Cities across Texas are struggling with a severe shortage of low- and moderate-income housing. One of the primary causes is exclusionary zoning, i.e., single-family zoning, which makes duplexes, accessory dwelling units, and similar types of housing illegal. Fundamentally, the state’s housing shortage is being caused by violations of property rights—restrictions on how property owners can…
While President Biden and Texas Gov. Abbott are taking very different approaches to vaccine mandates, they are in agreement on the fundamental issue. When it comes to vaccines, both believe that individuals should not be free to choose. Biden wants to require anyone working at a company with more than 100 employees to be vaccinated….
In an executive order, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has prohibited private businesses from requiring a “vaccine passport” for employees and customers. Abbott is wrong to issue such an order. When government—at any level—prohibits private businesses from issuing a vaccine mandate, it is requiring them to disregard their own judgment. In this context, that means that…
Biden wants to force businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccines. Biden is wrong to issue such and order. When government—at any level—issues a vaccine mandate, it is requiring individuals to get vaccinated or else. In this context, or else means being prohibited from working for any business with 100 or more employees….
Sometimes, a guy just wants to have fun. In a move that both stunned and amused political pundits, this week Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting private businesses from establishing attire mandates. When signing the order, Abbott remarked, “If we aren’t going to allow businesses to discriminate on the basis of vaccination…
Like most of the nation’s governors, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency when the pandemic first started. He then promptly shut down much of the state’s economy in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. A year later, Abbott was one of the first governors to remove mask mandates and…
In the late 1990s, a campaign began to “ban the box.” The goal of the campaign was to prohibit employers from asking about criminal convictions on employment applications. The campaign has since been expanded to prohibit landlords from asking about criminal convictions on rental applications. Fundamentally, the campaign wants us to pretend that it didn’t…
As inflation continues to push prices higher and higher, conservatives are stumbling over themselves to blame Biden and Congressional Democrats. While the current regime certainly deserves criticism, placing all of the blame for inflation on Democrats is intellectually dishonest and an attempt to inflate the truth. Conservatives conveniently ignore the fact that Trump signed the…
For months, there have been increasing demands for waivers for the intellectual property rights to COVID vaccines. Big Pharma, the argument goes, should share its knowledge and technology with anyone who desires it. To refuse to do so is “vaccine imperialism.” The failure to waive intellectual property rights is being blamed for the low vaccination…
If we objectively evaluate government’s involvement in housing over the past century, we will discover a legacy of failed policies. From public housing projects that became breeding grounds for criminal gangs to the subprime fiasco of the 2000s, government has proven to be incredibly inept when it comes to the provision of housing. Despite this…
In the early twentieth century the Good Roads movement successfully framed improved roads as a “public good.” Better roads, the movement argued, would enable food and manufactured products to be more easily distributed and everyone would benefit. Therefore, free, improved roads should be provided by government. Today, housing advocates are making a similar argument. If…
Activists are more than happy to spend money on their pet projects. That money, however, isn’t their own—it comes from taxpayers. So, it is quite easy for them to put your money where their mouth is. An organization in Portland, Taking Ownership, is putting its money and efforts where its mouth is. Taking Ownership is…