Some say that one of the solutions to our housing problem [indeed, their favorite solution] is building on land that has not been built on before. There are a lot of issues surrounding this, however. There are two ways of […]
Economics
Renting as Borrowing
Increasingly, the renting of an apartment has become treated more and more like taking out a loan, as if to buy a house or something else. The same demands of ‘established credit’ are now made. And I have seen no […]
More on Christian Faith and Land Use: The Issue of Profiling
The big moral issue behind intentional racism, classism, and the like is the issue of ‘profiling’. Should we assume that, because of people’s appearance, color, or income, they would be more or less likely to do certain things? Or be […]
What My Christian Faith Brings to My Views on Land Use
I have attempted to think through the implications of the teaching of the Scripture, and of the Christian faith, for land use and land use law. One issue for me is that a lot of land use law in our […]
On the Urbanist Classic, “Crabgrass Frontier,” by Kenneth T. Jackson
One of the classic books on the history of suburbia is Kenneth Jackson’s Crabgrass Frontier. It came out in 1985, two years before my personal favorite, Bourgeois Utopias, by Robert Fishman. This book notice discusses Crabgrass Frontier in view of […]
Does the Working Class Think It Can’t ‘Afford’ to Raise Their Children in a Christian Environment Any More?
In recent years we have heard how Christianity, and even Pentecostalism, seem to be losing their grip on the working classes, at least in white American communities. Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, Charles Murray, who wrote Coming Apart, and […]
The Real Significance of the Tithe
The tithe has been a matter of controversy in Jewish and Christian circles, I assume, since it was first promulgated. [Islam, instead of 10% of income, proposes a contribution of 2.5% of one’s wealth per year.] Early in my Christian […]
Three New Testament Roots of Economic Liberty
We do not often think that Jesus Christ and the New Testament justifies capitalism. To the extent that capitalism means greed and self-indulgence, I should think not! Greed and self-indulgence are root human sins and will be manifested in any […]
Reno vs. Sirico: A Debate on Economic Justice
I rarely link to videos, much less watch them myself. But this one I actually did. It contains a debate between two scholars on economic justice, both of them, interestingly enough, identified as ‘conservative’. They are Rusty Reno, editor of First […]
On Feeling Guilty for Ordering Stuff Online
I like ordering things online and not having to hunt for them in stores. And sometimes the alternative is being eliminated. Just like paying cash or taking public transit, live stores, especially bookstores, are disappearing. There is only one major […]