To Speed Recovery, California Must Let Markets Work
Anyone who thinks state regulatory agencies will help them doesn't understand how these agencies actually operate.
Policy
18 Months After Wildfires Destroyed Some 2,000 Homes on Maui, Only 3 Have Been Rebuilt
A thicket of red tape has made the island's rebuilding efforts painfully slow.
Our Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Hear Case on Overruling Kelo v. City of New London
The brief is on behalf of the Cato Institute and myself.
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.
Javier Milei Deregulates Food Imports and Exports
The move "seeks cheaper food for Argentines and more Argentine food for the world."
Trump Must Choose: Tariffs or Lower Prices
Domestic deregulation will decrease the cost of living. Trade barriers will do the opposite.
Pepsi Suffers the Wrath of (Lina) Khan
Outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan sues Pepsi for violating Robinson-Patman Act.
Regulations Keep Millions of Bedrooms Empty During a Housing Crisis
Zoning laws, occupancy limits, and short-term rental restrictions are keeping housing off the market and driving up costs.
Price Controls Won't Build Homes in L.A.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom must allow prices to rise if he wants homes to be rebuilt as quickly as possible.
California Squeezes Private Money Out of Wildfire Rebuilding Efforts
Needless regulation on fire insurance, "speculators," and duplexes means fewer dollars are going to rebuild Los Angeles.
Gavin Newsom Prohibits Offering To Buy People's Property
The California governor is using state of emergency powers to make unsolicited offers to buy people's property in fire-affected areas "for an amount less than the fair market value."
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.
Javier Milei Slashes Argentina's Inflation in Just 1 Year
Austerity measures and bold economic reforms led to the country's lowest inflation rate in over four years.
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
The Incoming FCC Chief Is No 'Warrior for Free Speech'
Brendan Carr is prepared to block a merger because he doesn't approve of minor CBS editorial decisions.
California's Insurance Regulation Fixes Came Too Little, Too Late
Decades-old, voter-approved restrictions on insurers raising premiums have created a regulatory disaster to match the natural one.
California's Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies
This year’s deadly wildfires were predicted and unnecessary.
Easing Zoning Restrictions Can Facilitate Rebuilding After the LA Fires
The destruction of numerous homes exacerbated the city's already severe housing crisis. Curbing exclusionary zoning is crucial to addressing the problem.
Los Angeles Zoning Laws Pushed People and Homes Toward Fire-Prone Areas
Single-family zoning makes it practically impossible to build more housing in central L.A.
Thank Jimmy Carter for Cheap Airfare
And also smartphones and FedEx, all of which were made possible by his push to abolish bad regulations.
2024's Unprecedented Rise in Homelessness Shows the Tension Between Free Shelter and Free Movement
Milton Friedman once observed that you can't have open immigration and a welfare state. He was mostly right.
Next-Generation Nuclear Energy Developer Sues Federal Regulators
If successful, the lawsuit could be a significant first step in reducing the red tape that has plagued American nuclear power.
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.
Supreme Court Can Protect Property Owners From Eminent Domain Abuse
A Utica, New York, land grab offers the justices an opportunity to revisit a widely criticized precedent.
Unprecedented Rise in Homelessness
The latest federal homelessness survey finds an 18 percent annual rise in the number of people living without permanent shelter.
Jimmy Carter, 'The Great Deregulator,' 1924–2024
Nobel-winning economist Vernon Smith says the 39th president radically improved air travel, freight rail, and trucking in ways that still benefit us immensely.
RIP Jimmy Carter, the 'Passionless' President
The libertarian case for the late Jimmy Carter.
The Government Took a Developer's Land and Gave It to a Competitor. In New York, That's Business As Usual.
The case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit a widely reviled decision that invited such eminent domain abuses.
Make Cars (and Everything Else) Cheap Again
Plus: Superfund is back, Biden signs a lot of laws, MAGA vs. tech Christmas, and more...
Housing Policy 2024: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Cities and states are passing lots of productive reforms, local courts are increasingly striking them down, and local governments continue their harassment of homeless shelters.
Mark Calabria on Mortgages, Interest Rates, and Debt
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac distort the housing market, explains Mike Pence's former chief economist.
Joe Biden Tried To Use the Regulatory State To Micromanage Everything
The Biden administration's war on "junk fees" is emblematic of its nanny state instincts.
Regulations' Enormous Costs Give DOGE an Enormous Opportunity
By one account, regulations cost American households over $15,000 per year. Here's hoping DOGE can help.
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.
Is the YIMBY Movement Hopelessly Divided?
Internal tensions within the movement are real, but far from irreconcilable. Litigation and political reform are mutually reinforcing, not mutually exclusive pathways to curbing exclusionary zoning.
How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
A new paper by housing expert Salim Furth shows it does so by making it harder for marginal people to find housing with relatives and friends.
Don't Credit Drug Warriors for Reducing Overdoses
While a federal crackdown reduced opioid prescriptions, the number of opioid-related deaths soared.
Mark Meador's Nomination to the Federal Trade Commission Is Bad News for Consumers
Meador’s nomination is a win for antitrust activism and a blow to economic freedom.
The DOGE Daze of Regulatory Reform
Why Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are overestimating the extent to which the administrative state can be brought to heel through Presidential fiat.
Kroger-Albertsons Merger Halted by the Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission's antitrust action does not benefit grocery shoppers.
Pastor Criminally Charged With Zoning Violations Gets His Day in Court
Plus: New York City moves forward on zoning reforms, Utah city moves backward on granny flats, and D.C. considers a ban on landlords' pit bull bans.
Trump Is Coming for Tech Companies
It looks like we can expect the antitrust assaults to continue.
What Happened to Biden's Ambitious Criminal Justice Reform Plans?
Joe Biden ran on some good ideas to reform policing and incarceration, which he mostly failed to deliver.
