Policy
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.
Miami Beach Shut Off Home's Electricity, Water, Over Unpaid Airbnb Fines
The fine is likely unconstitutional, and the city's strong-arm tactics were blocked by a judge this week.
Are You Ready for the 'Inevitable' Clampdown on Tech and the Media?
When Apple's CEO Tim Cook says "the free market is not working," bad things are coming.
Berkeley Councilmember Denies City is Anti-Housing, Then Almost Immediately Votes Against More Housing
California's local officials are always in favor of more housing in general, but rarely support the individual projects that come before them.
Mandatory Warrantless Rental Inspections Inspire Seattle Lawsuit
Institute for Justice to city: Show probable cause, guys.
Anti-Development Activists Killed California's Last Stab at Free Market Housing Reform. Will They Get on Board With This Latest Attempt?
Senate Bill 50 would override restrictive local zoning laws to allow more housing construction near transit.
Oakland Gets Sued For Law Requiring That Landlords Pay Tenants Up to $12,000 Just to End a Lease
Lyndsey and Sharon Ballinger's lawsuit claims that Oakland's Uniform Relocation Ordinance is unconstitutional.
Conservatives Are Wrong to Call for Government 'Trust Busting'
Censorship is when government limits speech, and tech firms are not monopolies. They are successful private businesses; others are free to compete with them.
Rejoice, Angelenos! Your Bacon Dogs Will Soon Be Street Legal
After years of conflict and erratic enforcement, Los Angeles finally passes a formal plan to allow street vending.
A Ford Mustang Costs About the Same as in 1968, but College Costs a Helluva Lot More
A brief look at 50-year cost and quality trends in cars, houses, college and health care.
GM Will Shut Down Factory Built on Land Seized in Controversial 1981 Poletown Taking
The factory stands on land seized in a taking that forcibly displaced over 4000 people, and attracted widespread widespread opposition. The lessons and legacy of the Poletown case remain relevant today.
Neomi Rao Was Right About Dwarf Tossing, Dignity, and Consent. She Deserves To Be a Federal Judge.
A defense of Brett Kavanaugh's nominated replacement on the D.C. Circuit.
The 5 Worst Supreme Court Rulings of the Past 50 Years
Cases in which a majority of the Court fell down on the job.
81 Percent of Homes in the San Francisco Metro Area Are Worth More Than $1 Million. That's Not Normal.
Restrictions on the supply of new housing are making California's cities increasingly unaffordable.
California Wildfires Destroy Homes and Lives. Why Do Regulators Encourage Building in Fire Zones?
A toxic mix of bad insurance regulations and bad housing regulations ensure Golden State residents will continue to return to fire ravaged areas.
Trump Brags About Deregulation, but a Huge Number of His Deregulatory Actions Were Started Under Obama
Trump has slowed new regulations to a trickle, but has largely failed to cut back the regulatory state.
There Are 200 California Inmates Fighting the Camp Fire. After Prison, They Likely Won't Be Allowed to Become Firefighters
California's licensing laws mean inmates can risk their lives for less than $2 per day, but can't earn a living after they get out of prison.
Criticize Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Her Socialist Views, Not Her Struggle to Find Affordable Housing in D.C.
This problem should inspire sympathy, not scorn.
California Rent Control Ballot Initiative Goes Down in Flames. Free Marketers Should Not Be Too Hasty in Celebrating Its Demise.
Prop 10 is dead, but support for rent control is alive and well in the Golden State.
The Hottest Midterm Race Is Milton Friedman Versus Marc Benioff
A billionaire progressive CEO and a dead free-market economist walk into a bar.
California Is Starting to Make Halting Progress Toward Alleviating Its Housing Shortage. This Ballot Initiative Could Kill That Progress.
Prop. 10 would give cities free reign to reimpose rent control.
Has America's Obsession With Manufacturing Jobs Gone Too Far?
A Wisconsin town is spending billions, seizing homes, and breaking state law to lure a Taiwanese company.
San Diego Police Creepily Forced Strippers to Pose for Photos. Now the City's Paying $1.5 Million.
A city ordinance let officers harass women as part of a licensing inspection process. A judge ruled it unconstitutional.
Policing for Profit? California Towns Bill Residents Thousands for Nuisance Violations
Citizens of Coachella and Indio are fighting back against the private law firm that charged them for their own prosecutions.
San Francisco Activists Irate That Developer Wants To Replace Burned Out Apartment Building With—Wait for It—More Apartments
Community members in the Mission District worry that the proposed market-rate development will spur gentrification.
'Fairness' Outweighs Objective Data When Americans Evaluate Risks
New study explains why I can't convince people that terrorism is not worth worrying much about.
A New Company Helps People Flee San Francisco's Ridiculous Cost of Living
Leaving The Bay Area is a real estate brokerage that helps people decamp for cheaper, greener pastures.
New Restrictions on Vaping, Trans Fats, Food Labeling in FDA Commissioner's Agenda: Reason Roundup
On the upside, agency promises to review over-the-counter drug rules, approve more new drugs, and liberate French dressing.
CNN Blames San Francisco's Booming Tech Sector for a Government-Created Housing Shortage
The news network largely ignores the role of government restrictions on housing construction
