The Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman

housing market torn apart | Illustration: Lex Villlena; Victoria Ruban [https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q60/uploads/2022/09/Zoning-Restrictions-Heighten-Housing-Crisis-800x450.jpg] If you want less expensive housing, you need more housing.And the way to get more housing is actually pretty simple: You have to let people build it. But that seemingly simple solution has turned out to be incredibly difficult, mostly because of politics.More specifically, the problem is zoning. Local zoning rules put limits on what can be built and where. Zoning rules restrict how high a building can be, or how many units can occupy a given parcel of land. In some cases, they also require aesthetic features that can be cumbersome or expensive to build. In other words, zoning makes housing more scarce—and more expensive. In theory, President Joe Biden has staked out opposition to the worst of these building restrictions. While campaigning for president, he backed loosening zoning rules. And the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed last year contained billions of dollars for transportation grants the administration indicated could go to localities that reformed strict zoning laws, as part of the administration's Housing Supply Action Plan, which the White House has described as a plan to "ease the burden of housing costs." But that plan has produced disappointing results. That's the topic of this week's episode ofThe Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman [https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-rundown/], featuringReasonAssociate Editor Christian Britschgi [https://reason.com/people/christian-britschgi/]. Mentioned in this podcast: "Joe Biden's Use of Transportation Dollars To Incentivize Zoning Reform Is a Big Flop" [https://reason.com/2022/08/23/joe-bidens-use-of-transportation-dollars-to-incentivize-zoning-reform-is-a-big-flop/] by Christian Britschgi "Environmental Lawsuits Tried To Block 50,000 Homes From Being Built in California in 1 Year" [https://reason.com/2022/08/26/environmental-lawsuits-tried-to-block-50000-homes-from-being-built-in-california-in-one-year/] by Christian Britschgi "Are San Francisco's NIMBYs Finally Getting Their Comeuppance?" [https://reason.com/2022/08/11/are-san-franciscos-nimbys-finally-getting-their-comeuppance/] by Christian Britschgi "Marc Andreessen's High-Tech Fix for the Housing Crisis Lets Him Keep Being a NIMBY" [https://reason.com/2022/08/16/marc-andreessens-high-tech-fix-for-the-housing-crisis-lets-him-keep-being-a-nimby/] by Christian Britschgi Audio production and editing byIan Keyser [https://reason.com/people/ian-keyser/]; produced byHunt Beaty [https://reason.com/people/hunt-beaty/]. The post Christian Britschgi: Zoning Restrictions Worsen the Housing Crisis [https://reason.com/podcast/2022/09/02/christian-britschgi-zoning-restrictions-worsen-the-housing-crisis/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

college grad holds a diploma made of money | Illustration: Lex Villena; Photographerlondon | Dreamstime.com [https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q60/uploads/2022/08/student-loan-forgiveness-800x450.jpeg] Just in time for the midterm elections, the Biden administration has announced that millions of college graduates don't have to pay back their student loans. This week, President Joe Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $10,000 in student debt for individual borrowers making less than $125,000 a year and two-income households making up to $250,000 a year. Pell Grant recipients would be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. This would completely eliminate student loan debt for millions. Yet, some progressives say it still doesn't go far enough and have pushed Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for most borrowers. Even with an income cap, the vast majority of the benefits of Biden's loan cancellation program will accrue to borrowers in the top 60 percent of the income distribution. There are other problems too [https://reason.com/2022/08/23/biden-reportedly-set-to-forgive-10k-student-debt-for-americans-earning-over-six-figures/]: The one-time plan would increase federal debt by at least $300 billion, and possibly more like $500 billion, effectively wiping out all the expected deficit reduction from the Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed this month. Additionally, Biden does not have the legal authority to cancel student debt without congressional authorization. But don't take my word for it: That's what Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said last summer. In her exact words: "The president can't do it—so that's not even a discussion." Yet, President Biden is doing it. That's the topic of this week's episode ofThe Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman [https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-rundown/], featuringReasonAssistant