Since the Supreme Court adopted the rational-basis test, very few economic regulations have been struck down. Indeed, what really distinguishes the president’s comments from Judge Brown’s is that she recognizes what an unmitigated disaster this has been for the nation. Over the past 80 years, judicial abdication has led to an explosion in the size and scope of the government, including an alphabet soup of federal agencies, massive public debt, special-interest bailouts, and the lowest government-approval ratings in history.





