Recent Articles

Social Security Suspending Annual Benefits Statements For Most Americans

Alan M. White

March 22, 2012 11:49

Do you like receiving in the mail those annual statements from the Social Security Administration telling you how much money you will receive when you retire? The statements explain how much you will get if you take "early" retirement at...Do you like receiving in the mail those annual statements...

Peter Murray: Could the French Notary System Have Prevented the Subprime Meltdown Here?

Alan M. White

March 22, 2012 00:26

Peter L. Murray of Harvard has written French Notaries and the American Mortgage Crisis, a book chapter. Here's the abstract: The crisis in real estate mortgage lending that erupted in the United States in 2007 shook the foundations of the... Peter L. Murray of Harvard has written French Notaries...

The Sixth Circuit Upholds The FDA's Graphic Tobacco Labeling Rules

Alan M. White

March 21, 2012 21:36

Here is one of the FDA's new graphic labels slated to appear on cigarette packages if the courts say that's okay: We've blogged on this topic many times, including recently, when Judge Richard Leon of the D.C. federal district court...Here is one of the FDA's new graphic labels slated to appear on...

The Moral Limits of Markets

Alan M. White

March 21, 2012 04:04

At this blog, we are concerned -- rightly I think -- about advancing policies that will improve consumers' economic well being. The idea is that, to a point, economic well being is a good in itself and can enhance other...At this blog, we are concerned -- rightly I think -- about advancing policies...

Shouldn't Federal Menu Labeling Rules Apply to Junk Food Sold at Movie Theaters?

Alan M. White

March 20, 2012 17:47

As the Center for Science in the Public Interest explains: [I]n 2010, Congress passed a law to post calorie information on menus and menu boards at chain restaurants, on vending machines, and at other establishments with restaurant-type food, like movie...As the Center for Science in the Public...

Matt Stoller: On Foreclosure Fraud, One of the Good Guys Gets a Win for a Change

Alan M. White

March 20, 2012 14:25

Here. This is a passionately-written piece, to say the least. An excerpt: Going up against the banks is not easy. What these banks do to ensure that their opponents (their real opponents, not the pliant risk-averse operations like the Center...Here.  This is a passionately-written piece, to...

MSN Money: Debt Collectors Using Facebook to Collect Debts; Is it Legal?

Alan M. White

March 19, 2012 19:17

by Jeff Sovern Here. An excerpt: "One strategy collection agencies use, according to Michelle Dunn, a 24-year veteran of the debt-collection industry and the author of "The Guide to Getting Paid": setting up a fake profile and using it to...by Jeff Sovern Here.  An excerpt:  "One...

Did Ben Bernanke Save the Economy?

Alan M. White

March 19, 2012 11:56

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke is hated by people on the left and right. But according to this article by Roger Lowenstein in the April 2012 Atlantic, he saved the American economy. Among many things, the article contains a brief...Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke is hated by people on the...

Sant'Ambrogio and Zimmerman Paper: The Agency Class Action

Alan M. White

March 18, 2012 19:15

Michael D. Sant'Ambrogio of Michigan State and my colleague Adam S. Zimmerman of St. John's have written The Agency Class Action, Columbia Law Review (forthcoming). Here's the abstract: The number of claims languishing on administrative dockets has become a new... Michael D. Sant'Ambrogio  of...