The recent bipartisan breakthrough in the Senate marks a pivotal moment in American housing policy. With the passage of the ROAD Act by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, a new chapter opens in efforts to tackle the perennial housing crisis. The legislation’s core aims—lifting caps on housing credits and bonds, boosting
Politics
The declining reliance on coal for electricity generation in the United States is not just an environmental shift; it’s an economic upheaval that exposes the vulnerabilities of municipal finance. While proponents of cleaner energy tout the environmental benefits, the financial consequences for coal-dependent communities often remain overlooked. As natural gas, driven by the fracking revolution,
Texas faces an urgent and brutal reality: the devastating floods that struck the Hill Country over the July 4 weekend, claiming over 130 lives and causing billions in damages, are not just natural disasters but symptomatic of deeper systemic issues. This catastrophe starkly highlights the dangerous complacency and inefficiency entrenched in local governance and infrastructure
As we venture deeper into 2025, a stark reality looms over America’s urban landscape: cities are teetering on the edge of a fiscal abyss. Thanks to the abrupt termination of federal stimulus initiatives like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), municipal leaders face an increasingly challenging path ahead. The
The California High-Speed Rail (HSR) saga embodies a broader political and fiscal tragedy that illuminates the perils of grandiose government projects divorced from pragmatic oversight. For years, proponents sold this ambitious vision as a transformative transportation revolution. But beneath the gleam of high-profile promises lies a disturbing pattern of mismanagement, inflated projections, and an inability
The recent settlement between the University of Iowa and its private utility operator underscores a fundamental flaw that plagues American public-private partnerships (P3s): a systemic inability to effectively manage long-term disputes. While these collaborations are designed to leverage private sector efficiency and capital for public good, they often lack the mechanisms needed to address conflicts
In an era where higher education’s stability is increasingly precarious, recent federal budget proposals introduce an unprecedented challenge. The planned cuts to Medicaid, amounting to nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade, threaten to destabilize the very backbone of America’s public universities. Such reductions are not just a bureaucratic maneuver—they are a direct assault
The recent overhaul of federal tax legislation embodies a bold, yet perilous gamble that could jeopardize the fiscal stability of states across the nation. While proponents tout the law’s complexity as a sign of economic ingenuity, its unintended consequences threaten to unravel the delicate balance many state governments have painstakingly maintained. By significantly reducing federal
Oregon’s decision to slash nearly a thousand positions across its transportation department signals a perilous neglect of foundational services that keep the state moving. Road maintenance, often considered mundane, is actually the backbone of everyday safety and economic stability. When potholes remain unfilled and roads go unchecked, the fabric of daily life begins to fray.
In a decisive move that signals a new era for American infrastructure development, the Trump administration announced a significant change in transportation project funding policies. By increasing the Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan cap from 33% to a remarkable 49%, the government is opening the floodgates for project sponsors to leverage nearly