by Richard Morrison
November 3, 2009

The Department of Homeland Security opens a new operations center to battle cyber attacks.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on why the government should leave as much room as possible for private solutions to cybersecurity threats:

“We face unprecedented information security vulnerabilities in our hyper-networked, global economy. Leaving the path clear for private, technical, market, and contractual solutions, and avoiding governmental mandates that impede contractual liability and insurance markets, should take priority. Embracing legislation or mandates can mean locking in collective ‘solutions’ that may be hard to correct, undermining information security rather than enhancing it. Policymakers, along with the computing and infrastructure industries, should think carefully before implementing further federal regulation over risk allocation.”

2. TRADE

The federal government continues to add tariffs to inexpensive consumer goods from abroad.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Ryan Young on the practice of protectionism:

“Regulation begets rent-seeking. When government assumes the power to regulate imports, domestic firms will lobby to use that fact to their advantage. Case in point: Home Products International (HPI), an American company, makes ironing tables. So does Hardware, a Chinese company. I personally have no idea which firm makes the better ironing table. That’s for consumers to decide. Or at least it should be for consumers to decide. But it doesn’t always work that way in practice. In the case of ironing tables, HPI seems to have already made that decision for us. At HPI’s request, the International Trade Administration will continue to add anti-dumping duties to the price of the Chinese-made ironing tables.”

3. BUSINESS

Labor organizers seek to overturn 75-year-old rules governing union elections.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on the proposed changes:

“From attempting to manipulate the definition of ‘supervisor’ to changing the way in which workers are organized, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, change the rules’ seems to be a guiding principle in organized labor’s bold new approach to increasing union membership. Consistent with that, some union friendly government officials are trying to change the way in which votes for some workers are counted.”

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