Editor Emma Camp [https://reason.com/people/emma-camp/]. Mentioned in this podcast: "Biden's New Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Helps Mostly People Who Don't Need It [https://reason.com/2022/08/24/bidens-new-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-helps-mostly-people-who-dont-need-it/]," by Emma Camp "The Biden Administration's Proposed Policy To Reduce Student Debt Is Only Going To Make the Problem Worse [https://reason.com/2022/07/08/the-biden-administrations-proposed-policy-to-reduce-student-debt-is-only-going-to-make-the-problem-worse/]," by Emma Camp "The Federal Student Loan Program Was Supposed To Pay for Itself. Now, It'll Cost Taxpayers $197 Billion [https://reason.com/2022/07/29/the-federal-student-loan-program-was-supposed-to-pay-for-itself-now-itll-cost-taxpayers-197-billion/]," by Emma Camp "COVID-19 Gutted College Attendance. Now, a Solid Labor Market Is Convincing More High School Grads To Skip It. [https://reason.com/2022/08/16/covid-19-gutted-college-attendance-now-a-solid-labor-market-is-convincing-more-high-school-grads-to-skip-it/]," by Emma Camp Audio production and editing byIan Keyser [https://reason.com/people/ian-keyser/]; produced byHunt Beaty. [https://reason.com/people/hunt-beaty/] The post Emma Camp: Student Loan Forgiveness Is Bad News and Bad Policy [https://reason.com/podcast/2022/08/26/emma-camp-student-loan-forgiveness-is-bad-news-and-bad-policy/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Hand uses eraser to get rid of tornado cash | Illustration: Lex Villena; Vvoevale, Maryna Kriuchenko [https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q60/uploads/2022/08/tornado-cash-800x450.jpeg] To bitcoin enthusiasts, the advantages of cryptocurrency are obvious: It's a global, decentralized financial network that no government or centralized entity can control. But bitcoin is also incredibly transparent.That's by design.The system relies on a public ledger—an accounting of every single transaction that is visible and trackable to all, including government authorities who want to monitor and control the use of cryptocurrency. Currently, U.S. law requires cryptocurrency exchanges—essentially marketplaces for buying, selling, and trading various forms of cryptocurrency—to collect personal information about the traders who use their networks. Those exchanges are also vulnerable to pressure from governments who might want to freeze transactions or shut down accounts. Not surprisingly, this has inspired workarounds to help crypto users maintain financial privacy. Software programs known as "mixers" scramble the ledger, blending unrelated transactions in order to help make cryptocurrency use more difficult to track. One of those mixers is a program known as Tornado Cash. Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was adding Tornado Cash to the U.S. sanctions list, thus prohibiting all transactions using the software. The Treasury Department claims Tornado Cash is the equivalent of a high-tech weapon that could be used by terrorists or foreign rivals. But others say it's just code, a software tool no different than any other. That's the topic of this week's episode ofThe Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman [https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-rundown/], featuringReason Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller [https://reason.com/people/zach-weissmueller/]. Mentioned in this podcast: "The Canadian Government Couldn't Stop Bitcoin [https://reason.com/video/2022/03/11/the-canadian-government-couldnt-stop-bitcoin/]," by Zach Weissmueller "Bitcoin Can Become Untraceable. [https://reason.com/video/2022/07/20/bitcoin-can-become-untraceable/]," by Zach Weissmueller and Danielle Thompson "The Tornado Cash Crackdown is an Attack on Free Speech and Privacy, [https://reason.com/video/2022/08/19/the-tornado-cash-crackdown-is-an-attack-on-speech-and-privacy/]" by Zach Weissmueller and Danielle Thompson. Audio production and editing byIan Keyser [https://reason.com/people/ian-keyser/]; produced byHunt Beaty. [https://reason.com/people/hunt-beaty/] The post Zach Weissmueller: Why Cryptocurrency Privacy Software Restrictions Violate Free Speech Rights [https://reason.com/podcast/2022/08/19/zach-weissmueller-why-bitcoin-privacy-software-restrictions-violate-free-speech-rights/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

