I have been saying for a while that inflation expectations will remain high until policymakers prove they can restrain their stimulus spending during an economic slowdown. Today’s weak GDP report could be that first sign. The stress test begins now. First-quarter GDP growth slowed to 1.6 percent, down from 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, and 4.9 percent the quarter before that. Growth is now lower than the century-long running average of about 2 percent. While the economy is still growing and not in recession, this is not good news. The Fed has already done almost everything it can ..read more

Earlier this week, Politico’s “Morning Money” column reported an astonishing finding that almost certainly points to politicization in enforcement by federal bank regulators. The column revealed an analysis by the Klaros Group. It found that banks partnering with FinTech firms such as the popular payment app Chime face a 15 percent chance of receiving an enforcement action. This was in stark contrast to the rate for banks that don’t partner with FinTechs. “By comparison, if you weren’t a FinTech partner bank, your odds of drawing a formal order during the same time period were just 1.8%,” the ..read more

As a part of a foreign aid funding package, the Senate passed a bill mandating TikTok’s divestiture from Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. Biden signed the bill today, leaving 170 million US users of the platform to hope for a sale within nine months, with a possible three month extension. The Chinese government, whose approval for a sale would be necessary, has indicated it is not inclined to consent, thereby making the condition of sale a practical ban on the platform. Some supporters of the bill point to concerns about American’s data ending up in the hands of the Chinese government ..read more

The debate surrounding nuclear power has long been shaped by complex scientific, political, and social factors. At the heart of this debate lies the question of how we assess and manage the risks associated with radiation exposure. In a new paper, “Myths and Facts in Radiation Risks: A simple solution to remove obstacles to nuclear power,” I delve into the history and scientific foundations of the “linear no-threshold” (LNT) model, the default approach used to evaluate the health risks of ionizing radiation. By examining the LNT model’s troubled past and its far-reaching implications, the pape ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to ban the vast majority of noncompete agreements in employment contracts during a special open commission meeting this afternoon. It was the first meeting since September 15, 2022, where the agency was at full strength with five commissioners. The FTC voted along party lines, with recently sworn-in Republican Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak as the only dissenters. Both Commissioners Ferguson and Holyoak pointed to the FTC’s lack of authority to promulgate the rule in their dissenting statements.  The final rule bans noncompetes f ..read more

A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report, Major Questions on Net Neutrality: A primer on the FCC’s brewing broadband legal fight, analyzes the FCC’s effort to ensure “net neutrality” by classifying broadband internet access service (BIAS) as a common carrier telecommunications service and how that effort will fare in an appeal to the Supreme Court under the major questions doctrine. The report argues that the FCC will likely fail under such a challenge. The major questions doctrine is a rule of statutory construction that is rooted in the Constitutional separation of powers and the princi ..read more

In a new report, the Center for Policy Studies in the UK surveys that nation’s regulatory landscape – and doesn’t like what it sees. The report looks at the overall cost of regulation on businesses in the country, reviews what is known about those costs, and makes some recommendations for improvement. It’s an important document that needs to be read by both current Ministers and likely future Ministers alike. What it says about the state of current regulatory impact assessments is damning. The authors found multiple instances of careless mistakes (including net costs being reported as net bene ..read more

Amidst the jubilation over government-led environmental initiatives on yet another Earth Day yesterday, it’s crucial to highlight a perspective too often overlooked: private conservation, rather than the top-down variety. While the media and policymakers hail governmental regulations and green energy policies, the unsung heroes of environmental stewardship are often private conservationists and those fostering conservation through voluntary efforts—along with the free enterprise system itself. As I highlight at Forbes, contrary to popular belief, it’s not capitalism that inherently pollutes an ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) possesses one of the most conflicted administrative law court (ALC) systems. The agency recently began hiring new administrative law judges (ALJs) to manage its growing caseload. Yet, the FTC also nullified the decision-making authority of its ALJs last year, following an unexpected and rare set of losses within the agency. What is the FTC’s aim by increasing the size of its in-house courts at the same time it disempowers its judges? The FTC once enjoyed a 25-year winning streak in its administrative adjudications. The agency won literally every case that was ..read more

Congress debated aid bills to Ukraine and Israel. Donald Trump’s hush money trial began. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from incinerator permits to effluent analysis.  On to the data: Agencies issued 59 final regulations last week, after 69 the previous week. That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 51 minutes. With 896 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 2,909 final regulations this year. For comparison, there were 3,018 new final regulations in 2023, 3,168 in 2022, and 3,257 in 2021. Agencies issued 36 proposed regulations in th ..read more