Hosting the Olympics Is Actually Economically Harmful for Cities

  The Olympic Games as currently conducted are not economically viable for most cities. The most important reasons include infrastructure costs relating to the venues hosting the events; the monopoly rents that flow to the International Olympic Committee; poor management; corruption; and the specter of unreasonable and unrealizable economic expectations for the host city and nation. Concerns about costs are nothing new. Even Salt Lake City’s $1.9 billion in expenditures in 2002 ($2.5 billion in 2015 dollars), which seem almost quaint by today’s standards, raised concerns among…

Housing Policy Should Promote Both Affordability and Responsibility

Homeownership is an important engine of economic growth and provides a path to prosperity for low- and middle-income families. Policies that simply aim to make homeownership more accessible, though, overlook essential safeguards for responsible homeownership. The most recent housing crisis provides ample evidence of this flawed approach, and is the source of enduring pessimism about the housing market. Policymakers should reform housing policy to reduce barriers to responsible homeownership and upward mobility. First, the mortgage-interest deduction should be fixed. The current mortgage-interest deduction disproportionately benefits…