From Rationalitate - The WaPo finally realizes the root cause of the subprime crisisAgencies like FHA and HUD, and pseudo-private agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were the government's tool to manipulate the market for mortgages, and manipulate it they did: 40% of all mortgages are … [Read more...]
Want Density? Turn the Free Market Loose
Matthew Yglesias - What Price Density The solution, as Ryan Avent says, is to build denser communities. We ought to build more transit infrastructure, of course, but it's cheaper to use what we already have more intensively. And, of course, it's more practical to build new infrastructure if there's … [Read more...]
CATO Podcast: Transportation
Today, I was listening to CATO's Daily Podcast about transportation with Samuel Staley of the Reason Foundation. I started listening to him talk about the best ways to plan highway systems and said to myself, "Oh boy, here we go again another so-called "free-market" person talking about how the … [Read more...]
Historic Preservation Can Work in the Marketplace
Houston Strategies - Historic preservation should be a neighborhood choice "In Houston's Old Sixth Ward, the city's first fully protected district, property values have shot up 27 percent in the last year. When given the chance, historic preservation works." This is great news! It means there … [Read more...]
Airport Protectionism?
Richard's Real Estate and Urban Economics Blog - Federalism and TaxisTaxicabs in the Washington area are regulated by various jurisdictions--DC cabs may not pick up fares in Virginia and Maryland, Virginia cabs can't get passengers in the District and Maryland, and District Cabs are forbidden … [Read more...]
California’s Water Resources vs Development
There are some good articles out there this morning, I want to share them with you...Rationalitate - California developments halted over waterWhile the knee-jerk libertarian reaction might be disgust, I think the markets are probably ruined by the government, and current pricing isn't what … [Read more...]
NYC Crane Inspector Corruption
Associated Press - Senior NYC crane inspector accused of corruption: A senior city buildings official took bribes in exchange for falsely reporting that cranes had been inspected and that crane operators had been certified, but his actions did not appear to be connected to two recent crane … [Read more...]
Free Market Impostors
I subscribe to the CATO Institute's Daily Dispatch email. I enjoy ready the daily briefings of current events from a free-market perspective. But, once in a while, my capitalist stomach turns when they mention transit, usually accompanied by a quote from Randal O'Toole. Usually he bashes some … [Read more...]