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A Case Study in Nuisance
Misunderstandings about property rights abound, with nuisance near the top of the list. A controversy in California provides an interesting case study in nuisance. The concept of nuisance as a violation of property rights has its roots in common law. A property owner, according to the concept, has a right to the peaceful use of…
The “Public Health” versus Individual Health
The values that humans need to survive and prosper must be produced. Every value from food to smart phones, from shelter to medicines, from clothing to automobiles, must be produced. In their zeal to stop the spread of COVID-19, government officials are destroying America’s productive capacity. The restrictions and controls on production and trade are…
Short-term Rental Supporters are Short-sighted
A pair of bills have been introduced in the current Texas legislative session that would limit the regulations that local governments can impose on short-term rentals (STRs). A coalition of organizations involved in STR support the bills, but those organizations are short-sighted. Rather than oppose any controls and regulations on their economic freedom, these organizations…
After Today Comes Tomorrow
We are constantly presented with some “crisis,” some issue that the media, activists, and politicians claim requires immediate attention and action. They focus on some problem, whether real or imagined, and argue that we must do something. Today. But after today comes tomorrow. Certainly, there are times in life when immediate action is necessary to…
The Bathroom Bill Debate
One of the items on the agenda for the special session of the Texas Legislature is a “bathroom bill.” Hotly debated during the regular session, the bill would mandate that individuals use the public bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate. The legislation is a response to local ordinances, such as the…
Principles, Politics, and Planning, Part 3
The purported goal of land-use regulations, such as Austin’s CodeNext, is to plan the development within a community. On the surface, this seems like a reasonable goal. After all, we are often told that a business that fails to plan is a business that is planning to fail. But government isn’t a business. Governments and…