More money for FEMA does not guarantee improved results
Before Congress passed $9.7 billion in Hurricane Sandy relief spending today, Governor Christie made headlines for his angry response to the House GOP’s delay in approving relief funds. The new...
View ArticleVirginia’s transportation plan under the microscope
Last week Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell shared his plan to address the state’s transportation needs. The big news is that the Governor wants to eliminate Virginia’s gas tax of 17.5 cents/gallon. This...
View ArticleSeparation between art and state
In Utah, the Sutherland Institute is leading an effort to stop state support for the Sundance Film Festival. On the organization’s blog Derek Monson writes: Given the amount of sexual promiscuity that...
View ArticleA price tag on congestion
The research organization TRIP finds that traffic congestion comes at a steep price for drivers in the Washington, DC area. They determine that congestion and poor road conditions cost drivers $2,195...
View ArticleAssorted Links
China’s Ghost Cities The Purple Line’s uncertain future Maryland’s new gas tax for transportation Is Maryland copying Virginia’s new sales tax? The Micro-Apartment craze
View ArticleImplications of an emergency fiscal manager for Detroit
Reuters reports that an emergency financial manager might provide Detroit with a path toward bankruptcy. This week I’m at US News writing on how an emergency financial manager might help the city...
View ArticleCivil Disobedience and Detroit’s financial manager
Michigan’s Governor Rick Synder may be greeted by protestors when he arrives for a meeting today on Detroit’s financial condition. His recent appointment of Kevyn Orr as the city’s emergency financial...
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Shortfalls in non-profit disaster rebuilding
This post originally appeared at Market Urbanism, a blog about free-market urban development. After receiving years of praise for its work in post-Katrina recovery, Brad Pitt’s home building...
View ArticleLocal control over transportation: good in principle but not being practiced
State and local governments know their transportation needs better than Washington D.C. But that doesn’t mean that state and local governments are necessarily more efficient or less prone to public...
View ArticleVarying Priorities in Municipal Bankruptcy
On Monday Reuters reported that a federal judge has found Stockton, CA to be eligible for bankruptcy protection. This decision came despite protests from Wall Street arguing that the city had options...
View ArticleFreedom in the 50 States and Migration
In last month’s publication of Freedom in the 50 States, Will Ruger and Jason Sorens point to net domestic migration as an indicator that Americans demonstrate their preferences for more libertarian...
View ArticleChief Resiliency Officers Versus Antifragility
At The Atlantic Cities, Emily Badger writes about a new program from the Rockefeller Foundation called 100 Resilient Cities, focused on equipping cities with a new employee called a Chief Resiliency...
View ArticleDetroit’s Art is Not the Key to its Revival
This post originally appeared at Market Urbanism, a blog about free-market urban development. Detroit’s art assets have made news as Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is evaluating the city’s assets for a...
View ArticleWMATA’s failures are institutional, not personal
Chris Barnes who writes the DC blog FixWMATA is supporting a petition to replace the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Frustration with the transit agency is...
View ArticleBurden of DC’s Wal-Mart Minimum Wage would be Borne by City’s Poor
Plans to bring six Wal-Marts to the District of Columbia may fall through over city requirements for the big box store to pay an hourly wage of $12.50, more than a 50-percent increase over the...
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To merge or not to merge?
Consolidating municipalities is a common policy prescription from across the political spectrum. In New Jersey in particular, many democratic and republican elected officials have thrown their support...
View ArticleNew York’s Population Challenge
Last week at City Journal, Aaron Renn explored the New York region’s loss of domestic residents since 2000. He demonstrates that one of the world’s economic powerhouses is falling victim to the trend...
View ArticleThe “pension tapeworm” and Fiscal Federalism
In his annual report to shareholders, Warren Buffett cites the role that pension underfunding is playing in governments and markets: “Citizens and public officials typically under-appreciated the...
View ArticleHercules, California’s Herculean debts
What lead the city of Hercules, California to default on its debts? Guest poster Marc Joffe, Principal Consultant at Public Sector Credit, finds a case of mission-creep in the “dynamic city on the...
View ArticleMunicipal pension news: Baltimore to offer DC plan
Earlier this month, Baltimore’s city council approved a measure to give the city’s workers a choice between a defined contribution or defined benefit plan plan. According to Pensions and Investments,...
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