Forbes
From Mutual Aid To Modern Insurance: How Capitalism Eased The Pain Of Death
We all die. And we all need to make provisions for that eventuality—especially if we have dependents or goals extending into the future. In traditional…
News Release
CEI’s Agenda for Congress Offers Blueprint for Expanding Jobs and Opportunities through Regulatory Reform
Study
Free to Prosper
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new…
Blog
National Labor Policy Increasingly Grants Big Labor Privileges as Union Membership Declines
A recent press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the percentage of American workers in labor unions dropped again. In 2014, only…
Blog
Gas Tax Mission Creep: From User-Pays to Carbon Tax?
The Niskanen Center is a new libertarian think tank that we at CEI look forward to working with on a number of issues. However, one where…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Even in a shortened work week due to Martin Luther King Day, federal agencies still put out 40 final regulations and more than 50 proposed…
Blog
Did Slanted NPR Story Lead to Hasty, Illegal Education Department Sexual Harassment Rules?
Bad things can happen when an agency (like the Education Department) throws caution to the wind and regulates based on slanted media coverage from National…
US News
The Clean Power Plan’s Dirty Secret
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it would finalize three enormous rules regulating carbon emissions this summer, as a part of the Obama administration’s plan…
Human Events
Pennsylvania On My Mind … Or Not
The Roanoke Times
A New Idea for Tax Fairness Online
The misleadingly named Marketplace Fairness Act died a quiet death during the House of Representatives’ lame-duck session, but is it really the end? What does…
Blog
Oregon Blueberry Farmers Prevail over Department of Labor Overreach
A majority of attention paid to federal agency overreach in the labor policy arena during the Obama administration has focused on National Labor Relations Board…
Blog
President Obama Says We’ve “Turned the Page” – Really?
In previewing his 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama said … "2014 was the fastest year for job growth since the 1990s.
The Blaze
Cybersecurity Concerns Spotlight Obama’s State of the Union Cyber Agenda
The Blaze cites CEI's Ryan Radia on cybersecurity: “Even as the federal government is forcing telephone companies to hand over phone call…
CNS News
Obama Seeks More Double Taxation and Job-Killing Taxes in State of the Union Address
One News Now
One observation on Keystone: Legal but not ‘thrilled’ over land grab
One News Now talks to William Yeatman on Keystone XL: OneNewsNow sought comment from William Yeatman, a senior fellow specializing in energy policy…
News Release
CEI Responds to Government’s Brief in SCOTUS Obamacare Subsidies Case
Blog
European Food Safety Authority Confirms BPA Safety—Again
The debate over the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) has raged for years, with environmental activists continually hyping the risks associated with it. Used to…
Blog
Obama Seeks More Double Taxation and Job-Killing Taxes in State of the Union Address
Blog
Tossing Free Trinkets—Obama’s Mandatory Paid Leave Proposal
Standing high at the rostrum in the House of Representatives during his State of the Union speech, President Obama acts like he’s throwing free trinkets…
Blog
CEI Reacts to President’s SOTU Address
Lawson Bader reacts to the State of the Union Address: “Whenever a president starts talking about economic inequality and more ways the government can help,…
Blog
Tossing Free Trinkets—Obama’s Mandatory Paid Leave Proposal
Standing high at the rostrum in the House of Representatives during his State of the Union speech, President Obama acts like he’s throwing free trinkets…
Blog
Supreme Court Refuses to Make Dodd-Frank More Draconian
Today, the Supreme Court lifted a cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over consumers, community banks, and credit unions by refusing to take…
Blog
On Cybersecurity, President Obama Offers Mixed Bag in SOTU
Technology policy rarely earns more than a brief mention in the President’s annual State of the Union address to Congress. But tonight, when President Obama…
Forbes
A Glimmer Of SOTU Compromise? Expanding The Earned Income Tax Credit
Republicans will grimace as President Obama unveils his massive tax hikes in tomorrow’s State of the Union address, however, one policy will receive bi-partisan applause:…
Forbes
Obama’s State Of The Union Address In Five Words
Even before presidents become lame ducks, their State of the Union Address proposals often don’t materialize. President Barack Obama is one of five lame…
The Patriot Post
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Does Anything But
The Patriot Post quotes CEI`s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “A government report pegs the price of the work at…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
40 new regulations, from solid waste to washing machines.
Independent Women's Forum
Policy Focus: The Science of the “Endocrine Disrupter” Debate
Download from IWF here Americans are increasingly being told by the media and environmental activists that common consumer goods—from plastics to cosmetics to flame…
The Daily Signal
Government Agency Under Scrutiny for $215 Million Building Renovation
The Dialy Signal quotes CEI`s John Berlau on the Consumer Protection Bureau office renovations: Costly building renovations at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection…
RealClear Policy
Public-Sector Union Fixes for the States
As states begin their new legislative sessions, lawmakers have many opportunities ensure that government works toward the benefit of the public, not the benefit of…
Blog
Union Exemptions from Criminal Law Must End
In 2012, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report compiled a list of states that grant labor unions exemptions from criminal laws such as stalking, trespassing,…
Blog
What the Greek Elections Might Mean for Economic Liberty?
