In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, officials in Harris County have announced plans to buy some homes that have flooded multiple times. The argument is that it is cheaper for taxpayers to buy the homes, demolish them, and turn the land into green space rather than continuing to rebuild. While this may be true, it…
We hear lots of talk from politicians and various organizations about improving the quality of life. But the quality of life advocates never define what they mean by the term. They assume that we all know, and agree to, its meaning. More than 25 million people live in Texas. Some prefer the ballet over baseball….
If your neighbor broke into your house to steal money for his transportation needs, you would recognize his action as immoral and criminal. He took your property without your consent. The principle does not change if a government agent acts as your neighbor’s proxy. If your neighbor needs assistance, he has two methods by which…
Capitalism is the social/political system that recognizes and protects individual rights—the freedom to live as one chooses so long as one respects the freedom of others to do the same. Individual rights pertain to freedom of action. They protect an individual’s freedom to take the actions that he deems necessary to sustain and enhance his…
No matter which party or politician backs a particular piece of legislation, its advocates nearly always proclaim that it serves the public interest. And opponents are just as quick to claim that the legislation is harmful to the public interest. The Keystone XL pipeline serves as an example. For years, the pipeline was a controversial…
Last week, Houston City Council passed the controversial Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). The ordinance makes it “unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to discriminate against any person on the basis of any protected characteristic,” such as sexual orientation or gender identification. As is usually the case, debate…
A City of Houston ordinance bans the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of churches and most private schools, or within 1,000 feet of public schools. Apparently, city leaders believe that the sale of alcohol is a threat to the well-being of children and church goers. However, it would seem that that threat does not…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on December 26, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. It is often claimed that capitalism leads to all sorts of ills, such as racism and cartels (or monopolies). As with most attacks on capitalism, these claims attempt to blame capitalism for the consequences of government intervention into the…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on October 11, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. An OpEd in Sunday’s Chronicle tells us that we must protect kids from bullying. Citing a growing number of suicides by bullied teenagers, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, write: The…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on September 16, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Several weeks ago I wrote about an OpEd in the Chronicle that chastised HISD for the food it is serving at the district’s schools. The author of that article–Bettina Elias Siegel–has responded to my post on her own blog….
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on August 12, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. The Chronicle’s editorial on Wednesday again voiced opposition to term limits: We continue to believe they entail needless public cost for staging elections while denying the best officials the opportunity to continue serving the city. The system prevents citizens…