Author Archive | Todd Zywicki

Senator-elect Mike Lee discussed repeal of the 17th Amendment on Freedom Watch last week.  Here’s the video.

I’ve done a two-part podcast at Kosmos Online, the new social/intellectual network of the Institute for Humane Studies.  The second part is here and in it I talk about blogging and my ongoing book projects. More generally, Kosmos Online is the Institute for Humane Studies extension on to the web, so if you are an […]

Ed Stringham and I have posted our new paper on SSRN.  Here’s the Abstract: Abstract: In most areas, economists look to competition to align incentives, but not so with courts. Many believe that competition enables plaintiff forum shopping, but Adam Smith praised rivalry among courts. This article describes the courts when the common law developed. […]

Sounds like he is running for President.

CardHub has a new study that assesses the effects of the Durbin Amendment and its likely unintended consequences:

Next Thursday and Friday the Stanford Constitutional Law Center (headed by Michael McConnell) will host a conference on “The Constitution in the Financial Crisis.”  Ken and I will be presenting along with many others.  Registration is free but they ask for registration in advance.

The Indianapolis Star reports a major Republican landslide in the Indiana state legislature.  This gives him a strong hand to carry out his budgetary and educational reform proposals over the next two years.  It sure sounds like music to my ears. If he is running for President, as many suppose, a relatively free hand to […]

Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices were tossed as a result of their votes mandating that same-sex couples be allowed to marry.  They are the first Justices who failed to be retained since 1962, when the current system was implemented. Although I don’t understand the complaint of Drake University Law School Dean Allan Vestal that this […]

Several commenters on my post that I have a new article on the 17th Amendment in National Review argued that rather than repealing the 17th Amendment they instead would prefer more vigorous enforcement of the Commerce Clause and 10th Amendments, which would (they presumably would argue) bring about many of the same benefits without offsetting […]

Some people think that’s a really “stupid” question.

The Nov. 15 print issue of National Review contains an article by yours truly, “Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment.”  I just saw it in print for the first time today.

Montana has on its ballot an initiative that would cap interest rates on non-traditional consumer loans (payday, auto title, and installment loans) at 36%.  It seems to be pretty comprehensive except for banks.  It also changes the rules for pawnbrokers. Here’s an excellent recent analysis of some of the probable effects of the law.  Given […]

I’m pleased to read from FIRE that my law school alma mater UVA has repealed its speech code and now has a Green rating from FIRE.  UVA joins William & Mary, which already had a Green rating. I’m disappointed that I cannot say the same about George Mason, which still has a Red rating.  But […]

I don’t have any personal interest one way or the other in the whole so-called “head stomping” incident with the Rand Paul supporter.  And it seems obvious that there are overly-zealous political supporters of all stripes who can commit acts of violence, especially spontaneous violence when they are in a large group.  One can, and […]

Congratulations to the Mercatus Center for its recent recognition with a Templeton Freedom Award for its Financial Markets Working Group (of which I am one of many affiliated scholars).  Mercatus won for “Special Achievement by a University-based Center.”  From the award announcement: The Financial Markets Working Group of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University […]