Policy
Florida Men Screw Up Less Than Usual
The Florida Legislature had a heck of a week, passing everything from a major school choice program (yay!) to restricting the voting rights of felons (boo!).
Florida's Health Care Deregulation Is a Win for Doctors, Patients, and Free Markets
Florida is on the brink of abolishing its Certificate of Need laws for health care faciltiies. It's about time.
N.Y. Food Police Shut Down a 7-Year-Old's Lemonade Stand. This Bill Makes Sure They Can't Do It Again.
"Kids like Brendan Mulvaney are trying to give people sweet lemonade and learn some important business skills but the overzealous state bureaucrats just keep giving taxpayers lemons."
Florida Bill Would Ban Cities From Requiring Developers to Build Affordable Housing
"When you start having mandates and [the] state setting price controls, you create all kinds of distortions in the market."
Affordable Housing Debate Pits California Cities Against Suburbs. Both Need Freer Markets.
A flaw in a proposal that would let developers build more high-density apartments and condos is that it doesn't go nearly far enough
California Housing Reform Bill Survives a Crucial Vote, but at What Cost?
SB 50 is starting to look less like a bold reform, and more like a marginal improvement on a dreadful status quo.
Will Connecticut Finally Enact Meaningful Eminent Domain Reform?
Fourteen years after the notorious Kelo case, the state where the case originated still has one of the nation's weakest eminent domain reform laws. A bill currently before the state legislature could change that.
Will Connecticut—Home of the Kelo Supreme Court Case—Finally End Eminent Domain Abuse?
A bill in the state legislature would stop cities from seizing property and handing it over to developers.
Activists Launch Fresh Effort To Get Rent Control on California's State Ballot
Fresh from their 2018 defeat, California's rent control advocates are back with another statewide ballot initiative.
Is Marginally Loosening California's Zoning Restrictions Racist?
A new mailer from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation argues that allowing the construction of apartment buildings near transit stops is tantamount to "negro removal."
California's Unfixable Housing Mess Is Years in the Making
At least now we're arguing over the right thing: the need to hike housing supply.
The PTO's Prissy, Puzzling Rules for Registering Trademarks Are Fuct Up
The owner of a clothing line asks the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on "scandalous" trademarks because it violates the First Amendment.
Housing-Starved San Francisco Shoots Down New Apartment Project Because It Would Cast Shadow on Nearby Park. Again.
This is not the first time the city has tried to delay a project over shadow concerns.
Arizona Is Close to Abolishing an Absurd Licensing Law Requiring 1,000 Hours of Training to Blow-Dry Hair
Another victory for licensing reform in the Grand Canyon State.
'Music City' Doesn't Want You Making Music at Home
A Nashville producer challenges the city's crazy ban on commercial home recording studios.
Joe Biden Is Right: Occupational Licensing Laws for Hairdressers Are 'Not Helping Workers'
If anything, he's understating how ridiculous they are.
Arizona Will Be First State to Recognize Out-of-State Occupational Licenses
"Arizonans who have recently moved here will be able to put their skills to work faster and without all the red tape," says Gov. Doug Ducey.
DOJ Lawyers Now Want to Be Involved in Oscar Nominations
The Department of Justice is threatening antitrust action if the Academy keeps out streaming services like Netflix.
Over-the-Counter Birth Control Bill Launched by Senate Republicans
It would fast-track FDA review of applications to free the pill from prescriptions and let people use health savings accounts for non-Rx drugs.
NIMBYs Argue New Housing Supply Doesn't Make Cities Affordable. They're Wrong.
Tokyo is a shining example of how free market housing regulations can keep even big, growing cities affordable.
Why Do You Need a License To Blow Dry Hair? Arizona Gov. Ducey Fights the 'Bullies' in His State
When "somebody packs up that moving van in Chicago, Illinois, they don't lose their skills on the way to the state of Arizona," says Gov. Doug Ducey.
Squawking NIMBYs Fail To Doom Halal Chicken Slaughterhouse
The Alexandria City Council voted to approve the butchery's special-use permit.
The EU's Ironic Dependence on Big Tech
Europeans want the best of America's online services, even as the government keeps soaking them for billions.
Baltimore Tries to Use Eminent Domain to Condemn the Preakness Stakes Horse Race
The condemnation is legally dubious. And even if the city prevails in court, it is likely to come out a loser. Baltimore should listen to naysayers who advise letting the neighsayers move to another location.
RIP Economist Alan Krueger, Whose Work Spurred Calls for Occupational Licensing Reform
Krueger's work included highlighting the breadth of licensing in American labor markers, and the economic costs of mandatory government permission slips.
Seattle City Council Overcomes NIMBY Opposition To Pass Big Upzoning Bill
The legislation is far from perfect, but does move the city in the right direction.
The Zoning Code Banned His Tall Fence, but Not the Naked Mannequin Party Behind It
California man highlights the absurdity of dumb regulations.
NIMBY Local Government Sues Owner of Flintstones Replica House Over Dinosaurs and Giant 'Yabba Dabba Doo' Sign
The town of Hillsborough, CA has deemed a sign bearing the cartoon character's famous catchphrase an "eyesore" and "public nuisance."
Trump's Deregulation Isn't to Blame for Airline Crashes
The passengers of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed March 10 had not even been buried before some commentators had identified the cause: deregulation.
Is There a Libertarian Argument for Breaking up Big Tech?: Podcast
Elizabeth Warren, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and most of the 2020 presidential field agree that tech companies have too power. But maybe they don't like the competition.
Rent Control Comes Roaring Back to Life in California
A suite of bills just dropped that would impose price controls and limit evictions
A Tattooed Libertarian on the Arizona Supreme Court: Clint Bolick's Long Fight for Freedom
Q&A with the co-founder of Institute for Justice about immigration, his legal philosophy, his battles with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and that tattoo.
Implications of Today's Senate Vote Against Trump's Border Wall "Emergency" Declaration
How the overwhelming vote against Trump's position could potentially affect the lawsuits challenging the legality of the declaration.
Democrat Senator on Trump's Enthusiasm for Eminent Domain: 'Language You'd Expect Out of Some Autocrat'
"What a betrayal of conservative principles this is," Sen. Michael Bennet says.
Licensing Reform Opponents Say Unlicensed Barbers Would Be as Dangerous as Unlicensed Chefs. Chefs Aren't Licensed.
Texas barbers and cosmetologists turn to fearmongering.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Run Your Business for You: Podcast
George Mason's Todd Zywicki says the senator and presidential hopeful has inherited the ideas of Louis Brandeis without learning the lessons of overregulation.
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Make Your Life More Annoying and More Expensive
The Massachusetts Democrat is running for president, but sometimes it seems like she's running for America's super-CEO.
Rent Control Cannot Escape the Law of Supply and Demand
Oregon's new rent control law won't deliver on its promises.
Kamala Harris Enthusiastically Endorses Rent Control
The senator's own San Francisco is a case study in the policy's poor consequences.
Bipartisan Bill Would Stop States From Denying Occupational Licenses Due to Student Loan Debt
New proposal from Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Elizabeth Warren would stop states from using the dumbest of all reasons to keep someone out of work.
What Caused the 2008 Financial Crisis: Market Distortions or Market Failure? A Debate
Former BB&T Bank CEO John Allison vs. Moody's Mark Zandi
