Backgrounder posted January 31, 2013 by Wendell Cox
Transit Policy in an Era of the Shrinking Federal Dollar
The federal government has been providing subsidies to mass transit since the 1960s.[1] The principal justification was originally to reduce traffic congestion and to provide mobility alternatives to cars for low-income citizens. In addition, transit has been subsidized to reduce automobile emissions.[2]
Since 1983, transit has received a share of the federal user fees…
WebMemo posted September 15, 2011 by Wendell Cox
How Smart Growth and Livability Intensify Air Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to implement stronger air pollution restrictions on ozone (smog) for the stated purpose of improving public health.[1] These regulations are misguided because they would impose significant costs for little or no benefit.[2] At the same time, policies being implemented at the state and local levels and proposed at the federal…
WebMemo posted March 2, 2011 by Wendell Cox
Federal Transit Programs: Spending More and More for Less and Less
Both the majority in the new Congress and the members of the Republican Study Committee recognize that federal transit programs have become a costly extravagance that provides minimal benefits in comparison to costs incurred. In turn, both have proposed that federal transit spending and government subsidies be cut back substantially in the last seven months of the fiscal…
Backgrounder posted February 7, 2011 by Wendell Cox
Urban Transportation Policy Requires Factual Foundations
Abstract: The 2010 Heritage Foundation report “Washington’s War on Cars and the Suburbs” disputed Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s claims that public transit produces substantial economic benefits, consumes only one-fifth the energy of cars, and saves billions in other costs. The author of the 2004 American Public Transportation Association report, Todd Litman, has…
Backgrounder posted October 4, 2010 by Wendell Cox, Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
The Lieberman–Kerry Cap and Trade Bill: Making Housing Less Affordable
Abstract: Proposed legislation would offer financial incentives to increase the population density of communities in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. However, the available evidence, which is admittedly limited, indicates that such “smart growth” policies are misguided, producing minimal results at great expense and disruption. Such policies…
WebMemo posted July 20, 2010 by Wendell Cox, Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
Cap-and-Trade Bill Would Make Housing Less Affordable
In addition to the devastating economic effects of cap and trade, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733)—introduced by Senators John Kerry (D–MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I–CT)—would likely lead to the same conditions that caused the housing bubble of a few years ago.
It would do this by providing financial incentives to the federally funded metropolitan…
WebMemo posted June 15, 2010 by Wendell Cox, Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
Toward Creating Sustainable Transit
Many of the nation’s transit agencies are raising fares and cutting service, ostensibly in response to escalating costs and falling ridership. While all American transit systems are heavily subsidized by taxpayers, the recent acceleration in their deterioration has gone beyond the ability of state and local governments to cover the widening deficits, thereby forcing…
Backgrounder posted March 5, 2009 by Wendell Cox, Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
Don't Regulate the Suburbs: America Needs a Housing Policy That Works
Despite the many accolades for President Barack Obama's swift
action on a major economic stimulus package, an outline of a
comprehensive financial rescue package, and his most recent
proposal for another bailout for homeowners who might not meet
their mortgage payments, a growing number of critics and global
investors have questioned the effectiveness of these…
WebMemo posted December 3, 2008 by Wendell Cox, Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
Transportation Policy: Getting the Facts Straight
Many environmental groups, business trade associations, and
state and local governments anticipate that new Democratic
leadership in Washington next year will lead to major changes in
federal surface transportation policy. With the current highway
authorization law (SAFETEA-LU) set to expire in September 2009,
many of these organizations are recommending a…