CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. BUSINESS
Residents of southern California survey the damage from recent wildfires.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on how the profit motive can help save lives during natural disasters:
“The insurer AIG has been spending its own money to protect the homes it covers. More than that, according to this report by ABC news, AIG actually sends people out to assess the risk of fire to homes pre-fire season, and protects those deemed to be high-risk with a flame retardant that can prevent dire damage for an entire season! For AIG, the cost is worth it in an attempt to prevent bigger losses down the line. These are the practices that allow AIG to stay in business and earn a profit—and we, the policy holders, are the beneficiaries of their greedy motives.”
2. LEGAL
The Washington, D.C. judge who sued his dry cleaner for $54 million over a lost pair of pants is likely to lose his appointment.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the judge’s argument for keeping his job:
“[Judge Roy] Pearson claims the D.C. Government is not allowed to take into account his ridiculous lawsuit in determining whether or not he is fit to serve as a judge, because his ridiculous lawsuit is supposedly protected by the First Amendment freedom of petition. That’s like saying that it violates the First Amendment to consider an applicant’s neo-Nazi views in whether he should be appointed to be a civil-rights commissioner.”
3. LABOR
Unions extend their “corporate campaigns” to target private equity and hedge funds.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on anti-corporate labor activism:
“Mention the names of certain large corporations, and many people think bad things—from ExxonMobil gouging drivers with high gas prices to Wal-Mart destroying city downtowns by undercutting mom-and-pop shops. Sound familiar? That’s because these companies have been targets of ‘corporate campaigns’—public relations onslaughts designed to damage a company’s reputation. When planning corporate campaigns, unions and activist groups research their target and identify its weaknesses. One key pressure point is a company’s need for capital. Because they often have great influence over pension funds, many unions are able to pressure companies by having the funds offer shareholder resolutions at corporate annual meetings.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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