Policy
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.
Bye, Joe: Evaluating the Biden Presidency
From the war in Afghanistan to the war on drugs, Reason writers offer performance reviews of Joe Biden's single term as president.
Is Trump Aiming To Continue Biden's Antitrust Insanity?
By picking a former aide to J.D. Vance as the next head of the Department of Justice's antitrust division, Trump sends a worrying signal.
Tribal Sovereignty Saves a Homeless Shelter (For Now)
The Yakama Nation has won a temporary restraining order preventing the City of Toppenish, Washington, from closing its new cold weather shelter.
A Taxpocalypse of Rising Rates Is Coming For Americans if Congress Doesn't Act
Here's how expiring tax cuts could affect you.
Big City, Little Reforms
The final version of New York's "City of Yes" reforms makes modest liberalizing changes to the city's zoning code.
The Math on Mass Deportation Doesn't Add Up
Flawed calculations and overlooked benefits show why Trump's immigration plan would be a fiscal disaster for America.
Forcing Google To Sell Chrome and Android Won't Make its Search Engine Less Popular
The Department of Justice's recommended remedies will only harm consumers.
Biden's Antitrust Policy Was Politicized and Irresponsible. Will Trump Be Better?
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan used the state to achieve political aims that have nothing to do with keeping markets competitive. J.D. Vance has said she's done "a good job."
Trump's Energy Picks Are Refreshingly Competent
If confirmed, Chris Wright and Gov. Doug Burgum will have the opportunity to prioritize innovation and deregulation to the benefit of taxpayers and the environment.
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.
Will Doug Burgum Be Donald Trump's Housing Czar?
Plus: Democrats' housing-lite postelection recriminations and yet another ballot box defeat for pro–rent control forces in California.
European Commission Fines Meta for Serving Consumers
If advertisers don’t want to give data to Facebook Marketplace, they shouldn’t advertise on Facebook.
Biden Wants To Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity, but He'll Have To Cut Red Tape To Do It
Even with burgeoning private sector support, nuclear can’t thrive without regulatory reform.
Abolish Antitrust Law
Having a large market share may just mean that a company is really good at what it does.
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.
Justice Gorsuch Wants To Hear More (Takings) Cases
Justice Gorsuch shows more interest in property rights challenges than his colleagues on the Court.
Jet Blue and American Airlines Guilty in Antitrust Suit, Despite No Clear Harm to Consumers
The First Circuit's ruling is another blow to the consumer welfare standard.
Environmental Protection Agency
Trump's Next EPA Administrator Is a Lawyer, Not an Environmentalist
Lee Zeldin’s legal prowess may lead to a shrinking of the administrative state.
Elon Musk Spent $118 Million To Elect Trump. What Will He Get in Return?
Will the mercurial tech mogul put his thumb on the scale to help his own companies, or will he push for a broader deregulatory agenda?
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
Kamala's California Problem
As skyrocketing costs and mass exoduses define the Golden State, Democrats face a crucial reckoning.
Workplace Raids
Plus: Land acknowledgements, New York's migrant expenditures, and more...
Feds Use 'Border Security' To Justify Social Media Surveillance
Supposedly targeted at immigrants and travelers, the program endangers everybody’s liberty.
How Much Will Trump's Tariffs Cost?
Much of the detail remains to be worked out, but lawmakers and corporations are already preparing.
The Empty Promises of Industrial Policy
Despite decades of bipartisan attempts, industrial policy keeps failing to deliver on promises from both the left and the right.
Good Riddance, Lina Khan
Under Khan's leadership, the Federal Trade Commission has been bad for business and bad for consumers.
The Next President Should Abolish Everything
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending the Fed, the Army, Social Security, and everything else.
Colorado Might Allow More People To Provide Veterinary Care
A ballot initiative to create a new category of medical providers for animals is winning approval, though votes are still being counted.
California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames
A related initiative preventing the state's most prolific rent control–supporting nonprofit from funding future initiatives is headed for a narrow victory.
The Housing Election That Won't Fix the Housing Crisis
Victory in the fight for cheaper housing, a more liberal land-use regime, and greater property rights won't come from the White House.
The Alarmingly High, Frustratingly Unknown Stakes of Election 2024
We don't know how Kamala Harris would wield her awesome power, and we don't know how the rule of law would constrain Donald Trump.
Bad Candidates Can't Fix Bad Politics
Voters say they want to "stop the madness." Expect the madness to continue.
Final Published Version of "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning" Now Available
In this Texas Law Review article, Josh Braver and I argue that most exclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
