Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The week ended with precisely 800 new final regulations on the year, with new rules covering everything from chairs to obesity. On to the data:…
Forbes
Won’t Cut Federal Spending? Then Cap The Cost Of Regulation
Last week a group of libertarian and conservative groups issued a coalition letter calling on Congress to cap regulatory costs. While some of us…
American Spectator
Mr. Trump: America’s Economic Problem is Regulation, Not Trade
The Cato Institute's Doug Bandow cites Wayne Crews on the problem of the regulatory burden: Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has…
Townhall
The Inquisition Is Back
Townhall discusses the Michael Mann. v. National Review, CEI, et al. case. But even before the state there was Michael Mann, now revealed as…
Legal Newsline
Window maker wants class action dismissed nearly two years after it was remanded
Legal Newsline discusses Center for Class Action Fairness's objection of the Pella Window settlement. Litigation against Pella began in 2006 over allegations that…
National Review
Tentatively for Universal Basic Income
Michael Strain, as is only to be expected, does a great job outlining the pros and cons of a universal basic income (UBI) before…
Law360
Alaska Air, Virgin America Face Bumpy Antitrust Ride
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner speaks to Law360 about a proposed merger between Alaska Air and Virgin America: “If you look at their…
Blog
Obama’s Climate Diplomacy: Bilateralism in the Service of Multilateralism
President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday issued a joint statement pledging that the United States and China will sign the Paris Agreement on…
Daily Caller
Researchers Say ‘Going Green’ Is Mostly About Being Trendy And Fashionable
The Daily Caller discusses companies labeling products as "green" with Myron Ebell. “Every era produces hucksters trying to sell snake oil,” Myron Ebell,…
Blog
State Attorneys General Conspire To Shake Down Big Oil
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, former Vice President Al Gore, and attorneys general from Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, Vermont, and the U. S. Virgin…
Blog
No, the AIRR Act’s Air Traffic Control Reforms Do Not Grant Controllers Strike Powers
Capital Research Center, a conservative policy group in Washington, D.C., recently published an extended essay, “PATCO’s Revenge: Capitol Hill cronyism may give the air…
Blog
Trust in Government: A Bad Strategy for the Chemical Industry
There is a reason why people laugh when you say: “Trust me, I come from the government.” Governments are not particularly trustworthy because bureaucracies are…
Blog
Senators Reward Agency Overreaching with Proposed Budget Increase for Office for Civil Rights
Twenty-two senators are proposing a nearly 30 percent budget increase for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. OCR is the agency that has pressured colleges and …
Blog
Federal Government Is Good for U.S. Economy
If you’re a fellow free-market advocate and did not arrive at this page from social media (or missed our #AprilFools joke), don’t…
Associated Press
Companies reconsidering North Carolina over LGBT rights
Associated Press discusses with Hans Bader a new law in North Carolina that could challenge employers. Companies like the prospect of avoiding baseless lawsuits, but…
Blog
Individual Liberty: The Greatest Remedy for Terrorism
USA Today reports that lines at airports are getting longer and people aren’t signing up for the registered traveler program, TSA PreCheck, in sufficient…
Real Clear Policy
M.I.A.: GOP Leaders and the Paris Agreement
The recently adopted Paris Agreement on climate change endangers the U.S. economy, our constitutional framework, and the future of conservative politics. So why aren't…
Palmetto Business Daily
Land use expert warns of property rights infringement by “unelected bureaucrats” on the Charleston BAR
The Palmetto Business Daily discusses property rights infringement by the Charleston Board of Architectural Review with Marc Scribner. “The unelected bureaucrats on the…
Science 2.0
Outdated Science And Alarmism Drives Flame Retardant Debate
Learning from history should keep us from repeating our mistakes. Yet when it comes to environmental politics, the opposite seems to be true. History and…
American Council on Science and Health
Flame Retardants: Debate Still Being Driven By Outdated Science and Alarmism
Learning from history should keep us from repeating our mistakes. Yet when it comes to environmental politics, the opposite seems to be true. History and…
The Guardian
Conservatives vow to ask supreme court to rehear deadlocked union case
The Guardian discusses the Supreme Court's deadlock on the Friedrich's case with Trey Kovacs. Trey Kovacs, a policy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise…
National Affairs
Putting Regulators on a Budget
