National Review : Congress Should Stop Passing the Buck to the Bureaucracy
Lawmakers pass laws full of lofty goals — "promote the public interest" or "ensure fairness" — and leave the tough choices to regulators who weren't on anyone's ballot. It's tidy politics: take credit for ideals, outsource the trade-offs, blame the bureaucracy when the sausage tastes funny. But if we want an accountable government, Congress mus ...
National Review : Speaker Johnson Proves the Necessity of Reviving the Nondelegation Doctrine
During a press conference earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about Justice Neil Gorsuch's concerns, raised during Supreme Court oral arguments over the legality of the president's tariffs, that Congress had violated the long-dormant "nondelegation doctrine" by delegating too much of its tariff power to the president. Johnso ...
When fines become weapons : A history of excessive fines
A fine not even a baron could pay King John was cruel, of that there was no doubt. But when he turned on his closest friend and ally, the Marcher lord William de Braose, his brutality knew no bounds. William had won great favor with the King by playing an integral role in helping him secure the throne in 1199. After Richard the Lionheart died, ...
Curing the Mischiefs of Faction : The Federalist Papers Nos. 9 and 10
The power that a group of people united by common passions can wield, and the danger this can present to those outside that group, was top of mind for the men who wrote the Constitution. And it was the topic of Alexander Hamilton's Federalist No. 9 and James Madison's Federalist No. 10, both published 238 years ago today. Written under the pseud ...
Yale Journal on Regulation : Navigating the Web of Agency Authority with AI
Despite the overwhelming concern over the use of artificial intelligence, one of the most promising use cases for AI is regulatory reform. Regulatory accumulation — the slow accumulation of rules, related guidance, case law, and specialized knowledge — has created a knowledge base that no human brain could contain, let alone comprehensively ana ...
Proposed CFPB rule protects creditors from censorship
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule amending the regulation that was used to censor PLF client Barry Sturner, former owner of a small mortgage brokerage firm, Townstone Financial, Inc. If Regulation B is amended, CFPB officials will need evidence to prove that a creditor's discriminatory and discouragin ...
When trail running became a crime : the presidential pardon that set Michelino Sunseri free
This month, record-breaking mountain runner Michelino Sunseri received a presidential pardon, clearing his name after the National Park Service unfairly hit him with criminal charges. The outdoors has always played a big role in Michelino Sunseri's life. The 33-year-old professional mountain runner grew up in North Lake Tahoe, where he and his t ...
A New Birth of Freedom : Abraham Lincoln’s words of hope to a house divided
On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address with these famous opening words: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Lincoln relied upon the wisdom of the American Founders, ...
Biden-era executive order harms business owners, forcing them into union agreements
The Trump administration recently enforced a Biden-era executive order, harming contractors and subcontractors that provide services to federal entities, and Bill Slayden is one of the many contractors who have been harmed by this rule. If Bill wants to continue providing construction services to the federal government, which is a major source of h ...