Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
Wildfires
California's Terrible Wildfires Exposed a Variety of State Policy Failures
The wildfires will be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Hopefully they will also teach policymakers some lessons.
The Lost Treasures of California's Devastating Wildfires
Some of California's architectural wonders were consumed by the flames.
California's Wildfires Exposed Failings of the State's Leadership
The potential risks from a major wildfire have been well known for years, but there was little appetite to solve those problems before disaster struck.
California Politicians Now Want Oil Companies, Not Insurers, To Subsidize People Living in Wildfire Zones
A proposed state bill would allow individuals and insurers to sue oil companies for wildfires damages.
Missing Middle, What Is It Good For?
Allowing duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods doesn't increase housing supply much. But it does give people more choices.
To Speed Recovery, California Must Let Markets Work
Anyone who thinks state regulatory agencies will help them doesn't understand how these agencies actually operate.
18 Months After Wildfires Destroyed Some 2,000 Homes on Maui, Only 3 Have Been Rebuilt
A thicket of red tape has made the island's rebuilding efforts painfully slow.
Price Controls Won't Build Homes in L.A.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom must allow prices to rise if he wants homes to be rebuilt as quickly as possible.
California Squeezes Private Money Out of Wildfire Rebuilding Efforts
Needless regulation on fire insurance, "speculators," and duplexes means fewer dollars are going to rebuild Los Angeles.
As Fires Burn, Private Firms and Personal Effort Step In Where California Officials Fail
Californians are turning to private firefighting and security, but officialdom gets in the way.
Meghan Daum: After the Fires, What's Left of L.A.?
Author and podcaster Meghan Daum lost her home in one of the wildfires affecting the Greater L.A. area. She joins the show to discuss what the city is like right now, and how it got this way.
Gavin Newsom Prohibits Offering To Buy People's Property
The California governor is using state of emergency powers to make unsolicited offers to buy people's property in fire-affected areas "for an amount less than the fair market value."
In Defense of Private Firefighters
There's nothing wrong with offering to pay for a service people are willing to provide.
If California Can Suspend Permitting Rules After Wildfires, It Can Abolish Them
It shouldn't take a disaster for the state to consider fixing the rules that make it so expensive to building housing there.
Hegseth on Defense
Plus: Who's on deck for the next round of confirmation hearings, Trump wants to create a second IRS, Cuba is no longer doing terrorism, and more...
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
How Awful Policies Fueled the L.A. Fires
Plus: A listener asks the editors if Donald Trump is the most libertarian president ever.
California's Insurance Regulation Fixes Came Too Little, Too Late
Decades-old, voter-approved restrictions on insurers raising premiums have created a regulatory disaster to match the natural one.
Looting Is Bad. So Are Curfews.
The California National Guard should be helping to put out fires, not helping to restrict people's freedom of movement.
What's Wrong With a Private Firefighter?
Plus: Zuckerberg's metamorphosis, Trump's congestion pricing plans, and more...
California's Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies
This year’s deadly wildfires were predicted and unnecessary.
Easing Zoning Restrictions Can Facilitate Rebuilding After the LA Fires
The destruction of numerous homes exacerbated the city's already severe housing crisis. Curbing exclusionary zoning is crucial to addressing the problem.
Los Angeles Zoning Laws Pushed People and Homes Toward Fire-Prone Areas
Single-family zoning makes it practically impossible to build more housing in central L.A.
Fires Incinerated the Facade of California Governing Competence
Virtue-signaling is no substitute for disaster preparedness.
Californians Are Discovering Why Government Is a Terrible Landlord
When everyone owns something, no one does.
The Argentine Libertarian Dog-Friendly Darling?
Plus: Libertarian lessons in the wake of the Maui wildfires
Controlled Burns Can Prevent Smoky Skies. Why Won't the Federal Government Approve Them?
As long as government policies continue to fan the flames of extreme wildfires, we’ll suffer the consequences.
California Regulations Prevent Insurers From Accurately Pricing Wildfire Risk, so Now They're Fleeing the State
California homeowners are finding out that government-imposed market distortions cannot be maintained forever.
Fight Fire With Fire
What Florida gets right about using controlled burns to prevent damaging wildfires, and what California could learn from it.
Red Tape Fuels Wildfires Scorching America's Forests
We need to clearcut the government regulations hampering efforts to effectively battle wildfires.
California Dems May Put All Their Eggs in the Newsom Basket
Party leaders don’t want a replacement on the recall ballot.
When the Government Makes Wildfires Worse
Federal policies are subsidizing people's choices to build homes in harm's way.
Why Isn't California Safer From Wildfires?
An environmental law keeps public agencies from reducing wildfire fuel.
Dozens Died in California Wildfires. Why Is the State Forcing Insurance Companies To Ignore Risks?
The state's insurance commissioner forbids the canceling of policies for homes in risky areas.
Phony Fact-Checking on Forest Fires
Climate activists call a video "misleading" not because it's factually inaccurate, but because it doesn't say what they want it to.
Can Fire Insurance Manage Wildfire Risks in California?
The state's wildfire conundrum: overgrown forests, climate change, and more people living in the woods
Federal Regulations Have Made Western Wildfires Worse
Controlled, prescribed burns can stop wildfires from spreading. Too bad they are effectively prohibited by rules like the Clean Air Act.
California's Political Leaders Made Wildfire Season Worse
Firefighting resource shortages are caused by a legislature that is more interested in preserving union wages than in creating a firefighting system that works for the public.
California's Inmate Firefighters May Soon Be Allowed To Continue Their Careers After Release
Harsh occupational license rules locked them out, except when they were locked up. A new bill just passed to change the rules.
The Global Environmental Apocalypse Has Been Canceled
"Environmental humanism will eventually triumph over apocalyptic environmentalism."
California Politicians Double Down on Encouraging People To Live in Wildfire-Prone Areas
The Renew California legislation introduced yesterday would force insurance companies to renew insurance policies in wildfire zones.
Feds Ground 800 Drones Over Fears About Chinese-Made Tech
But without specifying an actual cybersecurity risk, the policy comes off looking like a wasteful protectionist maneuver that will likely put human pilots back in riskier situations.
