Economics

^{Discovery Institute

December 17, 2019

Economics}

Christopher Rufo Featured in WORLD Magazine Story on Tiny Houses

_{Discovery Institute

December 17, 2019

Economics}

Seattle plans to stop funding another tiny house village for the homeless after months of fighting with the property’s managers. It will be the second time the city has closed down a tiny house development. Northlake Village, one of nine tiny house villages the city has built since 2015, opened in March 2018. A nonprofit group called the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) managed it and subcontracted with Nickelsville, an activist organization of homeless and formerly homeless people. Sharon Lee, LIHI executive director, said Nickelsville did not make residents look for permanent housing or work with a case manager. They also used evictions “arbitrarily and unjustly made people homeless again,” Lee said. Tension grew, and in April, Nickelsville refused to allow LIHI or city staff on the property. They closed the gates with padlocks and posted signs telling the residents working security to keep LIHI or city staff out. In September, the city gave LIHI an Oct. 7 deadline to enroll residents in the city’s Homeless Management Information System. LIHI failed to comply, blaming Nickelsville for not cooperating. Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo

December 6, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

Compassion with Results

_{Christopher Rufo

December 6, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

The purpose of this paper is to provide a roadmap for immediate impact for American cities and counties on the issue of homelessness. While the long-term goals for subsidized and permanent supportive housing are necessary components of public policy, we believe these plans must be supplemented with the short-term objectives that will deliver immediate results to the citizens, families, and homeless individuals across the country. Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

December 4, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

Leading Economist and Developer of Time-Prices, Dr. Gale Pooley Appointed as a Fellow of Discovery Institute

_{Discovery Institute

December 4, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

Seattle — Discovery Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gale L. Pooley to serve as a fellow with the Institute’s Center on Wealth and Poverty. “Gale Pooley is the world leader in the most important movement in contemporary economics — based on the recognition that wealth is knowledge, money is time, and the only true prices are Read More ›

^{Center for Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

November 22, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

2020 Gilder Fellows Seminar

_{Center for Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

November 22, 2019

Discovery Institute, Economics}

The Gilder Fellows Seminar is an intimate study experience with Discovery Institute Fellows in Seattle, Washington, in July 2020. At the Gilder Fellows Seminar, you’ll have the chance to interact with scholars George Gilder, Michael Medved, Jay Richards, John West, and others. Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo

November 11, 2019

Economics}

Discovery Fellow Christopher Rufo with Tucker Carlson on the West Coast Shoplifting Boom

_{Christopher Rufo

November 11, 2019

Economics}

There is a "shoplifting boom" that's hitting the major West Coast cities. Five years ago, California passed Proposition 47, which decriminalized drug possession and thefts under $950, which has led to a surge in property crime throughout the state. Policies like this hurt working families, create disorder on downtown streets, and drive California further into "Third World levels of inequality." Last night, I sat down with Tucker Carlson to discuss the "shoplifting boom." I was born and raised in California, so it's very difficult to see what's happened to my home state—but there's no end in sight to the rising chaos and disorder. Read More ›

^{Center for Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

October 31, 2019

Economics}

Discovery Institute Fellow Chrisopher Rufo Set to Release New Documentary Next Year on American Poverty

_{Center for Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

October 31, 2019

Economics}

Discovery Institute research fellow Christopher F. Rufo is set to release his latest feature-length documentary, America Lost, which tells the story of life in three “forgotten American cities” — Youngstown, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee, and Stockton, California. America Lost reveals the dramatic decline of the American interior through a combination of emotional personal stories and thoughtful conservative commentary. Filmmaker Christopher F. Rufo spent Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo

October 21, 2019

Economics}

The “Supermarket Sweep”

_{Christopher Rufo

October 21, 2019

Economics}

When I was a kid, a television show called Supermarket Sweep featured teams of middle Americans bolting through grocery store aisles and filling their carts with food, household products, and pet supplies. The show’s premise was that, for two minutes, the rule of law—in this case, the law against shoplifting—would be suspended. The team with the largest haul could take home their bounty of groceries, win prizes, and compete for the championship. Today, in some West Coast cities, the Supermarket Sweep isn’t a game show—it’s a dark reality, fueled by addiction, crime, and bad public policy. From Seattle to Los Angeles, a “shoplifting boom” is hitting major retailers, which deal with thousands of thefts, drug overdoses, and assaults each year. Since 2010, thefts increased by 22 percent in Portland, 50 percent in San Francisco, and 61 percent in Los Angeles. In total, California, Oregon, and Washington reported 864,326 thefts to the FBI last year. The real figure is likely much higher, as many retailers have stopped reporting most shoplifting incidents to police. Read More ›

^{George Gilder

September 15, 2019

Economics, Technology}

Isolating the Biggest Problems in Israel

_{George Gilder

September 15, 2019

Economics, Technology}

We all are beginning to understand what is right about Israel. It is at the pinnacle of human accomplishment in technology, innovation, culture and wealth. Amid a global slump, it is still growing at an annual rate near 5%. In startups, IPOs, and venture capital, it leads the world by any per-capita standard and in some ways by absolute metrics. Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo

August 22, 2019

Economics}

‘New Left Urbanists’ Want to Remake Your City

_{Christopher Rufo

August 22, 2019

Economics}

America’s big cities are almost all dominated by the Democratic Party, but the politics of urban development are far from monolithic. In the past few years, a new faction has emerged across the country. Call them the new left urbanists. These activists have big dreams. They want local governments to rebuild the urban environment—housing, transit, roads and tolls—to achieve social justice, racial justice and net-zero carbon emissions. They rally around slogans such as “ban all cars,” “raze the suburbs” and “single-family housing is white supremacy”—though they’re generally white and affluent themselves, often employed in public or semipublic roles in urban planning, housing development and social advocacy. They treat public housing, mass transit and bike lanes as a holy trinity, and they want to impose their religion on you. Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo

August 8, 2019

Economics}

Pushback

_{Christopher Rufo

August 8, 2019

Economics}

The political ground may be starting to shift in America’s bluest cities. While San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver remain reliable Democratic strongholds, a divide is opening between the cities’ activist political elite and a liberal, but more pragmatic, majority of voters. Read More ›