A Nation of Homeowners or Renters?

Karl Smith at Bloomberg thinks America should become a nation of renters. Homeownership made sense, he says, when ownership costs were low relative to rent. But now, due to something he calls “financialization,” homeownership is too expensive, and so we should abandon the American dream of high levels of homeownership. It may be self‐​serving for them … Continue reading A Nation of Homeowners or Renters?

How Germans Went from Mocking America’s Decentralized Pandemic Approach to Envying It

Just because decisions are made by a central government body, it doesn't mean they're the right decisions. The long phase of lockdowns in Germany may now be coming to an end, but it doesn't look like it's fully catching up to America's progress on reopening and vaccination any time soon. And one can be pretty confident that many Texans or Floridians are probably not too keen on switching places with a German.

Fulton v. City of Philadelphia: Yes, It Was a Big Deal

Some have dismissed last week’s Supreme Court ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia as small ball. I don’t agree. To begin with, as I observed last week, the line‐​up indicated that there is now a majority on the Court, if not yet a working majority, to replace the Employment Division v. Smith standard with a standard more favorable to accommodation of religious believers’ convictions. While … Continue reading Fulton v. City of Philadelphia: Yes, It Was a Big Deal

Congress Isn’t Free To Create Rights To Sue Without Injury

TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, decided by the Supreme Court today by a 5–4 margin, has been classed among the term’s leading business cases, and it is certainly that. The high court gratified commercial defendants by ruling that class action lawyers may sue credit reporting service TransUnion only on behalf of customers concretely injured by its actions … Continue reading Congress Isn’t Free To Create Rights To Sue Without Injury