With the Greek parliamentary elections being only two weeks away, it seems that the opposition leftist party SYRIZA is set for a victory on January…
Blog
WSJ Editorial Board: Abolish the Federal Gas Tax
In recent days, a growing number of congressional Republicans have signaled a willingness to increase the federal excise tax rates on gasoline and diesel. As I…
Forbes
Four Reasons Why ‘High Roller Tax’ On Stock Trading Hurts The Economy
Congressional Democrats’ newly-unveiled economic proposals, likely to reverberate into the 2106 presidential race, continue the drumbeat of class warfare and economic contraction. However well-intentioned,…
Blog
Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 114th Congress
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new congressional…
Study
Preview – CEI’s Agenda for the 114th Congress
Blog
Could the FDA’s New Calorie-Count Mandate Harm Winemakers?
The trade association, WineAmerica, which represents 600 wineries in the U.S., seems to think so. The group has hired a lobbyists to push the…
News Release
Snooping in the Dark: Court Rules NSA Spying Not Broad Enough for FOIA
Blog
Right to Work Is Good for Business and Workers
Research shows right-to-work states experience greater manufacturing growth compared to states without such laws. That is because many businesses consider RTW, which makes union dues…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Happy New Year to all of our regulatory followers! Wayne Crews previously summed up 2014’s year-end statistics in this post. Among the highlights are 3,541…
News Release
RealClear Radio Hour to Air this Saturday on Bloomberg Radio San Francisco
Human Events
To Get Up and Go – and Go Again
Forbes
On Federal Red Tape Reform, President Obama Prepares To Veto Himself
Washington Examiner
Beer Tax Overhaul Pits Big Brewers Against Crafty Upstarts
Blog
Automated Vehicles Update: Big Feature at CES, California Rules Delayed, Georgia Cautious on Regulation
It’s been a few months since I last checked in on automated vehicles (AVs), commonly called driverless cars or autonomous vehicles. Below are some developments of…
Forbes
Obamacare Has Been A Boon For The Insurance Industry
This year could mean big changes for Obamacare, given the latest challenge accepted by the Supreme Court, King vs. Burwell. The Court is slated to…
The Blaze
Obama’s Abuse of the Veto Makes Him an ‘Imperial President’
Just a few days into the new Congress, and President Barack Obama already has made three—count ‘em—credible veto threats. Representatives and Senators had barely started…
Forbes
CES And A Case For Separation Of Technology And State
As the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) winds down, there’s a lot of stuff you probably hope doesn’t stay in Vegas. Creative contributions to the…
The Freeman
The Importance of Free Speech to Human Progress
Cato At Liberty
Carbon Tax, Carbon Tax, Carbon Tax
Cato At Liberty cites Marlo Lewis' ongoing work discussing carbon taxes: Another take on the carbon tax is offered by our good…
The Daily Caller
Dodd-Frank Relief Is A Better Deal For Homeowners Than Obama’s FHA Folly
“If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” So said Ronald Reagan in 1986. Reagan was describing the unintended…
Blog
Terrorist Attack on Charlie Hebdo Reveals the Sorry State of Free Speech in the West
My wife Sylvie, who grew up in France, is terribly shocked about yesterday’s terrorist attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which murdered 12 people, including…
Blog
Big cy pres victory in 8th Circuit: Oetting v. Green Jacobson
with new opinion from 8th Circ, @tedfrank continues to reshape fed. judicial policy on giving class money to charity http://t.co/D1Yy3BgJu9—…
Blog
Obama Should Help Borrowers by Shedding Dodd-Frank, Not Pumping FHA
“If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” So said Ronald Reagan in 1986. Reagan was describing the unintended effects of…
The Daily Caller
Having Feasted On Microsoft, Eurocrats Go For Their Next Prey
Reuters
U.S. court voids payout of unclaimed funds in BofA class action
Reuters discusses Center for Class Action Fairness's victory in Oetting v. Green Jacobson PC, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-2620 Thursday's…
Blog
Bureaucrats Demand That Harvard Parrot Their Uncodified Views about Sexual Harassment
The National Review
An Amazing Assertion of Bureaucratic Power
Blog
20 States Raise Minimum Wage: Happy New Year?
The minimum wage is one of the most popular policies for fighting poverty, and proposed increases to it usually poll very well. But the twenty…
Blog
Central “Planning” Often Creates Disorder, While the Free Market Provides Consistency
Government planning often contains contradictory elements that provide inconsistent signals for regulated entities about how to behave. For example, the New Deal of the 1930s…
CNS News
Consumers to Pay the Price for State Environmental Regulations
Consumers could soon face higher prices, reduced choices and lower-quality products, thanks to a slew of chemical regulations that are advancing in various states. These…
CNS News
Government’s Mixed Messages – ‘Making Marriage the Exception Rather Than the Rule’
Beginning in the 1930’s, the federal government sharply increased central planning of the economy and society. (Perhaps as a consequence, the economy…
The Daily Caller
What Will Happen After The Latest Keynesian Bubble Bursts?
