Policy
New York City Considers Requiring Landlords to Provide Free Internet to Tenants
A new bill introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos would require landlords to provide broadband internet. It would also forbid them from passing on the costs of internet service to tenants.
Craft Alcohol Makers Thrive as Government Launches Antitrust Investigation
The Prohibition-era three-tier system is causing consolidation, not the market.
The Eviction Tsunami That Wasn't
A month after the Supreme Court struck down the CDC's eviction moratorium, eviction filings remain well below pre-pandemic averages.
The Sims 4: Cottage Living
You can finally set up a farm with crops and animals such as cows, llamas, and chickens—heedless of zoning rules!
AOC Uses Facebook Outage To Make the (Unrelated) Case for Antitrust
"Maybe one billionaire with a penchant for destroying democracies shouldn’t be allowed to own so much of the internet," says the representative from New York.
California Returns Beach Property Wrongly Taken From Black Family via Eminent Domain
The government confiscated Bruce's Beach at racists' behest.
FTC Drills Alabama Licensing Board for Anti-Competitive Scheme Targeting Teledentistry
The FTC challenged a licensing scheme that it says limited consumer choice and excluded new providers.
Seattle City Council Passes Rent Control by Another Name. Is It Legal?
New bills passed earlier this week require landlords to give tenants 180 days' notice before raising rents and pay relocation expenses to low-income tenants who move in response to rent hikes.
Berliners Endorse Creative New Housing Affordability Plan: Steal Buildings From Private Owners
The nonbinding ballot initiative encourages the city government to expropriate roughly 15 percent of the city's rental housing stock.
PennEast Abandons Plans to Use Eminent Domain to Seize State-Owned Land in Case that Resulted in a Major Supreme Court Decision
The case was the subject of a Supreme Court ruling in which the power of eminent domain prevailed over state sovereign immunity.
Can Universities Control the Operation of Municipal Zoning Ordinances?
A pending cert petition challenges a Bloomington zoning ordinance that requires a landlord to evict a derecognized fraternity
Robby Soave: Today's Bipartisan Tech Panic Is Yesteryear's Freakout Over Video Games
The Reason senior editor argues that attempts to break up tech giants and rein in social media are based on flawed arguments.
Vacant Homes Aren't Making Cities Expensive
And vacancy taxes won't make them affordable.
Two More Worthy Additions to the "Anticanon" of Constitutional Law - Berman v. Parker and Euclid v. Ambler Realty
Second in a series of posts on historically awful Supreme Court decisions that deserve more opprobrium than they get.
California Is Clueless About Homelessness
Both Los Angeles and San Francisco struggle with restrictive land use regulations that raise the costs and completion times of housing projects. That same red tape is now hobbling projects aimed at helping alleviate homelessness.
My National Affairs Article on "Voting With Our Feet"
The article explains how expanding opportunities for foot voting can enhance political choice, help the poor and disadvantaged, and reduce the dangers of political polarization.
Inadequately Amend Your Complaint, End Your Complaint
Court dismisses Ice Cube's trademark lawsuit over Robinhood's use of his image and of a version of his "Check you self before you wreck yo self" line.
California Enacts Two Important New Zoning Reform Laws
Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10 would make it easier to build new housing in much of the state.
This Private Eye Was Denied a License Because He Criticized Police
Free speech and occupational licensing collide.
More Fans Can Easily Bet on the NFL Than Ever Before
Convenient online sports betting is legal and live in 14 states.
House Democrats' Housing Bill Includes a $20 Billion Bailout of Federal Flood Insurance
A bill intended to make America's housing stock more climate-resilient also includes a big effective subsidy for the properties most exposed to the risks of climate change.
When We Reject Immigrants, We Reject Trillions of Dollars in Wealth
Growing evidence confirms that barriers to immigration make us all worse off.
Meet the Property Owner Who Created a Toilet Garden to Protest Local Officials
"I have my First Amendment rights," says Hank Robar.
Do San Francisco's Restrictions on Chain Stores Violate the First Amendment?
Whether a local burrito chain will be able to open another restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood could hinge on the precise name of the new location.
