Our Blog
March 02, 2023
Workers Beware: Biden’s Potential Fed Pick Prescribes Unemployment & Reduced Social Security Benefits
Karen Dynan has been reported as one of a few economists on Biden’s shortlist to replace Lael Brainard on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. While her proponents have highlighted the Harvard-trained economist’s perfect centrist resume, her recent statements on how best to tackle inflation should concern workers and their allies. And this blithe analysis concerning unemployment should come as no surprise – Dynan, like Biden’s foils in the GOP, believes cuts to Social Security benefits are likely.
March 01, 2023 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Dylan Gyauch-Lewis Emma Marsano Ananya Kalahasti Julian Scoffield
Congressional OversightConsumer ProtectionExecutive BranchFintechHealth
What Makes a Good Executive Branch Official?
If we had to make one overarching argument about what makes a good executive branch official, whether at a massive cabinet-level department, a medium-sized agency, or a tiny commission, it is this: a habit of skepticism about corporate claims.
March 01, 2023 | The American Prospect
Op-Ed Climate and EnvironmentConsumer ProtectionCorporate CrackdownExecutive BranchGovernanceGovernment Capacity
Calling Deficit Squawks’ Bluff on Environmental Enforcement
A 38-car train wreck. Toxic chemicals seeping into water and soil, and a black plume rising in the sky. Sick people, sick pets. As the Prospect’s Jarod Facundo wrote last week, the national spotlight remains fixed on the ecological consequences of the February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
In the context of this ecological disaster, arguing for a reduced budget for federal investigators, air and water quality testing, and programs that hold polluting corporations accountable for proper cleanup and restitution is sheer madness. But that’s exactly what the current right-wing push for massive government spending cuts in the name of deficit reduction would entail.
March 01, 2023
We Don't Need A Morgan Stanley Economist On The Fed
The conflict of interest here would be self-evident.
February 27, 2023
Vishal Shankar Max Moran Jeff Hauser
Press Release Consumer ProtectionFinancial RegulationIndependent AgenciesJudiciarySupreme Court
Supreme Court Must Overturn Fifth Circuit's Radically Pro-Corporate Attack On The CFPB
The Fifth Circuit is trying to destroy the only cop on the beat protecting consumers. SCOTUS must overturn their radical assault on the CFPB.
February 24, 2023
As Biden Takes On Airline Junk Fees, It's Worth Asking Why Buttigieg Didn't
For two years, Secretary Buttigieg elected not to block airlines from charging extra for parents and guardians to sit with their kids. This month the White House stepped in.
February 24, 2023 | Revolving Door Project newsletter
"Economic Science" Is Whatever Larry Summers Wants It To Be
In many cases, Summers refuses to distinguish between his personal ideology about economics and what he thinks are scientific laws of nature.
February 23, 2023
DOJ IN THE NEWS: Mid-February Trends
This piece marks the start of a new biweekly blog series from RDP. Every two weeks, we’ll call out ongoing trends in media coverage of the Justice Department’s focus and priorities, giving context from our past DOJ oversight work as needed, with an eye to the impact of DOJ capacity and resources, as well as alignment with the Biden administration’s professed goals.
February 23, 2023
Biden Must Retract World Bank Nomination Immediately
“Neither private equity, nor Mastercard, nor Citigroup, nor PepsiCo, nor Nestlé, nor Dow promote shared prosperity.”
February 22, 2023 | The American Prospect
Critical Tests For The Biden Administration's New Team
If Zients and Brainard want to prove to their critics that they are ready to fight corporate power on behalf of the little guy, they have ample opportunities to start.
February 17, 2023 | RDP Newsletter
Hack Watch: Debtors And Lawyers And Trusts, Oh My!
February 15, 2023 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
The Value of a Human Life, According to Economists
Last week a shocking story from NPR largely slipped under the radar. The headline: “Why the EPA puts a higher value on rich lives lost to climate change.” Climate Correspondent Rebecca Hersher shared the “twisted tale of math, ethics and climate change” that is the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to decide what’s been called the most important number you’ve never heard of: the social cost of greenhouse gases.
February 14, 2023
Secretary Buttigieg Must Overhaul Rail Safety Regulations, Reinstate Upgraded Brake Requirements For Freight Trains
“Corporations do not respect Buttigieg as a regulator.”
February 13, 2023 | The American Prospect
The Difference Between Expertise and Marketing
Attacks on aggressive antitrust enforcement from ‘fellow Democrats’ who work for monopolists should be seen for what they are.