May 6, 2026

Why I’m Supporting Micah Lasher for Congress

Like his mentor Jerry Nadler, Micah is a professional politician in the best sense: personally unpretentious, deeply concerned with advancing the public interest, skilled in designing legislation and organizing support to get it passed. In short, he is a true leader.

City economics, Governance, Inequality

November 15, 2025

Mamdani Needs to Catch the Value Capture Bus

Mamdani is already targeted by big real estate. He has nothing to lose from proposing a tax on properties near bus stops to cover the $800 million cost of free bus fares.

Governance, Inequality, infrastructure, property taxes, Tax policy

May 3, 2022

The Last Tour Guide to Leave Cuba

Mike in hand, our tour guide stands at the front of the bus. “This will be my last tour,” she announces. “I am not the same person I was six years ago. Then I was hopeful. There was so much work I didn’t have time for a break. Now it’s

Corruption, Cuba, Development economics, Governance, Inequality, Trade policy

March 7, 2020

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity, by Charles Marohn Jr.

Post WW II single family subdivisions have proved a fiscal disaster. At first, they generated substantial tax revenues, making cities eager to encourage and subsidize more of them by extending utilities. But because all the utilities and houses in a subdivision were built at the same time, they all aged