Chrysler in Court, the Costs of Regulation and a Global Tax on Airline Travel
A federal appeals court refuses to block Chrysler’s bankruptcy reorganization and sale to Fiat.
A new study finds that compliance costs for federal regulation reached over $1.1 trillion in 2008.
United Nations delegates propose a multi-billion dollar global tax on airline travel to combat global warming.
For more news, listen to the LibertyWeek podcast here.
1. BUSINESS
A federal appeals court refuses to block Chrysler’s bankruptcy reorganization and sale to Fiat.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the bailout’s legal problems:
“…the Administration’s illegal auto bailout…rips off taxpayers and pension funds to enrich the United Auto Workers union. The pension funds that challenged the bailout will now appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The bailout violates the federal TARP statute by diverting financial-system bailout funds to a takeover of the auto industry. And the government’s reorganization plan for Chrysler violates federal bankruptcy laws by ripping off lenders to give the company to the UAW union.”
2. POLITICS
A new study finds that compliance costs for federal regulation reached over $1.1 trillion in 2008.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Regulatory Studies Fellow Ryan Young on today’s example of ridiculous federal spending:
“Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from the Agricultural Marketing Service (5,500 employees, $1.3 billion 2008 budget). Farmers are apparently unique among businesses in being unable to promote themselves, and therefore need help from the federal government. Page 26,984 of the 2009 Federal Register contains a proposed rule titled ‘Amendments to Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order and Referendum Order.’ Basically, large mushroom producers will vote in a referendum to decide if they like proposed changes in federal mushroom policy. Also at issue is membership apportionment on the all-important Mushroom Council.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
United Nations delegates propose a multi-billion dollar global tax on airline travel to combat global warming.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Energy Policy Analyst William Yeatman on changes in airline travel that actually could help the environment:
“Greater demand for air travel means more flights, which means greater fuel use and increased emissions. Yet, the current government-operated system of air traffic control, based on a 1920s-era system of beacons, may hinder innovations that could reduce fuel use and emissions. As a general rule, the shorter the flight, the less fuel will be consumed. Yet neither airlines nor pilots have the freedom to choose the most direct and economical route. Giving pilots freedom to map their own course is an attractive and desirable change in the eyes of the industry, and the impact on the environment would be tremendous.”
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