tax receipts getting bigger | Illustration: Lex Villena; Lhfgraphics [https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q60/uploads/2022/08/irs-expansion-800x450.jpeg] The climate, health care, and tax bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act [https://reason.com/2022/08/01/the-inflation-reduction-act-wont-actually-reduce-inflation/] that was recently passed in the Senate allocates $80 billion to expand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the aim of bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars in additional tax revenue. A little more than half of the $80 billion is dedicated to increased tax enforcement, and some estimates suggest it will be used to hire nearly 87,000 IRS agents over the next decade, although not all of those hires will represent new, additional staff positions. Democrats say the goal is to raise an additional $200 billion in revenue through more aggressive tax enforcement, which they claim will be focused on the wealthy.Further, they say that new enforcement measures won't affect taxpayers who make less than $400,00 a year—even though Democrats explicitly voted down an amendment that would have enshrined that policy into law. So, is this really just a plan to spend more money catching rich tax evaders? Or will the agency's new enforcement budget and expanded headcount inevitably lead to more audits of low- and middle-income taxpayers? That's the topic of this week's episode ofThe Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman [https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-rundown/], featuringReason Editor at Large Matt Welch [https://reason.com/people/matt-welch/]. Mentioned in this podcast: "IRS Controversially Claims Hiring 87,000 New Agents Won't Mean Higher Audit Rate for the Middle Class [https://reason.com/2022/08/11/irs-controversially-claims-hiring-87000-new-agents-wont-mean-higher-audit-rate-for-the-middle-class/]," by Liz Wolfe "Dems Want To Soak the Rich by Snooping on the Poor [https://reason.com/2021/10/14/dems-want-to-soak-the-rich-by-snooping-on-the-poor/]," by Matt Welch "Biden's Total Financial Surveillance [https://reason.com/2021/09/08/bidens-total-financial-surveillance/]," by Matt Welch "Biden Won't Close the 'Tax Gap,' but He Will Snoop on Your Bank Records [https://reason.com/2021/06/09/biden-wont-close-the-tax-gap-but-he-will-snoop-on-your-bank-records/]," by Matt Welch Audio production and editing by Ian Keyser [https://reason.com/people/ian-keyser/]; produced by Hunt Beaty [https://reason.com/people/hunt-beaty/] The post Matt Welch: Dems Want To Spend Your Money To Take More of Your Money [https://reason.com/podcast/2022/08/12/matt-welch-dems-want-to-spend-your-money-to-take-more-of-your-money/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Green dollars set on fire | Illustration: Lex Villena; Robin Francom [https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q60/uploads/2022/08/subsidy-800x450.jpeg] In July, President Joe Biden delivered a speech at a decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, following record-breaking heat waves in both the United States and Europe. In his remarks, he said that "climate change is an emergency" and "a clear and present danger to the United States." This wasn't the official declaration of a national emergency that progressive climate activists had hoped for. But it was a form of lip service to their demands. Now, less than a month later, a legislative deal between Sen. Joe Manchin (D–W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) would put $370 billion in new federal spending toward tackling climate change. That deal, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act [https://reason.com/2022/07/27/schumer-manchin-strike-deal-to-raise-taxes-cut-the-deficit-spend-billions-on-climate-change/], is a successor to the Build Back Better spending plan that Democrats fought over and failed to pass for the last year. The $370 billion figure is less than progressive activists originally wanted, but it nonetheless represents both the single biggest component of the Inflation Reduction Act and massive increase in the size and scope federal climate spending. The bill has yet to pass, but Democrats are already arguing that it could be a pivotal moment for climate and energy policy, as well as for the political fortune of Biden's flagging presidency. That's the topic of this week's episode ofThe Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman [https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-rundown/], featuringReason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey. Mentioned in this podcast: "Are the Inflation Reduction Act's Climate Goals Plausible? [https://reason.com/2022/08/04/are-the-inflation-reduction-acts-climate-goals-plausible/]" by Ronald Bailey "President Biden Asserts 'Climate Change Is an Emergency' [https://reason.com/2022/07/20/president-biden-asserts-climate-change-is-an-emergency/]," by Ronald Bailey "More Heat Waves But Falling Heat Mortality in U.S. [https://reason.com/2022/06/16/more-heat-waves-but-falling-heat-mortality-in-us/]," by Ronald Bailey Audio production and editing by Luke Allen; produced by Hunt Beaty [https://reason.com/people/hunt-beaty/] The post Ron Bailey: Will $370 Billion in Green Energy Subsidies Make Any Difference? [https://reason.com/podcast/2022/08/05/ron-bailey-will-370-billion-in-green-energy-subsidies-make-any-difference/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].