David Dayen

@ddayen.bsky.social

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Executive editor, The American Prospect. Author, Chain of Title and Monopolized. Tips at ddayen-at-prospect-dot-org.

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Happy Fourth! As a public service, @ryanlcooper will help you update your Constitution by showing you all of the various sections that the Supreme Court has rendered inoperative.

The Supreme Court Has Murdered the Constitutionprospect.org America’s founding document is now an all-but-meaningless scrap of paper. Happy Fourth!

I looked into this "virtual roll call" for the Dem presidential nominee, which may be moved up to July 21 (18 days away), and concluded there's no real reason to be doing it. The rationale is that Ohio has an early ballot deadline, but Ohio passed a law to fix that. DNC's going early anyway.

Why Is the DNC Holding an Early Nomination?prospect.org Today on TAP: The reason was supposed to be a deadline in Ohio. But Ohio changed their law.

@adamserwer.bsky.socialFrom me: Setting aside everything else, campaign finance laws dictate that the only Democrats who can seamlessly use the hundreds of millions of $$ currently raised for the election are Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. Anyone else would start from scratch.

Campaign Finance Laws Give Harris Big Boost in Biden Dropout Scenarioprospect.org If Biden were to withdraw his candidacy, only Kamala Harris could seamlessly use funds raised by the Biden-Harris campaign committee.

We've got weekend Prospect! In the final cases of the Supreme Court session, the conservative majority's vision is clear: pull power away from the other branches and into their hands. Hassan Ali Kanu, who's been killing it this week, has the story: prospect.org/justice/2024...

Who’s Gonna Check the Supreme Court?prospect.org This term illustrates that the Court often exercises unjustified power.

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David Dayen

Strong labor unions are a key part of the #GoodLife —they empower workers: ✅ Materially through tangible economic gains ✅ Mentally by fostering community, solidarity & meaning. @jennyhunter.bsky.social argues for more positive cultural representations of unions: prospect.org/sponsored/th...

Tonight's debate will pretend presidents are figurehead stand-ins for all of politics. In reality, they run the executive branch, and we have a unique opportunity to compare these candidates on their actual job function. Timi Iyawemi of the Revolving Door Project did that work:

On Debate Night, Highlight How These Presidents Ran the Executive Branchprospect.org Trump’s presidency was unprecedented in its corruption at virtually all levels of executive branch agencies.

From me: What's the most profitable company in America? Microsoft? Google? Nope, VeriSign, the company that charges $10/year for registering a .com website. Its operating margins are over 67%. A government contract lets it raise prices. Advocates want that to end.

The Government Created the Most Profitable Company in Americaprospect.org Now, the Biden administration has the opportunity to slash the astronomical profit margins of VeriSign, the obscure company making a mint on annual .com website registrations.

The Supreme Court said today you can bribe a public official as long as you give them the money AFTER they do your bidding and not before. "Thanks for the tip," corrupting influences replied! Here's Hassan Kanu with the dirty details:

The Supreme Court Blesses a Form of Briberyprospect.org The ruling can be understood only as a policy preference.

If you actually read the two cases putting preliminary injunctions on pieces of Biden's income-driven repayment program, as I did, you find they are contradictory, inconsistent with 30 years of IDR in practice, and totally unworkable:

Student Loan Rulings Highlight Unaccountable Judicial Power—Againprospect.org Two judges this week invalidated part of a program that’s been in place for 30 years. The rulings contradict each other and seem unworkable in practice.

Citigroup submitted an inadequate living will. The penalty can be a bank breakup. But the Fed let them off with nothing. The good times are *when you fix* these problems, because they won't always be good times. Especially as commercial real estate sags. From me:

The Fed Covers for Big Banks Amid Growing Stressprospect.org The central bank weakening the penalties for failing a living will plan is bad in theory. In practice, with commercial real estate defaults rising, it’s even worse.

There are discrepancies in elite media on whether Boeing will face criminal prosecution for breaking a 2021 settlement agreement. But one thing is clear: DOJ's decision is a test of whether our laws against corporate fraud matter anymore. From me:

Boeing Will Either Face or Not Face Accountabilityprospect.org Today on TAP: Differing news accounts of a major decision to prosecute Boeing for violating a 2021 settlement highlight the policy and political implications.

Former EPI president Larry Mishel explains why and how racial socioeconomic disparities should be fought, mostly with universal policies to benefit all poor people:

We Can and Should Address Racial Disparitiesprospect.org Most of the programs that would be most beneficial to racial equality are actually universal policies.

It's debate week, and you may be nervous. Let @HaroldMeyerson talk you off the ledge with his debate preview. The expectations have been so diminished that Biden faces the task of novice candidates: simply show that he's up to the job:

You Don’t Need a Shrink to Tell You Why You Feel This Wayprospect.org Really anxious about this week’s Biden-Trump debate? So is everybody else.

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David Dayen

This week on the Prospect Weekly Roundup, @ddayen.bsky.social and Maureen Tkacik discuss RealPage, the rent-fixing software company currently under FBI investigation, Synapse and the fintech collapse, the AI hype and more. We'll be live in just one hour at 12:30PM ET!

The Prospect Weekly Roundup: 6/21/2024youtube.com This week on our live show, David Dayen and Moe Tkacik discuss RealPage, the rent-fixing software company currently under FBI investigation, Synapse and the ...

