Credit Card Fees, Immigration Reform and Heading off an EPA Power Grab
The U.S. looks to Australia’s experience with regulating credit cards fees.
Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs softens his longtime anti-immigration stance.
Environmental groups petition the Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating carbon dioxide emissions without action by Congress.
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.
1. CONSUMER
The U.S. looks to Australia’s experience with regulating credit cards fees.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Center for Entrepreneurs and Investors Director John Berlau on why adopting additional restrictions here would be a mistake:
“The payment card system is a complex one that involves not only merchants and consumers but also payment card networks and financial institutions from banks to credit unions. The marketplace for credit and debit cards is vibrant and competitive, and its innovations have been a boon for consumers and merchants alike. At a time when the U.S. economy is recovering from one of the worst recessions in decades, for government to intervene in this well-functioning market would have serious unintended negative consequences for consumer welfare.”
2. BUSINESS
Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs softens his longtime anti-immigration stance.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh on how legal, skilled immigrants could power America’s scientific prowess:
“Highly skilled immigration benefits the American economy. Counting just the value of patents, scientific discoveries, and firms started by immigrants, it is clear that their arrival has paid off handsomely for the United States. And rather than take jobs away from Americans, more people with wider skills and greater experience increase employment opportunities. The non-partisan National Foundation for American Policy reports that for every H-1B visa issued, U.S. technology firms increase their employment by five workers. Every day that almost 300,000 Indian immigrants spend in legal limbo represents a gargantuan waste of creativity.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Environmental groups petition the Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating carbon dioxide emissions without action by Congress.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on the economic impact this could have:
“Stabilizing carbon dioxide levels at 350 parts per million as demanded by the petition, when atmospheric levels are already above 385 ppm and rising, would require the equivalent of a global economic depression sustained over several decades. Tens of millions of jobs have thus been put at stake by EPA’s decision to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.