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LPE Originals

Predistribution and the Law and Economics of Income Inequality

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Law and Economics scholars argue that if income redistribution is to happen at all, it should occur exclusively through the tax system, rather than through supposedly less efficient methods, such as the minimum wage, collective bargaining, or housing regulation. Yet even by their own lights, these arguments fail: in many cases, predistributive policies are actually more efficient than the tax and transfer system. More fundamentally, to address economic inequality, we must move beyond narrow issues of distribution and transform the mode of production itself.
LPE Originals

Rebuilding State Authority In A Post-Trump America

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In the ruins of the administrative state after Trump, many on the left see an opportunity to design a New Deal-type reconstruction agenda. But building state capacity requires a government that is seen as legitimate, and it is precisely the erosion of legitimacy in the eyes of the public that has enabled Trump to carry out his deconstructive agenda.
LPE Originals

The Neoliberal Foundation of the Authoritarian Turn in Higher Education

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Recent authoritarian attacks on higher education mark a significant shift from the neoliberal era, which celebrated institutional independence from the state, the role of education in boosting worker productivity, and the value of research in driving profitable innovation. However, there are key continuities between the two periods. The neoliberal era laid the groundwork for today’s authoritarian turn by making public institutions increasingly reliant on federal funding, dismantling independent state planning boards, and deepening inequality within the higher education system.
LPE Originals

The Staying Power of the Antimonopoly Movement

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In the United States and elsewhere, the forces of monopoly, antitrust, and corporate power tend to follow a certain historical pattern, with long-term swings between strong anti-monopoly policies and pro-business policies. To anticipate the future of anti-monopoly politics, we need to understand the dynamic forces that drive these recurring large-scale shifts between monopoly and competition.
LPE Originals

How Conspiracy Law Threatens Social Movements

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Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, President Trump and his allies have repeatedly threatened to use conspiracy laws against liberal groups, protesters, and political opponents. These threats reflect a troubling trend: prosecutors are exploiting the vague and expansive nature of conspiracy charges to attack the very relationships and forms of coordination that make social movements possible.
LPE Originals

NIH v. APHA and the Inequities of Two-Track Justice

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The Supreme Court’s NIH v. APHA decision creates a harmful “two-track” litigation process, forcing plaintiffs to file duplicative lawsuits in different courts to obtain relief. Echoing the Pennhurst ruling of 50 years ago, the Court’s procedural maneuvering threatens to obstruct justice for those challenging discriminatory government actions.
LPE Originals

A Populist CEO in Corporate Law’s Court?

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Recent amendments to Delaware’s corporate code have tilted the playing field toward powerful tech CEOs and private equity representatives. Beneath these reforms lies a deeper political shift — the rise of populist corporate governance that threatens both shareholder rights and the rule of law.
LPE Originals

Union Busting is (Morally) Disgusting

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As legal protections for labor organizing face existential threats, the American labor movement must confront a deeper challenge: the erosion of social norms that once condemned union-busting as morally wrong.
LPE Originals

Why Not a Faculty Union?

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Despite a recent surge in campus organizing, tenured faculty at private universities haven’t unionized. Why is this? The conventional answer is that the Supreme Court said they can’t. Fortunately, the conventional answer is wrong.
LPE Originals

The Economics of Sanctions: Why the U.S. Targeted Francesca Albanese

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On July 9, 2025, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese became the latest target of unilateral U.S. sanctions. These sanctions are an unjustified assault on Albanese, the United Nations, and international law. At the same time, they shed light on the true nature of unilateral sanctions — revealing what they aim to achieve and whose interests they ultimately serve.
LPE Originals

Why We Need to Stop Subsidizing Venture Capitalists

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From lending to stock trading to crypto, leading fintech companies have gained an edge not through actual technological innovation, but by using tech-driven narratives to obscure how they profit from bending and breaking financial regulations. What makes this especially troubling is that the public is propping up these firms by subsidizing Silicon Valley’s VC industry.
LPE Originals

How the Trump Administration is Constructing Jewishness

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According to President Trump, Chuck Schumer is “not Jewish anymore.” Nor are Jewish Americans who vote for the Democratic Party. Nor are Jewish college students who oppose the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza. In making these claims, Trump and his administration are attempting to reshape the contours of Jewish identity, dividing “real Jews” and “good Jews” from “Un-Jews” and “bad Jews.” And they are increasingly using law and economic power to materialize these distinctions.