No Muslims In My Backyard?
Plus: Kamala Harris doubles down on rent control, Gavin Newsom issues a new executive order on housing, and the natural tendency to keep adding more regulation.
Policy
A Recession for Kamala?
Plus: Violence in the U.K., dead bears in Central Park, parenting influencer absolutely roasted, and more...
Grocery Store Booze Doesn't Hurt Mom-and-Pop Stores
But 11 states still forbid wine from being sold in grocery stores anyway.
VinFast Delays Production After North Carolina Seizes Property for Factory Site
North Carolina taxpayers have already spent over $96 million on the site, while state officials have seized multiple private properties.
J.D. Vance Wants To Control You With Taxes
People making the same income should be paying the same level of taxes no matter how they choose to live their lives.
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
The Best of Reason Magazine: A Baby Dies in Virginia
The lethal consequences of a common, obscure hospital licensing law.
California Forever, Forever
The company needs a lot of government permission slips to build its planned new city in the Bay Area. It's now changing the order in which it asks for them.
What Kamala Harris' Coronation Says About the Democratic Party
Plus: A listener asks the editors about Project 2025.
Proposed New York City Hotel Regulation Threatens To Push Prices Even Higher
With prices skyrocketing, the city is weighing whether to regulate hotels further by barring them from hiring contracted workers.
J.D. Vance Says Childless Americans Should Pay Higher Taxes. They Already Do.
Donald Trump's running mate has discovered the most politically toxic way to demand the status quo.
Bad News for Universal Basic Income
Researchers found that giving people $1,000 every month for three years resulted in decreased productivity and earnings, and more leisure time.
The Federal Trade Commission Needs To Stay in its Lane
Recent actions by the FTC show that its officers should review the Constitution.
The Best of Reason: Congress 'Can Regulate Virtually Anything'
How legislators learned to stop worrying about the constitutionality of federal drug and gun laws by abusing the Commerce Clause.
Biden's Big Government Solutions Dismiss Customer Welfare
Sen. Rand Paul writes that repealing the Robinson-Patman Act would help bust inflation.
Coconut Trees, Price Controls, and Demand Subsidies
Plus: Gainesville shrinks minimum lot sizes, a Colorado church can keep providing shelter to the homeless, and Berkeley considers allowing small apartments everywhere.
Mercatus Center Study Documents Progress on Housing Reform
Many states have enacted laws curbing exclusionary zoning and other regulations that block new housing construction.
Biden's Race-Ending Debate Performance Was So Bad That It Eclipsed Trump's Flagrant Falsehoods
Voters should not dismiss the former president's utter disregard for the truth as a personal quirk or standard political practice.
This Colorado Church Wants To Shelter the Homeless. The Town Won't Let It.
The Church of the Rock is suing, arguing that the zoning crackdown in Castle Rock violates the First Amendment.
Zoning Police and NIMBYs Want To Keep People Homeless
Vineyard owners face $120,000 in fines for letting an employee and his family live on their 60-acre property without a permit.
Can Trump Unite by Going Light on Policy?
Trump called the skimpy policies of the GOP platform a feature, not a bug.
Here's How To Pay for Trump's Tax Cuts
There seems to be general bipartisan agreement on keeping a majority of the cuts, which are set to expire. They can be financed by cleaning out the tax code of unfair breaks.
Trump Changes His Mind on Zoning. Again.
Whoever is president has very weak incentives to get zoning reform right.
The DOJ's Assault on Apple Will Harm Consumers
Sen. Rand Paul writes that the lawsuit punishes Apple for a feature its customers like.
Trump Promises To Get Rid of Bad Regulations. Can He Deliver?
Growth of regulation slowed under former President Trump, but it still increased.
Biden's Badly Flawed New Housing Plan
It combines nationwide rent control with modest supply-side measures potentially freeing up "underutilized" federal property for housing construction.
Joe Biden Loves Rent Control, J.D. Vance Hates BlackRock
Republicans and Democrats have both managed to get worse on housing policy in the past week.
J.D. Vance Thinks Lina Khan Is Doing a Great Job
We're looking at four more years of anti-tech and anti-business antics from the FTC no matter who wins this November.
Both Trump and Biden Are Promising More Tariffs
Yes, trade tariffs cause higher prices. Trump never understood that, and now Biden apparently has forgotten it.
Congress 'Can Regulate Virtually Anything'
How legislators learned to stop worrying about the constitutionality of federal drug and gun laws by abusing the Commerce Clause
The 2024 GOP Platform Promises To 'Make America Affordable Again.' So Why Are They Embracing Fiscal Insanity?
Although former President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda would make some positive changes, it's simply not enough.
Biden vs. Trump: Housing Policy Edition
How do the two major party candidates stack up on housing policy?
Tennessee Woman's 'Fuck Em' Both 2024′ Sign Is Protected Speech, Rules District Court
The town of Lakeland will have to refund Julie Pereira $688 in fines and fees and pay her $1 in nominal damages for violating her First Amendment rights.
Javier Milei Signs Economic Reforms Into Law
With his initial reforms now in effect, the Argentine president announced the "second phase" of his war against inflation and the deficit.
The National Debt Is Crossing an Ominous Line
The U.S. has successfully navigated past debt challenges, notably in the 1990s. Policymakers can fix this if they find the will to do so.
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
Gorsuch Apes NIMBY Government Lies in Supreme Court's Grants Pass Decision
Plus: A disappointing first round of "Baby YIMBY" grant awards, President Joe Biden endorses rent control, and House Republicans propose cutting housing spending.
Biden, Cognitive Decline, and the End of American Empire
Plus: The editors reflect on the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
A Religious Freedom Case for "YIGBY"
Notre Dame law Prof. Patrick Reidy argues that religious organizations are entitled to faith-based exemptions from zoning restrictions preventing them from building affordable housing on their land.
The Supreme Court's Decision Overruling Chevron is Important—But Less so than You Might Think
It won't end the administrative state or even significantly reduce the amount of federal regulation. But it's still a valuable step towards protecting the rule of law and curbing executive power.
Supreme Court Rules That Punishing the Homeless for Sleeping Outside Isn't 'Cruel and Unusual'
Homeless advocates say the court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson gives local governments a blank check to "to arrest or fine those with no choice but to sleep outdoors."
Kevin Costner's Neo-Western Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1 Is an Interminable Slog
Costner stars, directs, and writes in what amounts to a three-hour prologue for a better movie.
Connecticut Implements Mandatory 'Inclusivity' Training for Cosmetologists
Supporters say the measure will uphold “social justice,” but research shows licensing requirements don’t always work as intended.
RealPage Conspiracy Theories
The media, state attorneys general, and the Biden administration are blaming rent-recommendation software for rising rents. Normal stories of supply and demand are the more reasonable explanation.
The Supreme Court May Be on the Brink of Radically Restricting Bureaucrats' Power
Chevron deference, a doctrine created by the Court in 1984, gives federal agencies wide latitude in interpreting the meaning of various laws. But the justices may overturn that.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Sidewalks are not "Pedestrian Ways"—thus Allowing Local Governments to Use Eminent Domain to Take Property to Build Them
The close 4-3 decision might well become a staple of textbooks.
New York Cuts Real Rents at Rent-Stabilized Apartments
The city's Rent Guidelines Board approved a nominal 2.75 rent increase for one million rent-stabilized apartments. That's below the year's 3.3 percent inflation rate.
