Executive Summary The Food and Drug Administration has authorized 26 nicotine pouch products. Hundreds more sell without clearance, so the legal market is a small fraction of the shelf. For most of those unauthorized products, illegal means the FDA never finished reviewing them. It does not mean the agency examined them and judged them dangerous. A dangerous product … Continue reading
Category Archives: Regulation
Notable Paperwork Expansion Within the CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its Current Year (CY) 2026 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and related policy updates on November 5. While the final rule spans a wide range of Medicare payment and operational policies, the information collection request associated with the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program introduces a particularly … Continue reading
IRS Layoffs Stall Implementation of Republican-Backed Tax Simplification
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY• The Trump administration furloughed almost half of Internal Revenue Services (IRS) employees and issued 1,300 layoffs during the October 2025 shutdown.• The cuts have delayed implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), making Republicans’ tax-simplification effort appear inefficient and disorganized.• Businesses and individuals now face higher costs as they rely more on … Continue reading
Treasury Outlines OBBB Tax Implementation as Compliance Costs Remain Elevated
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY• Department of the Treasury briefed House of Representatives lawmakers on the schedule for rolling out tax provisions of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB).• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paperwork data show that core returns and schedules tied to these provisions require 3.5 billion hours and over $139 billion annually in compliance costs.• Compliance … Continue reading
Regulating in the Dark: eSLR Reform Without Precedent
A June 27 joint proposal by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC to lower the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (eSLR), a capital constraint on large banks, aims to remove regulatory disincentives to Treasury security intermediation. While myriad studies and analyses conclude that the eSLR disincentivizes intermediation, removing these constraints equally benefits competing low-risk activities that may offer higher returns. Banks may deploy freed capital toward higher-yielding activities rather than Treasury intermediation, potentially undermining the rule’s intended purpose. Continue reading
The Real Price of Clean Air: Evidence from Ozone Emissions and U.S. Manufacturing
When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised current ozone emission standards in 2015, the agency’s regulatory impact analysis failed to quantify production losses for manufacturing. This study leverages the EPA’s attainment threshold to show that current ozone regulations lower revenues for manufacturing firms by an average of $277 million annually. Findings indicate that the EPA’s impact analysis underestimates realized economic effects, generating both economic and regulatory policy implications. Continue reading
Impact of Retail Electricity Deregulation on Consumer Prices: A Difference-in-Difference Approach
Executive Summary Electricity is a necessary commodity for nearly every person in the United States, and while the delivery process has not changed, deregulation has altered who supplies it. Historically, electrical markets were vertically integrated and regarded as a natural monopoly, but recent market-oriented reforms have aimed to deregulate and introduce competition to lower both … Continue reading
SEC Announces Finalized Rules for SPAC Transactions
Executive summary SEC regulations aim to address concerns surrounding transparency and investor protection in SPAC transactions. These regulations encompass enhanced disclosure standards, regulatory compliance measures, and stricter guidelines for financial projections within SPAC transactions. Dissenting opinions from commissioners underscore the importance of a balanced approach between investor concerns and fostering market efficiency in SPAC markets. … Continue reading
Culture / Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics / Regulation
Unlocking Transparency: The FTC’s Battle Against Hidden Fees
Executive Summary Deceptive pricing in various industries most evidently in the hotel and ticketing industry, prompted the FTC’ to propose rules to combat hidden fees and protect consumer interests. The proposed Trade Regulation Rule aims to penalize violators, compensate consumers, and enforce transparent pricing. The broad scope of the proposed rule presents intricate challenges across … Continue reading
The Updated Consumer Cost of Regulation
Executive Summary Regulations from the past five years from federal agencies will raise everything from the cost of household goods, vehicles, and utilities; in the aggregate, these regulations will make it costlier for consumers. Based on the agencies’ own projections, a hypothetical individual consumer who would buy all of the affected products, could expect … Continue reading
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