Author Archive | Todd Zywicki

Well, apparently GM’s bankruptcy and government ownership left one slight problem unresolved–its cars are still lousy.  And, apparently, getting lousier. Which would explain another development: GM’s increasing reliance on selling cars to people that can’t pay for them.

in honor of the new school year (via Michael DeBow).

Some of our readers might be interested in the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship.  Tom Bowden sends along a bit of info about what they do: The Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship is a non-profit that provides grants for the benefit of academic professionals engaged in serious scholarship based on Ayn Rand’s philosophy and writings. The Foundation […]

I have a long piece at the Law Liberty blog today in honor of the first anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “The Revenge of Richard Nixon: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Spreads Its Tentacles.”

Harvey Silverglate, my favorite criminal defense lawyer and champion of civil liberties, has another broadside against the DOJ at Forbes.com: When one steps back and takes in a broader view than Juszkiewicz allowed himself to see, it is apparent that the problem is not just a war against capitalism. When a businessman is harassed by overzealous prosecutors, […]

Justice Scalia will be appearing on C-Span Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on the Q&A Program.  Preview videos are available here.  Interesting discussion at the outset about the effect of former law professors on the culture of the court.

My new white paper with Philippe Bergevin of the C.D. Howe Institute in Canada is now available, “Debit, Credit and Cell: Making Canada a Leader in the Way We Pay.”  Here’s the Abstract: Canadians are avid users of debit and credit cards and other electronic payment options. Compared to consumers in other countries, they are […]

I’ll be testifying today in a hearing in the House Government Oversight Committee regarding GM’s decision to spend $1 billion in taxpayer bailout dollars to top-up the pensions of Delphi’s UAW retirees (and later, members of the Electrical Workers and Steelworkers unions but not members of other unions or salaried workers).  In other words, a […]

More here.  Dartmouth’s spokesman says: Justin Anderson, Dartmouth’s assistant vice president for media relations… “claims that these investments are in the best interest of the school, telling InsideHigherEd, “To forgo investments with a firm simply because a board member has some interest in the firm would be contrary to the best interest of the college.” […]

Interesting case with important implications for the rest of the country.

Well, it appears that federalism is effectively dead now.  So how about separation of powers?  That’ll be tested in the new lawsuit recently filed that challenges a number of key provisions of Dodd-Frank.  Because of the Obamacare circus, the Dodd-Frank challenge (led by Boyden Gray) has flown under the radar screen a bit.  My colleague […]

Those who still care about quaint historical notions like federalism and enumerated powers might enjoy the podcast of my radio interview with Bob Zadek last week, “Repeal the 17th Amendment.”  We discuss, among other issues, a certain Supreme Court case that has recently been somewhat in the news, whether that law would have been enacted […]

I’ve been reading “The Righteous Mind” over the past few weeks, which I highly recommend.  A nifty article in the Washington Times today profiles Jonathan Haidt and the book.

In the Detroit News yesterday, James Sherk and I talk more about the avoidable loss to taxpayers from the UAW bailout.

Among my various extracurricular activities I serve on the Board of Trustees of Yorktown University, a for-profit, online university.  Right now Yorktown is offering 9 free lectures by Arthur Laffer and others.  You can register and download them here if you are interested.