Free Cities
Read the latest on the Chinese Communist Party
The People’s Republic of China “Police Stations” a Gulag of Transnational Repression
International police cooperation is a vital component of the rule of law. International organizations like INTERPOL, bilateral prisoner transfer treaties and international law enforcement cooperation help ensure that transnational criminals and fugitives can find no safe haven almost anywhere in the world. In addition to treaty signatories, it is common …
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses Home-based businesses have long been a viable means by which people support themselves. It’s essential that governments make it easier, not harder, for cottage industries to thrive. The importance and prevalence of home-based businesses “For most of human history, …
Read latest on state's misguided transportation priorities
‘Induced demand’ a poor excuse not to build highways
Economists are known for different worldviews from others, and the gap usually is wide between economists and urban planners. Economist Thomas Sowell famously has said, “There are no solutions, only tradeoffs,” thinking that most planners reject out of hand. One contentious issue separating economists (or at least those that believe …
Newsom’s housing bonds: Another failed-policy redux
According to the governor’s announcement, among other things the initiative would, “Amend the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), leading to at least $1 billion every year in local assistance for housing and residential services for people experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders, and allowing MHSA funds to serve people with …
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Population trends prove people prefer pro-growth cities
The movement away from large cities is not universal, however. People may be leaving Los Angeles, but they are moving to Fort Worth, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Figure 1 presents the diverse five-year percentage change in population for the 50 largest cities in the United States. The vast differences in …
Free Markets Fuel Outdoor Dining
Cities should maintain flexible outdoor dining programs
One of the few silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic was that governments were forced to think outside-of-the-box in order to make things happen. In the early months of the pandemic, local governments across the country loosened regulations to allow restaurants and bars to serve customers outdoors. They made it …
Government health care hurts minority communities
Racial health gap is about government, not race
Black Americans continue to lag behind their peers of other races on numerous measures of health, from life expectancy to prevalence of chronic disease. Progressives take these data points as proof of systemic racism. The only antidote is more government: higher subsidies for insurance through Obamacare’s exchanges, Medicaid expansion, even …
Read about the latest Calfiornia crime nightmare
The Firearms Enforcement Debacle – Res non Verba
Background The Attorney General’s office is tasked with enforcing the Armed and Prohibited Persons System known as APPS which is designed to track firearms transactions in California. Unfortunately, it has been widely regarded as a failure as the list grew and grew without abate. Shoddy reporting and record keeping …
True conservatives should welcome state rollback of housing restrictions
‘Local control’ still is government control
At the state level, the concurrent Republican values of “local control” and “limited government” can compete and even conflict. Republicans have long stood against unfunded state mandates on local government and onerous red tape on the private sector, as well we should. However, we should welcome state intervention to reduce …
Read the latest on road diets
Bicycle ridership declining even in bike-friendly Portland
According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the share of Portland employees riding bicycles to work peaked at 7.2 percent in 2014. By 2019, it had fallen to 5.2 percent. The pandemic led to a surge in bicycle sales, and the share grew to 5.4 percent in 2020 but …
