By Pascal Salin, courtesy of Contrepoints There were times in the past when great efforts were made to facilitate the use of automobiles . A few decades ago, many highways were thus built and the circulation of cars in town was encouraged, for example on the banks of the Seine in Paris. But now we are faced with a […]
Tag: transportation
The Great EU Airline Refund Scam
By Bill Wirtz, courtesy of the Austrian Economics Center At first 12, now 16 EU member states are looking to overturn rules requiring airlines to refund passengers with cash payments if their flight had been cancelled as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. The companies have been lobbying the European Council to disable […]
Ending the Jones Act Would Give China More Leverage
By Ernest Istook, Former U.S. Rep (R, OK-5) China aggressively aims to dominate world trade by dominating how goods are shipped around the globe as well as by making other countries dependent on its goods. Because 90% of world trade goes by ship, it seeks to command maritime trade by building […]
What coronavirus tells us about globalization (and vice versa)
“The unintended consequences of coronavirus.” By Sergio Beraldo, courtesy of IREF A new type of virus is holding the world in suspense by evoking images of the worst Hollywoodian nightmares. It is known that it spread out of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China, and then quickly propagated throughout mainland China, at […]
US ferries sinking under Jones Act
“U.S. Ferry Systems Soaked by Maritime Protectionism” By Colin Grabow, courtesy of the Cato Institute Some of the country’s leading ferry systems are facing an increasingly precarious outlook. In Alaska, questions loom over the state‐run ferry system’s future after the governor and legislature last year endorsed paring back massive subsidies needed to keep it afloat. In Washington state, […]
The Jones Act: An Important Capability We Must Protect
By Cdr. Rich Kavanaugh (Ret), former Chief of Regional Affairs, Office of International Affairs at U.S. Coast Guard During World War II, the U.S. Merchant Fleet consisted of 4,221 ships and there were 221 shipyards operating in the U.S. This capability allowed for the largest movement of war materials in the history of […]
Renationalization would be a huge mistake (again)
“Renationalisation would ‘ignore the lessons of history’, finds new IEA report” Courtesy of the IEA Calls to bring key utilities back under state control “ignore important lessons” from the post-war period, argues a new report from the Institute of Economic Affairs published today. Renationalisation: Back to the Future, written by IEA […]
Cities key to fight against climate change
“Climate Calling: Inside EU Cities’ and Regions’ Green Race” Courtesy of CASE As the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties (COP25) approaches together with the widely announced European Green Deal of the incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the end of year is once again dominated by climate-related discussions. What is different from […]
Germany to hike taxes on air travel
The hot new virtue-signaling trend of “fly shaming” might not be enough to persuade people to fly less, but steep tax hikes might just do the trick. That’s what Germany is cooking up, with the ruling coalition’s new proposed budget featuring higher federal taxes on […]
New bill would target transit funding to places that allow housing density
By Salim Furth, Senior Research Fellow, Courtesy of Mercatus Center. On Thursday, Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced a bill intended to alleviate the national housing supply shortage, which is acute in coastal areas such as Rep. Peters’ San Diego district. Since […]