Clearing the Tabs April 30, 2024

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on May 15. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

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April 18
Aggressive Canadian progressivism is descending the country into crazy
Justin Trudeau's expansion of state power over media and technology has troubling similarities to Russia, China and Iran

April 19
Empty or Illicit? NYC Shops for a Solution

Mean Girls Rising
Democrats are increasingly beholden to leftist radicals in their midst.

April 20
Carl Erskine, the Last of Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, Passes at 97

April 26

Planners Push Transit, But It's a Hard Sell in Western Cities

The strange death of the family
The world is sleepwalking towards a depopulation crisis

April 29
Electric grid wars are a direct assault on the Western middle class
If we want prosperity for all, electricity must be cheap and consistent. The energy transition cannot leave ordinary people behind

Why London is beating America’s cities
The capital still draws on its imperial origins

Clearing the Tabs July 15, 2023

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Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on July 31. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

July 2

Kill Off the Old City so New Cities Can Be Born
Urban centers are being hollowed out while their peripheries are booming. This is the emerging shape of the American city.

July 3
Gen Z Moving Out of Cities

This rush to electric cars is a colossal mistake
Only China and the rich will benefit from this hasty transition to an all-electric future.

July 6

Urban sprawl, the environmentally friendly answer to expensive housing
The rise of remote work offers a family friendly way to cut emissions

July 11
Retirement Is Changing Much Faster Than Analysis of It

July 11
Carbon Myopia
On a planet where more than 3 billion people are living in energy poverty, America’s CO2 emissions are fading in importance

July 12

Gavin Newsom: the President nobody needs
Delusional Democrats should spend a week in California

July 13
Localist Living in a Shrinking Age

July 15

The new corporatism that’s killing capitalism
Big business is getting bigger. That’s bad news for all of us

(image from Twitter if you want to retweet, like, or bookmark)

Clearing the Tabs May 31, 2023

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on June  15. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

May 16
The Debt Ceiling Is a Total Non-Story, But What Led To It Isn't

May 17
By Failing to Promote Safety, America’s Older Cities are Failing to Build Community

May 18
Important Investigative Twitter Thread

May 20

The EPA's China Syndrome
Its EV rule will fuel China’s monopoly over NdFeB magnets.

May 22
Women have won the 'war between the sexes,' but at what cost?
Current trends portend not a feminist paradise, but a dysfunctional society where men and women are increasingly indifferent or at odds with each other

May 23

The Governor’s Gambit
Gavin Newsom seeks to restore some economic and social order in California — but the Golden State may have none of it.

Biden Administration's Environmental Injustices

May 24

Surprise! Recycling ruined the environment…

Can California Be Saved?
Though the state retains great advantages, bad policies accelerate its decline.

May 30
VMT Rears Its Ugly Head Again
Congestion Pricing, Anyone?

Clearing the Tabs March 15, 2023

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on March 31 as well. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

March 2
Childish Beliefs Drive Lethal Energy and Agricultural Agendas

March 3

A neo-feudal war on the people
The elites are steadily impoverishing the working and middle classes.

On the Need to Touch Grass

What happens when an entire generation loses itself in a world of abstractions?

Energy Colonialism Will Worsen the Urban-Rural Divide
The green dreams of urbanites spark outrage in rural areas.

March 4
With the ‘expert’ COVID view blown up, green terror must be next

March 6
Un libro y el HOF para Adrian Beltré

March 9
Nostalgia Is a Shield Against Unhappiness
Happy memories have a uniquely protective power against a sad present.

The ghost of Ancient Rome haunts America
Its great cities are on the path to decay

Environmentalists Are China's Useful Idiots

The 15 Minute City: An Idiotic Dream

‘Seinfeld’ Showed Me How We Got Here and Why I Don’t Care

March 13
Canada and the U.S. are not systemically racist — and the numbers prove it
Despite a push to heap shame on our countries, North America has been breaking down racial barriers and serves as a beacon to the world

Clearing the Tabs October 15, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on October 31. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

 

October 3
What really divides America
The Midterms aren't a battle between good and evil

Do Cities Have a Future?
With many office jobs not coming back, living preferences changing, and crime on the rise, cities must adapt and reform.

