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Free the Economy podcast: Mississippi renaissance with Douglas Carswell
In this week’s episode we cover housing abundance, capitalism’s approval rating, audits of state finances, and the consumer nostalgia of…
The Daily Economy
‘Violent Saviors’: William Easterly’s Book on Imperialism and Conquest
While framed as a book about economic development theory and the history of colonialism, William Easterly’s latest tome is actually something grander and more ambitious:…
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Free the Economy podcast: Big Tech, Europe, and free speech with Spence Purnell
In this week’s episode we cover the Supreme Court’s recent decision on tariff powers, myths of the Great Recession, and fiduciary duty…
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Free the Economy podcast: The impact of Trump’s trade war with Alex Durante
In this week’s episode we cover the sneaky federal cause of high housing prices, record outflows from ESG investment funds, and why…
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Free the Economy podcast: What’s wrong with Congress with Kevin Kosar
In this week’s episode we talk about we talk about Consumer-Regulated Electricity, the amazing falling US poverty rate, and how smart…
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Free the Economy podcast: Social mobility in the 50 states with Justin Callais
In this week’s episode we talk about satellite shot clocks at the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh’s digital-dollar beliefs,…
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Free the Economy podcast: The meaning of GDP with Brian Albrecht
In this week’s episode we talk about the last 50 years of regulatory reform, a new study on climate adaptation, and reforms…
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Free the Economy podcast: Permitting for speed with Grant Dever
In this week’s episode we talk about making a living in podcasting, confronting our mounting national debt, and assessing President Trump’s new…
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Free the Economy podcast: Total boomer luxury communism with Russ Greene
In this week’s episode we talk about Trump’s 10 percent credit card interest proposal (and the dangers of populist economics in general),…
Reuters
A back-of-envelope evaluation of national tax rates and freedom levels
Reuters cited CEI’s expert on tax rates & political systems Richard Morrison, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute: “Low-freedom countries may have low…
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Free the Economy podcast: FDR’s political legacy with David Beito
In this week’s episode we talk about communist housing policy in New York City, the best economics and history books to read…
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Free the Economy podcast: China’s economy and the US with Derek Scissors
In this week’s episode we talk about corporate real estate investing, woke pension funds, changing fuel economy rules, and questions about…
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Free the Economy podcast: Climate policy endangerment with Marlo Lewis
In this week’s episode we talk about tariff refunds, Affordable Care Act subsidies, Ryan Young’s Books of the Year for 2025,…
The Daily Economy
Breakneck: Dan Wang Explores the Strange Symmetry of US and China
The title of Dan Wang’s book Breakneck focuses on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) specifically, but it is really about the self-conscious great-power rivalry…
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Free the Economy podcast: Consumer finance and privacy with James Erwin
In this week’s episode we talk about the decline of electric vehicles, liberation for home appliances, the failure of tariffs to…
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Free the Economy podcast: The business of America with Neil Bradley
In this week’s episode we cover the economic effects of net-zero policies in blue states and Europe, top targets for environmental…
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Debanking flows downhill from progressive policymakers
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a leading federal financial regulator, has released preliminary findings from its review of debanking…
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Free the Economy podcast: Balancing the budget with Kurt Couchman
In this week’s episode we talk about our 150th episode anniversary party, the documentary Dear Mr. President: The Letters of Julia…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Sesquicentennial celebration
In this week’s episode we celebrate the show’s sesquicentennial anniversary – that is, our 150th episode. We look back at the dozens of smart,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Charting tariff madness with Joey Politano
In this week’s episode we talk about changes in consumer credit, disappearing fast-food jobs in California, and six things the climate movement…
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Free the Economy podcast: Truth, lies, and economics with Jeremy Horpedahl
In this week’s episode we talk about Social Security’s cost of living, conserving rare earth minerals, and why California keeps losing…
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Free the Economy podcast: Our nuclear tomorrow with Craig Piercy
In this week’s episode we talk about administrative law judges, AI innovation saving lives, environmental regulation creating more wildfires, and more…
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Free the Economy podcast: Obamacare problems with Jeremy Nighohossian
In this week’s episode we talk about the unintended consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, decarbonization of economic growth, and resources…
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Free the Economy podcast: Celebrating human achievement with Ed Hudgins
