How “luxury housing” actually reduces rents for poor people. — Many individuals question whether the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. and other countries really is caused, at root, by a shortage of homes. This skepticism defies the observable reality of long waiting lines to view apartments in New York City and 300-plus people bookmarking a new home in Fairfax…

It really did happen so fast. I was on our family’s Aventon Pace 500 electric bike and quickly went from enjoying an unseasonably warm New Year’s Eve to lying on the sidewalk catching my breath as my nearly three-year-old daughter helpfully interjected, “Daddy, we don’t lay on the ground.” …

These views are all my own and do not represent the views of my employer. They do not use or reflect any proprietary information. I have no relationship with or financial interest in any specific company, including any car manufacturer. Cars have probably always been my biggest passion. My father…

The D.C. region, like most of the developed world, finds itself in the crushing grip of a housing affordability crisis. Until our region’s housing shortage is meaningfully addressed, each new unit will be maddeningly expensive. The only solution is to allow a lot more housing to be built. Fortunately our…

As the founder of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, I expect to eventually be asked some version of, “Would you live by a giant apartment building?” People will reasonably wonder if I mean it when I say, “Yes in my backyard.” Spoiler alert: my answer to both questions is yes, and…

An essay-length rebuttal to online comments is probably not advisable, but I feel compelled by context. In early December my favorite blog, Marginal Revolution, linked to a study showing that NIMBY (not in my backyard) sentiment and hostility to density are quite popular. I was not surprised since earlier this…

October of my junior year of high school, I got five pages into Freakonomics and understood that economics was what I should do with my life. I perceived a unique kind of insight — a lens through which I could understand the world. Recently I had an equally powerful experience…

“Not sure if you knew him but I suspect you might through libertarian circles? And I know you’re less online than you used to be,” a friend messaged me April 11th. “Jim Pagels died in a bike accident this weekend.” I never met Jim Pagels, but he changed my life…

In my previous blog post I explained three simple rules to make the stock market work for you. But what about managing your cash? I have solution for that too, a spreadsheet of my own invention that I update twice a month and go over with my wife. I get…