The Coming Green Electricity Nightmare
Hundreds of billions in new subsidies will bring expensive, unreliable, eco-destructive power

October 5
Tax Competition Works

October 8
Three Paths to Despotism
To halt the rise of authoritarianism, liberal democracies must restore hope of economic improvement, particularly among the young.

October 11
There is nothing progressive about a universal basic income
A ‘post-work’ society would strip workers of their agency and put them out to pasture.

October 14
Our Mad Aristos
Today’s billionaires fund the engine of their own destruction.

Clearing the Tabs August 31, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on September 15. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

August 16

How Managerial Aesthetics Explain Why Cities Can't Authentically Market Themselves

August 17
If Global Warming Is Real, Capitalism Will Vanquish It

Collapse or Evolution?

August 19
Where Did Wokeness Come From?
Evaluating the theories

August 20
The Unexpected Future
We need to consider ways to reverse or at least slow rapid depopulation

How America is Failing Its Young Men

August 23
America has an Oedipus complex
Trust-fund radicals want to marry Mother Earth

August 24
“Inflation Reduction” Act will hinder EV growth

Rent Forever and Love It
The globalized commodification of housing will destroy democracy.

August 26
The revenge of the analog economy
Digital fantasies have collided with analog reality

August 27
Last WH polar bears ashore even later than 2009 as Hudson Bay finally becomes ice-free

Don’t be fooled by Sunak and the rest and their about face – their pretence that they were with us all along. Covid and lockdown carried them only so far – but they plan to go much further

August 30

The “Energy Transition” Delusion: A Reality Reset

President Newsom?
Conservatives should not dismiss the potential national appeal of California’s governor.

August 31

Energy transition: The land use conundrum

Clearing the Tabs July 31, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on August 15. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

July 16
Local messages, not partisan propaganda, will win over voters

July 19
Why America needs churches

Gavin Newsom won’t save the Democrats
Reality will catch up with America's Great White Hope

July 20

The Case for Entitlement Reform

How Do We Cure Poverty Worldwide?

Google: whatever happened to ‘Don’t be evil’?
The Big Tech giants are behaving like neo-feudal overlords.

July 27
Green Dreams, Inflationary Realities
We must find ways to combat climate change without incurring devastating inflation, greater class division, the immiseration of the middle class, and the destitution of the poor.

July 29
Transit’s Existential Crisis

July 31
Why Cities Are Important to the Church’s Mission

Clearing the Tabs June 15, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on June 30. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

June 5
America’s great cities are gripped by decline and disorder
Voters have had enough of ‘progressive’ leaders who are presiding over spiralling violence and crime.

June 6
The Battle for L.A.

Can Rick Caruso convince enough voters that their troubled city can recapture its role as an incubator of the American dream?

June 7
Is it ethical to purchase a lithium battery powered EV?

June 8
April Transit Falls to 58.7% of Pre-Pandemic Levels

Conservatives' Missing Link on Gender Roles

June 9

Reconsidering the City
If they are to survive and thrive, cities need to become more people-friendly.

June 12
In an Outrage Culture, Choose Respect

Democracy Needs to Replace City Manager Ward System

June 15

Vaccine injuries and deaths are causing inflation through supply shocks and reduced labor participation: Dowd
Three million more disabled in US since jab started; Fed should be loosening monetary policy, not tightening, says Blackrock ex-manager

Forget College. Skilled Trades Are the Future of the U.S. Economy

Clearing the Tabs - May 31, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on June 15. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

May 17

Remarks by Wilfred M. McClay
Delivered at the 18th Annual Bradley Prize Ceremony

May 18
More Evidence That Young Americans Are Not Attracted to Dense Cities

May 22
America’s Summer of Rolling Blackouts
Green energy policies are making the nation’s electric-power grid increasingly unstable.

May 23

We're Telling the Wrong Story About Race in America

May 24
Australia Votes - and a New Political Geography Emerges

May 30
Help the World’s Poor with International Trade

Green Rope-a-Dope: China Watches as America Greens
If this is what we are being told we must do for the ‘Great Reset,’ it’s time to unset it.

May 31
California needs a recession
Its progressive rulers deserve a rude awakening

Clearing the Tabs May 15, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on May 31. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For $15 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town. Terms apply.

May 3
America is quietly reinventing itself
Millennials and minorities, priced out of Democratic metropolises, are now thriving in Florida and Texas.

