19 Dec 2007
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 8
Arizona's HB 2779
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
On July 2, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law a bill that tightens an existing statutory definition for felonious "aggravated taking identity of another person" and establishes a new statutory regime that will sanction employers who violate federal immigration law after January 1, 2008. The bill passed the State House of Representatives 47-11 and the State Senate 20-4. More...
4 Nov 2007
Can
States Regulate Immigration? Part 4
An update on the New York State driver license controversy
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
We
recently posted times on various
States' efforts to indirectly regulate immigration by
supplementing federal immigration law (e.g., Oklahoma), or
alternatively, to refuse to leverage State or local resources to
enforce these laws (e.g., Illinois). We also looked at New York
Governor
Spitzer's September change in driver license policy that enabled
illegal aliens to obtain valid driver licenses. We concluded that,
whatever
its merits as a policy, this did not appear to be a significant change
from current practice because New York State's proof of identity
standards would remain unchanged.
Spitzer's
policy change stirred considerable controversy, so we went back to
examine the issue in greater detail. Recently, Spitzer revised New York
State driver license policy in a very significant way, and a comparison
of the two policies reveals much more about how New York is addressing
immigration issues. More...
19 Oct 2007
DHS' "No-Match Rule" Stopped by Preliminary Injunction:
The Regulatory Flexibility Act and illegal aliens
by Richard Belzer
in Information Quality, Litigation, Regulatory Policy
On October 10, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from implementing a regulation it issued in August that tightened up existing practice in the enforcement of 1986 federal immigration law. The case provides a lesson in administrative procedure -- particularly, how an agency's failure to take obscure procedures seriously can backfire. More...
15 Oct 2007
Can States Regulate Immigration? Part 3:
Reporting errors in today's Washington Post page one story
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Policy
Washington Post staff writer Anthony Fiaola has a Page One commentary on actions State and local governments have taken or are considering to regulate immigration within their borders. Fiaola's article contains mostly unattributed opinions (e.g., "some see obstacles"; "some observers fear"; "some observers are alarmed"; "others argue"; "others assert") and few facts or analysis. Because he is the Post's New York City bureau chief and not a beat reporter on immigration issues, he is especially prone to reporting error. We correct his more obvious mistakes. More...
27 Jul 2007
Who Pays the Cost of Regulation?
Insights from corporate income tax incidence
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics
Regulation is widely understood as a tax on the activity or person being regulated. Where these activities repair genuine market failures, benefits from regulation may result. If there are benefits from, say, automobile safety regulation, one would expect the beneficiaries to be persons who otherwise would have been killed or injured at the pre-regulatory safety level.
But what about the costs of regulation? Who bears them? More...
22 Jul 2007
TSA Relaxes Restrictions on Butane Lighters
Why risk-based security regulations can be hard to implement
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics
On August 4, the federal Transportation Security Administration will permit butane lighters in carry on baggage. Why is TSA allowing them now? Why were they banned in the first place?
More...
21 May 2007
Comprehensive Immigration Reform:
Text of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation, Regulatory Policy
Earlier today we posted a comment on the comprehensive immigration bill that was negotiated by the Bush administration and selected Members of Congress. A Google News search yields over 3,000 hits, but the bill itself has not been published for public review. That makes regulatory analysis impossible, yet advocates were seeking passage this week.
Through the courtesy of Wall Street Journal reporter John Fund, who published a commentary this morning on the bill and unearthed the text, we now have a copy of the discussion draft of the bill.
Readers should beware: the text is 326 pages. More...
Comprehensive Immigration Reform:
Lots of talk, nothing to analyze
by Richard Belzer
in Legislation
Over the weekend it was announced that the Bush administration and a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen had reached agreement on the details of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Proponents said they wanted a Senate vote by Tuesday. More...
14 Mar 2007
Risk Management Under Uncertainty
Preventing terrorism
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Policy, Regulatory Science
The classic risk management problem consists of making decisions under uncertainty. Any decision, no matter how carefully considered and well informed, can err in either of two ways:
- By failing to prevent a risk from occurring
- By preventing a risk through the creation of a different risk
30 Nov 2006
Automated Targeting System
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Science
The Associated Press is reporting on the Department of Homeland Security's Automated Targeting System (ATS), which assigns international airline passengers "risk scores."
All international airline passengers do not pose an equal terrorism threat. In principle, risk scores help allocate scarce homeland security resources on more serious threats. as with all scoring systems, risk scores provide rankings that are categorical (e.g., "low," medium, "high") or ordinal (e.g., 1 to 100 points). Errors will occur. For example:
- Some travelers will be ranked riskier than they really are ("false positives")
- Some travelers wll be ranked less risky that they really are ("false negatives")
- Rankings may be systematically biased.
More...
20 Oct 2006
Gas Tax Economics
Reviewing Mankiw's proposal
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
Harvard economics professor and former Bush administration chief economist Gregory Mankiw says in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that Congress should raise the gas tax.
With the midterm election around the corner, here's a wacky idea you won't often hear from our elected leaders: We should raise the tax on gasoline. Not quickly, but substantially. I would like to see Congress increase the gas tax by $1 per gallon, phased in gradually by 10 cents per year over the next decade.
He gives seven arguments for his proposed $1 per gallon increase in the gas tax: (1) carbon dioxide abatement, (2) reducing road congestion, (3) relief from counterproductive regulations, (4) balancing the federal budget, (5) burden-sharing with oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, (6) a preference for consumption over income taxes, and (7) enhanced national security.
Which of these arguments stands up to elementary economic scrutiny?
More...
25 Sep 2006
The Pendulum Swings Back, and Stops Dead
Changes in airline carry-on restrictions begin September 26
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Science
The Washington Post reports tonight that the ban on liquids and gels onboard commercial aircraft will end tomorrow. Travel-size containers will be permitted through the TSA security checkpoint, and items purchased inside the "sterile area" beyond the TSA security checkpoint will be permitted aboard aircraft. More...
14 Sep 2006
The Terrorist Risk from Snow Globes
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy, Regulatory Science
Columnist Mark Steyn relates a sadly amusing anecdote among about airline security that illustrates how US policies and practices lack a coherent risk-analytic basis. Apparently, snow globes are too risky to permit onboard commercial aircraft.
Steyn's column is in the September 11 print edition of National Review, which is not availabe online.
More...19 Aug 2006
What Does Airline Security Have to Do with the Government's Litigation Against Cigarette Makers?
One of them may reduce smoking
by Richard Belzer
in Litigation, Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Policy
On August 17, US District Court Judge Gladys Kessler issued a 1,000+ page opinion (which will be posted here) in the long-running federal case against cigarette makers. A oft-cited element of the judgment is that cigarette makers are ordered to initiate a new advertising campaign correcting specific statements they made which the court found to be deceptive. On August 10, the Transportation Security Administration banned liquids and gels from carry-on luggage, including products purchased in the "sterile" area" of US airports that previously were presumed to be free of substances that could be used to make bombs. We blogged on this after experiencing the new rules firsthand.
What does airline security have to do with new advertisements warning about the risks of smoking?
More...16 Aug 2006
Air Travel Security:
Can we make sense out of the new air travel restrictions?
by Richard Belzer
in Regulatory Economics, Regulatory Science
On August 10, the Department of Homeland Security significantly tightened security rules in response to the thwarted attempt to destroy multiple airliners in transcontinental service between London and various US airports. Some of these changes have been made public and directly affect airline passengers.
These changes clearly have made air travel more cumbersome, difficult and expensive. But have they enhanced security?
More...
