Update 674 — X-Date Approaching FastPrioritization: Pushing Default to the Limit The two hearings held in Congress this week on the debt limit showed a stark but all-too-familiar partisan contrast. Senate Democrats agreed that the full faith and credit of the United States must not be questioned, consistent with the command of the Constitution and …
Update 673 — Industrial Policy in ActionAdministration Building on 2021-22 Bills Biden’s industrial policy agenda continues to take shape after monumental blocks of policy became law during his first two years in office. Wednesday night, in a speech to House Democrats and staff, President Bide noted Democrats’ industrial policy successes thus far in his term. …
Update 672 — Student Debt on the Docket:SCOTUS Casts Doubt on Biden Forgiveness If the Supreme Court rules to block the Biden administration’s student debt forgiveness plan, one possible outcome following the oral arguments the Court heard yesterday, at least it will be clear to the nation that the administration made a concerted effort to …
Update 671 — CFPB ConstitutionalityProspects for a SCOTUS Showdown In the coming weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether or not to hear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, the long-anticipated legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s funding mechanism. The decision, …
Update 670 – Competition ReconsideredPolicy and Politics of Antitrust in Congress The spectacle of the Taylor Swift/Ticketmaster meltdown late last year and the hearing that followed last month are reminders of the continuing consumer consternation over corporate concentration and the growing popular restiveness over the (anti-) competitive practices of firms in tech and other industries. …
Update 669 — Digital Assets Debated:Crypto Regulation in the New Congress The debate in the 118th Congress over whether and how to regulate cryptocurrencies opened yesterday at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. The several bills introduced in the last Congress that attempted to grapple with the question did not come up — they were all …
Update 668 — What’s that Fee For?Biden Boosts Battle Against Junk Fees Americans have watched in recent years as financial and other services come with a proliferation of fees and penalties, adding costs that make the services unaffordable for many consumers. In his State of the Union address this week, President Biden took aim at …
Update 667 — Biden’s SOTU SerenadeClarion Call to Get Economic Job Done Displaying a mastery of the venue and appealing directly to Americans watching, President Biden delivered his second State of the Union to an animated joint session of Congress last night, making a convincing case for his economic record and direction. In a performance …
Update 666 — Jan. Jobs Gain of 517KGood News but a Quandary for the Fed Today’s blow out jobs report indicated US employers added 517,000 jobs in January – many more than forecasters had estimated and a spike not seen since July of 2022. The report brought mixed reactions. In a speech this morning, Biden …
Update 665 — Senate Committees SetRole of Chamber in Divided Government We turn to the expected 25 bp rate hike announced today by the Federal Reserve, with more hikes to come, and the jobs report that will inform the Fed’s next monetary policy move, when that report is out on Friday. In the meantime, we …
