In November, Austin City Council approved the Family Homestead Initiative. According to the Austin Monitor, Council Member Delia Garza, who sponsored the measure, said she wants to create a separate permitting process for homeowners because they shouldn’t have to contend with the same regulations as large developers. Reducing regulations is always a good thing and…
A Houston woman is suing her employer, United Airlines, for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The airline, the flight attendant claims, is not accommodating her need to wear clogs because of foot problems. Interestingly, the airline allows employees to wear the shoes of their choice while on a plane, but in an…
The advocates of anti-discrimination legislation believe that individuals should be protected from unfairness and stupidity. They want government to prohibit actions that they deem to be wrong or offensive. They want government to protect their “rights.” For example, blacks, women, and gays have all demanded special laws that prohibit discrimination against them, and they have…
Each time it enters a new market, Uber meets with vehement protests. But those protests do not come from consumers. They come from taxi companies and their employees. Why? The answer is cronyism. Nearly every city in the world with a population greater than 50,000 heavily regulates the taxi industry. Typically, those regulations limit the…
In the most recent legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed several bills intended to strengthen property rights. At the same time, they passed at least one bill that represents a gross infringement of property rights. That inconsistency indicates that legislators really don’t understand what the right to property means. Property rights protect our freedom to create,…
The following is an excerpt from The Innovator Versus the Collective. If we want continued innovation and progress, we must remove the barriers and prohibitions on competition. We must repeal the regulations and controls that restrict innovators and producers. This means allowing innovators and businesses to use their property as they judge best. This is…
The following is an excerpt from The Innovator Versus the Collective. For seventy years, Americans were told that the AT&T monopoly was good for consumers, and as a result, competition in the telephone industry was prohibited. Yet, within a few years of legalized competition, consumers had far more choices and lower priced telephone service and…
Last week, the Houston Chronicle asked, “Where should Houston’s innovation district be?” The question implies that this is an issue for all Houstonians, or at least their elected representatives, to answer. Indeed, the article states: Two city task forces, one put together by city government, the other by the business community, recommended that the city…
In its never ending quest to expand government power, the Chronicle calls for Texas legislators to re-regulate the state’s electricity providers. Electrical deregulation, the paper tells us, has not been economically beneficial to consumers: Light bills in areas such as Austin and San Antonio, where service continues to be regulated, are lower. In deregulated areas…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on November 18, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. On Sunday the Chronicle ran an article that illustrates, at least in part, a practical benefit of freedom. The development of Internet television is creating concern among broadcasters and cable companies, who fear that they will lose viewers. Prior…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on October 28, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. We are often told that government must provide certain vital services, such as education, roads, and mail delivery. If such services were left in the hands of private companies, service would be poor or nonexistent. But history provides a…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on October 6, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. A truly free market is characterized by a separation of government and economics. Individuals are free to engage in the economic activities of their choice, so long as they do not use force or fraud in dealing with others….