Windy City mailbag

Big cars, language change, and the case for more conspiracy theorists

I’m on a brief trip to Chicago this week so didn’t answer quite as many mailbag questions as I normally do — but first, a bit of happy news.

There’s been a steep decline in homeless veterans, the labor market remains strong, remote work is saving people a lot of time, Massachusetts towns are up against a zoning reform deadline, and productivity is up.

JeffD: Why are cars/SUVs/trucks getting bigger? Why are more people driving SUVs? Is this a policy failure and if so can the failure be reversed?

I live in a dense city and when I drive, I often end up parallel parking on the street. I also own a very small garage that opens onto a narrow alley. Under the circumstances, I actively prefer the size of my Prius to a larger car that would be more difficult to park and maneuver around the alleys.

But that’s an unusual situation. Most people live in the suburbs and park in parking lots, and from that standpoint, a bigger vehicle is better for the boring reason that you can put more stuff in it. …