Latest California High-Speed Rail Plan is Still a Trainwreck
The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) released its latest business plan. And the plan is a trainwreck. Better in some ways than its predecessor and worse in other ways, the plan is more of a...
View ArticleEvaluating and Improving the Transportation Investment Generating Economic...
The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants constitute a discretionary federal grants program funded by Congress and administered by the Department of Transportation...
View ArticleAirports as Victims of Airline Deregulation?
About every five years or so, America is treated to another attack on airline deregulation, usually offering nostalgic pleas for the good old days when 40 percent of the seats were empty, fares were...
View ArticleNew Deepening Option Vital for Port of Savannah
Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Port of Savannah needs hundreds of millions of dollars to deepen its harbor and take advantage of the Panama Canal expansion. That expansion is expected to double its...
View ArticleLivable Centers Initiative Program Needs to be Refocused
The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is a grant program intended to promote urban regeneration in metro Atlanta communities. But the projects the grants have...
View ArticleLivable Centers Initiative Grant Program Needs to be Refocused
The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is intended to promote urban regeneration in metro Atlanta communities. But the projects it has funded have had little...
View ArticleNew John Stossel Special: No They Can't! Why Government Fails But Individuals...
I'll be on the new John Stossel documentary "No They Can't: Why Government Fails But Individuals Succeed." The program will air tonight at 10 PM EST & 7 PM PST and the same time Saturday night....
View ArticleRefining the Story of the Financial Crises in Europe and the USA
Insight Turkey Vol. 14 / No. 2 / 2012 A significant amount of research has already been made about the financial crisis. But a midterm primer is nevertheless necessary;it is critical to assess the...
View ArticleTidequistadors In Search of Sound Money
Reason.com Over the past few months, the police force in Prince George’s County, Maryland has been dealing with a strange rash of robberies. Thieves have been going into grocery stores and drug stores,...
View ArticleGaining Public Support for Congestion Pricing on Highways
With transportation coffers barely able to maintain highways, let alone adding new capacity to relieve congestion, many transportation economists and urban planners have concluded that the best...
View ArticleRed-Light Cameras: Are They Legal? Do They Make Intersections Safer?
Larry Copeland of USA Todaywrites:The national conversation about red-light cameras keeps simmering while their legal status grows murkier.At the heart of the debate is this question: Do they save...
View ArticleThe Environmental Protection Agency and Boiler MACT Regulation
"Boiler MACT" is the name given to national emission standards being promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to curb emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from industrial...
View ArticleBarry Ritholtz On Housing Pessimism
Last Friday, Washington Post columnist Barry Ritholtz broke down the pessimist's view on the housing market. With spring comes a traditional uptick in housing data, inspiring memory challenged...
View ArticleALEC Releases 2012 Rich States, Poor States Report
Today, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released the fifth edition of its annual Rich States, Poor States report, authored by Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore and ALEC's Jonathan Williams....
View ArticleYbarra and Gilroy in Virginian-Pilot: Midtown Tunnel PPP needs to move ahead
My Reason Foundation colleague Shirley Ybarra and I have a new op-ed in today's Virginian-Pilot on why the current political gamesmanship over Midtown Tunnel PPP is counterproductive, why it's the most...
View ArticleMaryland Passes Unprecedented (and Unnecessary?) Digital Labor Law
Maryland legislators just passed an unprecedented digital labor law in Senate Bill 433. The bill would prevent employers from asking for passwords to websites such as Facebook and Twitter. While other...
View ArticleDOT OIG Uncovers Financial Mismanagement in TIGER Grants
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Transportation has uncovered financial management problems in a significant number of the TIGER stimulus programs. Inspector General Calvin...
View ArticleChina Can Use Market-Based Solutions for its Congestion Problems
According to a recent article in The Atlantic the car has replaced the bike in the streets of Beijing:Today the cars have taken over. In fact, Beijing more and more is just another traffic-clogged city...
View ArticleWashington's Road to Economic Decline
I have a column up at Real Clear Markets today about the "long history of bi-partisan bonehead thinking on Capitol Hill about transportation, jobs and the economy."It is no surprise that in an economic...
View ArticleDiscord in the Fed
There is a bit of discord at the Fed. After Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said earlier this week that the FOMC should consider raising interest rates later this year rather than...
View ArticleReinventing Libraries in Osceola County, Florida: Partnering with the Private...
Innovators in Action 2012 Policymakers around the U.S. confront a 'new normal' period of fiscal crisis at the state and local level forcing them to re-evaluate previously untouched silos in government....
View ArticlePew Finds States Barely Evaluate Tax Incentive Programs
Today The Pew Center on the States published an eye opening report entitled Evidence Counts: Evaluating State Tax Incentives for Jobs and Growth. First, kudos to Pew for conducting this report and...
View ArticleTunnel Project Needs to Move Ahead
The Virginian-Pilot Many local officials are trying to delay the $2.1 billion expansion of the Midtown Tunnel. Some are worried about the expected toll rates. Others want the government to build it. It...
View ArticleMidtown Tunnel Likely Dies without Tolls
Jefferson Policy Journal Hampton Roads area officials seem bent on delaying or cancelling the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) for the $2.1 billion Midtown Tunnel expansion over concerns about...
View ArticleInnovators in Action: Osceola County, Florida Commissioner Frank Attkisson
In the latest installment of Reason Foundation's Innovators in Action series, I interview Osceola County, Florida Commissioner Frank Attkisson.Osceola County policymakers faced few choices when, admist...
