James Broughel
@JamesBroughel
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Economist writing about regulation.
Arlington, VA
Joined June 2011
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 passed with universal support in Congress. This is the main statute creating flexibility for small business from regulations. I'm not saying it works well, but the idea that politicians abandoned small business seems far-fetched.
Why the rise in Big Business? “In the 1970s and ’80s, politicians from both political parties began to abandon small business,” she said. “There was a sense that the key to progress was ever-larger corporations, that if we let companies get bigger they would be more efficient, they would generate all these benefits.” The result with a big cut to antitrust enforcement. /2
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RT @Valen10Francois: Unbelievable but true, there more people in France born in 1946 (and still alive) than there are people born in 2024 h…
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If anything, the history of sovereign wealth funds shows they tend to be overly conservative, opting for passive investments and avoiding any hint of politically-motivated decisions. Their primary goal is to safeguard wealth for the populace. They might distribute this wealth via dividends, like Alaska, but their overarching mission is to maintain wealth for future generations, an area where the private sector often falls short.
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@szarka Another advantage of a sovereign wealth fund is its non-coercive nature. Individuals willingly buy the natural resources that governments possess, and the funds are then invested in financial assets that investors sell voluntarily.
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@FreeTradeBryan I noted in my recent piece in Dispatch that this can be viewed as a step toward privatization (which is currently impractical for political reasons). Also, selling government assets is one way to finance a fund.
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Imagine if Congress proposed a law directing USPS to prioritize profit. Now, extend that idea to all federal assets. If you think that's a good idea, you might be in favor of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. The whole point is govt isn't currently focused on maximizing returns.
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RT @arctotherium42: Back in reality: leftists think much more in zero-sum terms than right-wingers. Probably why they're effective in polit…
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The moment an executive order assigned DOGE the job of handling software updates, it was clear this agency had lost its way. We need @VivekGRamaswamy back. Push for regulatory reform. @elonmusk makes a great spokesperson but should stay out of policy-making.
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Reason #1637 not to be a vegan.
Suspected murderer Maximilian Snyder / Audere writes open letter to Eliezer Yudkowsky about animal ethics. I'm not making this up.
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Not surprisingly, the buyout package was also halted this week. This is an easier fix. Republicans can inset funding for this in the reconciliation bill.
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Worth noting this was instituted via a guidance document. Classic stealth regulation. No public input. No warning. Even if this is a good idea (far from clear) this is a terrible way to implement such sweeping changes.
NIH has announced a cut in the "indirect rate" to 15% across the board, in a move that appears to be retroactive to even existing grants. This is a bloodbath for research institutions throughout the country. Brief explainer for those not in this world:
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RT @gunsnrosesgirl3: That time Gucci sends over 60 pairs of twins down a runway at Milan Fashion Week
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So far @DOGE has been a clown show. These guys need to start getting serious. If an administration gets off on the wrong foot early, it's hard to reverse course.
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