Category Archives: Regulations and regulators

Goldman Gets Off Easy in 1MDB Scandal Despite Further $2.9 Billion in Payments, Criminal Charge Against Malaysian Sub

Despite the big numbers, Goldman gets the kid glove treatment relative to the severity of its 1MBD misconduct.

Waste Watch: Right to Repair as Remedy for School Computer Shortage?

A right to repair can reduce the digital divide and mitigate global warming, by reducing energy costs of waste disposal and production.

Waste Watch: New York Begins Enforcing Plastic Bag Ban

New York begins to enforce its ban on single-use plastic bags, delayed since March by the pandemic and various lawsuits.

EU Wins WTO Ruling on Boeing Subsidies, Following WTO Ruling for the US on Airbus Subsidies. Tariff War On?

WTO rulings on tit-for-tat aircraft manufacturer disputes look likely to produce dueling tariffs at least in the near term.

What Did Billionaire Leon Black of Apollo Get for >$50 Million in Fees to Jeffrey Epstein?

The more we learn about Leon Black’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the less there is to like.

Citi’s Recidivist Rule-Breaking and Incompetence Shows Persistence of Too Big/Complex to Fail Problem

Citi’s latest run-in with regulators shows why comparing big banks “too big/complex to fail” problems to those of Big Tech is all wet.

Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities

How voters in retirement facilities are being disenfranchised.

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost Says She’s Not in Charge and Lies to the Board About Receiving a Warning from the Fair Political Practices Commission

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost doesn’t even bother to lie well.

Latest Nobel Prize in Chemistry Demonstrates How the US Patent Office Screws Inventors

A high profile example of the train wreck called the US patent process.

Right to Repair Redux: Massachusetts Ballot Questions

Massachusetts has another right to repair ballot question, updating its 2012 provision that resulted in landmark 2013 legislation.

Why Don’t We Study Countries That Have Had COVID-19 Success?

Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, and New Zealand have recorded low COVID-19 deaths. Why do we hear so little about the reeasons for their success?

WATCH: Katie Porter, Squad Members Eviscerate Big Pharma CEOs Over ‘Exorbitant’ Drug Prices

ngresscritters go after drug price gouging. But what will it take to make it stop?

Why Americans Need Debt Jubilees, Helicopter Money, and 21st-Century Greenbacks: A 45-minute Conversation with Richard Vague

Richard Vague, who has studied financial crises, has honed in on the destructive impact of private debt and the need for debt jubilees.

Shareholder Capitalism’s Ugly Legacy

Debunking some of Milton Friedman’s destructive ideas, such shareholders, who only have residual claims in a company, ought to come first.

The IRS Moves to Crack Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders

The IRS is officially in “No more Mr. Nice Guy” mode with respect to cryptocurrency enforcement.