May 4
Do we need a capitalist civil war?
The working class suffer when elites agree

Revisiting Mitch Daniels' "Truce" on Social Issues
Those who would trade cultural priorities for economic prosperity end up with neither

May 6
China and Russia rejoice at America’s quest to go green

May 9

The Independent Republics of Big Tech—Not 'Disinformation'—Are the Biggest Threat to Our Democracy

May 11
Between the stupid and the evil
America deserves better than a choice between woke Democrats and reactionary Republicans.

May 14
There’s One Simple Trick for Making America’s Post-Pandemic Cities Great Again
Many office workers simply aren’t coming back. That means tough times ahead for big cities, but also a chance for renewal and revival.

Clearing the Tabs March 31, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on April 15. And note that just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For a $7.50 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town.

March 17
Trolls Aren’t Like the Rest of Us
Online jerks and offline jerks are largely one and the same. Here’s how to keep them from affecting your happiness.

March 18
Gas Prices and Transit

March 22
An Oversupply Of EV’s From Foreign Manufacturers And A Lack Of Demand May Be A Financial Shock To The World

March 24
Urbanists: "Fundamentally Misaligned"

March 26
Florida education bill looks different depending on where you stand

March 27
The biggest cities are past their prime

PhDs Killed Off the Gold Standard In 1971, Not ‘Guns & Butter’

March 28
If You’re On the Fence About Talking About Your Beliefs: A Message to Undergrads

March 29
The Most Dangerous Class
The coming revenge of the disappointed.

March 31
How to Help Those Who Believe the Prosperity Gospel

Human Flourishing Or “Living Naturally”: Alex Epstein’s Case For Using More Oil, Coal And Natural Gas

What the Second-Happiest People Get Right
If you make happiness your primary goal, you might miss out on the challenges that give life meaning.

Clearing the Tabs February 28, 2022

Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on March 15. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

For a $7.50 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link.

It's the most affordable ride in town.

February 19
How we have mischaracterized climate risk

February 22
A little history of the hydrocarbon processing that meets society’s demands

February 23
Berkman and Cruz Face Each Other as Coaches for the First Time

February 24
You Can't Fix the Housing Crisis With Houses. We Need New Cities.

Does California know what time it is?
First-ever decline in population punctures long-held presumptions of desire, demand

February 27
It’s the culture, stupid

February 28
Biden Continues To Flip-Flop On Crude Oil Policies

Clearing the Tabs October 31, 2021

Ending October with some things I've read so far in the second half of this month, or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, and will probably keep doing this for a while. Also, just because I share something on here does not mean I agree with it, but I think opposing ideas are good for the mind on occasion.

The view of Mt. Rushmore from Canada

October 16
Rod Dreher: Hungary's Viktor Orban is a model for American Conservatives
"Orban seems to have taken an accurate measure of what he's up against, what conservatives are up against, with the system, with the institutionalized wokeness, and globalism..."

October 20
Have we reached the high water mark of woke?
American progressives are provoking a furious backlash.

October 26
The Affordable-Housing Industrial Complex

The Poor Places That Made Our Cities Richer
Dense, often dilapidated neighborhoods were routes to prosperity for an earlier generation of low-income urbanites. Their destruction has hurt us all.

October 27
Slow Boat from China
What happens when the weakest link in the chain is you?

October 28
One Boondoggle Down, Hundreds to Go

October 29
Elites Are Using Climate Hysteria to Immiserate the Working Class

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Clearing the Tabs June 15, 2021

June 1
All This for 1.8 Percent Growth?

June 3
A Middle Class Rebellion Against Progressives Is Gaining Steam

Joe Biden's Plan for a Fatter, Meaner IRS (Podcast)

June 8
Suburbs are not less social than cities

How to fight climate change and put pressure on China

June 10
The 1980s Called, And It Wants Its Industrial Paranoia Back

June 12
Why America's Oligarchs Are Moving Left

June 15
The Killing of Kern County

Clearing the Tabs July 31, 2020

Some things I've read so far in the second half of this month, or will be reading soon. It appears that a lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, and will probably keep doing this for a while.

July 19
Why Are Conservatives So Worked Up By Bari Weiss’s Letter Of Resignation?

