Replacing Too Big to Fail with Safe to Fail

Wayne A. Abernathy

Rejection of the idea that any bank is too big to fail (TBTF) is currently universal among U.S. policymakers. Yet some apprehension persists that this policy consensus may be fragile. That apprehension may continue until worries of too big to fail are replaced with confidence that U.S. banks are safe to fail.

To Combat Long-Term Unemployment, Policymakers Should Embrace the Gig Economy

Alexander MacDonald

To prevent a massive, long-term depression, policymakers must help get people back to work. But ironically, one of their best tools for doing so may be the one they’ve spent the last six months attacking: the so-called gig economy.

SCOTUS Strikes Down Structure of CFPB’s Director Position

John Shu

Today, in Seila Law, LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Supreme Court struck down the CFPB’s leadership structure of a single director with a five-year term, removable only for inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance, because it violates the separation of powers.

Statements to House Judiciary on Antitrust Reform

Several members of the Regulatory Transparency Project’s antitrust working group were invited to submit statements on competition issues in digital markets to the House Antitrust Subcommittee.

EPA’s Section 401 Rule Respects Federalism While Addressing State Abuses

Daren Bakst

A central feature of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is cooperative federalism.  In fact, right at the start of the statute, Congress made it clear that states are expected to take the leading role in addressing water pollution.

It’s Time to Remodel Our Policy Making Processes

J. Kennerly Davis

It is time, past time, for a thorough reassessment of the outsized role that modelers and their models have been playing in the formulation of public policy, the drafting of legislation, and the development of regulations.

Yes, Judge, We Do Think About Reviewability

Brian Mannix

Parties who disagree with an agency’s action have recourse to the courts; but, if the agency is doing its job properly, it should not be vulnerable for failures of administrative procedure.

Relax, a Capital Idea

Wayne A. Abernathy

The Federal Reserve Board began the second quarter of the year by relaxing part of its capital rules for bank holding companies. In particular, its interim final rule would exclude from some capital calculations the investments that banks have in funds placed with the Fed and holdings of U.S. Treasury securities.

Half-Baked Benefits: New Jersey Repeats the Mistakes of the Past in Its New Portable-Benefit Law for Gig Workers

Alexander MacDonald

Rather than forcing twenty-first century markets into twentieth-century models, legislators should be thinking outside the box.

California’s Occupational Licensing Laws Shouldn’t Kick People When They’re Down

Anastasia P. Boden

It’s become somewhat of a banality to say that occupational licensing has run amok.  As studies pile up showing that licensure has virtually no effect on quality—yet drives prices up, stifles innovation, and keeps people out jobs—a bi-partisan coalition has emerged in favor of rolling back licensure and restoring economic opportunity.