CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. TECHNOLOGY

Shareholders approve Sirius Satellite Radio’s acquisition of rival XM Satellite.   

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on why the deal should be allowed to go forward:

“Regulators should refrain from using the merger review process to extract a parade of concessions from these struggling companies. Meanwhile, antitrust policy should allow aggressive competitive responses to the combination.  Wall Street, investors, programmers, consumers, already-poised rivals, and new entrants collectively will discipline more thoroughly than could the Federal Communications Commission. That’s as it should be.”

2. ENVIRONMENT

The Smithsonian Institution considers rejecting a $5 million donation from the American Petroleum Institute.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: General Counsel Sam Kazman on the implications of the Smithsonian’s decision:

“If industry funding and museums really don’t mix, then what business does the Smithsonian have even staying in existence? It was started, after all, by a bequest from James Smithson, a geologist and chemist who devoted his life to discoveries that were put to use in mines and factories and whose fortune probably had at least some roots in the Industrial Revolution that the Smithsonian directors are now trying to wash their hands of. An entity such as this is simply too pure to operate on this planet. It should call it quits and relocate to a more transcendental realm.”

3. BUSINESS

The Wharton business school’s new dean calls for a greater emphasis on social activism by business leaders.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on the benefits of sticking with the profit motive:

“The selfish desire for long-term personal wealth is the best incentive for creating sound and effective businesses. While it’s possible for a company to be both profitable and socially conscious, it is more likely to succeed when it bases its decisions on profit. Donald Trump [for example] has been revitalizing neighborhoods for decades, and his real estate development company alone employs more than 22,000 workers. Everyone prospers when entrepreneurs operate for profit.

Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.

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