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David Dayen

Incoming (arriving June 1) American Prospect executive editor David Dayen is a contributing writer to Salon.com who also writes for The Intercept, The New Republic, and The Fiscal Times. His first book, Chain of Title, about three ordinary Americans who uncover Wall Street's foreclosure fraud, was released by The New Press on May 17, 2016.

Recent Articles

Navient Lawsuit Shatters GOP Privatization Myth

Allegations that Navient fleeced students while administering federal college loans put the lie to Republicans’ claim that private sector contractors invariably outperform government agencies.

David DayenJan 19, 2017
Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa via AP Images
Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa via AP Images A logo sign outside of the headquarters of the Navient Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware. T he Trump era is likely to usher in rapid privatization of public goods and services. Dozens of president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team members and cabinet selections have either close ties to privatization groups or enthusiasm for the concept. Private companies that specialize in taking over government functions are thriving . Trump’s infrastructure plan, one of the few agenda items Democrats have complimented, looks increasingly like a stealth privatization scheme . Behind these plans to sell off the public sector lies a philosophy that private enterprise can perform government roles more cheaply and efficiently. Perhaps nothing shatters this myth more than a lawsuit filed Wednesday against Navient, a company that administers payments on student loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and state attorneys general in Illinois and...

Trump Team Wants to Wipe Out Consumer Protections, and Obama Administration Just Handed Them the Tools

The Obama administration has pre-empted some state banking rules in a bid to protect consumers, but President-elect Trump may soon turn the tables.

David DayenDec 15, 2016
Ron Sachs/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Ron Sachs/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Comptroller of the Currency Tom Curry. A s the Trump era nears inauguration, progressives have found solace in an unlikely quarter: federalism. In The New York Times and Vox , liberal scholars cheer on expected efforts to advance a localized agenda of resistance and reform, from sanctuary cities to mandatory reductions in carbon emissions to a living wage. But President-elect Donald Trump and his team could nullify state and municipal laws through federal pre-emption. Under certain circumstances, federal agencies can argue that the industries they regulate need not comply with any state measures that go beyond their national standards. This can particularly affect consumer protection, where pre-emption has an ugly recent history. And this has Democrats angry that President Obama’s hand-picked regulators are handing their successors a golden opportunity to wipe out state rules. Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (...

Cures Act Is Bad Medicine for NIH, FDA

A bipartisan bill that promises more money for research and development is actually full of giveaways for the pharmaceutical industry and other trade groups.

David DayenNov 30, 2016
(Photo: AP/Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
(Photo: AP/Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, flanked by Senators John Cornyn, John Barrasso, and Roger Wicker, leaves the podium after speaking with the press after the Senate Republicans' caucus lunch on November 29, 2016. McConnell inserted into the 21st Century Cures Act a provision that would accelerate the approval of untested regenerative therapies that are labeled "a moderate risk." N ot too long ago, most political observers expected a lively, lame-duck Congress. Would President Obama muscle through the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement? Would the Senate, wary of a Hillary Clinton Supreme Court nominee, confirm Merrick Garland? Would Republicans pass a year-long budget to keep Clinton’s hands away from the fiscal cookie jar? All that changed after the election. Now the lame-duck Congress is a sleepy affair, with Republicans looking ahead to the ascension of Donald Trump. But there’s one exception to this legislative lethargy: The 21st...

Protests Greet Puerto Rico Control Board

A congressionally chartered control board tasked with fixing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis has been stacked with banking industry executives and faces mounting public opposition.

David DayenOct 04, 2016
(Photo: AP/Ricardo Arduengo)
(Photo: AP/Ricardo Arduengo) Puerto Rico's capitol in San Juan “ No to these asshole promises! This is slavery! Stop pillaging Puerto Rico!” These shouts from dozens of protesters last Friday dominated the first public meeting in Manhattan of Puerto Rico’s fiscal control board, created by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA. Congress passed the act in June in response to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. But local resistance to PROMESA is mounting, as the unelected control board has usurped the island’s sovereign government and is poised to demand more austerity, without investing a dime in economic development. Years from now, when these consequences are felt, Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million citizens will undoubtedly question why a Democratic president agreed to sign the law, and why his emissary, Antonio Weiss, boasted about it. Weiss, a 20-year investment banker at Lazard who became counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in 2014, has embarked on a...

Q&A: Will Colleges Support Debt-Free Higher Education?

Now the president of a liberal arts college in Maryland, former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair discusses whether college-for-all proposals would really help students.

David DayenSep 02, 2016
AP Photo/Ron Edmonds
AP Photo/Ron Edmonds Washington College president and former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair. This summer, I argued that Democratic proposals for debt-free higher education will draw opposition from the colleges themselves, which are well served by the status quo. That’s because making public colleges and universities free would force costs down throughout the system, and reverse the incentives that cause tuitions to rise. But this prediction drew a sharp retort from a vocal, albeit unlikely, critic of liberal debt-free college plans: Sheila Bair, the former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and now the president of Washington College, a 1,450-student liberal arts school in Chestertown, Maryland. During President Obama’s first term, Bair frequently clashed with her colleagues over Dodd-Frank regulations and housing policy, eliciting cheers from progressives. But since becoming Washington College president last year, she has...

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