For the second time ever, I have a guest blogger - and this one I did not have to sleep with as an inducement to post. My buddy Daryl has generously offered to write something for R World and I eagerly agreed. I've written about Daryl (in his first season as the Houston Rockets GM, the team put together the second longest winning streak in NBA history) and how much I enjoy him. Daryl is one person I never feel as though I have to slow down for when I'm engaged in conversation. He's quick, but he also loves big ideas, and he is not afraid to go deep or silly on any number of subjects. I'm delighted to share a little bit of him for you all here at R World. Enjoy!
As Ron has stated eloquently in his blog before (Rockets Win Again with Rookie GM), "I go where the data goes". This tendency, along with the fact that "I doubt the deep doubts" (Socrates) makes life a bit of an adventure as I might change a belief at any moment. To demonstrate my willingness to change, I will provide one recent anecdote.
First, a little background. I generally have libertarian views and believe the government should basically only do roads, courts, police, the army, and tax externalities. Otherwise, stay out of our lives please.
When I moved to Houston, I was excited to hear they had no zoning. I was very curious to see how well this worked, independent folks finally able to make free choice in how to use land! Long story short, I have basically come to the conclusion that it does not work and the list of what Guvment should do is now reluctantly one longer.
Exhibit number one into evidence is probably this picture. This spot is abou
t 4 miles from our house. The sex shop is apparent but what is not apparent is that the unlabeled building behind said shop is actually a Niemen Marcus that is connected to the most high end mall in the city. One stop shopping for sure!Actually, it is not this particular arrangement that caused me to now support zoning, as I find it mostly humorous. What made me a supporter of zoning is the fact that nothing in Houston makes any logical sense and it contributes to a host of negative outcomes: longer commute times, confusion, and general waste of both public and private space.
[Editor's note: Daryl's post is, for those of you keeping score, the 800th here at R World.]