July 20
Social Bonds are Fraying Fast in America’s Cities
How the pandemic has some people yearning to move to small towns and suburbs.

Glenn Loury appeared on EconTalk with Russ Roberts and the conversation was outstanding.

July 21
Opportunity abounds when government gets out of the way

July 22
New York and Fiscal Suicide

Podcast: Big Cities
Be it resolved, COVID-19 and its social and economic fall out spells the end of the big city boom.

July 23
Defunding police won't solve inner-city violence, but proven solutions can

July 25

Should We Expect Lower-Scoring Baseball in 2020?

July 27
As MLB restarts, Minor League Baseball survives and waits its turn

Donald Trump Is No Ronald Reagan

July 28
Blue Cities Give the 'Broken Windows' Economic Growth Theory a Try

The Quiet Fury Of Americans

July 30
Tax Increases Will Generate More Spending, More Debt, and Less Prosperity

- - - - -

I was a guest on the Let's Get Two podcast this week. Listen to the 10 minute interview here:
(skip to 21:30):

- - - - -

Upcoming Webinar - August 5, 2010
Conservative Conversations with ISI: Amity Shlaes

- - - - -

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Clearing the Tabs April 2020

Some things I've read this month or will be reading soon.

April 1

After coronavirus, we need to rethink densely populated cities

A Better Solution to the Covid-19 Economic Crisis

April 3
Keep Your Eye On The Lie: The Real Virus That Doomed Our Economy

April 9
But is it really no worse than flu?

April 10
Oligarchy and Pestilence

April 13
Who Will Prosper After the Plague?
The tech sector and the managerial class will get richer, while the rest of us become their serfs

On the Seasonality of the Virus

April 15
Six Habits to Cultivate on Your First Professional Project

April 18
Viral Politics

April 24
Reed Lays out Plan to Reopen the Country in a Way that will Keep Americans Safe & Secure

California’s Post-Corona Challenges
The Golden State faces some difficult choices ahead.

April 27
The Coronavirus Means You May Have Seen Your Last Skyscraper, New York

Triumph of the Woke Oligarchs

April 29
Why the largest-ever Arctic ozone hole just closed

Clearing the Tabs April 2019

March 23
Understanding the appeal of democratic socialism key to defeating it

March 28
How to Bring Back Struggling Cities
A Manhattan Institute report offers strategies to revitalize such struggling cities as Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Pittsfield, Massachusetts; and Youngstown, Ohio.

April 2
'Equal Pay Day' and Other Meaningless Tropes

April 10
The End of Aspiration

Clearing the Tabs 3-8-2019

Some things I've read this week or will be reading over the weekend.

March 2
The Imperial Presidency

March 4
Brady, Arrington & Estes Point to Trade as Key Issue for Country this Year

“If we’re able to have a fair deal with China, then the future is much brighter for the next generation of farmers and ranchers.”

March 5
Yet Another Bogus Claim: Medicare for All Boosts Economic Growth

March 6
Taking on Addiction

Some Towns Are Trashing Their Costly, Inefficient Recycling Programs
The market seems to be sending towns and cities a powerful message that there is no need to recycle all the things all the time.

Clearing the Tabs 3-1-2019

Some things I've read this week or will be reading over the weekend.

February 26
Why Suburbs Need to be the Next Frontier for Cities Policy

How to think about a wealth tax — Political Economy with James Pethokoukis


February 27
Where Millennials Really Go for Jobs
Contrary to media hype, tech firms and young workers aren’t flocking to “superstar” cities.

March 1
Why Social Justice Is Killing Synagogues and Churches
Data suggests that the more a religious movement is concerned with progressive causes, the more likely it is to rapidly lose members

Clearing the Tabs 12-14-2018

Some things I've read this week or will be reading over the weekend.

December 8
Research on Why Lower-Income People Are Skeptical about a Bigger Welfare State

December 10
How to ‘Seek the Peace and Prosperity’ of Our Cities

December 12
When will we stop ignoring that 21 trillion-pound gorilla sitting in plain sight?

December 13
Piketty Urges Higher Taxes in Response to French Tax Revolt

December 14
How Caring for the Poor Led to the Beginnings of Capitalism

Trade and Creative Destruction

Why Conservatives Shouldn’t Support Federal Paid Parental Leave