The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. Retail Politics
The New York Times reports on Wal-Mart’s funding of research groups.
CEI Analyst Available to Comment: CEI President Fred L. Smith, Jr. on the slow removal of the market from the marketplace of ideas.
“Political funding has received the most attention, but the idea has now spread well beyond politics into the larger policy world. The goal is to eliminate business funding not only from politics, but from the entire intellectual world. Many major science and medical journals, for example, now impose financial disclosure requirements on their authors, stigmatizing research underwritten by business. Anti-business groups seek to bar from government advisory committees individuals who’ve consulted with business. And, as the fallout from the Abramoff scandal demonstrates, this assault has now extended to demonizing corporate support for conservative policy groups.”
2. Global Warming
A scientist suggests that, in the past, climate change may have been a boon to the growth of civilization.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on what everyone needs to know about global warming.
“Alarm over the prospect of the Earth warming is not warranted by the agreed science or economics of the issue. Global warming is happening and man is responsible for at least some of it. Yet this does not mean that global warming will cause enough damage to the Earth and humanity to require drastic cuts in energy use, a policy that would have damaging consequences of its own. Moreover, science cannot answer questions that are at heart economic or political, such as whether the Kyoto Protocol is worthwhile.”
3. Technology
Amazon.com opens a movie download store.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Analyst Peter Suderman on how video downloads and other new technologies make cable a la carte laws unnecessary.
“The market is providing a host of new opportunities to selectively pay for unbundled television programming. Sales of TV shows in DVD box sets have soared, even to the point of inspiring new investment in cancelled shows. Based primarily on DVD sales, new episodes of the animated show “Family Guy” were ordered by Fox, and the network’s cancelled science-fiction western series “Firefly” was turned into a $40 million motion picture. Video rental services like Netflix carry many of these TV box sets, allowing them to be viewed at an even lower price. Apple recently unveiled a service offering downloads of individual ABC shows for video iPod owners to watch on the go, while AOL has announced a joint venture with Warner Brothers to offer Webcasts of classic television shows.”
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