In this week’s episode we talk about the need to build more infrastructure in the UK, an award for public finance leadership…
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Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Social Security with Romina Boccia
In this week’s episode we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via Phil…
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Free the Economy podcast: Emergent abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics, and…
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Free the Economy podcast: Empowering patients with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices in…
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Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs and economic freedom with Matt Mitchell
In this week’s episode we cover the latest jobs numbers, the emergent community of abundance fans, the limits to taxing billionaires,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Clear-but-false ideas with Kevin Williamson
In this week’s episode we cover the Trump tariffs being struck down, Biden’s competition order being vacated, and new research on…
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Free the Economy podcast: Ideological diversity on the right with Peter Lipsett
In this week’s episode we cover Ray Dalio’s Big Debt Cycle, scandal in climate finance, jobs destroyed by tariffs, why AI…
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Free the Economy podcast: Subsidies for billionaires with David McGarry
In this week’s episode we cover White House intervention in corporate ownership, the nation’s falling economic freedom ranking, and welcome new…
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Free the Economy podcast: Welfare and work with Kevin Corinth
In this week’s episode we cover new inflation data, public attitudes about Social Security, and California’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Our interview…
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Free the Economy podcast: Girlbossing the discourse with Emma Camp
In this week’s episode we cover the controversy at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, myths of the auto industry, and a…
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Free the Economy podcast: Crushing capitalism with Norbert Michel
In this week’s episode we cover the Trump administration’s AI action plan, Detroit’s unlikely rebirth, pushing back on EU tech regulation,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Costs and benefits of urban transit with John Charles
In this week’s episode we cover Dodd-Frank’s 15th anniversary, a victory for homeowners in Oregon, and an alternative to socialist grocery…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Corporate responsibility and taxpayer protections with John Mozena
In this week’s episode we cover new Trump tariff rates, Obama’s endorsement of housing abundance, and why the green energy industry needs…
Blog
ESG refugees: Ally with taxpayers
Yesterday the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my new study with John Mozena, “Corporate Social Irresponsibility: After ESG, activist investors should side with…
Study
Corporate Social Irresponsibility
Executive summary State and municipal governments across America are engaged in a massive transfer of public resources to private corporate interests in the name of…
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Free the Economy podcast: AI frontiers with Corbin Barthold
This week’s episode features Corbin Barthold, Internet Policy Counsel at TechFreedom and host of the Tech Policy Podcast. This is a…
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Free the Economy podcast: Alcohol labels and warnings with David Clement
In this week’s episode we cover housing abundance in California, the meaning of a market economy, union privileges for government workers,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Shareholders vs. stakeholders with Jerry Bowyer
In this week’s episode we cover the failure of postal banking, Trump pausing the TikTok ban (again), and the political crack-up…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The Reagan legacy in the 21st century with Dan Rothschild
In this week’s episode we cover FreedomFest 2025, the FDA’s war on effective sunblock, good news about critical minerals, and Walmart’s…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Drug costs and benefits with Sally Pipes
In this week’s episode we cover reforms to the Endangered Species Act, attacks on US tech firms, nuclear power innovation,…
Blog
Chapter and verse: The case against mandatory ESG standards
This week De Gruyter Brill published the book ESG Investing: Current Theory and Practice, edited by John Hill of Fairfield University’s Dolan School…
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Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs and corruption with Justin Callais
In this week’s episode we cover Autumn Billings on donor privacy, Wayne Crews on the DOGE legacy, and Joey Politano on the…
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Free the Economy podcast: Protecting consumer credit with Caroline Melear
In this week’s episode we cover new research on trade and tariffs, how to understand market forces, and good news for…
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Free the Economy podcast: Next steps for nuclear with Deric Tilson
In this week’s episode we cover Jamie Dimon on tariff jitters, the Tax Foundation on the One Big Beautiful Bill, Jesse Walker…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Medicaid with Brian Blase
In a recent episode we cover biofuels and farm tariffs, the decline in green investing, and the effort to stop state governments…
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Free the Economy podcast: Dear Mr. President with Destry Edwards
