Articles by Andy Brett

Norquist says it’s the small property owner

John Norquist, the president of the Congress for New Urbanism, has an interview on the PBS Online NewsHour regarding the Kelo decision. While the site notes that Congress took no position in the case, Norquists' comments do echo many New Urbanist themes.

But his comments also go against the idea of any kind of central planning by major entities, whether they be government or private developers. These large groups just don't have the foresight or the omniscience to know exactly what will be best for the city or even what will be the best way to promote economic development. A couple of my favorite quotes from Norquist, who's also the former mayor of Milwaukee:

The key to revitalization of American cities is the complexity of cities, the form of cities...[snip]...The small developer, the small business person, the small property owner, they're the ones that are the key to urban revitalization -- not having some big firms that's routinely hiring lobbyists and lawyers and goes down to city hall.

Well put.

Environmental economics takes center stage

It seems like everyone has one of these newfangled "weblogs" these days -- which makes it all the more exciting when you find a really good one. Started just last week by two economics professors (but featuring contributions from many more), Environmental Economics has already featured fascinating posts on pollution regulations, carbon credits, and the high price of oil, among other things. And, of course, they are syndicated for all the RSS junkies like me out there.

Going coast to coast by rail.

As Dave points out, we have quite the task ahead of us when it comes to transitioning from an oil-based economy to one where oil is marginal. If oil is marginal, there's no way we keep up the same amount of air traffic we currently have.

But then, how would someone get from coast to coast? Right now the options in this future economy are not pretty. You could pay a premium for the traditional 6 hour flight. You could drive a car at a similar premium.

The perfect storm is here, but politicians aren’t acting

The perfect storm is here, but the Senate isn't doing anything about it.

That's my one sentence paraphrase of this morning's Washington Post editorial.

Calling the energy bill "nothing to be proud of," they cite the big three:

• the skyrocketing market for crude and gasoline;
• instability in the nations that produce it; and
• an ever-growing consensus that global warming must be dealt with.

My question is, if the Senate doesn't take action to shift away from oil with this kind of impetus, what will it take?

This shift can be accomplished in two ways, as the editorial notes:

[The energy bill] still doesn't shift this country as far in the direction of alternative fuels as it should go, and of course it does not dare raise taxes on petroleum use in any way.

Any senator who wants to keep her job is going to pick promoting alternative fuels over taxing gasoline or ending the "de facto subsidies" it receives. Unfortunately, this course will inevitably take longer to have impacts.

On the other end, the skyrocketing market for gasoline is a mixed bag -- while it will make people look for long-term solutions to end their own dependence on petroleum, it will make politicians even less willing to hike gas taxes.