Downsizing Blog
Housing Prices, Supply, and Innovation
Housing prices have soared in many U.S. and international cities, which has generated affordability problems for middle- and lower-income families.
Reporters Accept Illogical Gas Tax Narrative
Here is the framing of countless news articles on infrastructure: the streets have potholes; the federal gas tax has not been increased since 1993; experts are quite sure we need a federal hike; the states have increased their own gas taxes; only misguided fears of a public backlash stand in the way.
Perry the Profligate
Rick Perry is one of the more disappointing of Trump’s cabinet secretaries. He once fashioned himself a conservative budget-cutter, but since becoming head of the Department of Energy (DOE), he has focused on defending subsidies rather than cutting anything.
Pearl Harbor Profligacy
A damaging divide in democracy is between the profusive promises of politicians and the pathetic performances of bureaucracies.
What Federal Spending to Cut?
Federal spending cuts are not a necessary evil needed to tackle deficits, but rather an opportunity to spur growth and expand freedom.
Government: High Subsidies, Low Satisfaction
The OECD has released results from a survey of 22,000 people in 21 countries regarding their views of government social programs.
Let’s Stop Bashing Billionaires
Are rich people idle “rentiers,” as economist Thomas Piketty calls them, who inherit wealth and add no social value?
Federal Gas Tax Increase Not Needed
President Trump’s new budget proposes to increase federal spending on infrastructure by $200 billion over 10 years.
Opportunity Zones Invite Corruption
Federal politicians routinely lambast the tax code as full of loopholes favoring special interests and generating lobbying—then they add more loopholes generating even more lobbying and corruption.
Private Satellite Firm Aids Boeing 737 Investigation
Canada privatized its air traffic control (ATC) system in 1996. Today, Nav Canada is on the leading edge of ATC innovation worldwide.