Reason Policy

YouTube video by Forward Party Only those in power win in partisan redistricting

ICYMI!

Gerrymandering is a powerful tool for protecting and entrenching powerful interests.

That’s another way of saying it’s anti-democratic. Forward Executive Chair Kerry Healey says we don’t have to accept it.

And we don’t.

youtu.be/wM0wA1uQh30

Opinion: ODOT’s crisis is a spending problem, not a revenue problem ODOT's problems stem not from declining gas tax revenue – which is higher than it was five years ago, but from its excessive spending and dramatic cost overruns on a handful of mega projects, writes e...

Joe Cortright’s op-ed shows ODOT’s financial crisis is not a revenue problem, but a spending problem. Ballooning costs on highway megaprojects like the Rose Quarter and Abernethy Bridge mean basic maintenance is being sacrificed. #Oregon #ODOT #transportation #pdx www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2025...

Yes, sell some federal land. But that won’t help much on housing. A smart approach to federal land sales could strengthen rural economies, increase local property tax revenue, and bring environmental protection and land management under local oversight.

A smart approach to federal land sales could strengthen rural economies, increase local property tax revenue, and bring environmental protection and land management under local oversight. But it won’t solve housing issues. reason.org/commentary/s...

So we should hold politicians accountable for stupid political tricks like gerrymandering, but it’s not really a partisan issue.

b) people tend to sort themselves over time partly based on political affiliation and so the overall effect of gerrymandering is minor. isps.yale.edu/news/blog/20...

Redistricting Report Card Gerrymandering Project

The blatant gerrymandering going on in TX is appalling. But keep in mind that a) both parties gerrymander, though Republicans do it more often or are more successful. And gerrymander.princeton.edu/redistrictin...

The national debt is becoming your local problem Federal overspending is squeezing states and cities, forcing them to raise taxes, slash services, or pile on more debt.

Federal overspending is squeezing states and cities, forcing them to raise taxes, slash services, or pile on more debt. reason.com/2025/08/01/t... @reason

It will be a week or so before we get data from the Texas cities (Houston, Fort Worth & San Antonio), but murder remains down an incredible amount through July in the sample of 30 cities that reported the most murders to the FBI in 2023 (plus Jacksonville which didn't report).

Law firms take fewer pro bono clients after Trump's unconstitutional orders Even though the president's orders have lost in court, big law firms are still hesitant to upset the king and incur his wrath.

Even though the president has lost every time the orders have come before a judge, big law firms are still hesitant to upset the king and incur his wrath.

Santa Monica is going all in implementing SB 1123, a California YIMBY sponsored bill allowing ministerial small lot subdivisions in all residential districts. If every city did the same, California would soon have tens of thousands of new homes.

Oregon Decides It Was a Mistake to Let Cities Ban Homes | Sightline Institute Two laws in Oregon undo 100 years of local zoning to ban homes, opening opportunities for affordable choices, from duplexes to apartments.

Oregon joins the list of states with new laws dramatically limiting local zoning to improve affordability and allowing property owners to decide what type of housing to build and how dense. www.sightline.org/2025/07/28/o...

Central Bank Independence: Evidence From a Natural Experiment.

A Social Security bailout would cost younger workers $157,000 in higher taxes If the payroll tax rate is increased to make Social Security solvent, the median young worker will be out at least $2,432 a year.

To keep Social Security solvent without cutting benefits would require a massive hike in payroll taxes, which would fall entirely on working Americans.

“While it is possible the U.S. can use subsidies or tariffs to shift the economy more towards manufacturing... doing so will sacrifice American competitiveness in other industries. Economic policy always involves tradeoffs, and that's the tradeoff here.”

Our timeline…

We are using a lot more compute now that AI is here. Data centers don’t create demand for water and energy, they are an efficient way to use water and energy to meet demand for compute. www.slowboring.com/p/theres-ple...

Nicotine pouch taxes undermine efforts to help smokers quit Rhode Island's new 80 percent tax increase on nicotine pouches threatens to undermine harm reduction efforts.

Here’s a great way to discourage smokers from quitting—tax the nicotine pouches some people use that are safer than smoking and help them quit. Rhode Island's new 80 percent tax increase on nicotine pouches threatens to undermine harm reduction efforts. reason.org/commentary/n...

Young Workers Could Lose $110,000 in Lifetime Earnings to Keep Social Security Solvent Keeping Social Security solvent indefinitely could cost a median worker $157,000

“The bottom line is that promises to keep Social Security benefits exactly as currently legislated are immensely expensive for younger workers, whether Congress tries to levy additional taxes on all workers or only on those with earnings above the payroll tax cap.” open.substack.com/pub/debtdisp...

Cutting five words from this law could make houses cheaper The commonsense, zero-cost fix that Congress wouldn’t touch.

An old federal law requires manufactured homes or have a “permanent chassis,” which is both ludicrous today, and also prevents a lot of both high end and low cost housing from being built. www.vox.com/policy/42025...

New study: State medical examiners wrongly excused homicides committed by Maryland police officers After the Derek Chauvin trial, the state ordered an audit of autopsies done on people who had died in police custody. The results are disturbing.

New study just the latest piece of evidence that police are routinely restraining people in ways that are causing premature, unnecessary death — and that by refusing to shield themselves from bias, medical examiners are ensuring that those deaths continue. radleybalko.substack.com/p/new-study-...

Kansas City poured millions into a grocery store. It still may close. More cities and states are experimenting with the concept of city-owned grocery stores, but these experiments often don’t account for social issues.

Kansas City poured millions into a grocery store. It still may close. [Government run grocery stores are not the solution] www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Six Months Of Consequential Fascism Trump II is consequential -- and not in a good way.

Trump‘s social post celebrating his first six month’s of this term was predictably delusional. Looking at the details, makes it even worse. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/six-months...

California's $20 fast food minimum wage reduced employment by 3.2 percent (roughly 18,000 jobs) over the first year since its enactment, from Jeffrey Clemens, Olivia Edwards, and Jonathan Meer https://www.nber.org/papers/w34033

Legal gambling enhances sports integrity—despite what critics claim In the shadowy world of illegal gambling, where there is no legal oversight, corruption is harder to detect and easier to profit from.

In the shadowy world of illegal gambling, where there is no legal oversight, corruption is harder to detect and easier to profit from. reason.org/commentary/l... @reason.org

I’m not a rocket scientist, alas, 😂 But I think they have strong incentives to be safer and have done many things to reduce the risk. It’s a great success story.

2025 in State-Level Parking Reform: Lessons Learned · Zoom · Luma 2025 has seen the strongest state-level parking reform efforts to date, with bills significantly rolling back costly parking mandates signed into law in…

Major parking reforms passed this year in WA, MT, CT (sadly vetoed), ME, and (signed into law *today*) NH!

And a full repeal of parking mandates passed the NC house (has yet to be taken up by the senate).

Come to our panel and hear from leading advocates how they're getting it done! lu.ma/kjwx2aga