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May 30, 2023

Henry Burke

Blog Post CryptocurrencyEconomic PolicyLarry SummersTech

Being A Board Member Is Hard, Just Ask Larry Summers

Former Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers recently learned that making business decisions can be hard even if you’re an economist. Or, alternatively, Summers has again proven to be a real-life embodiment of an economic “rational individual;” willing to do whatever maximizes his personal interests, regardless of broader consequences. If true, this further demonstrates why the press needs to end their reliance on Summers for economic speculation – because his judgment is for sale.

March 02, 2023

Henry Burke

Blog Post Economic PolicyExecutive BranchFederal ReserveFinancial RegulationLarry Summers

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.

February 10, 2023

Henry Burke

Blog Post Economic PolicyLarry SummersMedia AccountabilityRight-Wing Media

Journalists' Lack Of Understanding Distorts Economic Coverage

There’s a lot to gripe about when discussing the Beltway media class in the United States. Progressives at groups like FAIR and Media Matters have spent years rightfully criticizing the press for access journalism, the ever-present need to equate perspectives from both major parties, and corporate-sponsored PR published under the facade of a news article. But a recent study of biases present in the BBC’s coverage of UK politics may help us understand yet another major failing of our media. Journalists lack an understanding of basic economic principles, leading them to unwittingly flawed reporting.

June 01, 2021

Henry Burke

Blog Post Government CapacityIRS

How Revitalizing the IRS Can Help Save Democracy

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is tasked with ensuring Americans follow tax laws. The IRS not only audits everyday Americans and foreign nationals with US tax liabilities but also maintains the power to investigate wealthy individuals and corporations for tax avoidance or other forms of malfeasance. Despite its crucial role in enforcing federal taxes laws (or, more aptly, because of this role), Republican austerity has systematically dismantled the IRS over the past decade.

May 28, 2021

Andrea Beaty Henry Burke

Blog Post Anti-MonopolyFTCGovernment Capacity

Hobbled FTC Lacks Budget To Combat Corporate Buying Spree

Progressives have been encouraged by President Biden’s choices of anti-monopoly leadership in Lina Khan, Tim Wu, and (potentially) Jonathan Kanter. But in the interregnum between personnel announcements and actual confirmations, corporations are getting as many transactions done now as possible. And while the Biden Administration seems on the precipice of reining in the power of Big Tech and other monopolists soon, the FTC, one of the two agencies charged with enforcing antitrust law, continues to be hobbled by chronic underfunding.

May 13, 2021

Henry Burke

Blog Post 2020 Election/TransitionGovernment CapacityIndependent Agencies

100 Days in Office and Biden is Outpacing Obama

Presidents are only as effective as the administrations they assemble. FDR’s “brain trust,” for example, drove his effective first term. As President Biden seeks to surpass his predecessors’ accomplishments and become the most effective president of the past 60 years, the staff with whom he surrounds himself are essential. For over a thousand members of his team, Senate confirmation stands between them and the critical task ahead, making it crucial that Biden quickly make nominations to get these senior leaders working towards his vision as soon as possible. As the traditional post-New Deal metric of how a young administration is performing, the 100th day in office is a chance to look back on the Biden administration’s progress thus far and compare it to the Obama administration.

May 07, 2021

Henry Burke

Blog Post Criminal JusticeDepartment of JusticeGovernment Capacity

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division is Perilously Unstaffed, Slowing Biden Goals on Police Oversight and Reform

Throughout the 2020 campaign, in the wake of nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd and other unarmed black people by police officers, Joe Biden committed himself to reforming law enforcement and combating police violence. But significant challenges loom in Biden’s quest for police reform. The federal government’s role in state and local law enforcement agencies is limited, and Biden’s ability to shepherd police reform legislation through Congress will be hampered by Republican opposition and disinclined moderate Democrats. Despite these obstacles, however, Biden is not powerless to make strides towards his campaign goals. Through his Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, he holds a significant power over local policing.