Houston Oasis Talk
My talk to Houston Oasis on January 21 is available on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ByaynUEFCY I am introduced at 43:25
My talk to Houston Oasis on January 21 is available on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ByaynUEFCY I am introduced at 43:25
A friend describes herself as liberal–she supports gay marriage, is pro-choice, and hates Donald Trump. She generally votes for Democrats, though she admits that she would have voted for John McCain if he hadn’t selected Sarah Palin as his running partner. Often, when we are discussing an issue, one of us will take a stance…
Effectively framing public policy issues begins by identifying the proper standard of value. However, selecting the proper goal is only the start. If we do not embrace the proper method for selecting and evaluating facts, then we will not make the best policy choices. There are two components to the proper method: context and alternatives….
An inevitable result of government’s growing intervention in economic matters is a conflict between various policy goals. An example of these conflicting goals is the goal of preserving historic buildings and the goal of providing affordable housing. A common feature of preservation ordinances is that repairs to an existing building must use “in-kind” materials. For…
An opinion piece in the San Bernardino Sun essentially claims that zoning is an application of property rights: When someone “owns” property, they own a “bundle” of ancillary rights. Bundle of rights is a term for a group of legal privileges granted to the owner at the time of purchase. The bundle contains ownership. Right…
In Part 1, we saw that housing advocates are advocating four “rights” pertaining to housing. In this post, we will examine the first of these alleged rights, the “right” to choose. We will see that, if put into practice, this “right” will eliminate the freedom of choice. Housing advocates state that, The right to choose…
Mark Twain popularized the phrase “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The essential meaning of the phrase is that statistics can be misrepresented to support a particular position. A recent report from Housing for All Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an example of abusing statistics. In the Introduction, the authors claim, This report……