National Affairs references Wayne Crews's work on the cost of regulation. In recent years, there have been several studies published describing the aggregate,…
Forbes
MetLife’s Victory Also Good for Fintech Innovators
Insurance giant MetLife won a big victory Wednesday as a district court rescinded the government’s designation of the firm as “systemically important.” Though not…
Forbes
My Celebrity Lyft Driver
Blog
Shady Marketing Claims for “Green” Cleaning Products
Serena Ng of The Wall Street Journal reports today on the murky world of marketing for “green” and “natural” household products. Ads for these…
Blog
President Obama Promotes Myth of Excellent Health Care and Education in Cuba
In his recent remarks in Cuba, President Obama offered glowing praise to institutions in that communist country that did not deserve it. The president called Cuba’s…
Blog
Subway Footlong Sandwich Settlement Now on Appeal
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness has appealed the district court’s approval of the Subway Footlong settlement to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The…
Blog
Haiku: “No Energy Left”
Inspired by SunEdison’s near bankruptcy (among other terrible news for the solar power industry) and infused with the spirit of Japanese culture…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting a Regulatory Budget
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Members of Congress, On behalf of the undersigned organizations and our members, we call on Congress…
News Release
CEI-Led Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Regulatory Budget
Washington Times
Coalition of free market groups urges Congress to cap and track stifling federal regulations
The Washington Times reports on a coalition letter led by CEI that urges Congress to pass a budget that addresses regulation. Big government…
Reuters
U.S. top court hands win to unions, splits 4-4 without Scalia
Reuters speaks with Iain Murray about impact of Justice Scalia's passing on a labor union case. "The death of Justice Scalia has proved…
Op-Eds
Schneiderman Targets Peabody Energy: Shareholder Protection or War on Coal?
Full Document Available in PDF Did New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman investigate Peabody Energy to protect shareholders against “misrepresentation” of climate-related…
Fortune
How Scalia’s Death Handed Public Unions a Huge Supreme Court Victory
Fortune discusses with Iain Murray the impact of Justice Scalia's death on the outcome of a labor case. “The death of Justice Scalia…
The Hill
Groups push Congress to create regulatory budget
The Hill reports on a coalition letter led by CEI and sent to Congress urging lawmakers to approve the proposed regulatory budget. Advocacy…
Forbes
How the Fiduciary Rule Will Harm Fintech and Startups
Add startup entrepreneurs and Fintech innovators to the long list of potential victims of the Department of Labor’s pending fiduciary rule. There is already bipartisan…
Blog
State Legislatures Can Dampen Friedrichs Ruling’s Blow to Worker Freedom
Today, the Supreme Court announced a 4 to 4 spilt decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a decision that keeps alive the Abood…
Blog
Small Scale Entrepreneurs Are Nothing New
The rise of the sharing economy and related trends, by which individuals are exercising more control over their work schedules and income flow, garners a…
Comment
Comments to the SEC on Derivative Regulation
Full Document Available in PDF The SEC proposes this rule “to take an updated and more comprehensive approach to the regulation of funds’…
Blog
House Energy and Environment Notes
Both chambers of Congress are in recess now, but there were some goings-on in the House last Wednesday that merit mention. The first was EPA…
Legal Newsline
CEI attorney cites chilling effect of state investigations of ExxonMobil
Legal Newsline discusses Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigation of ExxonMobil with Hans Bader. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is investigating ExxonMobil…
Washington Times
The global warming industry’s RICO gambit
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a law adopted to fight organized crime. Yet, in recent months, a chorus has emerged calling…
New York Times
Victory for Unions as Supreme Court, Scalia Gone, Ties 4-4
New York Times discusses the Supreme Court deadlock over the Friedrichs case with Trey Kovacs. “With a divided court, thousands of public servants…
Washington Examiner
Supreme Court ruling signals end to conservative hopes for labor reform
The Washington Examiner discusses the Supreme Court's deadlock over the Friedrichs case with Iain Murray. "The death of Justice Scalia has proved a…
Christian Science Monitor
Court without Scalia: Labor unions survive bid to remove dues requirement
The Christian Science Monitor discusses with Iain Murray the impact of Justice Scalia's passing on the Supreme Court decision on a labor union case. …
