Mercatus Policy Download

After more than a year of debating federal tax cuts, a return to trillion dollar deficits, and the fiscal condition of the federal government, you might think there’s not much more to say about fiscal solvency in the US. Of course, for those who follow state policy issues, there is still plenty to discuss spread out among 50 state government budgets.

In fact, the Mercatus Center just released its fifth and final study of the fiscal condition of all 50 states. The study ranks each state according to fiscal health and discusses trends from a decade’s worth of data.

Here to dive into that data, what it means for states, and what a path forward might look like are the study’s authors:

• Eileen Norcross, Vice President of Policy Research here at Mercatus, and an expert on state policy issues.
• Co-author, Olivia Gonzalez is a Research Associate at Mercatus, and is the author of an ongoing series of articles diving into some of the interesting stories she discovered while conducting this research.

Click here to learn more about the Fiscal Rankings study and where your state stands. 

To follow Olivia's essay series on the study, visit The Bridge.

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Join us for #econoween this fall by carving a pumpkin with your favorite econ stencil and enter it in our contest. Tweet us @mercatus using the hashtag #econoween to submit your pumpkin carving masterpiece. The winner will receive a prize of over $100 worth of free books! You can find the stencils and contest details here.

Interested in Tyler Cowen's new book Stubborn Attachments? It's available for purchase here from Stripe Press.

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Today's What's on Tap beverage comes to us from DuClaw Brewing in Baltimore, Maryland.

A little over a year and a half ago, President Trump issued his 7th Executive Order. Titled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” Executive Order 13771 is better known in regulatory policy circles as the “1-in-2-out” rule. The general idea is that if you have too many regulations, one way to fix the problem is by requiring that regulatory agencies eliminate 2 rules for each new one they implement.

Longtime listeners will recall back in May when we discussed the issue briefly, but now that we’ve had a little more time to see the rule in action, we thought the time was right to revisit the issue to see what was working, and where there might be room for improvement in the regulatory reform process.

To do that, we’re lucky enough to have Laura Jones back on the show. Laura is a visiting research fellow at Mercatus, and the executive vice president and chief strategic officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

We also have James Broughel in studio. James is a research fellow here at Mercatus and an adjunct professor of law at the Antonin Scalia Law School. Much of James’ work lately has focused on quantifying and understanding state-level regulation. 

Questions, comments, episode ideas?

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.

Today's What's on Tap beer is from Two Roads Brewing Co. Check out their Ok2berfest here!

Over the past two years, Illinois has taken multiple steps to reform how it regulates occupational and professional licenses.

Illinois’ reform efforts are part of a broader national movement reexamining the ways in which we license certain professions. In other words, how state governments decide who’s allowed to work in what jobs.

Here to do that, we have the perfect panel for today’s topic:

• Secretary Bryan Schneider from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
• From the same Department, we’re also joined by the Director of the Professional Regulation Division, Jessica Baer
• Matt Mitchell, who directs our research program on government granted privilege here at Mercatus

Want to get your hands on a signed copy of Tyler Cowen's new book Stubborn Attachments before it hits bookstores on October 16th? Rate and review your favorite Mercatus podcast, including the Mercatus Policy Download, Conversations with Tyler, the Hayek Program Podcast, or Macro Musings on Apple Podcasts and you'll be entered to win!

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Today's What's on Tap beer is from Manor Hill Brewing in Ellicott City, Maryland. Check out their selection of beers here!

As our guests noted in the show, you can learn more about state occupational licensing reform efforts by visiting the National Conference of State Legislatures' Occupational Licensing Project, or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Facebook page.

Last month, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady released what he’s calling a “listening session framework” for a second bite at the tax reform apple. While many thought that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed last December would be the last we’d hear about tax reform for at least a few years, Brady’s framework gives us the outline for what’s been dubbed “Tax Reform 2.0.”

The plan includes permanent tax cuts, new savings vehicles for families, retirees, and students, and reforms aimed at removing, quote, “barriers to growth.”

Since this comes right in the midst of ongoing fallout from Tax Reform 1.0, specifically states adjusting to changes to state and local deductions, it’s the perfect time to pause and reflect on where tax policy is now, and what it might look like if 2.0 becomes a reality.

Here to talk about all things tax, we’ve got an all-star panel lined-up:

• Bernie Becker, tax reporter for Politico, known to many of you as the brains behind the “Morning Tax” tipsheet
• Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow here at Mercatus. Veronique is an economist and nationally syndicated columnist whose research focuses on the US economy, the federal budget, homeland security, tax issues, and financial privacy
• Michael Farren, research fellow here at Mercatus, focusing on the effects of government favoritism as well as labor and economic development and transportation issues

Questions, comments, episode ideas?

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.

This week's beer is brought to you by Commonwealth Brewing Co. Check them out here!

For most of us, terms like “3, 4, and 5G” may not mean much more than an indicator that we can use our smartphones, or that it’s time to upgrade them to a newer model. They are simply markers of each new generation in wireless technology.

