The business of regulators is to regulate, even when it makes little sense. After all, there are jobs to protect. As a result, regulations often neglect the principle of diminishing marginal utility. (Here’s a quick illustration: The first doughnut you eat may be very enjoyable. The second, less so, and by the fourth, you may be sick.) Air and water quality in the United States […]
I’ve flown into or through about 50 airports over the years, including the one in ultra-chic Aspen, Colorado. But I don’t think I have seen a terminal as beautiful as that possessed by the Cherry Capital Airport, in Traverse City. It helps that I’m a sucker for the design schools used in the building, but still, I’m impressed. Stained glass windows abound. Need to talk […]
The electric car market is expanding and diversifying. It’s not just the Chevy Volt that is catching fire these days. A model produced by a company in Finland – with U.S. “stimulus” dollars – is being recalled because of a fire hazard. OK, I shouldn’t be too hard on the luxury car. Trusty old gas-powered cars can catch on fire too, and new products are prone […]
Consumers Reports, a cheerleader for the heavy foot of government on automotive manufacturers, is also a big fan of all things green. Electric cars? Wheeh! Except sometimes the truth gets out anyway. The publication has a new online review of the Nissan Leaf, which was built with $1.4 billion of your money. Sure, there a few nice things about the car. But it has one […]
One of my college classmates was someone I’ll call “Train Guy.” He hailed from the Northeast, where mass transit makes sense–or at least more sense than it does here in the Midwest. Some people memorize baseball statistics. Train Guy, by contrast, had the Amtrak schedule committed to memory. When a train rolled through town, just a few blocks from campus, he could tell you where […]
So Gov. Snyder wants to take $500 million in money to burn on Government Rail. Why am I not surprised? Perhaps the history so far of the Tough Nerd proves that O’Sullivan’s law applies to individuals as well as organizations. Here it is: All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing. As I recall, Snyder went out of his way during the campaign […]
One characteristic of modern government is the move to ban something that might be dangerous. The latest victim: the ability to send or receive text messages or e-mail while driving. It may seem like banning the practice would be a no-brainer. But some researchers have observed that accidents have increased, not decreased, in states that have enacted such bans. Clevelander.com puts it this way: “Laws […]
The Guardian of the UK reports on a politician in Colorado who sees a pro-biking scheme, and sees … a plot to bring about global government, or at least threats to personal freedoms to drive cars. Sorry, dude, but that’s just a counterproductive argument. I’m with you if you think that some cycling enthusiasts have developed delusions of a green planet. Or if you point […]
Millions of people find cycling to be a pleasurable activity, and some even find it a useful supplement to (or even replacement for) a car. Still, it’s easy to overstate cycling’s value as transportation tool–call it biking zealotry for the moment–and people who point out that fact do a great public service. On the other hand, the essay “Four wheels good, two wheels bad” is an […]
Following in the tradition of the Bensonhurst Bomber, and wanting to see up close how well mass transit a unionized, government-run transportation enterprise works, I took a slightly different trip home from the airport today. It was a waste of time, but an experiment in transportation policy. On the first leg of this trip, I got to the airport the usual way: I hitched a […]