Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Things remain slow on the regulatory front, with a large chunk of new rules being routine safety-zone and drawbridge scheduling regulations from the Coast Guard.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
There were 63 final regulations and 28 proposed regulations last week, but again, few of them amounted to much. We’ll have more to say on…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Trump administration’s 60-day regulatory freeze is now over, but many of this week’s new regulations are simply extensions of previous delays. So despite a…
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Human Achievement of the Day: The Written Word
Writing is a classic example of what the economist F.A. Hayek called spontaneous order.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Starting this week, many late-Obama administration regulations delayed by the Trump administration’s 60-day freeze will come into effect.
Fortune
Regulations Cost U.S. Business More Than Canada’s GDP
President Donald Trump’s administration has been busy issuing a flurry of executive orders intended to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses that keep them from adding…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was another slow week for new regulations, but busy times are on their way. A slew of delayed regulations will come into effect on…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As the regulatory freeze marches on, most new regulations coming out are garden-variety FAA airworthiness directives and Coast Guard drawbridge and safety zone rules.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
43 new regulations last week, from toddler beds to potato proteins.
News Release
CEI Supports Regulatory Integrity Act and the SCRUB Act
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote on H.R. 1004, the Regulatory Integrity Act, introduced by Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI), and…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As with the previous few weeks, many of this week’s regulations were simply delays of previous rules.
Blog
Deregulate to Grow the Economy Faster
Congress and the new administration have a real chance to make the economy grow faster, and to raise the labor force participation rate above its…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The White House regulatory freeze continues, and a wide range of recent rules, big and small, have been delayed until late March.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
With the new administration’s regulatory freeze now in full effect, there were just 8 proposed new regulations published last week. This was the lowest figure…
Blog
‘One In, Two Out’: Trump’s Executive Order on New Regulations
President Trump's latest executive order on regulatory reform could be an important step in the right direction for reining in government red tape.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
For the next few weeks, the Federal Register will likely have fewer pages and regulations than usual.
One News Now
Trump’s pen erases trade agreement
One News Now discusses regulatory reform under the Trump administration with Ryan Young. President Trump also made headlines late Friday for a presidential…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The final pre-inauguration Federal Register was 1,464 pages long. A normal day’s edition is roughly 300 pages. Since there is a lag time of a…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In a mere nine working days, the 2017 Federal Register has nearly reached 5,000 pages; the midnight hour approaches.
Blog
New York Times Highlights Minimum Wage Tradeoffs
Minimum wage increases have obvious winners, which is why they are so popular. Their tradeoffs are less obvious.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The midnight regulatory rush continues, with more than 2,100 Federal Register pages, despite a four-day work week, along with 51 proposed regulations and 52 final…
Blog
Regulatory Reform in 2017: How Much Do Existing Regulations Cost?
The Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act (RREA), sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), would help fix basic transparency problems with federal regulations.
Blog
Regulatory Reform in 2017: REINS and the Regulatory Accountability Act
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations: 2016 Wrap-Up
The 2016 Federal Register’s record-setting page count ends at 97,110 pages—more than 15,000 pages above the previous record, set in 2010. The difference is more…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As the Obama administration heads into its home stretch, agencies passed new rules ranging from gloves to canned vegetables.
The Hill
New President, New (Anti-)Red Tape Agenda
Federal regulators issue thousands of regulations every year. Decrees range from the Environmental Protection Agency’s gargantuan Clean Power Plan and “Waters of the United States”…
National Review
Time to Get Rid of the EPA? Scott Pruitt May Be Just the Guy to Do It
National Review highlights Ryan Young’s estimate of the annual cost of compliance with the EPA’s regulations The EPA’s expansive and ever-expanding regulations impose…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
On Tuesday the 2016 Federal Register topped 90,000 pages for the first time ever, and continues to extend its page-count record every day.
Blog
Three Regulatory Reforms Congress Can Pass in the First Hundred Days
Here are three they should pursue in the new administration’s first hundred days.
Blog
Ratios, Not People: The Wrong Approach to Inequality
Thomas Piketty, the best-selling author of Capital in the 21st Century, has a new paper on economic inequality with coauthors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2016 Federal Register will likely top 90,000 pages next week for the first time ever.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As the Federal Register climbed above 87,000 pages for the first time in its 81-year history, agencies issued new rules ranging from landfills to movie…
Daily Signal
Obama Administration Not Finished Yet With Executive Actions, Regulations
The Daily Signal discusses the Obama administration's federal regulatory pace with Ryan Young. The fact that Trump could overturn much executive or administrative…
Blog
O’Hare Airport Strikes: Will Anybody Notice?
