Blog
California: Leading the Way in Failure
As one might expect of California, successful transportation public-private partnerships (P3s) face many government hurdles. In the early 1990s, the California Department of Transportation…
Blog
The Increasing Role of Road Concessions
Increasing private sector involvement in transportation should be seen as a positive development. However, there are right ways to involve private firms, and…
Blog
D.C. Rail Fetishists Propose “Free” Trolleys
If you believe the “city of northern charm and southern efficiency” is geared solely toward imposing stupid, expensive directives on the rest of the country,…
Blog
ObamaRail: Great for Railfans, Bad for Transportation
In 2000, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment (the “Monorail Initiative“) authorizing the creation of a high-speed intercity rail network. However, as the economy…
Blog
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
Blog
The Private Provision of Surface Transportation Infrastructure in the United States
Private sector involvement in surface transportation infrastructure is not new. Public and private turnpikes—roads that require the payment of a toll for passage—have existed for…
Blog
The Case Against Subsidized High-Speed Rail
President Obama’s stimulus package set aside $8 billion in subsidies for high-speed rail projects in the United States (known as the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail…
Blog
The Social Evolution of Markets
Socialists and other collectivists frequently argue that markets are inherently “inhumane” and “unjust,” among other things. Free-market advocates generally dismiss these claims on their face…
Blog
Property Rights Under Siege
Since the Supreme Court’s poorly-reasoned majority opinion in 2005’s Kelo case, Americans have been aware of the grave threats facing their homes, businesses, and…
Blog
How I Was Not Al Gored Into Submission
Blog
Why Can’t We Have a “Three Strikes” Policy for Public Financing?
Blog
Anti-Takings Abuse Bill Introduced in the House
The Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Stephanie Sandlin (D-SD), would prevent any federal economic development funding from being…
Blog
Property Owner Fights Nashville Land Grab
Yesterday, Tower Investments filed a motion to dismiss the Nashville-chartered Metropolitan Housing and Development Agency’s Petition for Condemnation of the company’s 5.6-acre downtown property.
Blog
Pfizer to Close Facility Behind Kelo Case
Yesterday, Pfizer announced it was closing its research and development facility in New London, Connecticut. This is the same complex that was at the…
Blog
Greider: $1.4 Trillion Deficit Isn’t Enough!
Blog
Fighting Eminent Domain Abuse
Popular outrage over eminent domain abuse may have waned a bit since the Supreme Court’s poorly-reasoned Kelo ruling in 2005, but economic development takings remain…
Blog
Eminent Domain Abuse in New York (Upstate Edition)
The court found that the mall was not liable because the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency condemned the property through eminent domain, which stripped all rights…
Blog
It’s Complicated
Journalists have a tendency to present overly-simple explanations of current events that often turn out to be false. Part of it is due to the…
Blog
ACORN Tied to Brooklyn Land-grabber
The multi-billion dollar Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn, New York--subsidized to the tune of $1.6 billion by New York taxpayers--is facing new scrutiny after…
Blog
Matt Taibbi versus Sensible Health Care
In a blog post at Rolling Stone, Journalist In Name Only Matt Taibbi accuses the media of “help[ing] sandbag health care reform.” In the…
Blog
Land Grabbers Attack Free Speech
In this morning’s Washington Post, columnist George Will brings to light a particularly egregious example of politically-connected developers abusing the legal system to silence…
Blog
A Not-So-Surprising “Clunklusion”
CEI Editorial Director Ivan Osorio discussed the true economic costs of the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program, calling it “a costly boondoggle that…
Blog
The Truth About Town Hall Meetings
Yesterday, the Obama administration distanced itself from some of the more outrageous comments made by congressional Democrats, including one made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…
Blog
“Millions of jobs are at stake on both sides of the border”
So says British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. At a meeting of Canada’s provincial premiers held in Regina, Saskatchewan, last week, slapping retaliatory tariffs on…
Blog
Brooklyn Land Grab Opponents Allege Government Corruption
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), a group opposed to the taxpayer-financed development project Atlantic Yards, filed a motion with the New York Court of…
Blog
Union Bosses Say the Darndest Things
As described in an OpenMarket post by CEI’s Ivan Osorio a couple weeks ago, the Teamsters union and UPS are currently lobbying Congress to…
Blog
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing!
Blog
Stimulus Surrealism
Blog
Obama’s Anti-Science Czar
Last week, Michelle Malkin posted on the disturbing past of Obama’s Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House…
Blog
Documentary Highlights Jersey Shore Eminent Domain Abuse
While the public outrage over eminent domain abuse following the 2005 Kelo ruling has waned to some degree, the controversy surrounding private property takings for…