This could be interesting: The Securities and Exchange Commission is moving toward charging former and current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives with violations related to the financial crisis, setting up a clash with the housing regulator that oversees the companies, according to sources familiar with the matter. The SEC, responsible for enforcing securities laws, […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
The NFL Lockout – Who’s to Blame?
Forget Wisconsin, unless you’re worrying whether the Green Bay Packers will get a chance to repeat. Now that negotiations between the National Football League’s team owners and players’ union have stalled, the real labor fight is just beginning. After the sides failed to reach an agreement, the players’ union decertified and several players filed an […]
When Is a Hockey Hit a Crime?
Police in Montreal are reportedly looking into a brutal hit by the Boston Bruins’ Zdeno Chara on the Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty. The hit produced a major penalty and game misconduct, but did not result in a suspension, even though Pacioretty suffered a concussion and broken vertebrae. I suspect the NHL’s failure to discipline Chara […]
The GOP’s Climate Anti-Policy
Yesterday the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to remove the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The NYT covers the vote here. This is a good first step on climate policy — but it should be just that, a first step. […]
Environmental Substance Abuse
Speaking of errors by economists, environmental attorney Mark Atlas has authored a substantial tome dissecting over 500 social science studies of environmental policy, and it’s not pretty. The 700-plus-page paper, “Environmental Substance Abuse: The Substantive Competence of Social Science Empirical Environmental Policy Research” is available on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In a 2002 article, […]
Common Mistakes by Economists
Tyler Cowen has assembled two lists of common mistakes made by economists. The first is of common mistakes made by right-wing/market-oriented economists and the second is of common mistakes made by left-wing economists. They’re both quite interesting. UPDATE: I’m not endorsing every item on each list, but I think they both provide much to consider […]
Krugman Closes His Eyes
Paul Krugman doesn’t read anything on the “right”: Some have asked if there aren’t conservative sites I read regularly. Well, no. I will read anything I’ve been informed about that’s either interesting or revealing; but I don’t know of any economics or politics sites on that side that regularly provide analysis or information I need […]
Peak Coffee?
Are world coffee supplies at risk? NYT‘s “Room for Debate” considers this frightening possibility.
Maine Gets a Waiver
The Associated Press reports: The federal government Tuesday granted Maine a waiver of a key provision in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, citing the likelihood that enforcement could destabilize the state’s market for individual health insurance The U.S. Health and Human Services department said in a letter it would waive the requirement that insurers spend […]
REINS Act — A Response to Noah Sachs
Last month, University of Richmond law professor Noah Sachs published an article in The New Republic criticizing the proposed REINS Act, which would require Congressional approval before any major regulation could take effect. As with many attacks on the REINS Act, Sachs’ article misrepresents the legislation to make its case. As there is a hearing […]
The REINS Act Revisited & A Response to David Uhlmann
Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee will have a second hearing on the REINS Act, a bill to increase legislative control over and accountability for federal regulatory policy. The central provisions of the REINS Act provide that new “major rules” – those regulations expected to cost over $100 million annually – may not become effective unless […]
A Hard Line on Leaks
Politico has an interesting story on the Obama Administration’s aggressive legal efforts against government leakers. In just over two years since President Barack Obama took office, prosecutors have filed criminal charges in five separate cases involving unauthorized distribution of classified national security information to the media. And the government is now mulling what would be […]
Health Care Kilo-Waivers
The Hill reports that the Department of Health and Human Services has now issued over 1,000 waivers from requirements imposed by the health care reform law. HHS posted 126 new waivers on Friday, bringing the total to 1,040 organizations that have been granted a one-year exemption from a new coverage requirement included in the healthcare […]
Tyler Cowen on the “Fiscal Illusion”
In today’s NYT, Tyler Cowen discusses the fiscal illusion, and eventual reckoning. Keynesian economics talks of the “fiscal illusion” created by government debt: the issuance of such debt can stimulate the economy in the short run by encouraging a false perception of wealth and thus bolstering consumer spending. But, eventually, the books must balance. There […]
Stick a Fork in Capitol’s “Green” Utensils
When Democrats retook the U.S. House of Representatives, they set out to “green” the Capitol. One measure was the introduction of compostable eating utensils in the House cafeteria. The corn-based cutlery may work for some things, but it was not popular on Capitol Hill. As the Washington Post reports, the new utensils were more expensive, […]