In this week’s episode we cover the economic slowdown from tariffs, more accountability for independent agencies in the federal government, and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Waste, fraud, and tax hikes with Emily Ekins
In this week’s episode we cover workplace injuries, MAGA antitrust in theory and practice, portable benefits for gig workers, and the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Washington’s 10,000 Commandments with Wayne Crews
In this week’s episode we cover the political roots of totalitarianism, why we should put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out to…
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Free the Economy podcast: Economic ideas for American workers with Ryan Young
In this week’s episode we cover teaching with AI, clearing the way for new nuclear development, and eliminating soda and candy…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Trade myths (and facts) with Prof. Michael Coon
In this week’s episode we cover smartphones for kids, insomnia and anxiety in pre-industrial times, and a blueprint for modernizing the…
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Free the Economy podcast: An affordable and reliable future with Gabriella Hoffman
In this week’s episode we cover Republicans for the Green New Deal, diminishing returns from industrial policy in China, and the bottleneck…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Working for a better tomorrow with Vinnie Vernuccio
In this week’s episode we cover America’s founding principles, the Cato Institute’s recommendations for reforming financial regulation, why Republicans shouldn’t be busting…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs, tax cuts, and trustees with Dominic Pino
In this week’s episode we cover retirement investing, pivoting to India for global trade, new housing on federal land, and priorities…
Blog
Will BlackRock revive Social Security reform?
Earlier this week mega asset manager BlackRock hosted a high-profile public event in Washington, D.C. focused on retirement savings, with several A-list panelists from…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Broadcasting liberty with Jeff Westling
In this week’s episode we discuss Trump tariffs (via AEI’s Jim Pethokoukis and Apricitas Economics’s Joey Politano), the death…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Striving for shareholder value with Matt Cole
In this week’s episode we discuss executive branch powers at the Supreme Court, BP’s pivot back to being an oil and gas…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Alabama does DOGE with Stephanie Smith
In this week’s episode we discuss poverty in Illinois, J.D. Vance on AI in Paris, the future of the Jones Act and…
News Release
BP embraces petroleum again
British Petroleum is reportedly reembracing its core mission of producing petroleum instead of ESG-related ventures it has been trumpeting and spending money on. CEI…
The Daily Economy
Bud Light Returns to Merit, Profit After ESG Backlash Cost Billions
Most Americans have heard about Bud Light’s controversial marketing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April 2023 from the ensuing boycott against the brand, which tanked…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defend yourself from debanking with Nick Anthony
In this week’s episode we discuss public confidence in the economy, California’s electric vehicle mandate, the prospect of a sovereign wealth fund…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Pivot or Die with Gary Shapiro
In this week’s episode we discuss corporate DEI mandates, financial surveillance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, medical fraud among Alzheimer’s…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Improving state finances with OJ Oleka
In this week’s episode we interview OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation. We talk about how the new administration…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for housing…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Able Americans with Rachel Barkley
In this week’s episode we cover Trump’s executive orders, the demographics of the 119th Congress, our nation’s narrowing fiscal space, reforms…
National Review
Time to End the ESG Shakedown
When the debate over environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and regulation started heating up around five years ago, most commenters had to describe what it…
Products
Free to Prosper: Corporate governance
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Draining the swamp with Jim Bovard
In this week’s episode we cover fake endangered species, Pennsylvania’s climate policy showdown, a robust defense of property rights in New…
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Free the Economy podcast: Mortgage market analysis with Mark Calabria
In this week’s episode we cover weaponization of financial regulation, the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and a spirited defense of ultra-processed foods. Our…
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Free the Economy podcast: Tax and budget showdown 2025 with Erica York
In this week’s episode we cover new climate disclosure rules for public companies, the case against price controls on credit card networks,…
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Free the Economy podcast: The value of work with David Bahnsen
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Free the Economy podcast: Big tech, antitrust, and the courts with Patrick Hedger
In this week’s episode we cover the DOGE effort to reform government spending, review survey results about US transportation choices, and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Political drinking with Jarrett Dieterle
In this week’s episode we cover student loans, revenue from tariffs, democracy in Hong Kong, and the impact of podcasts…
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Free the Economy podcast: Debt and taxes with Jack Salmon
