Oregon Passes Nation's First Statewide Rent Control Law
The bill comes with new risks for tenants and property owners alike.
Policy
State Can't Bulldoze Man's Atlantic City Home for Undefined 'Mixed Use Project,' N.J. Court Rules
A win for private property rights, and a defeat for proponents of eminent domain.
New Jersey Court Strikes Down Use of Eminent Domain to Take Property to "Bank" it for Possible Future Use
The court concluded that property may only be condemned for projects that will proceed in "the reasonably foreseeable future."
Support Grows for Bill That Would Legalize More Home Construction Across California
A new poll shows 74 percent of San Francisco residents are in favor of a state bill that would peel back local restrictions on housing.
Arizona Could Become the First State to Recognize Occupational Licenses From Other States
Licensing laws tend to lock workers in place, but Gov. Doug Ducey says it's time to stop that foolishness.
Kamala Harris Blasts Trump for 'Cutting Red Tape' in SOTU Prebuttal
But she provided very little evidence to back up her claims.
'Human Trafficking' Used as Excuse to Try to Destroy Nail Salon Jobs in Connecticut
Occupational licensing programs deprive people of livelihoods and often don't improve public health.
The Government Can't—and Won't—Give Meaning to Your Life
A conservative technocrat tries to engineer a better world.
Cory Booker Understands Restrictive Zoning Codes Are a Problem. How Much Will That Matter for His Presidential Run?
All three Senate Democrats running for president have distinctive housing reform proposals.
Two Lawsuits Show What a Hot Mess California Housing Politics Is Right Now
How much power does the state of California have to force NIMBY localities to build more housing?
Is the Deregulatory Phase of the Trump Presidency Grinding to a Halt?
The Competitive Enterprise Institute says there's a bunch of regulatory warning signs, from trade to antitrust to speech.
At the Most Expensive Affordable Housing Project in America, Every Apartment Cost $739,000 To Build
How a heavily subsidized Culver City development became the nation's most expensive affordable housing project.
Government Caused Housing Segregation. Do We Need More Government to Fix the Problem?
The Manhattan Institute's Howard Husock debates Economic Policy Institute's Richard Rothstein at the Soho Forum.
My USA Today Op Ed on Using Emergency Powers to Build Trump's Wall
The op ed explains why this option is not legal - and why it would set a dangerous precedent if the president succeeded in doing it.
Washington Forced Segregation on the Nation
It's time to remedy the effects of that terrible policy.
My New "Washington Post" Op Ed on Eminent Domain and the Border Wall
The op ed describes the extensive harm likely to be caused by condemning the large amounts of private property that would need to be seized to build the wall.
Anti-Wall GOP Rep. Will Hurd: 'There's a Thing We Care About in Texas Called Private Property Rights'
Some members of Congress still care about private property.
Oregon Likely to Become the First in the Nation to Adopt Statewide Rent Control
And that will probably make housing less affordable, not more.
City Officials Ordered San Francisco Man To Rebuild Exact Replica of Demolished Home. Now He's Fighting Back.
City officials determined years ago that the home was of no historic value.
The 7 Most Insane Licensing Proposals of 2019 (So Far)
State lawmakers target pet groomers, drain cleaners, interior designers, pecan buyers, athletic trainers, antler dealers, and....art therapists?
Developer Sues Labor Groups Over Use of California Environmental Laws To Stop Construction
Two unions called out for threats to sue if they don't get hired to build.
Two Governors Kick Off 2019 With Big Occupational Licensing Reforms
A new law in Ohio and an executive order in Idaho require state lawmakers to take a more active role in overseeing occupational licensing boards.
Rep. Justin Amash Takes on Eminent Domain with 'Just Compensation' Bill
The bill would likely stop Trump from using the "military version of eminent domain."
Bill de Blasio: 'We Will Seize Their Buildings, and We Will Put Them in the Hands of a Community Nonprofit'
NYC's mayor takes on private property (again).
My Op ed on Trump, Emergency Powers, and the Wall
The op ed was published yesterday in the New York Daily News, but may be even more relevant today.
While U.S. Cities Hold Up New Housing, Hong Kong Entertains Creating New Islands
The Hong Kong government has floated the idea of building four artificial islands which could house one million people.
Eminent Domain, Emergency Powers, and Trump's Wall
Can Trump really exploit emergency powers to use eminent domain to build his wall without additional congressional authorization? If he succeeds, conservatives are likely to regret the precedent he sets.
Trump's Terrible Record on Property Rights
The President's recent threat to use "the military version of eminent domain" to seize property for his border wall is just the tip of a larger iceberg of policies and legal positions inimical to constitutional property rights.
What the Hell Is the 'Military Version of Eminent Domain'?
Whatever it is, it can't be good.
RIP Herb Kelleher, the Man Who Democratized Air Travel
The swashbuckling Southwest Airlines honcho is dead at 87.
The Trump Administration Has Issued the Fewest New Regulations In Decades. Does That Matter?
Raw counts of new rules added or pages in the Federal Register are a poor measure of deregulatory efforts.
Judge Confirms: Oregon Engineer Has a First Amendment Right to Call Himself an Engineer
Even if the Oregon Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying disagrees.
Government Policy Created Housing Segregation. So Should Government Be Required To Fix It?: Debate
The next Reason/Soho Forum, in New York on January 14, pits Richard Rothstein vs. Howard Husock on how to correct a historic wrong.
Ben Carson Battles the NIMBYs
The HUD secretary's desire to tackle restrictive zoning is encouraging, but real reform will have to come from the bottom up.
This Insane Battle To Block a New Apartment Building Explains Why San Francisco and Other Cities Are So Expensive
Bob Tillman has spent nearly 5 years and $1.4 million trying to convert his laundromat into new housing.
Silicon Valley May Rue the Day it Called for Government Intervention Against Microsoft
Facebook, Google, Apple, and others are now facing the sort of regulatory and antitrust animus once leveled at Bill Gates' company.
Progress in the Struggle Against Exclusionary Zoning
Reforms in multiple jurisdictions could help loosen restrictions on development that infringe on property rights, inflate housing prices, and cut off large numbers of people from job opportunities.
Oregon Proposes Ditching Single-Family Zoning Statewide
Cities and states are embracing bold housing reforms as the year ends.
San Francisco Orders Property Owner to Build Exact Replica of Demolished Home
The 1930s building must be rebuilt exactly as it was, save for a plaque explaining the details of its demolition.
Internet Freedom Swirling Around Drain as Dems, Reps Threaten Antitrust Action on Google, et al
Yesterday's hearings didn't clarify much except that Washington is in a mood to regulate tech giants.
When Democrats Loved Deregulation
Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, and 1970s Jerry Brown understood that government regulations hurt the little guy while enriching big-business incumbents.
Vermont Man Barred From Building on His Own Property Flips Off Government With Giant Middle Finger Statue
And there's nothing the town can do to stop him.
Progressive Minneapolis Just Passed One of the Most Deregulatory Housing Reforms in the Country
Urban liberals are won over to libertarian policies, if not libertarian politics.
Minneapolis Strikes a Blow for Affordable Housing by Slashing Zoning Restrictions
Zoning rules that severely restrict home construction cut off millions of poor people from jobs and affordable housing. The Minneapolis reform is the most extensive reduction in zoning achieved by any major American city in a long time.
