In case you haven’t read enough Supreme Court OT 2011 term previews, here’s the one I wrote for NRO: “Supremely Consequential.”
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Does the EPA Need $21 Billion to Hire 230,000 More Employees?
A Daily Caller story claiming the Environmental Protection Agency is “asking for taxpayers to shoulder the burden of up to 230,000 new bureaucrats — at a cost of $21 billion” in order to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act has caused a bit of a stir on the internet (see, e.g., here, […]
Are Motorcycles “Greener” Than Cars?
The LA Times reports on a Mythbusters investigation into whether motorcycles are a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation than cars, at least with regard to their fuel consumption and emissions. The investigation involved road-testing vehicles of each type from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s while monitoring the vehicles’ fuel consumption and emissions. The results: […]
IJ on “The Myth of Judicial Activism”
The Institute for Justice has a new report examining the rate at which the Supreme Court overturns laws and regulations. Clark Neily summarizes in the WSJ: Over the 50-year period from 1954 to 2003, Congress enacted 16,015 laws, of which the Supreme Court struck down 104—just two-thirds of 1%. The court struck down an even […]
Three Reasons DoJ Passed on En Banc Review of the Mandate Decision
The Washington Post‘s Sarah Kliff offers three potential reasons the Department of Justice opted against seeking en banc review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision holding the individual mandate unconstitutional. The Obama administration will definitely handle the case. The review might not have been granted— or gone against the administration. […]
Misguided Case for Regulatory Moratorium
In today’s WSJ, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) explained why she has introduced legislation that would impose a one-year moratorium on the promulgation of new major rules — those regulations anticipated to cost more than $100 million per year — while exempting emergency and deregulatory measures. Such legislation ” is a common-sense solution that would help […]
The Bridge to Nowhere Returns
Reports of the Bridge to Nowhere’s death have been exaggerated. From the Washington Post: the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority, or KABATA — the group behind a bridge project linking Anchorage to a peninsula nearby — is still wooing private investors and trying to pry loose a considerable amount of state financial backing. And […]
Justice Kagan’s Quick Start
Robert Barnes profiles Justice Elena Kagan in today’s Washington Post. Here’s a taste: A first term provides a limited perspective, but as the court opens its new session early next month, Kagan’s performance last year offered clear signals about a woman who came to the bench as something of a mystery. The first justice in […]
Can the Education Department Place Conditions on NCLB Waivers?
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 25, 2011 6:54 pm in Education, Federalism, Spending Clause, Uncategorized
This past week, the Department of Education announced it would allow states to obtain waivers under the No Child Left Behind Act, but “would set a “high bar on flexibility.”. (HT: Neal McCluskey) According to the announcement: states can get relief from provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—or No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—in exchange […]
Certiorari or En Banc for Individual Mandate Appeal?
Politico reports that the Department of Justice has until Monday to decide whether to file a petition for en banc review in Florida v. HHS, the successful challenge to the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. If the Department of Justice does file such a petition, […]
Cities Face New Emission Controls Even Without Tighter Ozone Standard
Earlier this month President Obama asked the Environmental Protection Agency to shelve a proposal to tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone this year. The Administration was apparently concerned about the cost a tighter standard would impose, and the EPA is required to consider revising the standard in 2013 anyway. Does this mean […]
The Green Tea Party
Terry Anderson of PERC argues that it’s time for a “Green Tea Party”: “a movement that brings environmental quality through economic prosperity.” The GTP’s platform would be that only prosperity and incentives can drive environmental improvements. The first plank: Wealthier is healthier. From the U.S. to the former Soviet Union, data show that economic growth […]
Single-Payer, the Individual Mandate, Liberty and Accountability — a Surreply to Orin
Would defeating the individual mandate today lead to something worse tomorrow? I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball, but neither does Orin. We can’t answer this question, but we can identify reasons why mandate-style approaches to health care reform can increase the threat to individual liberty and undermine democratic accountability. My point below […]
Is the Mandate More “Market-Oriented” than Available Alternatives (and Does It Matter?) — A Response to Orin
Orin Kerr’s post below suggesting that the individual mandate is less of a threat to liberty than some of the available alternatives has drawn quite a response. See, for instance, these posts by Timothy Sandefur at PLF and Trevor Burrus at Cato@Liberty. They make some important points, but I wanted to add a few of […]
Gov. Gary Johnson Gets to Debate
The Daily Beast‘s Howard Kurtz reports that former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson will finally get to participate in a televised national debate of GOP presidential hopefuls because he is now polling above one percent in the polls