Author Archive | Todd Zywicki

Interesting essay by Steven Boyer on some of the differences between the first two Narnia books and movies.  Even if one isn’t keen on his overall point, there are some real nuggets here.  This observation struck me as particularly interesting: Then follow some remarkable lines. Says Peter, “Don’t you ever get tired of being treated […]

This is a few days old but I just came across it.  I think it pretty much captures the electorate’s view of the upcoming election better than anything else I’ve read: “[I]n the land of epic, mega, ultra, apocalyptic levels of sucking, those who kinda suck are king. Or at least are going to win […]

Third Way, which I take to be a centrist Democratic think tank, has just released a memo opposing a foreclosure moratorium.  It is here.  They make a key point that others have overlooked, both in this context and in the foreclosure amelioration context more generally: While the fact of so many underwater borrowers is a […]

I’ll be at the University of Florida Law School tomorrow (Thursday) to speak to the student division of the Federalist Society on “The Mortgage Crisis.”  I’ve not been able to find a link directly to the information, but my understanding is that the program will be at 2:00 p.m. in law school’s moot courtroom.  If […]

Marty Robins has a nice column summing up the case against a foreclosure moratorium in light of the foreclosure documentation fiasco. The bottom line is that these guys screwed up royally and need to take their lumps.  But equally, we should not forget that we are talking about homeowners who haven’t paid their bills.  This […]

Turns out I was being filmed for an upcoming Stossel special, not for the weekly show on Fox Business.  So don’t look for me tonight because I won’t be there!  I’m sure that tonight’s show will be great anyway, even (especially?) without me.

I’ll be heading to New York tomorrow to be filmed for John Stossel’s great show on Fox Business.  He’s doing a show on “Unintended Consequences” and I’ll be talking about the unintended consequences of credit card and other consumer credit regulation.  My understanding is that it will run a couple of times over the weekend.

On Thursday afternoon I’ll be participating in an AEI Program “What Have They Done? Implications of the Dodd-Frank Act.”  Other participants include our hosts Peter Wallison and Alex Pollack, as well as Adam Levitin, Steve Bartlett, Wayne Abernathy, Ed Pinto, and others. Registration info is here.

The Center for Class Action Fairness has filed an objection to the proposed settlement in the Classmates.com class action: You may have been one of the millions of people to receive asettlement notice regarding a class action against Classmates.com; the settlement notice implied that class members would receive $9.5 million (though only $2-$3 per person, […]

This summer, shortly before Dodd-Frank was enacted, I offered several suggestions on how the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection could be made more consumer-friendly.  Several of my concerns were based on my experience working at the Federal Trade Commission and studying the regulatory process.  In particular, I noted the dangers presented by the almost […]

I know a lot of people (myself included) are keen for their kids to be exposed to foreign language from a young age.  If you are in that category, you might be interested in the Whistlefritz dvd and cd Spanish language immersion dvds and cds.  They are really quite delightful and engaging.  Claire is 5 […]

Anne Neal has the scoop.  I’ve known Michael for several years.  He is an immensely smart and serious man who would be an excellent trustee for Yale (although it appears that they have a title different from trustee there). It appears that Michael needs 3808 petition signatures by TOMORROW Oct. 1 to get on the […]

My latest WSJ contribution: “In Elizabeth Warren We Trust?”

I’m surprised.  It made sense for SCOTUS to hear the case the first time around because it provided the opportunity to clarify the scope of the probate exception to federal court jurisdiction.  I’m surprised that it took cert this time though.  Unless it is seen as an opportunity to try to tighten up further on […]

Roy Poses at Health Care Renewal has been tracking an issue that has come to bother me as well–the increasing corporatization of the university.  I’ve noted it in the context of the idea of CEO-style university presidents and the conflicts of interest that arise with business leaders (and especially investment bankers) serving as university trustees. […]