The Boyd Institute | Substack

Final Reminder: Essay Contest Closes July 15

You have two weeks left!

Jun 30 • William Miller, Peter Banks, and The Mont Pelerin Review

BRICS: The Solvent-Not-Safe Middle Tier

Even modest debt ratios can mask real fragility

Jun 26 • The Mont Pelerin Review

2% Inflation Targeting is Arbitrary and Accidental

But unfortunately, the US in no position to change it right now.

Jun 24 • William Miller

Eight Countries With Strong Public Finances

Fiscal strength is engineered, not inherited. And the US has every tool but the will.

Jun 19 • The Mont Pelerin Review

Japan Is Not The Counterexample

For decades, Japan has been trotted around as proof that high debt and wide deficits are costless. Now that's reversing, and treating it as a model for…

Jun 17 • William Miller

Most Popular

America has a ghetto, not a housing, problem | Peter Banks

Oct 21, 2025 • Peter Banks

15 Housing "Ground Truths"

Oct 16, 2025 • William Miller and Peter Banks

Crush Public Sector Unions | Peter Banks

Mar 11 • Peter Banks

14 "Ground Truths" on Debt & Deficits

May 27 • William Miller, Peter Banks, and The Mont Pelerin Review

America's Problem-Solving Capacity

Pragmatists of the Caribbean

Liberty-maxxing and governance-mogging in Próspera

Apr 5 • William Miller

Q1 Essay Contest Results

"How can America improve its problem-solving capacity?"

Mar 31 • Peter Banks and William Miller

One Does Not Simply "Dismantle the Vetocracy"

Using the YIMBY roadmap as a template for collective action problem-solving

Mar 18 • William Miller

Crush Public Sector Unions | Peter Banks

We cannot afford to ignore them any longer

Mar 11 • Peter Banks

We have a Dianne Feinstein Problem | Peter Banks

At every level from the bureaucracy to Congress, the United States government is weighed down by a seniority system that privileges people who have been…

Mar 4 • Peter Banks

Housing

Boyd Housing Anthology

Highlighting eight more out-of-the-box housing solutions from our essay contest.

Dec 27, 2025 • The Boyd Institute

The NIMBY Buyout Plan (Essay Contest Winner)

How turning land-use vetoes into tradable rights can solve the housing crisis.

Dec 23, 2025 • Nathan Smith

Contact Tracing for Crime — Unlocking the Frozen City

The second-place essay in our contest, authored by The Calipers

Dec 20, 2025 • The Calipers

Housing as a Capital Markets Problem

The third-place essay in our contest, authored by Mike Fellman

Dec 17, 2025 • Mike Fellman

8 More Housing "Ground Truths"

On financialization, cap rates, market frictions, whether there's a crisis, supply constraints, YIMBYism, spatial misallocations, and human capital…

Dec 12, 2025 • William Miller

Autonomy

After Action Report: Drones & Autonomy

Reviewing our summer sprint — and why autonomy is the path to renewal and competitiveness.

Aug 26, 2025 • Jeff Giesea and The Boyd Institute

American Solvency Requires Autonomy

We can either accept inevitable austerity or grow our way out of this mess

Aug 21, 2025 • Peter Banks and The Boyd Institute

Who’s Building America’s Autonomous Edge?

50 startups reshaping how America moves, defends, and builds — and why backing them is critical to U.S. competitiveness

Aug 5, 2025 • Peter Banks and The Boyd Institute

America Must Win the World of Atoms, Not Just Bits

The path to winning in AI includes autonomous systems.

Aug 1, 2025 • Peter Banks and The Boyd Institute

50 Autonomous Systems That Will Transform the World

Real-world examples across land, air, sea, and space

Jul 21, 2025 • The Boyd Institute

Tech Governance

AI is Democracy's Best Hope

The path to democratic renewal runs through intelligent systems

Feb 16 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

Proposing: The American Autonomy Initiative

A national strategy to lead in autonomy across land, sea, air, and space

Jul 9, 2025 • The Boyd Institute, John Robb, and Jeff Giesea

Imagining an Office of Strategic Technology (OST)

A concept overview for an “OSS for tech” to accelerate strategic technology for America and AUKUS

Jan 8, 2024 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

Thiel Fellows, for Africa

Africa’s youthquake is a generational opportunity for diplomacy and technology innovation

Dec 18, 2023 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

The Technorealist alternative

Safetyism and Techno-optimism aren’t the only options for dealing with AI risks. Technorealism is the framework needed to guide us through these issues.

Nov 27, 2023 • Jeff Giesea and The Boyd Institute

China-Taiwan

Why not a NATO for the Indo-Pacific?

How AUKUS can catalyze a broader security architecture

Apr 4, 2024 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

The world should be more paranoid about a Taiwan invasion threat

An assessment of the Taiwan invasion threat and blind spots in existing scenarios

Mar 15, 2024 • Jeff Giesea and The Boyd Institute

A reading list to quickly get up to speed on China's threat to Taiwan

10 resources and 2 requests for more info

Mar 11, 2024 • Jeff Giesea and The Boyd Institute

Africa

Five projects to unlock the Congo Corridor

and advance commercial diplomacy in Central Africa

Jun 2, 2025 • Jeff Giesea and The Boyd Institute

Proposing: The Congo River Corridor

Lobito was just the beginning. The Congo Corridor is next.

May 12, 2025 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

Securing Red Sea commerce from Houthi threats

Rapid response recommendations based on our Space on maritime issues

Dec 23, 2023 • The Boyd Institute, Michael Guimarin, and Jeff Giesea

Thiel Fellows, for Africa

Africa’s youthquake is a generational opportunity for diplomacy and technology innovation

Dec 18, 2023 • The Boyd Institute and Jeff Giesea

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