Houston Strategies

"When people hear “crony capitalism,” they usually envision corporatist policy at the higher levels of government. It might be the federal Export-Import bank subsidizing Boeing, or Nevada granting Tesla tax breaks. But perhaps the most common form is the kind occurring in your own backyard. In many U.S. municipalities, zoning codes have evolved from reasonable public protections into regulatory cobwebs that benefit the rich over the poor. If a crony system is, according to Investopedia, one where “instead of success being determined by a free market and the rule of law, the success of a business is dependent on the favoritism that is shown to it by the ruling government,” then zoning is cronyism’s localized version. 

Most readers are likely familiar with zoning’s practical purposes, such as separating incompatible uses or expelling nuisances. But they may not realize just how comprehensively it is now used to micromanage society, impose petty moralism and protect special interests."

• How excessive regulations raise the cost of housing in Austin vs. other major Texas cities.
• Houston's Harris County the #3 attractor of talent in the country, only surpassed by Austin and San Francisco.  Chicago and Manhattan not doing so well.
• An excellent defense of MUDs by Stephen Spillette in the Houston Chronicle.  If you're not familiar with Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), they allow developers to build on the periphery while selling bonds to finance the infrastructure of new subdivisions, with property taxes in those subdivisions paying off the bonds.  They are a big part of how Houston is able to maintain a strong housing supply and stay affordable.
• Texas goes big on renewable power (Wall Street Journal)