I’M NOT SURE I AGREE WITH THIS: The Ocasio-Cortez–Cruz Bill Would Almost Certainly Be Unconstitutional. There’s a first amendment right to petition the government, but there’s not a first amendment right to lobby on behalf of paying clients when you have a conflict of interest. I’d have to think about this more, but I find Cooke’s invocation of the right to petition unpersuasive. You have a constitutional right to engage in sexual intimacy, too, but you don’t have a constitutional right to work as a prostitute. It’s certainly not as open-and-shut a case as some of my libertarian friends are suggesting.

But don’t worry: There are no constitutional problems with my revolving-door surtax!