Help Workers by Breaking Down Barriers to Labor Mobility
Labor Day is a good time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet.
L.A. Finally Lets People Eat In Parking Lots
Los Angeles temporarily eased parking requirements during the pandemic, offering a glimpse of how much a less restrictive zoning code improves urban life.
California's Land-use Reforms Promote Freedom and Property Rights
Apparently, some conservatives support freedom and property rights, but not when it affects their neighborhoods or intrudes on their personal preferences.
The Federal Government Cautions Incoming Afghan Refugees Against Moving To California
Both liberals and conservatives could take some lessons from the U.S. State Department's list of cities that it recommends Afghan refugees relocate to.
Would the Mother of All NIMBY Ballot Initiatives Accidentally Allow More Development?
California activists have proposed a ballot initiative that would effectively strip the state government of the ability to regulate land use.
California Takes a Big Step Toward Legalizing 'Missing Middle' Housing
Legislators advance bills that would allow duplexes statewide and make it easier for local governments to legalize small apartment buildings.
The Number of 'Super Commuters' Explodes in America's Housing-Starved Metros
The number of people spending more than 90 minutes getting to work has grown 45 percent over the past decade, according to a new study.
Supreme Court Says Private Property Rights and Separation of Powers Do Still Exist in U.S.
Plus: Biden won't budge on Afghanistan, bad news for psychedelics measure in California, and more...
Supreme Court Rules Against the Revised CDC Eviction Moratorium
This outcome was widely expected by legal commentators.
Candyman Is a Sharp Deconstruction of Political Horror Movies
Horror filmmaking has always been political, but the new Candyman takes it to a different level.
Once a Communist Backwater, Georgia Discovered the Benefits of Free Markets. Now It Risks Abandoning Them.
"Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum."
Rashida Tlaib Supports Legislation Canceling Rent. She Also Made Up to $50,000 as Landlord Last Year.
The Michigan congresswoman is a co-sponsor of a bill that would suspend all tenants' obligation to pay rent through April 2022.
Trademark Confusion Lawsuit Over "ASU: No More Social Distancing. No More Masks. It Is Time to Party!" Posts
ASU loses, even though the defendant “stopped participating in this action after his answer was stricken” “for litigation misconduct”: “[A]a reasonably prudent consumer would not be deceived or confused into believing that ASU was the ‘source or origin’ of the posts and messages emanating from the ‘asu_covid.parties.’”
Pioneer Institute Podcast on the Revised Federal Eviction Moratorium
Interviewer Joe Selvaggi and I explore the constitutional and policy issues at stake.
Even COVID-19 Couldn't Kill REAL ID
The ID overhaul, presented as a national security safeguard more than 15 years ago, still hasn't been fully implemented.
The Cuomo Pandemic Scandal No One Is Talking About
Setting aside the harassment claims and the nursing home debacle, the Cuomo administration’s inability to run a minimally functional rent relief program should forever end his reputation as a competent executive.
Kansas Wants This Experienced Eyebrow Entrepreneur To Get 1,000 More Hours of Training
Jigisha Modi can't hire her own mother-in-law—who has decades of eyebrow-threading experience—because of Kansas' occupational licensing rules. Now she's suing.
After Claiming It Didn't Have the Power To Impose A New Eviction Moratorium, the Biden Administration Imposes a New Eviction Moratorium
The new eviction moratorium applies to the 90 percent of counties in the U.S. where the spread of COVID-19 is "substantial" or "high."
A Takings Clause Lawsuit Against the CDC Eviction Moratorium
Thanks to the Supreme Court's decision in the Cedar Point case, this suit has much better odds of success than previous takings challenges to eviction moratoria.
The CDC's New Eviction Moratorium Has Virtually all the Same Flaws as the Old
It still covers some 90% of the country, and still rests on a theory of virtually limitless CDC authority. Even President Biden acknowledges the order is legally dubious.
China's Big Tech Crackdown Shouldn't Be Cheered by Antitrust Fans in the West
An onslaught of antitrust and data-security crackdowns have threatened the country's biggest ride-sharing platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, and messaging services.
