by JD Tuccille, RodeSeptember 23, 2024.
Extract:
Building codes reflect a wide range of government interventionsincluding zoning restrictions, land use regulations, energy efficiency codes, safety codes and more. The intent behind such regulations often began with public health and then extended to energy efficiency, home values, and even the aesthetic preferences of government officials. Regulations can affect construction and require approval from local authorities throughout the process: from planning to construction and final occupancy.
The evidence that regulation plays a major role in stifling housing availability is very strong, said Bryan Caplan, professor of economics at George Mason University, wrote in July. “Before the rise of stricter regulations in the 1970s, the textbook model worked well: when demand pushed prices above production costs, more construction pushed prices back down.” Since then, however, red tape-strapped jurisdictions have seen prices rise compared to less heavily regulated countries. “Strictly regulated urban areas such as New York City and the Bay Area have high prices and little construction, while lightly regulated areas such as Houston and Dallas have much lower prices and much more construction.”
And:
Extensive regulations come with compliance costs, not only in money, but also in time. Publication of the real estate sector in March The Real Deal reported from a developer for years is waiting for an appointment with an official who could resolve a conflict between one New York City agency’s demand for a ramp that complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act and another agency’s demand for trees in the same space.
by Alex Nowrasteh, Cato at FreedomSeptember 23, 2024.
Extract:
Data on convictions in Texas for crimes like animal cruelty are clearly not data on the consumption of cats and dogs by Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. However, we do not have data on criminal convictions by immigration status or country of origin in Springfield. The data from Texas is suggestive, and so it is be able to be generalizable, despite some problems, as I explain here.
Perhaps few immigrants who are cruel to animals are not prosecuted, or perhaps they are less kind to our furry friends in other ways that could not be prosecuted for animal cruelty. Still, the data from Texas helps answer the question of whether immigrants across the country are crueler to animals than native-born Americans and whether more immigrants would result in more common animal cruelty in the United States. Immigrants in Texas are much less likely to be convicted of cruelty to animals.
See his second graph.
by HE Frech III, Mark Paul and William S. Comanor, Regulationautumn 2024.
There is worldwide interest in supporting the development of new therapeutically advanced medicines, and this common interest forms the basis for the global public interest discussed here. Although the United States and some other major countries continue to bear the burden of financing this public good more than proportionately, that fact does not mean that it is being adequately provided. There are indeed economic factors that indicate that there is insufficient supply.
In Frech et al. In 2022, we found that average launch prices of US branded drugs are well below $40,000 per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gained. But studies of consumer and labor decisions estimate that the American public’s “willingness to pay” for an additional QALY well exceeds $200,000. This difference of $160,000 or more per QALY suggests that even the United States is paying too little on average to support global R&D, even over the life of the patent. After the end of patent protection, the entry of generic drug manufacturers generally drives prices much lower. This makes sense as a Nash equilibrium, as mentioned above. Even the largest country takes little account of external benefits. So the United States would be a conservative model for the right contribution. If the US contribution is too low, the even lower contribution from the ROW countries exacerbates the problem. This conclusion does not rule out the possibility that some brand-name drugs are overpriced in the United States.
by Greg S. Fink, Car and driverSeptember 21, 2024.
Now California is trying to match the EU with legislation mandating speed warning devices in cars. The bill, SB 961, aims to make such systems standard in the Golden State by requiring virtually every model year 2030 vehicle equipped with GPS or a front-mounted camera to also receive visual and audio warnings when traveling faster than 10 miles. /u is driven. the speed limit. Provisions in the bill would ensure that drivers can switch off the systems completely.
Those in favor of the technology claim it can save lives — consider that in 2022, 18 percent of passenger vehicle drivers, or 8,236 people, involved in fatal crashes in the U.S. were speeding, according to NHTSA. Yet even safety advocates struggle to believe that written regulations can do much good. Graziella Jost, project director at the European Transport Safety Council and who led a campaign that helped lead the charge for speed warning technology, believes that the EU’s minimum requirements (and, by extension, California law) for the systems are missing .
by Matthew Petti, RodeSeptember 25, 2024.
Extract:
Lebanon isn’t the only place where Washington’s wars are a self-licking ice cream cone. From Vietnam to Iraq, hawkish politicians have sent Americans to fight in distant lands, then used the blowback as an excuse to fight even harder. Don’t you think they’re an enemy of America? Then why are they shooting at Americans in their country?
And:
In the decades that followed, Vietnamese communists learned that they did enjoyed American capitalism more than they thought. Today, Americans are free to come and go in Vietnam as guests. But first we had to stop being intruders.
US policy is delaying that outcome in the Middle East as much as possible. As long as they can, politicians will try to keep the cycle of backlash and revenge alive. We will remain in the Middle East to avenge the Americans who died to keep America in the Middle East.
Petti’s last sentence is worth its weight in gold.