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Winning the Battle but Losing the War
ByjbpThe following talk was delivered at a luncheon hosted by the Houston Property Rights Association on May 14, 1993. The warning was not heeded. During the debate over zoning, its proponents have made many claims about zoning: it will encourage economic growth, it will improve our “quality of life,” it will prevent “undesirable” land…
Get Individual Rights and Government Wrongs for Free
What if there were no government regulations? What if there were no public schools, public libraries, or public parks? What if there were no labor laws, minimum wage laws, or prohibitions on discrimination? How would government function if it did not force you to pay for its services? If you are like most Americans, you…
A Battle Between Governments
State legislators in Ohio may become the latest to wage war with local governments. Last week, an Ohio House committee passed a bill that would prohibit local government from banning or directly regulating short-term rentals. Not surprisingly, local governments oppose the bill, arguing that it usurps local control and sets the stage for a battle…
Regulations Impede Rationality
ByjbpA liberal friend was recently lamenting personnel decisions being made at her workplace. I pointed out that, in a free market, irrational decisions are ultimately punished in the marketplace. But, she replied, most people aren’t rational, and therefore we need regulations to protect individuals from the irrational. While I would agree that her premise—most people…
There Should be a Law
After my recent talk to Houston Oasis, an audience member expressed his disgust with developers who cut down trees to develop the land. There should be a law, he said, to stop them from doing so. In other words, he didn’t like the actions that others are taking, and he advocated using brute force to…