St. Paul recently amended its draconian rent control law to exempt new construction for twenty years. One of the largest developers of multi-family housing in the city, Ryan Cos., said that a twenty-year exemption wasn’t enough to incentivize construction of new housing. City officials responded that the exemption was made “in consultation with developers—including Ryan.”…
Housing activists frequently decry the growing corporate presence in rental housing. The activists fail to realize that the policies they advocate are a significant reason why. Housing activists call for rent control, “right to counsel,” eviction moratoriums, “ban the box,” and numerous other restrictions and mandates that shackle landlords. Activists and tenants are making the…
In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Chantell and Mike Sackett to halt construction of a new home in Priest Lake, Idaho. The agency claimed that the couple was building on a wetland. Adding insult to injury, the EPA ordered the couple to restore the land to its original condition or face fines as…
In September, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s civil forfeiture laws, which allow police to confiscate money, cars, and homes without ever filing criminal charges. The ruling allows law enforcement officers to engage in legalized theft. This “policing for profits” is often used to provide additional funds for police departments strapped by budget…
In September, the Heritage Foundation released its Education Freedom Report Card. Florida received the top rating for educational freedom, followed by Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, and South Dakota. The District of Columbia was ranked last for educational freedom, with New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts joining D.C. at the bottom of the rankings. Heritage used…
On September 27, 2022, the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) announced that it is suing the Biden administration in an effort to halt the President’s cancellation of student loan debt. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Frank Garrison, a public interest lawyer in Indiana. He has been making payments on his student loans for six years….
On October 1, the largest rent increase in ten years went into effect in New York City. In June, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board voted to allow increases of 3.25 percent for one-year leases and 5 percent for two-year leases. Tenants were unhappy, as many had called for a rent freeze. In a written statement,…
Republicans have long professed support for private property rights and the free market. Increasingly, they are abandoning both principles and are becoming a gang of traitors and hypocrites. Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, provides a recent example. The Congressman has introduced three bills that will “reform” antitrust laws. Big Tech is among the…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have recently made headlines for sending immigrants to “sanctuary states,” i.e., states that do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. Both claim that they are trying to send a message to Joe Biden. In truth, they are simply playing to their base and using people as…
Force is not a creative power. Force is a destructive power. The only goal that can be achieved through force is destruction. Force cannot build a house, write software, grow food, or create any value. The only thing that force can “achieve” is the destruction of values. However, if you examine nearly any political issue,…
The Onion, which calls itself “America’s Finest News Source,” recently filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in defense of Anthony Novac. In 2016, the aspiring comic created a parody of the Parma, Ohio, Police Department’s Facebook page. He was subsequently arrested and charged with “disrupting police operations.” The Onion’s brief brilliantly…
An Amendment in St. Paul When voters approved one of the nation’s most draconian rent control laws, developers in St. Paul reacted exactly as had been predicted: they halted housing projects. In September, the St. Paul City Council amended the rent control ordinance to exempt properties less than twenty years old. This returns a smidgen…