The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. POLITICS
The America’s Future Foundation holds a policy roundtable event titled “Big Business: Friend or Foe of Big Government?”.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Tim Carney, author of the new book, The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money, on the connection between corporations and government regulation:
“Government regulation doesn’t rein in big businesses; it protects them while hurting the little guys. Higher taxes don’t soak the rich; they often merely transfer wealth from mom & pop to the largest corporations. It’s not just for good press that some big businesses are sounding a lot ‘greener’ these days; the old-fashioned profit motive combined with some targeted lobbying is really behind the push for ‘corporate social responsibility.’”
2. HEALTH
The Associated Press reports on a public health study linking consumption of soft drinks to increasing obesity rates in the United States.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the weak statistical link in the study:
“…the researchers acknowledge in their review article that, ‘Despite our overall findings of a positive association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain and obesity, other investigators have suggested that such a relation does not exist. Multiple studies… did not find a significant association between consumption of soda or fruit drinks and [weight gain] in American children and adolescents.’”
3. ENVIRONMENT
China’s government claims recent typhoon activity is caused by global warming.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on the link between climate change and extreme weather events:
“There is no provable link between weather events like Hurricane Katrina and global warming. For example, research by German scientists has demonstrated that the devastating floods in central Europe in 2002 were perfectly normal events when compared against the historical record. Allegations that extreme weather has been more damaging recently do not take into account the fact that mankind is now living and investing resources in more dangerous areas. Moreover, the World Meteorological Organization has acknowledged that increases in the recorded number of extreme weather events may be due to better observation and reporting.”
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