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Category Archives: Economics
What Nobody Proved About Austin
This piece in the Texas Monthly has been making the social media circles. It argues that – surprise! – Austin might be the state’s most segregated city. It’s so Slate-y in its counter-intuitive hypothesis, that I could just not resist … Continue reading
Posted in Development, Economics, Housing
4 Comments
One take on improving Austin affordability
Brigid Shea’s recent Statesman editorial implies that Austin’s affordability issues are substantially driven by municipal taxes and rates. The author bemoans that: “In the coming year, Austin residents will see an average $150 increase on their water and electric bills … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged affordability, austin, corporate welfare, housing, median household income, taxes
2 Comments
Austin Affordability: What Matters?
The discussion around Austin’s ‘affordability’ was perhaps the most interesting policy theme from the recent municipal election. Unfortunately, the discussion seemed to focus on economic development subsidies. These subsidies – while they might contribute to reducing Austin’s affordability in some … Continue reading
Posted in Development, Economics, Transportation
Tagged affordability, city council, elections
3 Comments
Some suggestions for the Statesman on their Austin Economy series
The Statesman’s review of the Austin economic climate is a much-needed profile and (to some extent) evaluation of the city’s economy. There are four areas where the Statesman’s coverage could improve. 1. Don’t forget about sub-group income levels. Not everybody … Continue reading
Posted in Development, Economics
Tagged austin, austin american statesman, economics, public policy, unemployment
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Austin’s democracy deficit hurts local median income
Wells Dunbar’s tumblr post of demographic data from the City’s African-American Quality of Life Initiative reminded me that there’s a local democracy deficit concerning municipal policies that might help boost median income. I visualize the family median income data below. … Continue reading
Posted in Development, Economics
Tagged african-americans, asians, austin, democracy deficit, hispanics, inequality, latinos, median income, public policy
4 Comments
Save to Win Austin?
Nudgeblog highlights the remarkably effective Save to Win! effort by community-focused financial service institutions in Michigan and makes a suggestion: With banks acting like lotteries, maybe it’s time for lotteries to act like banks. For people who can’t give up … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Suggestion Box
Tagged austin, save to win, credit unions, asset development
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We all want incentives
From the Statesman: It’s worth repeating that incentives that spend taxpayers’ dollars to attract companies to Austin are not always warranted or justified and should be granted or denied on a case-by-case basis. And whenever incentives are granted, there must … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged austin, corporate welfare, hanger orthopedic, legalzoom, unemployment
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Actually, Pretty Bad Poverty News for Austin
Yesterday, we looked at the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area’s inching up on median household incomes. Today, the Statesman drills down on Austin-only data and finds a more mixed bag. Most of the changes seem to be in the margin of … Continue reading
Taking Credit for Austin MSA Median Income Growth (Part I)
The good folks over at CAPCOG’s Data Points blog give us the good news: Austin MSA median household income is up. However, as I argued in the past, we have to put this in the context of our substantial amount … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged austin msa, capcog, data points, human capital, median household income
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Jane Jacobs tops Top 100 Urban Thinkers List
From a Planetizen poll, Jane Jacobs tops the list.