Daily Caller
China Stops Building Wind Turbines Because Most Of The Energy Is Wasted
The Daily Caller reports on why China is no longer building wind turbines, and speaks with Myron Ebell on their decision. “China is…
Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court’s deadlock on union fees could be the first of many tie votes
The Los Angeles Times quotes Trey Kovacs on the Supreme Court deadlock over the Friedrichs case. “With a divided court, thousands of public…
News Release
Supreme Court Deadlocks on Friedrichs Labor Union Case
The U.S. Supreme Court announced a deadlock, 4 to 4 decision, in a major case involving forced labor union dues, Friedrichs v. California Teachers…
Litigation
Jane Doe v. Twitter
The Center for Class Action Fairness represented objectors to settlement with twitter concerning data privacy. The settlement consisted only of cy pres money to a…
Blog
Senators Urge EPA to Burst RFS Blend Wall
A bipartisan group of 19 Senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is urging EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to get the Renewable…
Blog
Freedom of Contract at Risk in Carcano v. McCrory
Virginia’s Dillon rule prevents cities and counties from regulating the employment practices of private businesses. That bars them from setting minimum wages higher than…
Blog
Illinois’ Narrow Road to Pension Reform
On March 24, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a Chicago pension reform bill that sought to address the city’s considerable pension shortfall. In…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Satire, Art, & Politics
Blog
Common Property, Gains from Trade—and Statehood
Historian Staughton Lynd argued that the contemporaneously drafted Constitution and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 were themselves components of a larger implicit package that harmonized the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Friday’s Federal Register, the last before the Easter holiday, contained 1,005 pages, 14 final regulations, nine proposed regulations, and an impressive 119 agency notices. New rules…
One News Now
A little update on energy
One News Now discusses nuclear energy with Myron Ebell. Speaking of money, nuclear has struggled to compete against subsidized solar and wind power,…
Daily Signal
NBA’s Threatening North Carolina Is Textbook Cultural Cronyism
The Daily Signal references Hans Bader's writing on a bill in North Carolina pertaining to employment regulations. The second provision—the employment provision—is simply a…
Blog
Advocates Attempt to Debunk Idea that Any Alcohol Is Beneficial
For most public health advocates, no amount of alcohol is safe. As they see it, any amount of alcohol increases a drinkers risk for certain…
Blog
Glyphosate Saves Lives, Reduces Child Labor, and More
David Zaruk, aka the Risk Monger, has produced an excellent series of blog posts on why the herbicide glyphosate (the active ingredient in “Roundup”) is…
Blog
Free Speech Violation in St. Paul Schools Undermines Anti-Private Ideology
Leftists who seek to ban home schooling and school vouchers, and restrict private schools, argue that is needed to prevent “indoctrination” or “balkanization.” Rather than developing a…
Bloomberg BNA
Ted Frank: Lightning Rod for Class Settlement Storms
Bloomberg BNA profiles Ted Frank, director of CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness, and his fight against unfair class action settlements. Greed is…
Politico
Exelon-Pepco merger approved to create nation’s largest utility
Politico's Morning Energy discusses an order issued in CEI's case against the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. A fight over a…
Daily Caller
Scientists Say The Math Simply Doesn’t Add Up On Obama’s Big Global Warming Plan
The Daily Caller discusses President Obama's plan to prevent global warming with Myron Ebell. “The costs of reducing emissions are enormous, while the…
Daily Caller
Local Lawmakers Left Red Faced After Failure Of E-Cigarette Tax
The Daily Caller discusses regulations on electronic cigarettes with Michelle Minton. Competitive Enterprise Institute Fellow Michelle Minton was a strong critic of a…
Blog
Doing Away with Government Flammability Standards
During the past several years, there’s been much hype in the news alleging that flame retardant chemicals used on upholstered furniture pose unacceptable health risks. With…
Blog
The Sharing Economy Is More than Just Uber
In an article for The New York Times, columnist Farhad Manjoo worries that the Uber model of app-based service companies has run its course. He points out…
Blog
Judge Orders White House OSTP to Explain Why It Shouldn’t Be Sanctioned for Undisclosed Records
OSTP failed to disclose the existence of some records in response to a FOIA request until after a federal judge had already ruled in the…
Daily Caller
Trade With The Cuban People, Not Castro, Inc.
