Sovereign Wealth Fund

[LDAHL]

So I see now we have an EO aimed at creating a US sovereign wealth fund. I can’t see how that could be constitutional, especially if it’s used as a sort of presidential slush fund. It doesn’t seem clear what sort of system of taxes, fees or outright shakedowns would be used to fund it. The big ones are generally funded by royalties from extractive industries or to help soak up favorable forex balances.

Most states seem very bad at managing investment portfolios without yielding to temptations to overcommit planned returns or put money into politically popular but financially unviable projects. You only need to look at most public pension funds to see where that leads. At the federal level, it would probably serve as a really crude tool of industrial policy. I hope this idea gets strangled in it’s crib.

[bae]

Well, I suppose it could be funded with revenue from timber, grazing, mineral, oil leases on Federal lands.

[Tybee]

So I see now we have an EO aimed at creating a US sovereign wealth fund. I can’t see how that could be constitutional, especially if it’s used as a sort of presidential slush fund. It doesn’t seem clear what sort of system of taxes, fees or outright shakedowns would be used to fund it. The big ones are generally funded by royalties from extractive industries or to help soak up favorable forex balances.

Most states seem very bad at managing investment portfolios without yielding to temptations to overcommit planned returns or put money into politically popular but financially unviable projects. You only need to look at most public pension funds to see where that leads. At the federal level, it would probably serve as a really crude tool of industrial policy. I hope this idea gets strangled in it’s crib.

Yes, this is one more terrible thing. But the fact that it does not make sense and is probably illegal won't stop it.

[Rogar]

I couldn't round up enough details to form a good opinion, but initially don't see as much fault as some of Trump's other EOs. By now it should be obvious that legality has nothing to do with trump's EOs. Congress is unlikely to challenge anything, so it will get thrown into the court system. A couple of years later when a decision is finally handed down, it will either go in Trump's favor with high powered lawyers, he will change the justice system, or will blame the failure on a rigged courts. It seems like a repeating strategy, anyway.