Reposting for no particular reason…

Institute for New Economic Thinking Further your understanding of the economy and find an open environment for generating and discussing economic thought.

Great piece by Chris Desan about Fed Independence. She looks NOT at the relationship btwn central banks and elected governments generally, but specifically argues that power over money belongs to the legislature, not the executive: www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Here’s a slightly longer version of my thinking on the social media verdicts. The trouble I see is that the problems with social media are so multifarious. Addictive design is part of the story, but there are so many more pathologies and harms. 🧵

It’s worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court has propped up this presidential lawlessness.

When Congress enacted limits on presidential power in 1973, it included an enforcement provision. If the president said there’s an “emergency from attack” and Congress disagreed, it could order troops home.

This is an unjust, illegal war. It violates our treaties and our laws. Presidential impunity must end.

Link here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Welcome all thoughts / comments!

Happy to share that my paper, The Federal Reserve Exception, is forthcoming in Vanderbilt Law Review!

I question the strength of the Supreme Court's analogy of the Federal Reserve to the First & Second Banks of the US, especially when compared to the ICC and other 20th century regulatory agencies.

Finance in the Dark | Lenore Palladino | Finance in the Dark An opaque sector is reshaping the US. Only ambitious regulatory reform can check its power.

I wrote about how unregulated finance is now just, well, finance for @phenomenalworld.bsky.social

the center of gravity in finance has completely shifted & our mental models & policymaking approaches need to catch up

www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/fin...

Before we rebuild, we need to diagnose. You could do a lot worse than this (as depressing as it is).

Early 2025: Trump admin tries to illegally shut down the CFPB, the newest member of the Federal Reserve system. Jay Powell says nothing.

Summer 2025: Trump admin tries to illegally fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Powell says nothing.

2026: Trump admin comes for Powell. He finally finds his voice.

i think powell's response here is a demonstration of the folly of the idea that democratic accountability requires presidential control. what if the president is not acting in the public interest? you want independent agencies to be able to push back and pursue their *congressional mandate*

To make it even funner, the FOMC only controls the open-market operations of the FRBs (including the ON-RRP). The Board sets the interest rate on reserve balances (IORB)…

Game Over: The End of Financial Regulation as We Knew It Many on the left continue to view cryptocurrency as little more than a grift. Yet the crypto industry aims to achieve something much more dangerous: functional monetary sovereignty.

Today, @raulcarrillo.bsky.social explains why existing legal frameworks are inadequate to address the emerging dystopian world of monetary fiefdoms—a world in which private infrastructure governs without the name of government.

Digging up roads is 75–90% of the cost of deploying broadband, yet we keep excavating again & again. A smarter approach: install conduit when roads are open. @bendinovelli.bsky.social and my new paper explains why most Dig Once policies fall short & how to fix them cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-co...

22/ Kavanaugh suggests two exceptions:
a) The Fed
b) Non-Article III judicial officers like Marbury?

Kavanaugh has his history wrong, as amicus briefs have explained.
The Banks of the US are no precedent of the Fed.
Marbury was an executive officer with quasi-judicial powers.

Kav: Why is the Fed different?
Sauer: Because you said so.

10/ Kavanaugh asks if Sauer can distinguish the Fed from the FTC…

A huge question that Lawson & I address in our essay (and also in my amicus brief)

Sauer relies on a paragraph in the Wilcox order…

Worth noting that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is not a “congressionally chartered bank[]”, but an independent agency (like the FTC, MSPB, and NLRB)…

Trump Is Taking Three Steps Backward in the AI Race The administration needs to shift focus away from providing chips and datacenters to the world’s richest companies.

New essay in Politico today w/ @aratip.bsky.social on how Trump's “Genesis Mission” is one small step forward after giant leaps backward. The Trump AI doctrine really just boils down to boosting friendly tech companies. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

2/ Here’s my amicus brief in Slaughter that summarizes our argument:

The Necessary & Proper Clause is a stronger originalist basis to replace Humphrey's Executor, to limit congressional power, & to confirm narrow traditional exceptions for the FTC & the Fed:

www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...

Thank you for the kind words, Dan!

Current ScholarshipThe Myth of Credit Card Competition Benjamin Dinovelli

📢Current scholarship! In "The Myth of Credit Card Competition" @bendinovelli.bsky.social argues that mainstream reform proposals to curb the high cost of credit card payments by increasing competition are misplaced, and that public utility law may hold the key for more promising alternatives. 👇

A new paper from Gary Lawson & me:

"Presidential Removal as Article I, Not Article II"

Limits on congressional power to create independent agencies like the Fed & FTC don't come from Art II "Executive Power" absolutism.

See the Necessary and Proper Clause instead:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

We Need to Break Up Big AI Before It Breaks Us When the same few companies own the entire tech stack, they stop competing and start colluding.

A few trillion-dollar companies now comprise an AI oligopoly. Nvidia's announcement to invest $100B in OpenAI makes things worse. As I say in TIME, vertical integration is about money, control, and power. Policymakers should reject such combinations. time.com/7322418/chat...

It just cannot be emphasized enough, as the differential treatment of Slaughter and Cook illustrate yet again, the Roberts Court’s vision of separation of powers is not the Founders’, nor the Constitution’s, but just their own. This isn’t necessarily bad; it’s just disingenuous. (1/2)

Paper is here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.....

Relatedly, I'm on the law school job market (for financial institutions, business ass'ns, contracts, regulated industries, and communications law). Would appreciate your help to spread the word (especially if you enjoyed the paper)! 8/8

Instead, I argue that a more promising approach is to regulate swipe fees. Payment networks are vital economic infrastructure, and we should treat them as such. Rate regulation is also not novel. We've done it before with debit cards (Durbin Amendment) and checks. 7/8

And merchants are heavily incentivized to bear these fees (rather than surcharge consumers or only accept lower-fee cards). Today, many people use high-fee cards and expect them to be accepted. Merchants don't want to dissuade those card users from spending at their stores. 6/8

Credit card networks are engaged in a rewards rat race (cash back, airline miles, and lounge access, oh my!). To attract more cardholders to use their cards over others’ cards, networks are incentivized to raise swipe fees to fund more rewards. 5/8