Big Chemo

Nobody ever says if you like a little chemo, you'll love a lot of chemo.

Trump calls for eliminating 10 regulations for every new one

Trump ambushed the Democrats with the Congressional Review Act in 2017. It worked once. It’s unlikely to be as successful, should he be re-elected.

One possible interpretation of Trump’s comments are that he spent four years learning how DC worked and now he’s prepared to beat them at their own game.

If you are part of the corporatist elite and you believe that, you’d want to defeat Trump at all costs.

‘Republicans have vowed to greatly reduce the size of the administrative state, a term used to describe executive branch agencies that have the power to write and enforce rules with little input or direction from Congress.’

Circle VP Warns US Risks Falling Behind in Stablecoin Regulation Amid Political Stalemate

US regulation does not exist in a vacuum. Global players will adhere to regulations as they come out, adapting their systems, making US crypto users subject to foreign rules over which they have no say. The US should be leading the world and directing the consensus-building around a US-friendly regime.

‘The U.S. risks lagging in stablecoin regulation at the federal level amid competing jurisdictions worldwide, even as the Republican and Democrat parties work to establish clearer rules for the sector.’

H.R. 7533, Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act

Using technology to execute reviews of rules on the books to ensure they are still relevant and productive would help tackle the bureaucratic inertia of the status quo. It would make regulatory review systematic. Is this a case for AI?

‘H.R. 7533 would require the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to issue guidance on the use of technology to conduct retrospective reviews of existing federal regulations. Under the bill, agencies would use that guidance to create and execute a strategy for reviewing their current regulations. The bill would require agencies to report to OIRA and the Congress on their retrospective review plans and would require OIRA to report to the Congress on the extent that existing federal regulations are available to the public in a machine-readable format.

‘Federal agencies issue regulations pursuant to statutory authority granted by the Congress and the Congressional Research Service has reported that 3,000 to 4,000 final rules are published each year. OIRA publishes the regulatory and deregulatory activities of each agency in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Recent administrations have initiated different regulatory retrospective review processes meant to reduce outdated and ineffective rules under Executive Orders 13563, 13610, and 13771. While those processes resulted in regulatory changes and deregulatory actions, they had no significant effect on the scope or scale of the regulatory process.’

Trump pitches 'national economic renaissance' with regulation cuts, crypto embrace

This sounds like Milei until you factor in the tariffs. Deregulation and spending cuts have worked down there wonderfully. The imposition of a tougher tariff regime could undo much of this benefit, though.

‘Former President Donald Trump told a group of executives and industry leaders on Thursday he wants to lead a "national economic renaissance" by slashing regulations to boost energy production, embracing cryptocurrencies and drastically cutting government spending as well as corporate taxes for companies that produce in the U.S.’

The Government's Permitting Regime Is Choking the Economy

If you have cancer, some chemotherapy may be warranted. But just because chemotherapy can be effective in fighting the insidious disease doesn’t mean that you should just upping the dose. There are side effects. There are declining marginal benefits.

Regulators don’t seem to understand this.

At what point do we get the Big Pushback?

‘Permitting reform isn't just bureaucratic minutiae; it's a critical, deeply moral issue for anyone who believes in free markets, individual liberty, and economic progress. Our permitting regime is a web of red tape that stifles innovation, slows growth, and leaves Americans poorer, less free, and increasingly frustrated with a government more interested in regulating than enabling prosperity.’

Kansas congressional forum: Schmidt vows to tackle bureaucracy, Boyda calls for bipartisanship

Will we hear more of this term “over-regulation?”

‘“Here’s the bottom line: There is a moment to deal with this over-regulation problem that I think is enormous. I hear it everywhere I go in the 2nd District. Took us generations to get it. It’s not going to be headline-grabbing. It’s going to be down in the weeds, roll up your sleeves, do the dirty work of oversight,” Schmidt said.’

UK signs first international treaty to implement AI safeguards

This is the first step to a global framework on AI regulation, or at least in the West.

Companies must self-assess the potential implications of their technology for its effect on “human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.” They must disclose this assessment. People must be able to challenge the company’s decisions. AI bots must disclose themselves as artificial when interacting with individuals.

‘Under the legally binding agreement, states must implement safeguards against any threats posed by AI to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The treaty, called the framework convention on artificial intelligence, was drawn up by the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, and was signed on Thursday by the EU, UK, US and Israel.’

NYC’s rules one year later: Higher prices for travelers, no housing impact

I loathe AirBnB as much as the next guy. But this criticism of the New York regulations banning AirBnB in New York City seems simplistic. The question isn’t whether housing costs increased, but whether housing costs increased more or less than they would have without the ban.

Comparing NYC to any other city in the US (DC? Why not Wichita?) is also a noisome canard. NYC may be unique in its real estate dynamics.

Using economic studies as PR is as old as the “profession” of economics.

‘One year after passage, New York City’s unprecedented short-term rental regulations have failed to deliver on their promise to combat the housing crisis. In the wake of stringent measures, consumers are instead facing all-time high hotel prices and residents facing all-time high rents.

‘New data underscores the consequences of Local Law 18 (LL18), an outlier when it comes to short-term rental regulations.’