In this week’s episode we cover the death of ESG investing, next moves on regulatory reform, Wall Street enthusiasm for a…
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Free the Economy podcast: Nuclear renaissance with Nick Loris
In this week’s episode we cover a new vision for the Securities and Exchange Commission, affordable housing in Hong Kong, and how…
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Free the Economy podcast: Understanding the national debt with Thomas Savidge
In this week’s episode we cover whether Americans feel better off than they were four years ago, why we have more billion-dollar…
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Free the Economy podcast: Freedom to farm with Bill Wirtz
In this week’s episode we cover a new ranking of state governors, reforms to emergency powers, new research on working from…
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Free the Economy podcast: Removing barriers to abundance with Chris Koopman
In this week’s episode we cover our record-high budget deficit, green trade wars, and what US adults are watching on TikTok.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming red tape in the states with James Broughel
In this week’s episode we cover striking dock workers at US ports, free-market innovation in healthcare, and the changing pattern of federal…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: How to sue the SEC with Nick Morgan
In this week’s episode we cover entrepreneurship in Africa, a lawsuit over “affordable luxury” handbags, and European deforestation rules. Our interview…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Economic mobility in the 50 states with Gonzalo Schwarz
In this week’s episode we cover poll results on corporate social responsibility, the plight of California landlords, hard times for cable…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Why we can’t have nice things with Eric Boehm
In this week’s episode we cover weaponized financial regulation, poverty policy beyond handouts, and Italy’s call to slow down the electric…
National Review
How Partisan Bureaucrats Weaponized Financial Regulation
The main goal of financial regulation in the United States is supposed to be the protection of consumers, investors, and their businesses from deception and fraud.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The future of streaming with Geoff Manne
In this week’s episode we cover social media censorship, automation at US ports, and the property market crash in China. Our…
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Free the Economy podcast: Searching for digital privacy with Jen Huddleston
In this week’s episode we cover the new book What Went Wrong with Capitalism, the problem with price controls (via Brian…
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Free the Economy podcast: AI and the future of work with Patrick Carroll
In this week’s episode we report from the State Policy Network’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and some of the great reform proposals…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Crypto politics with Eric Peterson
In this week’s episode we cover corporations playing politics, Florida’s ban on lab-grown meat, and a tale of two high-speed rail…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Economic trends and subsidies with Andrew Stuttaford
In this week’s episode we cover weaponization of banking rules, the massive cost of federal regulation, and politicized pension fund management.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Paying for mass transit with Marc Scribner
In this week’s episode we cover California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers, overturning the FCC’s universal service fee, and pushing back on…
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Free the Economy podcast: Dead malls and retail nostalgia with Sal Amadeo
In this week’s episode we cover state-level regulatory reform, the opinions of Latino voters, Biden’s tax on stock buybacks, and another…
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Free the Economy podcast: Inflation and Bidenomics with Kurt Couchman
In this week’s episode we cover Capital One buying Discover, solutions for high housing prices, China’s soft-power investment strategy, and President…
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Free the Economy podcast: The new progress movement with Ronald Bailey
In this week’s episode we cover the end of Chevron deference at the Supreme Court, the economic impact of future Trump tariffs,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
In this week’s episode we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme Court’s…
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Free the Economy podcast: Protecting taxpayers with Tim Sandefur
In this week’s episode we cover the problems with the SEC’s new climate rule, the recent Supreme Court decision on income taxes,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Up from poverty with Josh Bandoch
In this week’s episode we cover pork-barrel spending in Congress, reform of federal guidance documents, restaurants with minimum age requirements, and…
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Free the Economy podcast: Enlightened capitalism with Siri Terjesen
In this week’s episode we cover regulatory burdens on small businesses, common-sense solutions to poverty, a legal challenge to the TikTok…
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Free the Economy podcast: Economic facts and vibes with Joey Politano
In this week’s episode we cover advances in dentistry, the slow pace of EV charger deployment, a victory for free speech at…
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Free the Economy podcast: Capitalism and the historians with Phil Magness
In this week’s episode we cover the prospect of Inflation Reduction Act 2.0, rising consumer confidence, the perils of stress bragging,…