Topic: Regulation

Bureaucracy as Constituency

– June 11, 2021

“As long as the federal bureaucracy remains largely unchecked, expect to see that bureaucracy grow unabated. Expect to see laws getting longer and more complex by the year. And expect to see no one in Washington taking responsibility for a federal government that has been out of control for the better part of a century.” ~ Antony Davies & James R. Harrigan

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

What’s New is Old: The Left Turns Originalist

– June 10, 2021

“The New/Old Antitrust Paradigm would reverse the presumption of legality in mergers and acquisitions, placing the burden of proof on economic actors to want to do…well, almost anything. Any economic restructuring of a business is contingent on obtaining the permission and chop of the appropriate bureaucrats and, incredibly, other ‘stakeholders’ such as competitors and labor organizations.” ~ Michael Munger

Fiscal Policy, Government, Regulation

New Leak of Taxpayer Info Is (More) Evidence of IRS Corruption

– June 9, 2021

“What’s especially disgusting is that the Biden Administration wants to reward IRS corruption with giant budget increases, bolstered by utterly fraudulent numbers. Needless to say, that would be a terrible idea, and sadly, Republicans in the past have been sympathetic to expanding the size of the tax bureaucracy.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Economic History, Government, Regulation

The Super-Rich Are Not Who You Think They Are!

– June 9, 2021

“The work of Scott provides a powerful illustration of the importance of the qualification proposed by defenders of the super-rich. It is not wealth that is problematic, it is wealth generated by muting the forces of the market process (i.e. by rent-seeking). In other words, the policies that produce inequality matter!” ~ Vincent Geloso

Crisis, Cryptocurrency, Regulation

Fighting Ransomware Doesn’t Require Banning Cryptocurrency

– May 29, 2021

“With OFAC as coxswain, an embargo might achieve everything that a ban on cryptocurrency promises to achieve without depriving gamblers, outsiders, and hobbyists of a product they utilize. It would also be more effective than the status quo, which is not capable of stopping criminals who operate with impunity from noncompliant jurisdictions.” ~ J.P. Koning

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Biden’s Lumber Protectionism is Commercial Quarantine

– May 28, 2021

“Biden’s doubling of Trump’s lumber tariffs will hurt US consumers, protect American firms from competition, and encourage further rent seeking.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Shadow of the State or Sunshine of Civil Society

– May 26, 2021

“We are often too quick to pull the trigger on government regulation whenever we suspect a problem exists. It is important to first ask what civil society can do (or is doing) to mitigate that problem before deferring to the coercive shadowy state.” ~ Anthony Gill

Economic History, Free Markets, Regulation

‘Big Tech’ Risks Going Down a Path of Decline Paved by ‘Big Rail’

– May 25, 2021

“Here’s hoping a desire for near-term comfort from competition, criticism, and the markets doesn’t do to Big Tech what was done to Big Rail. Time will tell. But for now, it seems Big Tech is intent on traveling a path toward average that was first paved by the 19th century’s most innovative minds.” ~ John Tamny

Books, Economic History, Regulation

Addressing Financial Exclusion: The Right Way and the Wrong Way

– May 24, 2021

“Marginalized groups of people are more than capable of succeeding when you just get out of the way. Policymakers today must understand the devastating consequences of well-intentioned policies and the hard fact that an imperfect private sector response is far preferable to a counterproductive government response.” ~ Ethan Yang

Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

The Extent of the Market is Limited By the Imagination of the Regulators

– May 21, 2021

“The regulatory state substitutes the knowledge and beliefs of regulators for the knowledge and beliefs of entrepreneurs and innovators. This means entrepreneurs and innovators have to divide their time between actually developing their product and convincing regulators to say ‘yes.’ Regulators are understandably overcautious because of their incentives.” ~ Art Carden

Crisis, Regulation, Science

The Skew in Science That Feeds US EPA Regulation

– May 20, 2021

“The burden to society will worsen as the EPA continues down a slippery slope. Americans need to be aware that the science used at the EPA for setting air quality regulation is skewed, expensive, and of dubious public health benefit.” ~ S. Stanley Young & Warren Kindzierski

Crisis, Government, Regulation

Regulatory Capture, Teacher Unions, and CDC Abuse

– May 12, 2021

“There is no doubt that this unprecedented and deviant child experiment has inflicted significant harm on its human subjects. Thus, while some might say that it is wrong to demonize public health officials, we say that their actions, especially as they relate to children, have been demonic. Regulatory capture of the CDC by teachers unions is a scandal of epic proportions.” ~ Donald S. Siegel & Robert M. Sauer