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A Tale of Two Walmarts
ByjbpThis was originally posted on Live Oaks on August 4, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Two Houston neighborhoods are unhappy with Walmart because of the retailer’s plans to build stores nearby. One is in The Heights, and it has some residents fearing that small businesses won’t be able to compete. As one told the…
Property Rights and Poverty
Last week, I wrote about the relationship between property rights and human flourishing. Writing on Forbes.com, Chuck DeVore provides further evidence of the value of property rights in lifting individuals out of poverty. Citing a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, DeVore concludes, “There is a close connection between the…
Home Ownership is not Rent Control
Leftists often argue that home ownership is essentially the same as a rent-controlled apartment. While the details of their argument might vary, they advance this claim in an attempt to make rent control more palatable. They want us to believe that, if home ownership is desirable, rent control should be as well. Home ownership, they…
Property Rights are the Solution to Racism
In my book, The Affordable Housing Crisis: Causes and Cures, I provide numerous examples of how racism has prevented non-whites from owning a house and building wealth. Zoning, occupational licensing, eminent domain, and numerous other government policies have often been founded on racism. All of these policies, and many more, are a violation of property…
Low-income Individuals Need Property Rights
Government programs and policies may help some low-income individuals survive, but they do not and cannot lift anyone from poverty. Only the protection of property rights enables individuals to improve their economic status, and this is particularly true of those who have little or no property. The right to property means the freedom to create,…