Tag: regulation

Needlessly Strict Federal Rules on Radiation Exposure Are Stalling Nuclear Power Development

Posted on by Lone Candle

“Unreasonably strict radiation exposure limits are holding back nuclear power development, according to a July report from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) researchers. The report challenges the current model for radiation exposure, arguing that recent evidence shows it is biologically unwarranted.”

https://reason.com/2025/10/18/radiation-rules-are-stalling-nuclear-power/

Feds Pump the Brakes on Autonomous Trucks

Posted on by Lone Candle

“An obscure federal rule is slowing the self-driving revolution. When trucks break down, operators are required to place reflective warning cones and road flares around the truck to warn other motorists. The regulations are exacting: Within 10 minutes of stopping, three warning signals must be set in specific locations around the truck.
Aurora asked the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) to allow warning beacons to be fixed to the truck itself—and activated when a truck becomes disabled. The warning beacons would face both forward and backward, would be more visible
than cones (particularly at night), and wouldn’t burn out like road flares. Drivers of nonautonomous vehicles could also benefit from that rule change, as they would no longer have to walk into traffic to place the required safety signals.

In December 2024, however, the DOT denied Aurora’s request for an exemption to the existing rules, even though regulators admitted in the Federal Register that no evidence indicated the truck-mounted beacons would be less safe. Such a study is now underway, but it’s unclear how long it will take to draw any conclusions.”

https://reason.com/2025/10/19/feds-pump-the-brakes-on-autonomous-trucks/

Zohran Mamdani’s Socialist Housing Plan Could Crash New York’s Rickety Rental Market

Posted on by Lone Candle

“The city has the nation’s most regulated housing sector and the largest stock of government-owned and subsidized housing, and yet progressives blame its real estate troubles on the free market.

…

These buildings are falling apart, with an estimated $78 billion repair backlog, including “non-functioning smoke detectors, antiquated electrical components, damaged interiors, missing child guards…deteriorated roofs, deteriorated pumps, and leaking pipes,” according to a recent report. The system for making repairs in New York public housing is rife with corruption. Heat and hot water service are routinely interrupted. The elevators, which are crucial in multistory buildings housing elderly residents, are constantly breaking down.

When public housing was created, it was assumed that the residents would be two-income, working families whose rents would cover upkeep. That plan failed as stable families opted for home-ownership. Today, only 2 percent of New York public housing households include two adults with children, and just a third of households report income from wages.

The perverse incentives of public housing help explain why the city is perennially plagued by shortages. According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), fully 30 percent of the city’s public housing residents are “overhoused,” meaning single adults are living in 3- or 4-bedroom apartments. About 10 percent of residents have lived in their units for more than 40 years.

This problem also applies to rent-regulated units: Artificially cheap rents mean tenants don’t vacate after their kids grow up and move out, leading to inefficient use of a limited stock.

…

The “affordable housing” program championed by Mamdani will likely take the form of new private apartment buildings setting aside units for lower-income families, whose rents are subsidized by the federal government. These programs require developers to navigate extensive red tape, which adds cost and slows housing production. The system allocates units via lottery, so it’s based on luck.

Similarly, rent-regulated units in Manhattan go to tenants lucky enough to get them, or, in some cases, inherit them from their parents or grandparents. Since New York lawmakers have made it so hard to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent, landlords are incentivized to pick high-earners to inhabit this scarce resource.

As mayor, Mamdani would select the members of the Rent Guidelines Board, which sets price increases on nearly 1 million apartments. According to Census data, turnover in rent-regulated units is half that of market-rate units, which is one of the reasons the city’s overall turnover is 46 percent lower than the national average.

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thanks to a 2019 law that made New York’s rent regulation laws far more stringent. Some 200,000 rent-regulated apartments, many in need of ongoing maintenance, don’t generate enough income to cover basic operating expenses, according to Mark Willis of New York University’s Furman Center. He also noted that “such rent shortfalls are likely to continue to grow over time, potentially exponentially, jeopardizing the long-run economic sustainability of these properties.””

https://reason.com/2025/10/20/zohran-mamdanis-socialist-housing-plan-could-crash-new-yorks-rickety-rental-market/

The Clean Air Act Is Making Our Air Dirtier

Posted on by Lone Candle

“The planned, carefully controlled burns that can prevent megafires—known as prescribed fires—rarely qualify. They are, by definition, intentional and therefore generally fail to meet the Clean Air Act’s requirements for exceptional events. The result is a perverse incentive: The uncontrolled wildfire that blackens the skies is given a regulatory free pass, while the low-intensity prescribed fire that could have reduced the risk of that disaster faces red tape and potential penalties.

