Rob Schofield closes his latest screed about transportation in the Triangle with some fantasyland thinking: Happily, the group is not without promising models close to home. Just this week, Charlotte unveiled its new light rail system to rave reviews. While the system will undoubtedly suffer growing pains, it was clear from the enthusiastic response of [...]
Monthly Archives: November 2007
- 1Nov30
Contrast: Detroit and Bangalore
Interesting contrast … OK, so what the hell are we to make of Durham?-Max Borders
- 2Nov30
Xenophobia, Children, and Profit
From our friends on the left… Here are three predictable counter-narratives (read: lies) to the shite-storm the Civitas Institute managed to stir up: 1. People who think that illegal immigrants should not receive publicly subsidized higher education are hateful, racist, nativist xenophobes. (False. One can agree that the legal immigration system should be fixed and [...]
- 1Nov30
Good News in Healthcare
People are adopting consumer-driven health plans — like hotcakes apparently. Check out this this report (pdf). Greg Scandlen, the author concludes: "As a result, health care costs for CDH plans are rising at one-third the rate of PPO/HMO plans and enrollment is growing at the fastest rate of any benefit innovation of our lifetimes — [...]
- Nov30
Climate Change: Technology or Regulation?
If (and that’s a big if) man is causing global warming… and if such warming would actually result in negative or catastrophic consequences, should we allow for technological solutions that will arise from prosperity and innovation, or should we regulate ourselves into an economic recession?-Max Borders
- Nov30
Community College Costs – For the Record
OK, let’s get this straight: Illegal immigrants paying $7000-plus tuition is not making N.C. community colleges profitable. Tuition comprises only 12% of the community colleges budgets. It’s like imagining away the costs of building the buildings, paying the light bill, buying the land, etc. etc. So whether any illegal immigrant that attends a community college [...]
- Nov29
Affordable Housing: Even the Regulators Think There’s Too Much Regulation
I stumbled across an interesting document from 2002 produced by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Entitled "Barriers to Minority Homeownership," it details some of the primary obstacles facing low-income minorities seeking to buy a home. Primary reasons given deal with a lack of capital for downpayment and access to credit – [...]
- Nov29
Another “Told Ya”
Chris Hayes was right about Bruton Smith back in October.-Max Borders(Update: Here’s my take.)
- Nov29
Poll for “Political Junkies”
Glad somebody noticed. If you’re a political junkie, you may also enjoy this month’s DecisionMaker poll, which the media have largely ignored (probably because they prefer polls that tell them (pdf) what they want to hear).-Max Borders
- Nov29
Immigration: Fitzsimon Follies #462
OK. Suppose we agree with Chris Fitzsimon’s proposition that our immigration system is broken and the children of immigrants should at least get to go to public school. It’s not hair-splitting to say that college is a privilege, not a right — and that it’s not ‘public school’ here on earth. It’s also true that [...]