Burn Bag
The acceleration in regulation is driven by the election calendar.
Election uncertainty doesn’t slow an ambitious regulation agenda
The article appears to assume that the proximity of the federal election would slow down regulatory momentum, somehow. It’s the opposite. Regulators want to get as much done as possible. It’s like a scene in a movie where the embassy is about to be overrun and there is a frantic scramble to shred and burn documents before the bad guys can get their grubby hands on them. Except here, it’s a mad race to put in place as many rules as possible before the election. If the incumbent wins, then great. If not, then the new team will have to unravel this Gordian knot. It will take time and energy and the civil service can resist passively.
‘Tom, you really do have to pay attention. And this regulatory agenda, which only came out within the last few weeks, didn’t really get a lot of attention. And yet, it’s pages and pages of proposed rules. Now, of course, all of those don’t impact government contracting, but a number of them do. The list of proposed defense, federal acquisition regulations in and of itself, is pages long, and it can catch up any type of company that’s doing business with the Department of Defense, not just those who are paying attention to DOD rules.
U.S. House Bill Would Protect Small Businesses from Burdensome Regulations
The fact that there needs to be legislation forcing regulators to not ignore the impact of their actions on small businesses is indicative of the contempt with which small business is held by the elite.
‘NFIB sent members of Congress a letter of support for H.R. 358, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act (SBRFIA). The legislation ensures that federal agencies fully consider the impact of regulations on small businesses.’
Supreme Court Buries US Tech Regulation
The general presumption is that the result of this Supreme Court term will be “light touch” regulation of Big Tech. That remains to be seen. Congress could still write clear language that clamps down on the industry. The article also highlights the entanglement risk with the Europeans.
‘All in all, the Supreme Court has ensured that US tech regulation will remain light touch. Its rulings will make it hard to reach a common transatlantic vision for the Internet. Europe is developing robust regulations; the US will remain the Wild West.’
Three Cheers for the Administrative State
Regulatory academic gives a full-throated defense of regulation. Story at 11.
What’s noteworthy here is the comment that difficulty in pushing the envelope in federal regulation, here for labor practices, has pushed the reformers to target state and local governments.
‘Because new federal labor and employment reforms have been blocked for decades, organizers and policy entrepreneurs have pivoted to policy campaigns at the state and local level. Fortunately, they’ve been very successful. In the last dozen years, the number of cities and counties with minimum wage laws requiring employers to pay all workers above the federal level increased almost twelvefold, from five municipalities to fifty-nine. Twenty-one cities and counties now have paid sick leave laws. Over 150 cities and counties have laws requiring employers to at least consider the applications of those with criminal records. Nine cities and one state (Oregon) have fair scheduling laws, which require large retail employers (and, in some cities, fast food or food service establishments) to provide workers with advanced notice of work schedules, and to pay them if they cancel a shift at short notice. Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. have legislation protecting domestic workers specifically.’
'Fire every single mid-level bureaucrat': Vance on federal employees
Don’t say they didn’t warn you.
‘“I think that what Trump should—like, if I was giving him one piece of advice—fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state,” Vance said on a 2021 podcast appearance. “Replace them with our people. And when the courts—because you will get taken to court—and when the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.’”’
TRUMP CAMP DRAFTS AI ORDER TO RIVAL BIDEN'S
This putative Trump AI policy sounds familiar. It’s China’s policy.
‘Trump allies are crafting an AI executive order that could reshape the tech landscape if he returns to office. The draft, viewed exclusively by The Washington Post, proposes "Manhattan Projects" for military AI and aims to slash "burdensome regulations." The framework creates "industry-led" agencies to evaluate AI models and focuses on securing systems from foreign adversaries.’
How bad is it in Germany if they’re pulling back on bureaucracy?
‘With the draft of the Fourth Bureaucracy Reduction Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz – “BEG IV”), which was decided and published on March 13, 2024, the German Federal Government has introduced a law whose main aim is to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in the economy. In the context of employment law, the intended relief is to be achieved primarily by reducing formal requirements. In the following, we will summarize which simplifications are planned from an employment law perspective and what this means for the day-to-day work of HR departments.’
Overcoming bureaucracy to expedite software development cycles
In a bureaucracy, sometimes you need to do an end run of the recommended approach. This is how you end up with growing complexity. It’s spy vs. spy. Bad set up leads to end run leads to reaction leads to end run …
‘Red tape often delays digital transformation initiatives across government agencies, including the adoption of modern software delivery practices critical for mitigating disruption from emerging threats and changing mission requirements.
‘Well-meaning policies have blocked many agencies from swapping traditional waterfall or siloed software development models for agile methods capable of continuous delivery. By understanding process bottlenecks, officials can avoid bureaucratic barriers and enhance security. As co-founder of the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run, I know this firsthand.’
A second Trump term would break the back of the bureaucracy
We shall see if Trump learned anything in his first administration about how to navigate the obstacles the civil service throws up. One reason may be the handling of the Pandemic. He’s unlikely ever again to be reliant on anyone the way he depended on Anthony Fauci.
‘Trump was himself also notoriously unable to bend the bureaucracy to his will, which often prevented him from effectively moving policy in as conservative a direction as he desired. Should he get a second term, Trump will look to effectuate the old adage “that which does not bend will break.” To obliterate the resistance that plagued him in the past, his plan is to issue an executive order reclassifying the vast majority of federal employees in order to make it easy to fire them. Once they are gone, he will then look to have them replaced with loyalists who will unquestionably carry out his orders.’