Notes on the Crises on Bloomberg Odd Lots: Lev Menand and Nathan Tankus on Why Fed Independence Is Now Hanging by a Thread
Last August, President Trump made the unprecedented choice of moving to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
Fiscal Policy
A collection of 41 posts
The Devil is in the Footnotes: The Fourth and Fifth Levers OMB Has Over Agencies
This is a free piece of Notes on the Crises. All pieces in this OMB series will be free. Please take out a paid subscription to support this work. Or leave a tip.
Russell Vought is Using the Plumbing of Fiscal Federalism to Create a New Patronage System
EDITORS NOTE: I (Nathan) have struggled whether to rush to comment on this proposed OMB rule. Being a recent Fiscal Year 2026 OMB memo, and knowing that the OMB will continue to create
Agency Independence in One Agency: Humphrey’s Executor is Cowering in the Basement of the Eccles Building
Today is the 6th anniversary of Bloomberg Businessweek's profile on me, which forever changed my life. Its so long ago now that many readers may not actually be familiar with it,
The Medium is the Message: The First Three Levers OMB Has Over Agencies
This is a free piece of Notes on the Crises. All pieces in this OMB series will be free. Please take out a paid subscription to support this work. Or leave a tip.
What the Hell is a Government Shutdown Anyway? The Accounting Gimmicks at the Heart of the Federal Budget
Subscribe Today! So the federal government is shut down. I’ve been late to covering this story because of my focus on events at the Federal Reserve. Well, that was true when I
Inside DOGE's Dangerously Hasty IRS Modernization Plan
This is the second installment in the Notes on the Crises series on the IRS. While the first essay traced how the agency has become a political target and potential tool of authoritarianism,
The Fiscal State Under Siege: Why People Hate the IRS, and Why You Should Care
How Trump, DOGE, and Project 2025 Are Turning the IRS Into a Tool of Authoritarian Rule Editor’s Introduction: Hello readers, it's Nathan Tankus and I am very happy to bring
Just Another Administrative Agency: Preserving Central Bank Discretion Without Illusions
Given recent events, I felt it was finally time to come back and publish this piece. Most of my writing was going to be devoted to piercing the ideology of central bank independence so that the Federal Reserve would be treated like an independent administrative agency like any other.
The Stock Market is a Conventional Wisdom Processor: Why Trump’s Tariffs Crashed the Stock Market While the Trump Musk Payments Crisis Hasn’t (Yet)
I have a confession to make. Two months ago I tried to crash the stock market. Let me explain.
Trump’s “Liberation Day” and the Ongoing Stock Market Crash: The Key Lessons to Take into the Second Week of the Market Bloodbath.
It has been a little more than three weeks since my last piece, simultaneously published by Notes On The Crises and Rolling Stone, assessing the extremely alarming implications of the Federal Government taking 80.5 million dollars right out of New York City’s bank account.
Musk In Your Computers: Paul Krugman Interviews Nathan Tankus
I don’t really know what to say. I’ll figure out what to say another time. Paul Krugman, who recently left the New York Times, interviewed me for his newsletter and the transcript of the conversation, as well as the video, are being posted in both of our newsletters.