timwferguson

Review of ‘When the Clock Broke’ by Ganz

John Ganz is a trending young writer on the left with a history bent, and his new book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, “When the Clock Broke,” is largely a political recapitulation of 1992 in the U.S. His angle is that the populist resentments of today’s MAGA America were present in that late-recessionary year, inContinue reading “Review of ‘When the Clock Broke’ by Ganz”

Taking Hamptons Traffic Seriously

Here’s a “letter to the editor” from me, published this week at the Southampton Press site. It concerns the worsening traffic situation on the South Fork of Long Island, not only the backups on the primary east-west arteries, but the onslaught of diverted traffic onto residential roads (including–no surprise–mine). I make reference to some renderingsContinue reading “Taking Hamptons Traffic Seriously”

Arf! Arf! Is a Hamptons Sound

Among the many 50-year milestones being observed in “the Hamptons” over the last year or two–reflective of the fundamental changes that were taking place there in the early 1970s–is a four-legged one. This golden anniversary year for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), now a celebrated (and sometimes celebrity) charity, will culminate inContinue reading “Arf! Arf! Is a Hamptons Sound”

Dining Out on Taxpayers in NYC

Restaurant sheds have been a lingering point of Covid controversy in New York City, and this item in the free tabloid papers from Schneps Media ought to be reason for further debate. The sheds were allowed on public streets to save the eateries during the indoor restrictions of the pandemic. Many of them remain inContinue reading “Dining Out on Taxpayers in NYC”

Home Prices Tend to Level Out, If Not Off

Wait long enough, and many difference in residential real-estate prices get arbitraged away. That’s one takeaway, at least down to the metropolitan area, from this week’s data release from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). It shows several instances of catch-up by areas of the country that have been less favored in recent decades. MaybeContinue reading “Home Prices Tend to Level Out, If Not Off”

Bedroom Reform for Today’s Housing Crisis

Long Island, N.Y.’s East End has a housing price/supply crunch, like the United Kingdom. So it might want to look at an earnest argument out of the UK for addressing the scarcity by restricting or reallocating bedroom supply. (See this derivative blog post.) The scholars there found no actual shortfall of home square-footage in theContinue reading “Bedroom Reform for Today’s Housing Crisis”

Tipplers Tax: How NY Hamstrings ‘Big Grocery’

The antitrust-activist Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Biden administration and chair Lina Khan moved earlier this year to block a merger between grocery oligarchs Kroger and Albertsons. Its motivation is to preserve competition (such as it is) in traditional food shopping. There’s a whole debate about whether choice in supermarkets is so relevant whenContinue reading “Tipplers Tax: How NY Hamstrings ‘Big Grocery’”

Empty or Illicit? NYC Shops for a Solution

New York City, like many urban areas, has suffered vacant storefronts in recent years. The causes are likely many: online shopping, property crime, difficulty in hiring low-wage staff or paying the going rents. An article at politicsny.com this week notes that some city councilmembers are on the case and, as often, blaming landlords. Even aContinue reading “Empty or Illicit? NYC Shops for a Solution”

Dictator, Not Democracy, Initiated Korean Miracle

The most interesting aspect of yesterday’s discussion at the Korea Society in New York concerned Park Chung Hee, the transformative autocrat who ruled from Seoul for most of the 1960s and 1970s. He was an army general who seized power in 1961 and maneuvered, sometimes brutally, to maintain it until he was assassinated in 1979.Continue reading “Dictator, Not Democracy, Initiated Korean Miracle”

The Housing Issue Begins to Bite

As we’re reminded constantly, the U.S. is an increasingly polarized society, politically and otherwise. It is getting ever more so “otherwise” in the housing market, where many enjoy rising property values and easy mortgage payments while others are pressed for shelter anywhere near their desired locations. This affordability issue has gained steam, and is causingContinue reading “The Housing Issue Begins to Bite”