Block Development
With the help of New York’s environmental review law, local NIMBYs halted an approved housing project, adding to delays and costs in a city facing a housing shortage.
West Virginia Voters Passed a Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Assisted Suicide
But the amendment won't prevent the state from killing you.
Texas Bill Takes Aim at Online Speech About Abortion Pills
Abortion battles are becoming tech policy battles.
Abolish the Department of Education
The federal government furnishes a relatively tiny amount of K-12 funding—but the feds need relatively little money to exert power.
Abolish the EPA
Climate change is a serious environmental concern, but it is not clear how the EPA helps.
Abolish the Department of Transportation
When money comes down from the DOT, it has copious strings attached to it—strings that make infrastructure more expensive and less useful.
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending
If Musk is truly serious about fiscal discipline, he'll advise the president-elect to eschew many of the policies he promised on the campaign trail.
Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization in North Dakota and South Dakota
Residents of the two deep-red states have approved medical use of cannabis but remain leery of going further.
Massachusetts Voters Reject Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
The initiative also would have authorized state-licensed "psychedelic therapy centers."
Nebraska Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Medical Marijuana
Whether the policy will actually be implemented depends on the outcome of a legal challenge.
Washingtonians Uphold State's Climate Change Program
Initiative 2117 would have struck down the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program, which has been criticized for its high cost and unclear results.
Florida's Marijuana Legalization Initiative Fails To Pass
A majority of the state's voters said yes to Amendment Three, but that wasn't enough to clear the 60 percent threshold required to pass a Florida ballot initiative.
Government Goons Murder Internet-Famous Squirrel
Peanut the Squirrel charmed a large internet audience that helped fund an animal sanctuary. Then the government seized him.
Washington Sued for 'Racially Conscious' Homeownership Program
Washington's Covenant Homeownership Program excludes certain applicants on the basis of race.
The Best of Reason: Secession Is Back in Style in Texas
Can't Americans all just get along? Maybe we can't—and perhaps we shouldn't have to.
