The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. ENVIRONMENT

Parents in the UK object to the government's plan to distribute copies of Al Gore's global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” to every school..

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis, Jr . reacts to the film : 

“ An Inconvenient Truth purports to be a non-partisan, non-ideological exposition of climate science. In reality, it is a sci-fi disaster film in the guise of a documentary. Example: Gore bombards us with scene after scene of devastation from hurricanes, floods, droughts and the like, creating the impression that global warming has made the world a more dangerous place. In reality, both mortality rates and aggregate mortality related to extreme weather events have declined by about 95 percent since the 1920s. The world has become safer as it warmed up!”

2. LEGAL

The Supreme Court rules in favor of federal regulation of mortgage lending .

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the Watters v. Wachovia Bank case: 

“Unfortunately, state banking regulations often increase the cost of credit for consumers and reduce the availability of credit. The [Comptroller of the Currency] has a duty not only to protect the well-being of banks but also that of consumers, so it can't be assumed that state banking regulations are better. The Supreme Court should uphold the right of federal preemption in this case.”

3. TRADE

The European Union prepares to remove quotas and tariffs on imports from developing countries .

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith on why the U.S. should also drop tariffs on imports from poor countries :

“While the United States has been a major contributor of humanitarian and economic assistance to many [least developed countries], allowing poor countries to take full advantage of markets in the United States would be an important step for their sustainable economic growth. U.S. trade policy should be consistent with these overall goals. ”

Blog feature : For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI's blog, Open Market .

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