As maybe the least libertarian economist on this blog roll, its interesting that the timing of today’s Supreme Court Decision falls on my watch. The best thing to read is probably Sotamayor’s dissent which lays it out plainly: the President is, by today’s ruling, clear to use their power with almost complete immunity from criminal prosecution. It feels like hyperbole, but this is really dark stuff. The kind of thing I didn’t think I would ever see in my lifetime. I know many are framing this in terms of Trump and his current slate of legal cases, but those costs are comparatively trivial relative to the costs going forward.
How did we get here? It’s tempting to trace back a conspiratorial timeline, but I think the answer is far more banal. It only takes the appointment of a few incompetent careerists to undermine the collective wisdom of a nine person voting body and here we are:
I’m not sure what else to write that isn’t already plainly stated by far more qualified legal observers. This isn’t great.
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