Libertarians have long argued that lifting the Cuban embargo, allowing free trade to flourish with the Cuban people, would do more to bring down the…
Comment
Testimony of William Yeatman on “EPA’s Regional Haze Program” before the Subcommittee on Environment Committee on Science, Space, & Technology
Full Document Available in PDF Chairman Jim Bridenstine, Ranking Member Bonamici, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me…
Forbes
Antitrust Regulation Is Getting A Bit Smarter
Forbes
Antitrust Regulation Is Getting A Bit Smarter
Wall Street Journal
Punishing Climate-Change Skeptics
The Wall Street Journal reports on CEI's Michael Mann lawsuit. The Climate Inquisition began with Michael Mann’s 2012 lawsuit against critics of his…
Newsmax
Obama Spouts Big Govt at Austin Festival
President Obama traveled here to the ongoing South by Southwest festival from Washington, D.C. — and so did I. In his March 11 presentation, he…
News Release
Fueling Fires with Flame Retardant Bans
Study
Fanning the Flames
Blog
NLRB Case against McDonald’s Shows Need for Labor Law Reform
At the beginning of the month, the National Labor Relations Board and McDonald’s trial began. The case will determine whether McDonald’s is a joint…
Watchdog.org
Butterfly effect: Endangered listing could backfire on monarchs
Watchdog.org discusses the potential impact of efforts to list monarch butterflies as endangered species with Angela Logomasini. Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow at the…
Politico
Politico Influence – Hire Ed
Blog
Welcome Kent Lassman, CEI’s New President
Blog
The Public Pays for Union Political Activity
Taxpayer dollars in state and municipal governments across the country are, normally without public knowledge, used to subsidize government union political undertakings. Clearly, this is…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Populism’s Critic & Supranational Heresy
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Along with nearly four dozen proposed regulations, new final regulations from the last week cover everything from cable boxes to Texas grapefruit. On to the…
News Release
CEI Welcomes Kent Lassman as New President
Heartland Institute
Scientists Developing Climate-Adapted GMO Rice
The Heartland Institute discusses the values of genetically modified crops with Gregory Conko. “C4 rice would represent an important breakthrough in sustainable agriculture,” said…
National Review
Obama Lectures Britons About Europe – Perhaps It Should Be the Other Way Around
National Review
Obama Lectures Britons About Europe – Perhaps It Should Be the Other Way Around
When the President gets back from honoring communists and murderers in Cuba, he will begin planning for a trip to the…
Townhall
Washington’s Despotic Lawlessness
Townhall discusses Washington's lawlessness with Wayne Crews, author of the annual Ten Thousand Commandments reports. The Competitive Enterprise Institute is renowned for its…
Blog
EPA: More Equivocation on SCOTUS Stay of Power Plan
The Supreme Court put a stay on EPA’s so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP) last month partly because five Justices thought there was a reasonable prospect the rule…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Don’t Buy the Hyperloop, Bet on Self-Driving Cars
Futuristic transportation technology often captures the imaginations of the press and public. Sometimes, it’s hype-driven nonsense: think the mysterious “IT” that became the mockery-inducing…
Blog
Does Global Warming Cause Severe Cold Spells? Court Orders Release of Concealed Records
On January 8, 2014, the White House posted a curious video claiming that global warming causes more severe winter cold. Called “The Polar Vortex Explained…
Blog
Berlau at SXSW: Let’s Cut Red Tape Strangling Uberization of Finance
AUSTIN, TX—President Obama traveled here to the ongoing South by Southwest festival from Washington, D.C., and so did I. In his March 11 presentation, he …
U.S. News & World Report
Apple Employees: Just Say No
The FBI is putting relentless pressure on Apple to hack the encrypted iPhone recovered from the San Bernardino shooters. For thwarting ongoing efforts to force…
Republican American
Union business
Republican American reports on Connecticut state employees taking union time funded by taxpayers, and cites Trey Kovacs's report for the Yankee Institute. The Yankee report was prepared…
Blog
Congress Proposes Bill to Nullify Overtime Regulation
This week, the Department of Labor took the last step before the final overtime rule is published and implemented. DOL sent the rule to…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Fighting Mosquito-Borne Diseases with Technology
For millennia, mosquitos have wreaked havoc on mankind, passing along myriad deadly or debilitating diseases. Mankind’s clever interventions—from screened windows to pesticides—have helped greatly control mosquito-transmitted…
Investor's Business Daily
Every Hour Is Earth Hour In The Bleak Third World
Investor's Business Daily reports CEI's alternative to Earth Hour, Human Achievement Hour. American Enterprise Institute economist Mark Perry calls Earth Hour the “annual event…
Law360
FTA Adds State Safety Oversight Rule To Regulatory Arsenal
Law360 interviews Marc Scribner about new oversight authority from the Federal Transit Administration: "This has been a trend in regulatory oversight going…
Blog
Senate FAA Reauthorization Bill Disappoints
This morning, the Senate Commerce Committee held a markup hearing on their Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S. 2658). A couple of positive…
Blog
Human Achievement Hour: An Enlightened Choice for Saturday Night
It’s a fun time of year . . . at CEI HQ anyway. Once again we prepare to celebrate Human Achievement Hour—the holiday we started…
Blog
Trade Is Good, Using Trade to Weaken Foreign Investment Is Not
Free traders have long promoted an expansion of the rights of the citizens of one nation to buy and sell to one another. The old…