Exactly 10 years ago, economist Michael Clemens published a paper in the prestigious Journal of Economic Perspectives called “Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?” He urged fellow economists to consider a paradigm shift in their research about immigration. Though economists had mostly neglected the global economic losses caused by migration barriers, the existing […]
In response to increasingly successful state-level efforts in California to nudge local governments into allowing more housing, anti-development opponents have introduced a sweeping ballot measure that would effectively strip the state of its ability to regulate land use. This past week, activists submitted language for their “Californians for Community Planning Initiative” to the state’s attorney […]
A housing shortage in cities across the country is costing people more than just money. Unable to find affordable housing closer to the office, an increasing share of Americans are spending extraordinary amounts of time getting to and from work. The number of “super commuters”—people who spend more than 90 minutes commuting one way—has grown […]
Horror filmmaking has always been political, but Candyman takes it to a new level: It’s a political horror film about politics in horror films. It’s also a devilishly sharp piece of meta-genre filmmaking, and one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. To fully appreciate Candyman (2021), it helps to have seen Candyman (1992), […]
By day, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D–Mich.) is co-sponsoring bills that would cancel rent payments well into next year. Also presumably by day, the progressive congresswoman and “squad” member is collecting rental income from a property she owns. Tlaib’s 2020 financial disclosure report filed this past Friday show that she made between $15,001 and $50,000 off […]
After three days of finger-pointing between a Democrat-controlled White House and a Democrat-controlled Congress, President Joe Biden’s Administration has now revived an eviction moratorium it previously said it has no legal authority to impose. An order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) Tuesday evening generally bans the eviction of non-paying tenants […]
San Francisco, in the midst of a severe housing crunch, has fined a pair of developers for adding more housing units to an apartment complex than they were permitted to build. It might also require them to remove some of the existing illegal units. On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that an ownership group […]
States and localities continue to struggle with getting billions in federal rent relief funds out the door, frustrating both tenants and property owners while fueling demands for continued eviction moratoriums. On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department released new data showing that as of May 31, recipient jurisdictions have spent only about $1.3 billion, or 6 […]
On September 4, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) halted residential evictions in the United States for nonpayment of rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many states and municipalities got there first, imposing at least partial eviction moratoriums starting in March and April of 2020. The theory behind these emergency orders was […]