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July 21, 2023 | The Sling
The Inane Indignation Around Sellers’ Inflation
Conventional economists have been bristling about sellers’ inflation being presented as an alternative to the more staid explanation of a wage-price spiral (we’ll come back to that), but in recent months there have been extremely aggressive (and often condescending, self-important, and factually incorrect) attacks on the idea and its proponents. Despite this, sellers’ inflation really is not that far from a lot of long standing economic theory, and the idea is grounded in key assumptions about firm behavior that are deeply held across most economic models.
July 17, 2023 | The American Prospect
The Climate Denialist Think Tank That Might Produce The Next FTC Commissioner
It turns out that radical ideology IS allowed at the FTC.
July 16, 2023 | Common Dreams
Biden’s CMS Continues Holdout on Voter Registration Accessibility
Several states have attempted to implement automatic voter registration based on Medicare enrollment—but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is still stalling.
July 07, 2023 | The American Prospect
Secretary Yellen, Where Are the Crypto Tax Regulations?
Despite this, Janet Yellen’s Treasury Department has yet to formalize the regulations that would usher in this new reporting regime. The initial expectation was to have Treasury provide the new guidance by the end of 2022, allowing reporting changes to begin with transactions completed in 2023. However, despite approval of the proposed regulations by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in February (the usual stumbling block in this sort of proceeding), the department has yet to publish the regulations.
July 05, 2023 | The American Prospect
Lina Khan Haters Took A Premature Victory Lap
It turns out that the ethics official who recommended that Khan recuse herself from a case involving Meta is an owner of Meta stock. This ethics judgment was music to the ears of the media organizations, Republicans, and antitrust hacks who have been attacking Lina Khan throughout her leadership. Beyond being wrong and selective in singling out FTC officials for ethics concerns, the problem with Pankey’s opinion is deeply ironic. Pankey herself has a legitimate conflict of interest in relation to Meta.
June 30, 2023 | Common Dreams
Right-Wing Activists, Not Asian Americans, Killed Affirmative Action
Conservative legal strategists leveraged the Asian American community into their fight against affirmative action. The media continues to let them hide and evade blame.
June 23, 2023 | The American Prospect
The Obscure NIH Official Blocking Lower Drug Prices
Mark Rohrbaugh, a mid-level staffer at the National Institutes of Health, has consistently blocked the use of march-in rights to seize patents on high-cost drugs.
June 15, 2023 | The American Prospect
Pandemic Fraud Is Really, Truly, Not A Big Deal
By focusing on the (inflated) total defrauded, reporters are using big-sounding numbers without any context to try to scare the public.
June 01, 2023 | The American Prospect
How to Cover a Presidential Campaign
As the past six years have clearly illuminated, hollowing out government capacity and rewarding loyalists is at the heart of the Trump gospel, and leveraging power is DeSantis’s modus operandi as well. As coverage of the Republican primaries ramps up, the press must focus on how this style of executive branch mismanagement endangers democracy and the public interest. That’s more important than trying to figure out if DeSantis has the personality to sell this anti-democratic vision.
May 27, 2023 | Common Dreams
Three Things the Media Misses When Discussing the Debt Ceiling
Spending cuts aren’t minor, caps ignore inflation, and President Biden isn’t helpless.
May 17, 2023 | The Sling
Biden Should Relieve Martin Oberman from His Chairmanship at the Surface Transportation Board
Just weeks after a series of high profile train derailments headlined by the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) decided to double down on the current railroad oligopoly. The STB approved a merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway Company, cutting the number of major “Class I” rail companies in the United States from seven down to six. This decision is diametrically opposed to the public interest and seriously undermines trust in rail regulators.
May 12, 2023 | The American Prospect
Will Dem PR Flacks Help Studios Crush Striking Writers Again?
How two ‘Masters of Disaster’ helped Hollywood execs break the last writers strike
May 09, 2023 | Common Dreams
Not Every “Former Antitrust Official” Is a Neutral Expert
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and DOJ Antitrust Division have long served as an essential stop for antitrust experts looking to maximize opportunities, influence, and compensation at BigLaw firms and monopolistic corporations. By spending some time learning the ins and outs of government investigations and enforcement efforts, revolvers are seen by potential corporate employers to be better equipped to assist corporations in antitrust lawsuits against their former government employers.