As a result, states become reluctant to issue burn permits, and fire practitioners scale back projects rather than risk running afoul of federal standards.”

https://reason.com/2025/10/22/the-clean-air-act-is-making-our-air-dirtier/

D.C. Will Arrest This CEO if His Rideshare Alternative Doesn’t Shut Down by Friday

Posted on by Lone Candle

“When Empower entered the Washington, D.C., rideshare market in 2020, it promised to disrupt the status quo by empowering drivers to work for themselves, set their own fares, and collect 100 percent of the proceeds—paying Empower a flat monthly rate to use its software. Despite delivering on this promise to its drivers—who earn more with Empower than by working for rideshares—and facilitating lower fares for riders, the company has faced relentless bureaucratic opposition. After a years-long legal battle with the city, including numerous cease and desist orders and tens of millions of dollars in fines, Empower’s time in the nation’s capital could be drawing to a close.”

https://reason.com/2025/10/09/d-c-will-arrest-this-ceo-if-his-rideshare-alternative-doesnt-shut-down-by-friday/?nab=1

New York Doubles Down on Delivery Wage Disaster

Posted on by Lone Candle

“New York’s experiment with delivery driver wage mandates hasn’t gone well. Pay went up after the 2023 rule kicked in, but so did prices—and many drivers left the market altogether. The city saw an 8 percent drop in its delivery workforce, while food delivery costs rose 10 percent, including a 12 percent jump in restaurant prices and a staggering 58 percent spike in app fees. Tips, meanwhile, plunged 47 percent. Platforms even started capping drivers

…

Seattle followed suit in 2024 with a $26-an-hour minimum wage for delivery drivers—and immediately watched the system collapse. Apps tacked on a new $5 delivery fee, and with taxes added, customers were soon paying bills with nearly 30 percent of the cost unrelated to the food itself. DoorDash saw 33,000 fewer orders in just the first two weeks, wiping out about $1 million in restaurant sales.

Counter to the law’s intention, many Seattle delivery drivers saw their earnings slashed by over half. “Demand was dead,” according to one such driver. A recent report from gig companies found that, following the ordinance taking effect, delivery orders dropped 25 percent, and driver pay fell 28 percent per hour logged on.”

https://reason.com/2025/10/11/new-york-doubles-down-on-delivery-wage-disaster/?nab=1

Brendan Carr Says Networks Must Serve the ‘Public Interest.’ What Does That Mean?

Posted on by Lone Candle

“Unlike other forms of media, radio and network TV stations broadcast over public airwaves, which the FCC polices by issuing broadcast licenses. Federal law authorizes the FCC to ensure licensees serve “the public interest, convenience, and necessity.”
“Generally, this means [a broadcaster] must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license,” the FCC claims.

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The “public interest standard” is in fact “not really a standard because it doesn’t tell you what they can’t do,” Thomas W. Hazlett, an economics professor at Clemson University, tells Reason. “There is some formal structure to the process, but in terms of an actual regulatory standard, it basically means that we’re going to make rules according to what we think is right. And of course, if you want to do things that are different and exercise power in a certain direction, you’ll talk a lot about public interest because it’s a very wide berth for justifying what you’re trying to do. It does dress it up a little bit, that it’s not just politics, it’s bigger than that, but not really: It’s what the five members of the commission vote to do, and that’s the beginning and the end.””

https://reason.com/2025/09/23/brendan-carr-says-networks-must-serve-the-public-interest-what-does-that-mean/

EPA reorganization sparks fears of ‘political interference’

Posted on by Lone Candle

““They are putting it directly under the administrator and subjecting it to political interference, subjecting research at the office to political interference,” said Nicole Cantello, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, which represents EPA Region 5 employees. “They are splitting apart ORD for no reason.”

Cantello said the Office of Research and Development has produced “unparalleled” research that scientists have relied on for decades to craft policy and regulations that protect the public and the environment. Splitting up the office, she said, is meant to intimidate scientists and will undermine the credibility of EPA science.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/22/epa-reorganization-political-interference-00574943