Housing Boom
What to know: Texas lawmakers have laid the groundwork for a housing boom by clearing away red tape.
The TPPF take: One of the leading causes of the housing affordability crisis is a matter of supply.
“Zoning regulations in many major metropolitan areas have created an artificial scarcity of houses, which in turn drives up the costs of housing,” says TPPF’s John Bonura. “With this in mind, in order to solve the housing affordability crisis without pouring billions of dollars into subsidized housing, unnecessary zoning restrictions must be removed. Eliminating these restrictions will create opportunities for developers to respond to the real demand of consumers. And that’s what the Legislature has done.”
For more on housing restrictions, click here.
Small but Powerful
What to know: North America’s first small nuclear reactor (SMR) could be operation in Ontario within five years.
The TPPF take: Texas should also lead the way on developing small modular reactors (SMRs), but it cannot do so until it reforms its electric market to properly value the reliability attributes of nuclear relative to unreliable wind and solar.
“Wind, solar, and batteries cannot be built in sufficient quantities to meet our growth over the next decade without huge cost impacts, which means there is an urgent need to build more reliable, affordable, and scalable electricity generation capacity,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “However, until Texas enacts uniform reliability standards for electric generators and pays them according to their reliability, nuclear faces an uphill battle against heavily subsidized and overvalued wind and solar.”
For more on small, modular nuclear reactors, click here.
Self-Driving Cars
What to know: Self-driving cars are already being deployed in cities across the nation.
The TPPF take: Just as with all other technology, self-driving vehicles are a tool that can induce positive and negative outcomes.
“As a first principle, and for the sake of innovation broadly, it is crucial that Texas continue to hold the line on the regulation-heavy instincts of states like California and Illinois,” says TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “With responsible guardrails in place and the ingredients for an innovative hotspot, Texas will continue to lead the nation as the exemplar of responsible technology that seeks to serve humanity, and not the other way around.”
For more on driverless vehicles, click here.