It’s The AAF Exchange — your source for clear, data-driven insight into today’s economic and domestic policy issues.

In this episode of the AAF Exchange, AAF President Douglas Holtz-Eakin discusses the deal to avert a partial government shutdown, the latest read on the economy, and the Biden Administration’s CHIPS Act rollout.

AAF products mentioned in today’s episode:

• In “Capital One’s Acquisition of Discover Could Inject Competition Into Payments Market,” Competition Economics Analyst Fred Ashton discusses the business operations of Capital One and Discover and considers the potential economic and competitive effects of their merger.

• In “Thinking Through the Capital One-Discover Deal,” Holtz-Eakin reviews Capital One’s upcoming acquisition of Discover.

• In “Thinking Clearly About Supermarket Mergers,” Holtz-Eakin explores the FTC’s suit against supermarkets Albertsons and Kroger’s merger.

• In “Weekly Economic Tracker,” Holtz-Eakin breaks down this week’s economic news.

• In “Highlights of CBO’s Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook for 2024–2034,” Vice President for Economic Policy Gordon Gray reviews the CBO’s recently released updated budget and economic outlook, which provides Congress with a 10-year budget and economic baseline to assess the cost of legislation.

• In “No CHIPS, Please,” Holtz-Eakin examines restrictions placed on the CHIPS Act that have made the law untenably bad.

• In “The Progressive Mindset on Display,” Holtz-Eakin notes problems with the CHIPS and Science Act and a proposal to shorten the work week to four days.

• In “Is Congress Helping or Hurting Inflation?” Gray considers the potential budgetary impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.

• In “‘CHIPS’ Feeds Spending Spree,” former Director of International Economic Policy Tori Smith and former Data and Policy Analyst Tom Lee consider how $16 billion CHIPS legislation morphed into $250–$400 billion catch-all bills.

• In “Hold the CHIPS: The Private Sector Is Fixing the Semiconductor Shortage,” Competition Economics Analyst Fred Ashton demonstrates why private sector efforts to boost semiconductor production render the CHIPS Act wasteful, unnecessary, and counterproductive.

Whether you’re on your lunch break or commuting home, The AAF Exchange will keep you up to speed on today’s most pressing policy issues.

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