Texas Bill Would Legalize Townhouses
The Texas Senate has passed two bills legalizing building homes on smaller lots and accessory dwelling units across the state.
Policy
Simplify the Tax Code Instead of Creating an IRS Rival to TurboTax
Americans collectively spend billions of hours each year preparing their taxes. Rather than adding a government-run website into the mix, politicians should just simplify the tax code.
Congress Tries Again To Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses
Just about everybody agrees the practice is legalized theft, but cops and prosecutors oppose change.
City Threatens Christian Group With Fines, Prosecution for Giving the Homeless Muffins, Coffee
The Department of Justice is now intervening on behalf of the Orange County, California, group's right to distribute food at its resource center in Santa Ana.
Vernon Smith: Adam Smith's Relevance, Jimmy Carter's Deregulation, and the Fed's Biggest Mistake
"The greatest thing that ever happened to me was to be born in a free country of modest means and to have opportunities," says the Nobel Prize–winning economist.
Inflation Ticks Higher in April as Rents Keep Rising
Is this the new normal, and will Joe Biden pay a political price for it?
Biden's Industrial Policy Promises a Return to the 1970s
The hard lesson that free markets are better than state control may have to be relearned.
Failing to Reform Social Security Means Mandatory Cuts
Social Security will become insolvent in the early 2030s if Congress does nothing.
Federal Zoning Bill Would Preempt Local Parking Mandates
The legislation would give property owners "sole discretion" in deciding how many parking spaces they want to build.
Will There Finally be Some Development on the Land Condemned in Kelo v. City of New London?
A new development project may finally build new housing on on property whose condemnation for purposes of "economic development" was upheld by the Supreme Court in a controversial 2005 decision.
Justice Scalia's Unpublished Dissent in Kelo v. City of New London
Its existence was revealed when Justice John Paul Stevens' papers were made public earlier this week.
What I Learned From Justice Stevens' Papers on Kelo v. City of New London
There are several interesting revelations, including an unpublished dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia.
These Senators Want the Federal Government To Verify Your Age Online
Requiring users to verify their age to use social media will degrade their privacy and cybersecurity.
TikTok Goes From Silly to Serious
The Chinese app has become a magnet for every possible cultural concern.
What I Hope to Learn from Justice Stevens' Papers on Kelo v. City of New London
The author of one of the Supreme Court's most widely hated rulings left us extensive files on the case, which have just been made public. They could help shed light on key unanswered questions about.
The Difference Between Government-Imposed Zoning Restrictions and Private Planned Communities
Unliking zoning, private communities respect property rights, and do not create major barriers to people seeking to "vote with their feet" for a better community.
My Cato Policy Report Article on "Three Constitutional Issues Libertarians Should Make their Own"
The article explains why libertarians should focus much more on constitutional issues arising from zoning, immigration restrictions and racial profiling.
Storks Don't Take Orders From the State
Falling birthrates, pro-natalist policies, and the limits of population control
A Home-Based Baker Shouldn't Have To Choose Between Her Dog and Her Business
Each state has different cottage food laws that don’t actually protect public health and safety.
A YIMBY Victory in Montana
Montana's sweeping new zoning reform is both good in itself and a potential model for cross-ideological cooperation on this issue elsewhere.
More Evidence that Cutting Zoning Restrictions Reduces the Price of Housing
A new Pew Charitable Trusts study examining jurisdictions with that reformed zoning finds far lower rent increases there than elsewhere.
This SEC Rule Makes It Harder To Invest—Unless You're Already Rich
Stop limiting entrepreneurs’ ability to get funding from those they know best.
She Had $2,300 in Unpaid Taxes. The County Bilked Her for $25,000.
Geraldine Tyler's case is not unique; home equity theft is legal in Minnesota and 11 other states.
Borrowers With High Credit Scores Penalized Under New Federal Mortgage Fee Plan
Plus: Buzzfeed News is shutting down, alcohol delivery not linked to higher rates of booze consumption, and more...
Utah Is Making It Easier for Foreign and Out-of-State Professionals To Get Licensed and Get to Work
Other states would do well to enact similar reforms.
Trump Advocates Mass Incarceration, 'Tent Cities' To Address Homelessness
The plan is unlikely to work, and the government already has a sordid recent history of funneling people into tent cities anyway.
Why Do Public Schools Suck and What Should We Do About Them? Live With Corey DeAngelis and Connor Boyack
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion with the authors of Mediocrity: 40 Ways Government Schools Are Failing Today's Students
California's Builders and YIMBYs at Loggerheads Over Bill Cracking Down on 'Unchecked Sprawl'
Activists who would like to see more housing built and people who build housing for a living would seem to be natural allies. A new bill in the California Legislature is driving them apart.
Why Homelessness Is Worse in California Than in Texas
Today, the Lone Star state counts 90 homeless people per every 100,000 residents. In California, the problem is almost five times as bad.
The Federal Reserve Was Supposed To Ease Economic Instability. Instead, It's Made It Worse.
A responsible political class would significantly reform the organization. Instead, they will likely continue to give it more power.
What the COVID Emergency Did to Our Freedoms. Live With Ian Vásquez, Nick Gillespie, and Zach Weissmueller
Join Reason on YouTube Thursday at 1 p.m. ET for a discussion about Biden officially ending the COVID-19 national emergency.
Amid Inflation Relief, Rental Prices Continue Soaring
Annual inflation fell to 5 percent in March, the lowest mark in two years.
Elizabeth Warren Wants the Government To Save Batgirl
Companies make decisions all the time, some of them regrettable and unfortunate, that shouldn't be any of the government's business.
Debate: Mentally Ill Homeless People Must Be Locked Up for Public Safety
Have we forgotten the era of mass institutionalization?
Electric Car Prices Are Falling, With or Without Tax Credits
The Inflation Reduction Act imposes byzantine requirements to qualify for the credits. Some automakers are simply ignoring them and finding other ways to lower prices.
You Prefer 'High-Quality Public Education' Over School Choice? Define 'High-Quality.'
Families don’t all want the same sort of education for their children. They should be free to choose.
Zoning Restrictions Spread to New Areas, Making Housing Crisis Worse
Harvard economist Edward Glaeser describes a dangerous trend. But a cross-ideological tide of reform might help reverse it.
Texas Considers Bill To Privatize the Business of Issuing Building Permits
If a municipality fails to approve or deny a permit by state-set deadlines, developers could hire private third parties to get the job done.
Don't Give the Federal Trade Commission a Big Budget Just To Punish Big Firms
FTC Chair Lina Khan has an agenda that's against big companies, not for consumer well-being.
Denver Voters Reject Plan To Let Developer Convert Its Private Golf Course Into Thousands of Homes
Developer Westside wanted to turn its 155-acre property into 3,200 homes and a public park.
The First 'Missing Middle' Reform of the Year Has Passed. Will It Get Housing Built?
Arlington's successful passage of a modest missing middle housing reform bill after an intense debate raises the question of whether YIMBY politics can practically fix the problems it sets out to address.
Tennessee Will Use Eminent Domain To Evict Black Farmers for Ford E.V. Factory
The state promised Ford nearly $900 million in incentives, including new and upgraded roads. But it chose to run that new road through a number of black-owned farms.
Introducing Reason's 2023 Debate Issue
Where libertarians debate democracy, open borders, cats and dogs, and more
D.C.'s Test Scores and Absenteeism Rates Are Getting Worse, so Why Are More Students Graduating?
When "graduation becomes close to a virtual guarantee, it also becomes pretty functionally meaningless," says one education researcher.
The Morally Funky Math of Homeowner Handouts
The rich are getting richer under the Inflation Reduction Act.
