@jasonfurman
Professor @Harvard, Director @HarvardBizGov, Senior Fellow @PIIE, teaches Ec10, words @nytopinion, proprietor https://t.co/4eOTjrd0x4, was Chair of Pres Obama's CEA.
Alec Stapp @AlecStappNEWS: 19 FORMER ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY LEADERS ENDORSE THE BIPARTISAN PERMITTING REFORM BILL Today, a group of former Cabinet members and White House principals across seven Democratic and Republican administrations sent a letter calling on Congress to pass BAAJA. Here are the signatories: Janet YELLEN, Michael R. POMPEO, Steven T. MNUCHIN, Leon E. PANETTA, Timothy F. GEITHNER, Henry M. PAULSON, Jr., Robert E. RUBIN, Stephen MIRAN, Jared BERNSTEIN, Tyler GOODSPEED, Jason FURMAN, Glenn HUBBARD, Laura D’Andrea TYSON, Michael J. BOSKIN, Jeffrey ZIENTS, Jake SULLIVAN, Brian DEESE, Larry KUDLOW, Allan B. HUBBARD Key highlights from the letter: 1. “We are not building infrastructure fast enough to remain globally competitive… The median time for a new power plant to move from an interconnection request to commercial operation has more than doubled, from less than two years for projects built between 2000 and 2007 to more than four years for projects built between 2018 and 2024. 2. China has built more high-voltage transmission in the last fifteen years than the U.S. has built in all of its history... In 2024, China accounted for 31.5% of global knowledge- and technology-intensive manufacturing value added, compared with 20.7% for the United States. 3. Federally funded or permitted projects require NEPA review, but private projects often do not, creating a threat of failure precisely where the government is trying to be proactive, strategic, and engaged. 4. A project that spends years awaiting approval must continue carrying development and financing costs while remaining exposed to rising input costs. The IEA reports that prices for utility-scale transformers increased 26% in 2024, while lead times for some transformers have stretched as long as six years. 5. Mining projects also face tremendous uncertainty: a 2026 study by researchers at the Colorado School of Mines found that permitting for modern mining projects takes an average of 5.5 years, rising to 8.9 years for contested projects. The U.S. currently has the second-longest mine development timeline in the world. 6. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is the most significant bipartisan legislative effort that Congress has undertaken in decades to tackle these challenges. 7. BAAJA addresses key constraints stifling American industry by requiring interregional transmission planning, strengthening the federal backstop for nationally significant transmission lines, and creating a faster, more predictable process for connecting new generation to the grid. 8. BAAJA also makes permits more durable by imposing tighter timelines for litigation and limiting frivolous lawsuits that can halt projects indefinitely, while preserving community input and judicial review of substantive agency decisions.” The letter was organized by @arnabdatta321 on behalf of @IFP and covered exclusively by the WSJ this morning.
Ethan Mollick @emollickI think there is way too much concern expressed about verification of AI output in everyday work due to a risk of factual errors. It used to be true, but data on more recent models suggest they beat human experts, including PhD specialists, in finding facts and checking claims.
Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebsterMajor changes to BAAJA in this amendment responding to Democrats' concerns; two highlight titles: 1. Permit Certainty title has lots of technical fixes: -Requires proof of government bad faith before an energy project can get damages (easy to prove with Trump, hard to use against a future lawful admin) -10-year baseline of past projects rather than 5 years (so Trump anti-wind actions aren't built into the baseline) -Ability for the government to rebut with lawful reasons (helps a future admin could deny polluting projects lawfully) 2. Historic Preservation title has substantive changes: -Feds can no longer take over a noncompliant Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) -Even if a THPO isn't compliant with deadlines, agencies still required to consult with Tribes -Expanded requirements to consult and incorporate feedback from THPOs, Tribes, local govs, State Historic Preservation Offices -Protections for Tribal historic database information to remain confidential to Tribes -No more requirement for THPOs and SHPOs to spend 50% of their time on a project if they miss its deadline -Extra more time to object to a historic preservation report -Federal Highway projects always subject to historic preservation, even if only a formula grant
Jon Steinsson @JonSteinssonThe dominant model people use to think about AI's effect on the labor market is automation. But perhaps commoditization is a better model. Automation implies job apocalypse. Commoditization implies plentiful jobs with low wages. 1/
Zachary Liscow @ZLiscowNEW PAPER w/ @_josephshapiro & @heidilwilliams_: In 1947, Congress gave feds power to override states blocking gas (not oil) pipelines. Gas pipeline growth sped up 6x. Oil didn’t. The Senate permitting bill does similar for power lines. History strongly suggests it'll work. 🧵
Jason Furman @jasonfurmanStock markets up after election results. But what is most interesting is the composition. Health and solar up, data centers and Musk-related down. Crypto up may be the one I wouldn't have expected. And note, markets presumably had already been pricing in large Democratic gains.