If 500 workers are absent for several hours and it hardly affects a thing at the airport, then how essential are they?…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Thanksgiving week was a busy one, with new regulations ranging from potatoes to royalties.
Washington Examiner
Race to finish: 1 new Obama reg every 147 minutes
Washington Examiner highlights CEI's work to track the federal goverment's current regulatory pace. According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Obama's regulatory machine is on…
Blog
O’Hare Workers to Strike for $15 Minimum Wage
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
On November 17, the 2016 Federal Register set an all-time record page count—an impressive feat for a document that has been published continuously since 1936.
Blog
Counteracting the Midnight Rush of Regulations
Now that the White House will officially be switching parties, the outgoing Obama administration will likely pass as much of its regulatory agenda as quickly…
Bloomberg BNA
Will Trump Stand in Way of Regulatory Reform?
Bloomberg BNA speaks with Ryan Young on how the Trump administration and Congress can bring regulatory reform. Trump himself has repeatedly promised to…
Blog
Congress Should Use REINS Act to Reform Regulation
CEI released a new report today about the REINS Act, which would require Congress to vote on all new executive branch regulations costing more than…
Washington Examiner
New push to vet regulations, cut $15,000 ‘hidden tax’ on all households
Washington Examiner highlights Ryan Young's report on the Regulations from Executive Need of Scrutiny Act. The newly influential Competitive Enterprise Institute Tuesday launched…
The Washington Times
Senate moves to rein in regulations, looks to give Congress vote
The Washington Times highlights Ryan Young's report on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. Congress and the president enacted…
Study
REINing In Regulatory Overreach
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Veterans Day made it a short work week, but agencies still filled more than 1,300 Federal Register pages with rules ranging from trailer tires to…
Investor's Business Daily
Here’s How The President and Congress Can ‘Rein In’ Regulation
President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump have something important in common. They both have a chance to help America's job creators out from…
One News Now
Is a clean slate ahead?
One News Now speaks with Ryan Young on how the Trump administration can lead regulatory reform. With the incoming Trump administration, many people…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register continued its record pace last week, with Friday’s edition alone having 1,177 pages.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Blog
Maine’s Proposed Minimum Wage Increase Has Tradeoffs
Maine is one of several states with a minimum wage increase on the election ballot this year, along with several cities and other smaller jurisdictions.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new federal regulations passed the 3,000 mark last week, and the Federal Register continues its record pace.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Federal regulators enjoyed a short work week due to Columbus Day, but still published more than 1,300 Federal Register pages with new regulations ranging from…
The Hill
Report: Obama could set record for most rules in 2016
The Hill reports on CEI's tracking of the Federal Register this year. The Obama administration is on pace to make 2016 the busiest…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register will crack the 70,000-page barrier early this week. New rules found in last week’s 2,000-plus pages range from foreign cars to beetles.
Blog
Export-Import Bank Supporters Dealt Setback in Congress
The Export-Import Bank’s supporters and beneficiaries very nearly scored a major victory last week. Ex-Im, as it’s called for short, was shut down for about…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a busy week, with Friday’s Federal Register alone containing 52 final regulations and 809 pages.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Agencies issued more than six dozen new final regulations last week, ranging from minerals to dates.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Agencies issued 78 new regulations last week, ranging from cherries to dairy.
Blog
When It Comes to Trade Our Leaders, Not Other Countries, Are Ripping Americans off
In recent weeks, trade has repeatedly come up in discussions and speeches by presidential candidates. Donald Trump says he would renegotiate NAFTA, while Hillary Clinton’s…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Despite a Labor Day-shortened work week, agencies still found time to issue regulations from soap to whales.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2016 Federal Register broke the 60,000-page mark last week, and became the 25th-largest edition in the Register’s 81-year history before Labor Day.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In one of their busiest weeks to date, agencies passed more than a hundred new regulations covering everything from rubies to frogs.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Friday’s Federal Register was one of the year’s biggest, with 74 agency notices, 4 proposed regulations and 15 final regulations spanning 1,119 pages.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
88 new regulations last week, from poultry improvement to nuclear philosophy.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Congress is on its August recess, but agencies stayed busy with more than 2,000 Federal Register pages, 51 proposed regulations, and nearly 100 final regulations…
Reason
Ridiculous Rules For Swordfish, Ceiling Fans, Grain Barges Help Make 2016 The Most Highly Regulated Year In History
Reason discusses the size of the federal regulatory state with Ryan Young and Wayne Crews. Ryan Young, a fellow with the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The 2016 Federal Register broke the 50,000-page mark on Friday, and remains on a record pace. New regulations for the week ranged from cement to…
Blog
Can the Ideas in the RNC Platform Help Reform Regulation?
