Mercatus Policy Download

Welcome to The Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  Today we're bringing you part 2 of our most recent webinar on regulatory reform. If you missed part 1, you can listen to that episode here.  Our speakers today are James Broughel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Matthew D. Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Gretchen Conger, Deputy Chief of Staff for Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, and Jessica Cleveland, Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of State. If you’d like to contact a scholar involved in this webinar, please email mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu We've changed our name! What was formally known at the Mercatus Policy Download is now The Bridge Policy Download. Our goal has always been to provide our audience with smart policy ideas for a growing world, and that remains to be our goal. To learn more about The Bridge, visit mercatus.org/bridge. Subscribe to The Bridge Policy Download for all policy, no punditry, and a path forward,

Welcome to the Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we’re bringing you the audio from a recent webinar we held on why states should undertake regulatory reform. This is the first of a two-part series on state regulatory reform. The second part, on how states can implement reforms, will release next week. Our speakers today are James Broughel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Colin O'Reilly, Associate Professor, Heider College of Business, and Laura Jones, Visiting Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and the Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategic Officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). If you’d like to contact a scholar involved in this webinar, please email mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu We've changed our name! What was formally known at the Mercatus Policy Download is now The Bridge Policy Download. Our goal has always been to provide our audience with smart policy ideas for a

Regulations advance product safety, environmental quality, and sound business practices, but the consequences of poorly designed and implemented rules are more severe than previously thought. Regulatory accumulation has a disproportionately negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable Americans. From increased poverty and income inequality to reduced entrepreneurialism and upward mobility, the consequences of bad policy are grave. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center moderates a discussion between Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow and Director of Policy Analytics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Dustin Chambers, Senior Affiliated Scholar Professor of Economics at Salisbury University, and Colin O'Reilly, Associate Professor at Heider College of Business where they chat about regulation myths, regulations suspended during COVID-19, what policy makers can do with existing regulations to improve the lives of marginalized communities, and much more. W

The US economy is currently operating along a bumpy path defined more by the coronavirus and reactions to it than by the inherent dynamics of the economy itself. Yet while the path is bumpy and GDP growth puny, America still has a large and active economy. Has the US economy reached a turning point?  This week, we're very happy to be able to connect our listeners once again with Dr. Bruce Yandle, Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at Mercatus, Dean Emeritus at Clemson University, and author of the now-famous “Bootleggers and Baptists” model for understanding unlikely political alliances to help answer that question.  Matthew Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center, interviews Bruce on his most recent Economic Situation Report, discussing the variables in each state's response to COVID-19, how increased saving and decreased spending are holding America back, who's funding the coronavirus deficit, Trump's tariffs, and how some ease on regulations across the countr

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of economic uncertainty at the state and local levels. Whether or not the virus is contained in the near future, local governments must provide flexibility in housing, zoning, and transit policies to help their communities recover. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center is joined by Emily Hamilton, Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center, Salim Furth, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center, and Jenny Schuetz, Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution to discuss how urban communities can strengthen their economies in uncertain times, how housing restrictions make the United States less resilient during a pandemic, handling traffic congestion and embracing non-vehicular congestion in the long term, and what should be done about missed rent payments. If you would like to speak with one of the scholars or learn more ab

The COVID-19 pandemic is precipitating an unprecedented economic downturn, and small businesses are likely to bear the brunt. Mandatory shutdowns and social distancing forced many small businesses to shut their doors. Even as governments begin lifting social distancing restrictions, the residual effects of unemployment and disrupted business operations will complicate the economic recovery of small businesses. The US government has taken some steps to lessen the damage to small businesses, but these steps impose large costs on taxpayers, and depending on how long the pandemic lasts, these steps may not be enough to keep many small businesses open. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center is joined by Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow and Director of Policy Analytics at the Mercatus Center, Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, and Elizabeth Milito, Senior Executive Counsel at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) to discuss potential n

On today's episode, Shruti Rajagopalan, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, chats with Mario Rizzo and Glen Whitman about their latest book, Escaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy. The three of them discuss the impact that behavioral economics, rationality, and paternalism have on public policy including, nudge paternalism, sin taxes, default rules, true preferences, and how behavioralists may be the new baptists. Check out some of the Mercatus Center's research related to this topic: For Your Own Good: Taxes, Paternalism, and Fiscal Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century by Adam J. Hoffer and Todd Nesbit Behavioral Paternalism and Policy in Evaluating Consumer Financial Protection by Todd Zywicki and Adam C. Smith   Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu.  If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu

