Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But as one legal scholar argues, presidents have been running roughshod over the system for decades. The result? An accumulation of power that’s turned the presidency into a position the Founders wouldn’t have recognized.

STEPHEN J. DUBNER: So basically, all my ranting on this topic in the past — arguing that the President matters much less than people think — you’re saying that I’m pretty much entirely wrong?
ERIC POSNER: No, partly wrong. Not entirely wrong. It depends what you mean. I think, if what you’re saying is, “Oh, don’t worry. It’s Congress and the courts that decide things, and the president doesn’t really decide that much,” then I would say you were wrong. But if what you’re saying is, “Donald Trump will not be able to refuse to enforce the corporate tax,” I think you’re right.

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