The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Regulating Consumer Finance Should Involve Congress and OMB
English Summary
The article argues that while requiring agencies like the CFPB to perform cost-benefit analyses (CBA) improves rule quality, Congress and OMB must retain ultimate authority over complex regulations. It posits that rules involving difficult value trade-offs (e.g., privacy vs. information flow) or highly uncertain outcomes are best decided by legislators rather than unelected officials. To prevent agencies from manipulating CBA results to pass unfavorable rules, the authors recommend requiring Congressional votes on proposals that fail a cost-benefit assessment, or having OMB conduct independent reviews.
中文摘要
本文主張，雖然要求諸如消費者金融保護局（CFPB）等機構執行成本效益分析（CBA）能提升法規品質，但國會和管理預算辦公室（OMB）仍必須掌握複雜監管的最終權威。文章提出，涉及難以抉擇的價值取捨（例如隱私權與資訊流動之間的平衡），或結果高度不確定的規定，最佳的決策者應是立法機關而非非民選官員。為防止機構利用成本效益分析操縱結果來通過不利法規，作者建議要求在未能通過成本效益評估的提案上必須經過國會投票，或由OMB進行獨立審查。
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