Terrific analysis of the gun case decided today at the Supreme Court by Hassan Kanu, who explains that it represents the conservatives backtracking on their ill-considered appeal to "history and tradition" to make legal decisions right now:

SCOTUS’s History and Tradition of Error Correctionprospect.org Today on TAP: The Supreme Court takes a step back from its partisan ‘history and tradition’ test.

Great investigation here by @lukewgoldstein about Fanatics, which is attempting to roll up the entire sports apparel and memorabilia market, using long-term exclusive deals with sports leagues to facilitate monopolization:

Big Business Has Come for Your Baseball Cardsprospect.org Fanatics, the self-described Amazon of sports, has used long-term exclusive deals to monopolize apparel and memorabilia markets, and make its products unavoidable.

As soon as today, SCOTUS may allow cities to criminalize homelessness. A recent Justice Department investigation of Phoenix's pattern of biased law enforcement against unhoused people previews the likely reaction, writes Hassan Kanu:

SCOTUS Rules on Homelessness as DOJ Reveals a War on the Poorprospect.org The Supreme Court’s coming decision on homelessness will exacerbate a new, growing problem.

27,000 Virginia teachers have unionized, part of a public-sector labor push in what remains a private-sector right-to-work state. As Harold Meyerson notes, with Virginia’s low rate of unionization "the victory will increase the # of Virginians working under a collective bargaining agreement by 12%"

Teachers in the South Go Unionprospect.org Today on TAP: It’s not just autoworkers who are unionizing in the non-union South. In Virginia, schoolteachers are successfully organizing, too.

From me: Four former executive directors of the DCCC, which exists to protect incumbent House Democrats, are now working for campaign firms that are being paid to defeat House Democrats in primary races. The D-Trip used to ban vendors working on primary challenges from doing business with them.

Former DCCC Leaders Working to Defeat Incumbent House Democratsprospect.org Four former executive directors of the organization that elects House Democrats work for firms that are being paid to defeat House Democrats in primary races.

Elon got his $48 billion from shreholders, but Tesla's future as a car company is far bleaker, writes @ryanlcooper.com

Elon Musk and the Decline of Teslaprospect.org The megalomaniac CEO extracted $48 billion from his shareholders. But the company’s future does not look good.

The "Goon Squad" in the Rankin County, Mississippi sheriff's office have exhibited a pattern of civil rights violations that mirrors the lynch mob “justice” seen in the Jim Crow & civil rights eras, & should trigger federal charges,Hassan Kanu writes:

‘Mississippi Justice,’ American Shameprospect.org We still need federal intervention to drag some jurisdictions out of Jim Crow–era policing.

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David Dayen

You might think this story isn’t applicable to you because you’re not in New York, but it’s important because it illustrates our basic problem: Every issue you care about is held hostage by a ruling class that is incapable of doing the right thing because it might make some suburban cops mad

New: I wrote about Kathy’s big week of fucking up everything

Opinion | New Yorkers are faced with a terrifying question after Gov. Hochul's costly gambitwww.msnbc.com The plan would’ve generated revenue for sorely need mass transit updates, while reducing traffic and the environmental destruction brought by cars.

Today's piece for our special pricing issue is by the great Sarah Jaffe. It's on surge pricing, and the company that brought it into widespread use: Uber, which uses an algorithm not only to determine how much riders pay but how much drivers make:

The Urge to Surgeprospect.org Businesses are hiking prices to take advantage of consumers. They learned it from Uber.

Brilliant, personal story from Moe Tkacik on Long COVID, and how the NIH blew through $1.1 billion intended to study the phenomenon that didn't consult a single expert with chronic illness expertise: prospect.org/health/2024-...

Why Is NIH Perpetuating Long COVID Denial?prospect.org Documents obtained by The Sick Times reveal the bastion of the medical establishment squandered a billion dollars on a long COVID study that seems suspiciously designed to fail.

Despite Republican insistence to the contrary, their blockage of a Senate bill codifying contraception as a right is a harbinger of coming assaults in state legislatures and the courts, writes @ryanlcooper.com:

The Republican Party Is Coming for Birth Controlprospect.org The insistence from GOP elites that they mean to do no such thing is a lie.

Today's story from our pricing issue: @hassankanu on junk fees, those layered-on, non-optional, barely-justified charges. As @chopracfpb, who coined the phrase, says, it's "part of a really disturbing trend in the economy that is really about cheating rather than competing"

Loaded Up With Junkprospect.org Extra profits are the only explanation for many fees businesses charge.

It's completely insane that Schumer won't affirmatively support the Democratic nominee for Senate in New Jersey

Our special issue on pricing continues with @lukewgoldstein on algorithmic price fixing. CEOs colluding directly to raise prices is illegal. So middlemen have arisen to enable indirect collusion through collecting comprehensive market data. This is happening with apartments, hotels, agriculture...

Three Algorithms in a Roomprospect.org A growing number of industries are using software to fix prices. Law enforcers are beginning to fight back.

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David Dayen

Policymakers need to grasp the role of power in our economy to tackle today's rampant price-gouging. In @theprospect.bsky.social, Lindsay Owens & @ddayen.bsky.social explore the journey here & advocate for new policies to shield consumers from unfair pricing tactics: prospect.org/economy/2024...

The Age of Recoupmentprospect.org How power, technology, and opportunity have come together to gouge consumers

Personalized pricing—a tailored price based on each individual's willingness to pay—has been an economist's dream. Comprehensive data collection and customer isolation brings it closer to a disturbing reality, as I write for our special pricing issue:

One Person One Priceprospect.org Digital surveillance and customer isolation are individualizing the prices we pay.