But for telecommunications policy experts, 5G really matters. Some have predicted that exciting new technologies like driverless cars can only become a reality with the speed and reliability that 5G will provide. Futuristic smart-homes that rely on a variety of different internet-connected devices may need the flexibility that 5G offers, and Virtual Reality may only be convincing in a 5G world.

But if 5G is really that different from 4G, it’s fair to ask if we’re prepared for the change. Today, we’re going to talk about what needs to happen, particularly in the policymaking world, in order to capture the full benefits of the next generation of telecommunications technology.

Here to do that, we're joined by two guests:

• Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, prior to his time as Commissioner, worked for years on Capitol Hill on banking, technology, transportation, trade, and commerce issues
• Brent Skorup, Senior Research Fellow here at Mercatus, where he focuses on wireless policy, new media regulation, telecommunications, and transportation technology

Questions, comments, episode ideas?

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.

This week's beer is from Tröegs Independent Brewing. Check out their IPA's and other tasty beers here!

Sports are often a great unifier for society. They give us arbitrary, even petty rivalries that we can lean into without taking too seriously at the same time that they bring people together.

But sports, particularly at the professional level, can be expensive. Even ignoring things like player salaries, equipment, and an extensive staff, every sports team needs a place to call home, and stadium costs can easily run in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

That’s not really something most folks worry about as long as wealthy sports team owners are paying for their own stadiums, but city and state governments increasingly view stadium construction as a form of economic stimulus. As a result, there’s a strong temptation to funnel public funds towards these projects, either in the form of direct subsidies, or by giving teams a tax break.

Here to talk about how all of this works, including the pros and cons of this kind of development strategy, we have some guests who have spent a lot of time following the issue:

• Marc Fisher, senior editor with the Washington Post who covers a range of topics, including some of the economic effects of the Washington Nationals ballpark, joins us on the phone
• Michael Farren, research fellow here at the Mercatus Center and repeat guest on the show
• Anne Philpot, research assistant here at Mercatus who has spent a lot of time tracking stadium financing and its effects on local economies

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This week's featured beer is from Salty Turtle in Surf City, North Carolina!

“How many people are unemployed” sounds like a simple question with a straightforward answer: just go around and find out how many people don’t have jobs and you’re done!

However, as economists who study the issue will tell you, it’s not that easy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a government agency charged with collecting data, has six separate measures of unemployment. And just in case you think we’re splitting hairs, those different measures ranged from as low as 1.7 to as high as 8.5% last year.

Since the way unemployment is measured and talked about can influence stock prices, elections, and how people generally feel about the economy on a day to day basis, it’s important to understand what these different numbers mean.

Luckily, we’re joined by some folks who spend their time thinking about this stuff so you don’t have to:

• Eric Morath, labor economics and policy reporter for the Wall Street Journal
• Michael Farren, economist with the Mercatus Center who specializes in labor, economic development, and transportation issues
• Kate De Lanoy, director of Media Relations at Mercatus

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Today we have a special bonus episode for you, giving you a look inside the Mercatus Center’s newest project. Those of you who have followed our work over the past year or so may have noticed an increased attention to the idea of policy moonshots: high-risk, high-reward efforts aimed at dramatically improving the world.

Today, we’re taking our own advice. This fall, the Mercatus Center will launch “Emergent Ventures,” an incubator designed to fund and support dynamic and promising ideas with the potential to improve society.

To talk more about Emergent Ventures, we have a special guest, Tyler Cowen.

Tyler is the General Director of the Mercatus Center, and the Holbert Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University. He is the coauthor of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution, cofounder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University, and host of the podcast Conversations with Tyler.

To learn more about the project, check out Emergent Ventures.

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How to regulate consumer financial products and services has remained one of the most contentious issues in Washington since the financial crisis. Congress created a new agency aimed at dealing with the issue in the wake of the crisis, but nearly 7 years after that agency first opened its doors, the issue remains as relevant as ever.

In fact, experts are even divided on what to call the agency. For some, it’s the “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” or CFPB. For others, including Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, it’s the “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection,” or the BCFP.

Today, we're going to try and just call it “The Bureau,” and ask our guests to talk a little about the recent nomination of Kathleen Kraninger to direct the agency. More importantly, however, we’ll talk about the future of consumer credit regulation regardless of who runs the Bureau, or what it’s called:

• Justin Schardin, a fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the former director of their Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative. 
• Brian Knight, director of the financial regulatory program here at the Mercatus Center.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.

Everyone seems to agree that America is a nation of immigrants. Beyond that, however, actual immigration policy remains a contentious and often partisan topic. From insistence on a border wall between the United States and Mexico to growing calls for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, common ground hasn’t been easy to find lately.

That may be because, as the Mercatus Center’s general director Tyler Cowen recently put it, “Immigration is hard,” and “it’s worth thinking about why immigration policy poses such tough dilemmas and how to fix them.”

Here to do just that, we have two top immigration policy experts:

• Kristie de Pena, director of immigration policy and senior counsel at the Niskanen Center
• Dan Griswold, director of the program on the American economy and globalization here at the Mercatus Center

Questions, comments, suggestions?

Email Chad at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @ChadMReese.