What are the proper functions of markets? In considering this basic question, we often are drawn to the basic paradigm of two individuals, each holding an item, who meet in a town square. Each regards the other’s possession as more desirable, and they agree to swap. They find the exchange mutually beneficial, so we can […]
Read More
The United States today faces daunting economic, national security, and social problems. In the face of these imperatives, popular faith in the President’s ability to act is low, and faith in Congress even lower. Numerous commentators and surveys report public disgust with the mean-spiritedness and unwillingness to compromise that mark contemporary American politics. To be […]
Read More
This is the last of three FREE Insight Columns on housing policy. The earlier columns discussed government-mandated “affordable housing,” and, more generally, the effect of state and local land use regulations on housing creation. This column analyzes the appropriate federal role in creating and maintaining a healthy housing market. Federally subsidized public housing began in […]
Read More
This is the second of three FREE Insight Columns on housing policy. The first, “Affordable Housing,” discussed local attempts to require developers to sell some units in new subdivisions at prices that prospective lower- and middle-income purchasers could afford. This column is about the role of states and localities in establishing land use and other […]
Read More
The City of Bozeman, which is home to FREE, is now considering revamping its workforce housing ordinance. The current law, enacted in 2007, requires that developers set aside ten percent of units in new housing developments to be sold for less than $200,000 to families with incomes of less than $70,000 per year. According to […]
Read More
During this tough year for the American economy, President Obama repeatedly has declared “If we want more good news on the jobs front then we’ve got to make more investments in education.” While others have challenged the federal role in education and debated the issue of tuition vouchers versus public schools, there has been little […]
Read More
The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” But what did he know? Having one’s own facts is now thoroughly ensconced in American political dialogue. The melding of fact and opinion, in turn, leads to magical thinking in contemporary American politics. More precisely, one […]
Read More
Two related concepts that are hallmarks of free societies are individual choice and the rule of law. Being “free to choose,” as Milton Friedman’s title described it, distinguishes the responsible adult in a free society from the small child or prisoner. But freedom of choice cannot be unlimited if a society is to have more […]
Read More
I recently spent a week in Santa Rosa, California, and Portland, Oregon. It reminds me once again of the cultural, political, and legal differences within our country. I returned with a renewed appreciation for the mores of Virginia and Montana, where I live and work. Santa Rosa is the seat of Sonoma County, the heart […]
Read More
“Social capital” consists of social relationships that have beneficial effects. Such norms as trust, affection, and feelings of empathy make our society more secure for individuals. Social capital increases the supply of goods and services available to us. It also increases our store of pecuniary wealth, which we often narrowly define as “capital.” Material goods […]
Read More