View ArticleSales Taxes Aren't Killing Best Buy
A few weeks back, now-former Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn blamed the retailer's $1.7 billion quarterly loss and its decision to close 50 stores nationwide on the fact that its online competitors, Amazon.com...
View ArticleState Tax Collections Rise $62 Billion in 2011
State tax collections increased $62.1 billion—or 8.9 percent—up to $763.7 billion in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s recently released 2011 Annual Survey of State Government Tax...
View ArticleDenvers RTD Publishes 2011 Report on FasTracks
Every year Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) publishes a report detailing ongoing rapid transit projects within the boundaries of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). RTD’s...
View ArticleMidtown Tunnel Could Die Without Tolls
Recently, in a column originally published by the Jefferson Policy Journal, my colleague Len Gilroy and I detailed the importance of moving forward with the Midtown Tunnel extension in the Hampton...
View ArticleSheila Bair on the Prowl, a Guide
My first thought when I read the soon-to-be infamous Sheila Bair op-ed in the Washington Post this weekend was to laugh out loud and share the $10 million-loan-for-everyone suggestion with the driver...
View ArticleFHFA, DeMarco, and the Politics of Mortgage Modifications
Mortgage principal write downs are not a Republican v. Democrat issue. At least they should not be. But just as global warming apologists and deniers split down party lines without much to connect the...
View ArticleCaine Monroy: The New Poster Child for School Choice in America
The New York Timeschronicles the compelling story of Caine Monroy an inspiration to kids and adults alike:On an industrial street lined with auto repair shops, there are few signs that this is the home...
View ArticleNew Orleans is Already Demonstrating What will be Possible When We Open Up...
As Fast Companyreports not only is New Orleans the most market-oriented education system in the United States but it is becoming an open-source platform to test and nurture new innovative education...
View ArticleDurbin Swipe Fee Watch V: Gas Retailers
It is time for another edition of the Durbin Swipe Fee Watch. Recall that the Durbin Amendment was a last minute measure added to the Dodd-Frank Act. The provision, which directed regulators to cap...
View Article[Op-Ed] (Colorado SB 124) is a Misguided Attempt to Create Jobs
Colorado recently lawmakers Senate Bill 124, which seeks to cut the strings on tax incentive programs for tourism projects. As I explain in my recent op-ed in The Colorado Springs Gazette entitled "Tax...
View ArticleThe Fed As Source of Income Inequality
We've noted before that income inequality is not inherently a bad thing—what matters is the source of the inequality. In last week's WSJ, hedge fund founder Mark Spitznagel points out one bad source...
View ArticleNew at Reason: Annual Privatization Report 2011
We are pleased to announce that today marks the launch of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011. Now in its 25th year of publication, the Annual Privatization Report is the world's...
View ArticleNew at Reason: Review of Federal Privatization Issues in 2011 and Today
The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011 begins today with the release of the Federal Government Privatization section, authored by Reason's Adam Summers and Anthony...
View ArticleJindal, Christie, Kasich and Other Governors Pursue Privatization
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal recently signed laws expanding school voucher programs that will allow low-income students in poor performing schools to attend private schools and expand the use of charter...
View ArticleThe Year 2011 in State Government Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships
The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011 begins today with the release of the State Government Privatization section, which I co-authored with Reason's Lisa Snell. This...
View ArticlePrivatization and Public-Private Partnership Trends in Local Government in 2011
The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011 continues today with the local government section, which provides an overview of the latest on privatization and public-private...
View ArticlePhiladelphia Schools to Follow New Orleans Market Education Lead Without a...
Philadelphia plans to revolutionize its school system by closing schools, moving to an all-charter or autonomous school district, ditching the central office, and privatizing school services with...
View ArticleDenver's RTD Abandons Tax Hike for FasTracks
Monte Whaley of The Denver Postreports:A FasTracks proposal to link commuters in the northwest Denver metro area to downtown is stalled after the Regional Transportation District (RTD) board of...
View ArticleRomney's Transportation and Land Use Policies may be Little Different than...
Many people know that “Obamacare” was modeled on former governor Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health-care law. However, few know that one of President Obama’s landmark “smart growth” initiatives known...
View ArticleLas Vegas City Neighborhoods Fare Worse Than Suburbs
Much of the hype from the Great Recession has focused on how exurbs are losing population while closer in neighborhoods are gaining population. In reality the opposite is often true. At last week’s...
View ArticleThe Year 2011 in Surface Transportation and Aviation Privatization
The rollout of Reason Foundation’s Annual Privatization Report 2011 continues today with the release of the Surface Transportation Privtization and Aviation Privatization sections authored by Reason’s...
View ArticleCalifornians Being Taken for a Ride on High-Speed Rail
Well, it’s another year, another business plan for the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). And, as the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) concludes in its recent review of...
View ArticleGDP Falling Back to 2.2% is Not Surprising
The BEA released first quarter of 2012 GDP data this morning, with the headline figure coming in at 2.2 percent growth. This was to be expected.GDP growth for the last quarter of 2011 was primarily...
View ArticleConsidering Causes of Recessions vs. Rates of Recessions
High school economics wunderkind Evan Soltas put an interesting chart (see below) on his blog yesterday that The Atlantic's Matt O'Brien pointed out to me, asking for a libertarian response. I lightly...
View ArticleBeing Taken for a Ride on High-Speed Rail in California
In my latest commentary, I once again tackle the boondoggle that is the California high-speed rail project, specifically, the most recent version of what passes for a business plan from the California...
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