After what may have seemed like an eternity to all who have suffered coronavirus pain and death, with June at hand, America has witnessed 19 brutal weeks since its first coronavirus case was identified on January 22. But while these 19 weeks may seem like an eon, it is still the case that owing to high social media speed, actions taken to contain the virus have occurred in record time. This week, we're very happy to be able to connect our listeners once again with Dr. Bruce Yandle, Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at Mercatus, Dean Emeritus at Clemson University, and author of the now-famous “Bootleggers and Baptists” model for understanding unlikely political alliances. Matthew Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center, interviews Bruce on his most recent Economic Situation Report, discussing the race for a vaccine, the battered coronavirus economy, the rise of the command economy, the virus' impact on retail and food sales, and the ease of certain regulations

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters a preliminary phase of economic recovery, questions about how we respond is of concern to lawmakers, economists, and others. Veronique de Rugy and Michael Strain are experts at understanding “big picture” economic implications of different policy options. They will review the three best and three worst ideas that have been put forward for economic recovery thus far. To add to our ongoing COVID-19 policy webinar series, this conversation covers: Three key policies that are the most useful in helping to encourage economic recovery Three policies, both implemented and under consideration, that are likely to make economic recovery more difficult Whether Americans should expect a slow or rapid economic recovery, and the vast resources Mercatus and AEI have developed over the last two months addressing recovery options   Check out Michael's book The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It) here. If you would like to speak with one of the scholars or learn more abou

Attempting to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels are suspending or rescinding laws and regulations that hinder timely, sensible responses to the pandemic. The temporary departure from these rules is causing many to question the need to reinstate them post-crisis. A diverse cross-section of scholars has written on why this is an important time to evaluate whether or not some of these regulations are really beneficial and how policymakers can best make these assessments. This co-sponsored webinar will provide viewers with a grounded, non-partisan approach for doing so. The Mercatus Center published a policy brief, part of the COVID-19 Response series, that proposes an approach called a Fresh Start Initiative. The Progressive Policy Institute has consistently proposed an approach to regulations that could foster more growth coming out of the pandemic while still protecting people and the environment.   Check out the Mercatus Center's research on the topic here

Welcome back! On today’s episode, Mercatus scholar Matthew Mitchell and Mercatus Distinguished Adjunct Fellow, Bruce Yandle, discuss the recent hot button topics flooding the current news headlines and their influence heading into the 2020 presidential election. What will be the economic impacts of the trade wars and Trump's tariffs? Who's really losing when it comes to paying for these tariffs? What do the Trump impeachment proceedings mean for the economy? Matt and Bruce sit down to discuss these questions and much more. And to end their conversation on a lighter note, Matt and Bruce also share stories about Bruce's grandson Adam Smith and discuss some books they hope to see in their stockings this holiday season. Check out Bruce Yandle's December 2019 Economic Situation Report here and to learn more about the latest research at Mercatus, please visit The Bridge. Want to get in touch with one of our scholars featured on the Download? Email Kate De Lanoy at kdelanoy@mercatus.gmu.edu. 

We're back to bring you a special episode on CDA Section 230 or, as one of our guests put it “the 26 words that created the Internet." This law paved the way for the explosion of Facebook, YouTube, and numerous other internet companies by protecting them from being held liable for what users say and do on their platforms. This also allowed each platform the freedom to develop its own content moderation standards. But, as these platforms have grown larger and central to public discourse, some are worried that section 230 gives tech companies far too much influence in who can say what. So, is 230 due for a reform? And if so, how? To unpack this topic further, Mercatus Scholar Brian Knight hosts today's episode.  In addition, we're joined by Jennifer Huddleston, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, whose research involves tech policy and law, Jeff Kosseff, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Law at the United States Naval Academy, Cyber Science Department, and the author of The 26 Words That Created The In

Few words are more politically and emotionally charged in Washington than “healthcare.” Just as the Affordable Care Act was hitting a decade or so of nearly continuous debate, so-called Medicare for All proposals have become the latest battleground for healthcare policy wonks. Even beneath those big picture headline debates, other, smaller questions swirl around the healthcare world, including issues like prescription drug prices. We'd probably bet that the looming 2020 election season isn’t going to do much to end the country’s existential debate on what healthcare should look like, meaning these fights aren’t going away anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make some progress, or at least shed a little light on them. Here to do that, we're joined by a couple of healthcare policy experts. First up, Tara O’Neill Hayes, Deputy Director of Health Care Policy at the American Action Forum. Tara’s work focuses on health insurance costs and coverage, including Medicare, Medicaid, and all the other issues tha

While it sometimes feels like a lifetime ago, it was just back in August of 2011 that Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+. Since then, concerns about US federal debt have gotten less and less attention with each passing year even as debt itself continued to rise. For context, we think the number the last time we checked was just north of $22 trillion, while the federal deficit was just shy of a trillion dollars. But should we even care? After all, the US seems to have shouldered high levels of debt for a long time, and aside from the 2011 credit downgrade, doesn’t appear to have obviously suffered for it. Some proponents of a new idea called “Modern Monetary Theory” or MMT for short, even argue that as long as the Federal Reserve is around, US deficit spending is largely irrelevant. Here to talk about what US debt actually means for taxpayers and policymakers, we’re joined by two excellent guests. Tom Grennes joins us on the phone. Tom is a Professor of Economics

