@Phil Congress is the only representative element of our Constitutional system. Courts can only “legislate” when Congress abdicates (except the Supreme Court, when they Constitutionalize issues, ought to be much harder). Congress can insist upon its meanings. If we want a functioning democracy, delegating neither to the president nor the courts will get us there. We need to reform how we elect and incentivize Congress, to render it vigorous. 1/

@Phil Re what if there’s a catastrophic official when Congress is on leave, almost always independent agencies permit Presidential termination for cause. If “catastrophic” is just disagrees with the President, that’s what independent agencies are supposed to enable. In extreme cases, Congress can always convene. Again, the vigor or Congress—not the courts, or the President, or the Fed—is the heart of our problem. There’s no democracy in our system without repairing Congress./fin

@Phil No. Only if you define "executive power" to be what is assigned to the President. The Constitution defines a balance of roles and activities, and includes Congress in the structuring of offices under the executive. It plainly has a role in defining roles and hiring (contradicting your "ALL executive power"), when it chooses to. 1/

@Phil It's a shame that the obvious corollary with respect to an ability to structure a role in firing is not discussed in the text one way or the other. The Humphrey's court resolved the ambiguity correctly. /fin

@astonc My view is that meaningful causality is much more from trade deficit to fiscal deficit than the other way around. Trade deficit is a demand drain. The easiest way to counter that and sustain full employment is with a trade deficit. (The article is a mixed bag to me, I don’t buy his trade-balance-is-futile-while-big-fiscal-deficit view, though agree tariffs are a dumb approach. I share his view we should have terms out US debt when rates were low, said so at the time.)

@astonc In general, budget balance requires (1) a diminishment of demand for USD securities, otherwise you get dangerous private-sector “AAA” substitutes and financial fragility; and (2) alternative means than deficit spending of sustaining demand (like taxing the rich to “fund” benefits to the nonrich, who spend rather than bank their marginal dollar).