The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech
The bill "raises the risk of malware," warns one tech expert.
Policy
Trump's Antitrust Enforcer Says 'Big Is Bad'
Federal Trade Commissioner Mark Meador wants conservatives to sacrifice Americans’ economic well-being to break up big businesses.
Abundance Makes the Case for 'Supply-Side Progressivism'
Progressives used to believe in building more stuff. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson want to do that again.
Skype's Shutdown Proves Bigger Isn't Always Better
The death of a onetime powerhouse carries a lesson for antitrust enforcers—if they’ll listen.
Rent Control Delayed but Not Dead in California
Plus: Arkansas legalizes ADUs, activists sue to stop missing middle housing, and Trump's housing plans for federal lands
Trump Tries To Defund NPR and PBS by Executive Order
A new executive order would keep the Corporation for Public Broadcasting alive while telling it to cut off the two biggest public broadcasting networks. Get ready for a legal fight.
California's Environmental Regulations Are a Mess. Why Won't Lawmakers Fix Them?
The California Environmental Quality Act has created a regulatory nightmare.
Trump's 'America First Antitrust' Policy Will Put America Last
The Justice Department is pursuing an antitrust policy inspired by Oren Cass and members of the New Right.
Trump Doesn't Need the Fed To Fix Housing
Former Rep. Ron Paul argues that slashing red tape will do more to bring down home prices than pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates.
John Arnold: Government Can't Be Trusted To Fix Any Problems
John Arnold argues that private markets solve problems better than government or philanthropy, and that real reform comes from decentralization, incentives, and evidence—not top-down control.
Trump's 100-Day Energy Policy Scorecard: Disrupted Markets and Slowed Investment
So much for unleashing American energy.
Back to Basics
Plus: California zoning bill survives powerful lawmaker's economic illiteracy, Montana legislators pass simple, sweeping, supply-side housing reforms, and Washington passes rent control.
European Commission Fines Apple and Meta $800 Million
The penalty amounts to a "multibillion-dollar tariff," a Meta spokesperson says.
DOGE Has Been a Smashing Success
When compared to the most likely alternatives, DOGE has cut as much government as one could hope for.
Will the 'Abundance' Agenda Make California Great Again?
Democrats would have a stronger rebuke to Trumpism if civic service in blue states were the national model rather than a laughingstock.
The DOJ Is Doing Its Best To Make Google Unprofitable
Google has lost its second major antitrust case against the Department of Justice, threatening the tech giant's free-to-consumer business model.
Jeffrey Singer: Get Government Out of Health Care
Longtime surgeon and Cato Institute fellow Jeffrey Singer argues that government overreach in health care undermines patient autonomy.
Celebrate Earth Day by Going Nuclear
Sunbeams and breezes are too fickle. The most climate-friendly power source is using magic rocks to boil water.
California Housing Bills Face Crucial Hearing Today
Bills designed to allow more starter homes and apartments near transit face an uncertain future in the state Senate's housing committee.
Are We Still Living in 1999?
A new book argues that late-20th-century lowbrow culture created the modern world.
Trump's Tariffs Are Starting To Kill Jobs
Goldman Sachs estimates that the tariffs will create about 100,000 manufacturing jobs while destroying 500,000 others. In Pennsylvania, it's already starting.
The Trump Administration Wages War on Meta
Mark Zuckerberg's donations haven't stopped the Federal Trade Commission from going after his company.
In 12 Years, This $40 Billion High-Speed Rail Line in Texas Has Not Laid a Single Foot of Track
The budget for the project has quadrupled, and private property owners have opposed the use of eminent domain along the proposed 240-mile route.
How Far Will the Trump Administration Go Against Mexican Drug Cartels?
Using the military to wage the drug war in Mexico raises practical and constitutional issues.
Why Nuclear Energy Developers Are Suing Federal Regulators
The lawsuit will hopefully make stringent regulations for nuclear power a relic of the past.
Hawaii County Tells Homeowner His 38-Year-Old House Is Actually Illegal
Shahzaad Ausman has had to sue the county to confirm that he can continue to live in his own home.
Derek Thompson: Democrats Must Change
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson urges Democrats to embrace more libertarian, pro-growth policies in his new book.
The Fantastical Showerhead Executive Order
A simple and quite symbolic presidential decree that symbolizes quite a bit, but accomplishes very little.
Donald Trump Deregulates Showerheads…Again
From Obama, to Trump, to Biden, to Trump again, the definition of showerhead keeps changing.
Zoning Police Come for Cape Cod Lobsterman
Jon Tolley and his family have been serving fresh lobster from their home for over 50 years, but an anonymous complaint to town regulators threatens to shut their business down for good.
Markets Rally as Trump Pauses Tariffs. Should Presidents Have This Much Power?
In the span of a week, Trump cratered the stock market and brought it much of the way back, with little more than public statements.
Slow and Steady
Despite politicians touting progress, Los Angeles has only issued three permits for wildfire rebuilds and debris removal is expected to drag on for many months.
The Trump Administration Should Focus on Deregulation, Not Tariffs
Freed of regulatory deadweight, Americans will be in a much better position to compete with the world.
Trump Is Giving Everyone What They Want In the Dumbest Way Possible
Dynamists, protectionists, hawks, and doves are seeing their policy goals realized in the most bungling and incompetent fashion imaginable.
Donald Trump's Energy Department Saved Your Appliances
Decades of efficiency mandates have made dishwashers weaker, A.C. units feebler, and appliances more expensive. A new rollback offers a rare win for function over dogma.
Oh, Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan to create a federal housing developer is a terrible idea.
For the First Time in 80 Years, the U.S. Denies Mexico's Request for Water
The escalating dispute threatens Mexican farmers—and American consumers.
Comic: The Bottom-Up POV of Jane Jacobs
Challenging the common knowledge of urban planning
Federalist Society Webinar on "The California Wildfires and America's Housing Shortage"
The panelists included M. Nolan Gray, Jennifer Hernandez, and myself.
On the Effects of Occupational Licensing on the Legal Profession
An interesting new study on how state bar requirements may affect the quality and quantity of legal services.
Judge Orders Rhode Island Town To Return Secretly Seized Land to Affordable Housing Developer
Plus: the federal government tries to stiff landlords over eviction moratorium one last time, the Supreme Court declines to take up eminent domain case, and starter home bills advance in Arizona and Texas.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case that Might Have Led to Overruling of Kelo v. City of New London
We don't know why the justices chose not to take it.
RFK Jr. Wants To Ban Food Dyes. Would That Really Improve Public Health?
Such a regulation would override consumer choice for scientifically shaky reasons.
Trump and Congress Have a Right and a Duty To Kill the Department of Education
The feds have no constitutional authorization to meddle in education.
