Scholarly commentary on law, economics, & more

Card-Fee Bills Would Benefit Big-Box Retailers but Harm Small Merchants

Texas’ House and Senate are considering legislation to regulate payment-card transactions, with bills that proponents claim would save millions of dollars for merchants and consumers. The evidence, however, suggests that the benefits would accrue mostly to big-box stores, while smaller merchants and consumers will both suffer. H.B. 4061 and S.B. 2056 would prohibit card-issuing banks Card-Fee Bills Would Benefit Big-Box Retailers but Harm Small Merchants

American Industrial Policy Should Start with No More Self-Inflicted Tax Wounds

U.S. industrial-policy efforts frequently undermine themselves through counterproductive tax regulations, creating a paradox that hinders genuine investment and economic growth. Policymakers have committed substantial resources and political capital toward reshoring domestic manufacturing, upgrading national infrastructure, and enhancing American economic competitiveness. Indeed, these goals have been central to the Trump administration’s stated economic priorities. Yet despite American Industrial Policy Should Start with No More Self-Inflicted Tax Wounds

The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward

FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. has gone to court, and trial is just underway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta is currently, in 2025, engaged in monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by dint of having acquired Instagram The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward

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