Gerard Magliocca has an essay in the Washington Post explaining why it’s a mistake to characterize the PPACA (aka “Obamacare”), or the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the individual mandate, as “settled law.” Lawyers use the term “settled law” to describe court decisions that clearly establish a rule or a doctrine. Yet settled […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Why Treasury Won’t Try the Trillion Dollar Coin Gambit or Disregard the Debt Limit
Ezra Klein interviewed Mark Patterson, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Department of the Treasury from 2009-2013. Here’s the relevant tidbit: EK: If you’re this worried and the consequences are this bad, why not do something like declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional under the 14th amendment or minting the coin? MP: It’s […]
Is the Federal Government Shutdown Forcing the Closure of Privately Run Facilities?
Bryan Preston reports that the federal government is ordering private contractors to close campgrounds and the like on federal lands even where such properties do not rely upon federal funds to operate. Indeed, in many cases, these properties generate revenue for the federal government. According to Preston’s report, similar closures were not ordered during prior […]
Conservatives and Environmental Regulation
There is fairly broad opposition to centralized environmental regulation within the Republican Party today. Conservative activists in particular focus their ire on the Environmental Protection Agency and federal efforts to maintain or enhance environmental quality. It was not always so. The American conservation movement has roots on the right side of the political spectrum and […]
100 Years of Federal Income Tax
Bruce Bartlett notes that today is the 100th anniversary of enactment of the Federal Income Tax.\ The new tax applied only to those with very high incomes. There was a personal exemption of $3,000 for individuals (equivalent to $71,000 today) and $4,000 for married couples (about $94,500 today) but none for dependents. Additionally, all interest […]
Should There Be a Debt Ceiling at All?
As Washington nears yet another debt ceiling crisis, it’s worth pondering why the U.S. has a debt limit in the first place. It’s a good question. While I am not wholly settled in my opinion on the matter, I think some commentators have been too quick to dismiss the debt limit as anachronistic (or worse). […]
Why the 14th Amendment Option Is Not on the Table
Garrett Epps argues that if Congress refuses to increase the debt ceiling, the President will have little choice but to invoke Section 4 of the 14th Amendment and act unilaterally to pay the federal government’s fiscal obligations. The White House, however, has a different view. As in 2011, the Obama Administration has dismissed this option. […]
Judge Denies DoJ Motion to Dismiss Case Seeking “Fast and Furious” Documents
Yesterday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss a suit filed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to enforce a subpoena for documents related to the “Fast and Furious” scandal. The Justice Department has refused to turn over […]
The History of Debt Ceiling Votes and Government Shutdowns
James Fallows writes: there is no precedent for serious threats not to honor federal debt — as opposed to symbolic anti-Administration protest votes, which both parties have cast over the years. Nor for demanding the reversal of major legislation as a condition for routine government operations. There’s never been a “serious threat” to refuse to […]
Government Shutdowns Past
I have no idea whether there will be a government shutdown next week. If there is, it won’t be the first, or even the second. As detailed by WonkBlog, there have been seventeen federal government shutdowns since 1976. And, contra Chris Matthews’s recollection, there were seven when Ronald Reagan was President and Tip O’Neill was […]
Professor David Barron Nominated to the First Circuit
This afternoon President Obama nominated Harvard Law School professor David Barron to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Professor Barron is currently the S. William Green Professor of Public Law and previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of […]
Shameless Plug: Law Review Edition
Pepperdine’s Derek Muller considers the purpose of law reviews and asks: “Why aren’t more journals like the Case Western Reserve Law Review?” Among other things, Professor Muller notes the law review’s e-reader friendly formatting and typeface, podcast series, and substantive Twitter feed. I’d also note that articles are promptly published online in PDF and that the […]
When a “Ridiculous” Argument Is Correct
This morning’s lesson comes from Judge Kethledge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Bennett v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Co. Judge Kethledge’s opinion for the court begins: There are good reasons not to call an opponent’s argument “ridiculous,” which is what State Farm calls Barbara Bennett’s principal argument here. The reasons include civility; […]
Another ObamaCare “Glitch” – Family Coverage Edition
From USA Today: Congress defined “affordable” as 9.5% or less of an employee’s household income, mostly to make sure people did not leave their workplace plans for subsidized coverage through the exchanges. But the “error” was that it only applies to the employee — and not his or her family. So, if an employer offers a […]
Cert Petitions Filed in Contraception Mandate Cases
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 22, 2013 11:58 am in Health Care, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court
Petitions for certiorari were filed in two cases challenging the Obamacare contraception mandate last week. Both cases involve private, for-profit employers. The first was filed by Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation, seeking review of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit holding, among other things, that corporations may not raise free […]