Deference is one of those magical words in the world of regulatory policy. Different types of deference play a huge role in how courts and federal agencies interact when it comes to deciding cases, and those cases in turn help shape federal policy on everything from healthcare to financial markets to environmental protection. We say that upfront, because we’re about to dip our toes in the waters of administrative law, that’s the branch of law that deals with how regulations are made, and Chad's the only non-lawyer here at the table. So he reserves the right to interrupt and ask for clarifications as we go. That said, we’re here today to talk about Kisor v. Wilkie, a case currently before the US Supreme Court. On paper, this is a case about the Department of Veterans’ Affairs decision to deny a veteran benefits. James Kisor is the veteran, and Robert Wilkie is the Secretary of the VA. But as with any case before the Supreme Court, more is at stake here than just the people named in the individual case, and her

At any given time in an economy, you generally have two groups of people: some who have extra money and want to find a way to put it to use, and others who have ideas for how to use that money. The various products, services, and institutions that work to connect those two groups of people are collectively known as “capital markets,” and they’re a vital part of making the economy work, from providing vehicles for retirement savings to funding new businesses just starting up, or helping existing firms expand. With all that money flowing back and forth, of course, comes risk, and today we wrap up our three part series on resiliency by talking about ways to ensure that US capital markets are resilient to the normal ups and downs of economic activity. Joining us again as special co-host is Brian Knight, Mercatus scholar and financial regulations expert. Our first guest today is Georgetown University law professor Urska Velikonja. Urska has written extensively on securities regulation and enforcement both for acad

Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Mercatus Policy Download.   This week, we're very happy to be able to connect our listeners with Dr. Bruce Yandle, Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at Mercatus, Dean Emeritus at Clemson University, and author of the now-famous “Bootleggers and Baptists” model for understanding unlikely political alliances.   Long-time Mercatus fans will know that Bruce has been providing regular updates on the state of the economy for some time now, and earlier this month he released the March 2019 edition. Last week, he was on Capitol Hill sharing his economic situation report with policymakers, and we thought we’d share the audio from that meeting with you.   In just a minute, Bruce will talk about the December Market sell-off and what it means for 2019, the effects of the government shutdown, the future of interest rate policy, and more.   Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.   Want to learn more about Bruce? You can find his work and other quarterly economic situation reports here.   F

Today’s episode is part two in our resiliency series. Last time we talked housing and the Financial Crisis, and we’re not straying too far from that today. We’re going to be talking banking resiliency. For a long time, banks have been viewed as big, secure buildings where we keep our money and go to get a mortgage. Events like the financial crisis, however, tend to force people in the broader economy to wonder: how do we stop bank crises before they begin? Today, we’re going to try and get at the heart of that question by discussing what a resilient banking system looks like, whether or not we’re there after a decade of regulatory responses to the crisis, and where there’s room for improvement. To do that, we're joined once again by co-host Brian Knight, Mercatus Center senior research fellow and expert on a wide variety of financial regulatory issues. We're happy to have a couple guests in the studio with us. First up, Victoria Guida, financial services reporter for Politico Pro. And fresh off the train fro

Today we start a special miniseries on the idea of economic resiliency. Over the course of several weeks, we’ll be diving into three distinct policy areas to talk about ways policymakers can help make consumers, specific markets, and the entire economy better able to withstand shocks and crises. To help guide us through the series, we'll be joined by a special co-host, Brian Knight. Brian is a scholar here at Mercatus, directing our work on financial regulation, and is the perfect person to both contribute policy expertise and ask some probing questions of our additional guests as we work our way through the series. For today’s episode, we’re starting at the only place it makes sense to start a series about financial resiliency: the housing market. Often considered a primary source of the 2008 financial crisis, housing has gone from being considered the safest and most reliable markets in the US economy to one viewed with suspicion. Luckily for us, we have two extremely well-qualified folks in the studio toda

Data privacy. Just saying those two words together probably conjures a whole host of emotions, ranging from suspicion and fear about the way corporations collect and use our personal information to amazement at the quantity and variety of digital products and services that our personal data buys us access to. As any lawyer will tell you, privacy has always been a tricky issue to pin down, and the digital age has made that even more obvious, as consumers seem both more willing than ever to share private information about themselves freely online and simultaneously more concerned that such information might be used improperly. For today’s episode, we’re going to be talking with some tech experts who deal with these issues every day. Mercatus scholar Jennifer Huddleston. Jennifer’s research focuses on the intersection of emerging technology and law Shane Tews, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where she focuses on cybersecurity and internet governance Brendan Bordelon, tech and cybersecurity