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A Little History of the Hydrocarbon Processing that Meets Society's Demands
The hydrocarbon processing industry, i.e., refineries, has a rich history of discovery, challenges, breakthroughs, trial and error, collaboration, and success. Looking back a little more than 100...
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You Can't Fix the Housing Crisis with New Houses. We Need New Cities
Housing is rapidly becoming the key economic issue facing America's beleaguered middle class. Even as interest rates rise, rents are on a wild binge, up near 20 percent in the past year or more in some...
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Does California Know What Time it Is?
Has the California proposition changed fundamentally? And does it matter for real estate?The answer to the first question is yes—the state had a net population decline in 2021, the first drop since it...
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Five Steps to Save Historically and Architecturally Significant Homes —...
From time to time, we hear of the demolition of an historic or architecturally significant home in the news. Inevitably, there’s an outcry. Community leaders agree: “Something must be done!”But what...
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Flyover Country Needs to Keep Our Biggest Edge: Housing Affordability
If there’s one location advantage for the heartland that’s become clear during the last several years, it’s the edge we enjoy over the coasts in housing affordability. Time and again, people who locate...
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Biden Continues To Flip-Flop On Crude Oil Policies
A year before being inaugurated President in 2021, Biden professed that “we are going to get rid of fossil fuels. Before the recent inauguration, America achieved for the first time since Harry Truman...
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Toronto Solidifies Highest Density Ranking in North America
Toronto seems guaranteed to retain its position as the densest urban area in North America (Canada and the United States), based on 2021 Census data recently released by Statistics Canada. The Toronto...
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Portland Downtown Devastated by COVID
The number of people working in downtown Portland dropped from more than 103,000 in mid-2019 to 13,000 in mid-2020, according to a State of the Economy report recently published by the Portland...
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Understanding the Nordic Work Ethic
Over a hundred years ago, Max Weber observed that countries in northern Europe tended to have a higher standard of living and generally more well-functioning societies than countries in other parts of...
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The Limits of Libertarianism
Over the past half-century, libertarians have played a critical role in the ever-growing war against governmental nonsense. If you want to read the best critiques of wasteful transit policy, sports...
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Demographia International Housing Affordability – 2022 Edition Released
Demographia International Housing Affordability rates middle-income housing affordability in 92 major housing markets in eight nations: Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the...
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Long COVID
This is a disease one should not underestimate, but let’s assume that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is past us, at least for now. The disease’s impact on economy, our way of life, the state of...
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Unacceptable Views
“Canada will always be there to defend the right to peaceful protest” – Justin Trudeau, in a reference to protests in India…Asked why he supported some protests, but was determined to crush the trucker...
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The Great New Game
Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine will be remembered as one of the great crimes of the 21st century. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has already caused more than two million refugees to flee their...
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Studs Terkel's Working, 50 Years On
As I prepared to teach my module on work this year, I realised that Studs Terkel’s book Working celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2022. It’s a book that both reflects and helps to explain...
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Gas, Grain — and Chips — Will Make Us the 'Future Belt'
No thanks to President Biden — who botched our star turn in his State of the Union address and refuses to loosen his restrictions on our hydrocarbon industry —but Flyover Country is beginning to...
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The Travails of Washington Metrorail
Washington’s Metrorail has sometimes been called “America’s Subway.” The first segment opened in 1976 (see photo above) and now extends over about 115 miles (185 kilometers), with 91 stations in the...
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Tarnishing the Golden State
No state advertises its egalitarian bona fides more than California. Governor Gavin Newsom brags that his state is “the envy of the world,” a place that is “not going to abandon our poor people.” In...
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60 Desks for Every 100 Workers
Mutual of Omaha is building a new headquarters in downtown Omaha, which at first appears to be a revival of downtown fortunes. But the company has 4,000 employees in the Omaha area, and the new...
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How America's Division Empowers Putin
For more than a decade, Vladimir Putin has sought to sow division and undermine American democracy. Now that he’s distracted by the conflict unfolding in Ukraine, his successor has stepped into the...
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