Policy
California's Housing Crisis Looms Over the State's GOP Convention
Away from the speeches of the party's presidential candidates, the Republican Huntington Beach city attorney talked up his efforts to thwart state zoning reforms.
New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rulemaking that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016.
Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
This Law Will Kill Opportunities for Pregnant Workers
"These policies are motivated by good intentions. But that doesn't mean that the consequences of these policies will turn out well."
Amazon Gets Sued Bigly
Plus: Trump commits fraud, a hacker house cooks steak, progressive movements can't stop failing, and more...
Maybe Google Is Popular Because It's Good?
The Department of Justice undervalues consumer preference in its latest antitrust efforts.
FTC Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon
Among the allegations, the agency charges that Amazon Prime subscribers are incentivized to make the most of their subscription by buying more products.
Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
Volokh Conspiracy Gets Results on Immigration and Zoning Policy
Federal and New York City officials recently adopted policy changes on migrant work permits and zoning reform similar to those advocated here (though probably not because I advocated them!)..
The Hidden Failures of Social Housing in 'Red Vienna'
A new report details how the city's famed social housing system is suffering from diminishing affordability, deteriorating quality, and funding shortfalls.
CEO: 'I'm the One Who Paid the Tariffs. China Did Not.'
Deena Ghazarian, CEO of consumer electronic company Austere, says the federal government's tariff exclusion process was "arcane, nontransparent, and highly uncertain."
The Feds Sue New York Landlords for Not Allowing a Tenant's Emotional Support Cat
The Department of Housing and Urban Development argues in its complaint that a failure to allow emotional support animals amounts to illegal disability discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Map: In L.A., Local Control Is Local Confusion
The people who could benefit from new housing stock aren't on this map—they're exiled to unincorporated areas.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Backtracks on YIMBY Emergency Order
In the face of lawsuits and accusations of attempted "genocide," Green is restoring many homebuilding regulations he suspended in July.
Harsh AI Regulation From Congress Imperils Innovation
In addition to licensing regimes, there have also been calls for creating a new agency to regulate AI.
YIMBY Progress In California
The state legislature recently passed significant new laws constraining exclusionary zoning, thereby making it easier for property owners to build much-needed new housing on their land.
The DOJ's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Is a Loser for Consumers
Despite years of Google primacy over Microsoft Bing, usage of Bing has more than doubled over the past three years and continues to grow.
Rent-Seeking Behavior: Puzzle #7
"Supreme Court justice who had a famous friendship with RBG"
Quebec's Language Restrictions Limit Freedom of Expression
One Montreal restaurant was cited for having "fish and chips" on its menu.
Gas and Rent Drive Inflation Higher for the Second Straight Month
Overall inflation rose 0.6 percent in August leading to an annualized rate of 3.7 percent.
California Legislature Passes Slew of YIMBY Reforms
Two bills approved by the Legislature this week will make it easier to build affordable housing on church land and in coastal areas.
The Trial Begins: DOJ Sues Google Over Search Engine Dominance
Plus: FDA approves new COVID-19 vaccine, Elizabeth Warren goes after Elon Musk, and more...
What's the Libertarian Answer to New York's Migrant Crisis?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to name America's unsung or undersung heroes.
Critics Sue Over Hawaii's Housing Deregulation, Calling It Attempted 'Genocide'
A coalition including the state ACLU, Sierra Club, and Native Hawaiian cultural groups argue Gov. Josh Green vastly exceeded his emergency powers when he waived most regulations on homebuilding.
Did NYC Just Kneecap Airbnb?
"The city is treating our private property as the city's housing stock."
California Lawmakers Approve Bill Decriminalizing Magic Mushrooms
Plus: The Biden administration weighs a "remain in Texas" policy, California slowly but surely reforms its housing-killing environmental review law, and more...
Judge Rules Minneapolis' Zoning Reforms Are Getting Too Much Housing Built
Plus: Political campaigns will have to disclose if they use AI in their ads, the effort to rehabilitate rent control rumbles on, and more...
Help Workers by Breaking Down Barriers to Labor Mobility—Both Domestic and International
Labor Day is the right time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet, both within countries and through international migration.
Subsidies Won't Stop Stagnation
Joe Biden is making an $80 billion bet that's doomed to fail.
Africa's Planned Cities Need Unplanning
Nigeria's shantytowns are more functional than its centrally planned gated communities.
California Coastal Cities' Housing Plan: Build Elsewhere
Republican-controlled Huntington Beach has sued the state government to stop enforcement of state housing mandates.
China Is No Economic Model for America
The country's current struggles show the problems of the Beijing way—and make the case for freedom.
Nurses from 40 States Will be Eligible To Practice in Pennsylvania
On September 5, the Keystone State is removing a big barrier to health care.
Yes in My Back Yard: Puzzle #4
"Colorado resort town in which snowball fights are illegal"
To Tackle Highest Housing Costs in the Country, Hawaii's Governor Declares YIMBY Martial Law
An emergency proclamation by Gov. Josh Green offers developers the opportunity to route around almost all regulations on building homes.
U.S. Emulates Communist China in New TikTok Draft Agreement
Plus: Americans vote too much, Indiana abortion ban to take effect, and more...
The Argentine Libertarian Dog-Friendly Darling?
Plus: Libertarian lessons in the wake of the Maui wildfires
The Town Without Zoning
Can Caroline, New York, resist the imposition of its first-ever zoning code?
Texas School District Threatens to Seize 79-Year-Old Man's Home for Stadium Parking Lot
The Houston-area Aldine Independent School District is considering the use of eminent domain to seize a one-acre property owned and occupied by Travis Upchurch.
The Biden Administration's Antitrust Changes Would Be Great for Bureaucrats—and Bad for Consumers
The guidelines would ignore decades of academic findings about how firm concentration can have a positive impact on consumers' welfare.
New York's Migrant Crisis is Caused by a Combination of Federal Work Restrictions and Local Zoning Policy
It's the predictable result of the combination of federal regulations barring asylum seekers from working legally and local policies offering free housing, while severely restricting new housing construction.
A New Bill Would Extend California's YIMBY Revolution to Heavily Regulated Coastal Areas
S.B. 423 would prevent the state's powerful Coastal Commission from shooting down affordable housing projects that comply with local zoning laws.
The Battlefields of Cable
How cable TV transformed politics—and how politics transformed cable TV
'Private Tyranny' Is Less Private Than You Think
Sohrab Ahmari inadvertently gives even more reasons to reduce the power of the state.