Lord knows. But the Republican Party’s new platform which contains planks on such pressing issues as “Protection Against an Electromagnetic Pulse (p. 54),” also has…
Blog
The DNC Platform and Inequality
As the DNC convention wraps up in Philadelphia, I took some time to look over the party platform’s planks on inequality. Iain Murray and I…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The big story of the week was the new proposed payday lending regulation, which ate up 356 pages of Friday’s 625-page Federal Register.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
New regulations from the past week cover everything from Namibian meat to California raisins.
Blog
Collective Bargaining Increases Inequality
I recently pointed out that minimum wage regulations increase inequality. That’s not what the “Fight-for-15” activists intend, but it is the result they would achieve.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It was a short work week due to the Fourth of July holiday, but agencies still managed to issue new rules covering everything from stormwater…
Blog
Minimum Wage Increases Inequality, Decreases Labor Force Participation
The minimum wage actually increases inequality. It helps some workers, but only at others’ expense.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Maybe the recently-passed Congressional Review Act deadline we wrote about earlier hasn’t had much effect on midnight regulators.
Blog
Toward a Regulatory Budget
How much should the U.S. government spend on defense? How much on health care? Or energy, or technology?…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The 2016 Federal Register surpassed 40,000 pages last week, with new rules ranging from lights on farm equipment to grading raisins.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The 2016 Federal Register will surpass 40,000 pages next week, and is on pace to exceed 85,000 pages for the first time in its 80-year…
Blog
Why Shouldn’t the Energy Department Run the Entire Economy?
New Energy Department standards for dehumidifiers promise massive benefits. Depending on which set of numbers you prefer (the link goes to the Energy Department’s own…
Blog
Export-Import Bank Drama Continues
The Senate’s main business right now is the annual Defense Appropriations bill. The Export-Import Bank, or Ex-Im for short, might become part of that bill.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The number of new regulations for the year exceeded the 1,500 mark last week, with new rules covering everything from seatbelts to suckerfish. On to the…
One News Now
Higher minimum wage not a panacea for all
One News Now discusses the effects of minimum wage and collective bargaining policies on the poor with Ryan Young. Ryan Young of the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Last week’s Federal Register fell short of 2,000 pages, mainly because it was a four-day work week due the Memorial Day holiday. While the Federal…
Daily Caller
Feds Publish Over 2,000 Pages Of New Regs In ONE WEEK
The Daily Caller discusses new rules published in the Federal Register with Ryan Young. The Obama administration has been busy implementing what remains…
Blog
Inequality: Policies That Work, and Policies That Don’t
CEI recently released a pair of papers by Iain Murray and me about economic inequality. The first encourages activists to ask the right questions: think…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Congressional Review Act deadline for the possible midnight regulation rush has now likely passed, though the Federal Register once again topped 2,000 pages last week. That…
Investor's Business Daily
Inequality Is A Matter Of People, Not Numbers
From presidential candidates on down, everyone worries about economic inequality these days. In an era of stagnant job and wage growth, that’s a fair concern.
Products
Report: Taxing The Rich Won’t Fix Income Inequality
Blog
Raise, Don’t Level: New CEI Papers on Inequality and Poverty Relief
Economic inequality is one of today’s defining issues. How to address it? Iain Murray and I offer an unconventional approach in a new two-part CEI…
Study
The Rising Tide
Study
People, Not Ratios
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
As mentioned earlier, something of a regulatory midnight rush is happening right now. The Federal Register topped 2,000 pages for the third time in four weeks—a rare…
Blog
How the Overtime Rule Hopes to Design Higher Salaries, But Can’t
The Labor Department has just issued a new regulation for overtime pay for salaried employees. Under the new rule, all salaried workers earning less than…
Blog
Deadline for Major New Regulations This Week?
An early midnight rush of controversial new regulations might be on the way over the next week or so. Why now instead of the very…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Federal Register broke the 30,000-page barrier last week, with new regulations covering everything from baked beans to e-cigarettes. On to the data: Last week, 58 new…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments
The brand new 2016 edition of Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr.’s Ten Thousand Commandments report is out now. You can read it here. If you…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
After a slow start, 2016 is back to a normal regulatory pace. The Federal Register is on a nearly 80,000-page pace, and the number of new rules…
The Hill
Presidential candidates should talk about regulation
From “lyin’” to “low-energy,” the current election’s lowering of the rhetorical bar to levels that challenge even the most nimble limbo dancer is more than…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
As the Federal Register passed the 25,000-page mark, new rules for the week ranged from fluorescent lamps to disaffected youth. On to the data: Last week, 65…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The number of new final regulations in 2016 passed the 1,000 mark on Friday. Last week’s new rules cover everything from semipostal stamps to vapor…