Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator

Public concern about the level of AI investment is everywhere. While some compare today’s scenario to the dot-com bubble, the economy’s overreliance on AI investment, coupled with opaque financial engineering, means that a market correction could look more like the 2008 Great Recession, an economy-wide crash with systemic consequences. After such a crash, Congress will scramble to identify a reform agenda. In a rush, broader reforms that take time to formulate get shelved for quick action. It doesn’t have to be so.

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on states’ implementation of a “dig once” law that Congress enacted in 2018. Given our recent paper analyzing dig once requirements, we were thrilled to dig in (pun very much intended).