Forbes
Two Cheers For Cuba Libre
President Obama’s recent decision to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba was welcomed by many free marketers, but met with skepticism by those who favor political…
Human Events
Welcome to 2015 and the Year of the Regulators
The tinsel had hardly fallen from the trees and the family reunion squabbles barely subsided—and the Washington Redskins’ disastrous season just ended—before two Washington Post…
Washington Examiner
Unconstitutionality Index: Feds Issued 27 Regs for Every New Law, 3,541 in 2014
Wayne Crews discusses the year in regulation with Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard: In a brand new calculation done by the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
CEI’s 2015 Unconstitutionality Index: 27 Regulations for Every Law
There’s this idea floating around about America’s do-nothing Congress, that laws aren’t being passed. The Los Angeles Times called Congress “ineffective,” in 2013 since it passed…
Blog
2014 Ends with a 78,978-Page Federal Register; 3,541 Rules and Regulations
At year-end 2014, the Federal Register stands at 78,978 pages, the fifth-highest count ever. (The published version contains 79,066 pages, but I net out blank and skipped…
Washington Examiner
Report: 21,000 regulations so far under Obama, 2,375 set for 2015
Wayne Crews is cited in the Washington Examiner: The pace of agencies issuing new rules and regulations has hit a record high…
News Release
Obamacare Lawsuit Gains Support of Lawmakers, Experts in Supreme Court Amicus Briefs
Forbes
Obama’s Veto Warning To The GOP Disregards His Record-Setting Regulation
In a widely cited year-end interview with National Public Radio, President Obama warned Republicans that: Now I suspect there are going…
Politico
A streetcar not desired?
Marc Scribner is cited in Politico: Besides costs, critics point to other shortcomings in the projects. For example, they question whether streetcar…
Washington Post
Are Common Core and Title IX linked?
Hans Bader writes a letter to the editor in the Washington Post on Common Core: "George F. Will was right to lament that “the Education…
Blog
Democrats vs. Government Unions
If late House Speaker Tip O’Neill’s famous saying that all politics is local has a corollary, it may be that politics is at its most…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The federal government took Thursday and Friday off to celebrate the holidays. Despite the rare three-day work week, agencies still published 25 proposed regulations, more…
Investor's Business Daily
Marketplace Fairness Act: Back Door To New Tax
House Speaker John Boehner blocked passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) in the lame-duck congressional session. So consumers were able to shop online this…
Blog
NLRB Advances against McDonald’s
By issuing complaints against McDonald’s on December 19, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board gave unions a boost and further riled business groups. On July…
Opportunity Lives
This Colorado Ballot Measure Finally Brought Transparency To The State’s Unions
Though the biggest story in last month’s election was the Republican takeover of Congress, progress at the state level is another important emerging narrative. By…
Legal Brief
King v. Burwell
On March 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in King v. Burwell, which challenges an IRS regulation imposed under the Affordable Care Act. …
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
69 new regulations, from washing machines to plants for planting.
News Release
Opening Brief in SCOTUS Obamacare Exchange Subsidies Case Filed Today
Products
Obama Operative Joins Taxpayer-Backed Solar Company
News Release
CEI Files Lawsuit Over Obamacare Exchange Documents
Forbes
How Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Is Messing Up That Thing Where You Surf Zero-APR Credit Cards This Christmas
Dodd-Frank financial regulation is the gift that keeps on taking. If you’re juggling Christmas bills, or soon will be—or maybe trying to take advantage of…
Forbes
Skills-Based Education Can Help Solve The Inequality Puzzle
Blog
Besting a Billionaire: How a Grassroots Campaign Stopped a Ban on Internet Gambling
This week we get to say goodbye to the 113th Congress. For those who believe in free markets and individual liberty, it was a doozy.
Letters
Coalition Letter with American Conservative Union Opposing Restoration of America’s Wire Act
Read the full coalition letter here "The clear intent of the legislation is to overturn the decisions of nearly a dozen states…
Letters
Coalition Letter with Americans for Tax Return Opposing the Restoration of America’s Wire Act
View the full coalition letter here "While RAWA supporters contend that this legislation is a simple fix to 53 year old Wire…
Forbes
A Better Way To Help Our Fellow Man
As we enter the Christmas season, the question of our responsibility to our fellow man (and woman) arises. When we see people in need, how…
The Blaze
Want to Help Someone Rebuild Her Business? Better Lawyer Up!
Neighbors and people across the nation were appalled when local shops in Ferguson, Missouri, burned down during the recent disturbances there. Thankfully, family, friends, and…
Opportunity Lives
Why America Needs to Get Smarter about Our Commercial Drone Policy
Marc Scribner talks to Opportunity Lives about the failings of current commercial drone policy: Marc Scribner, a fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans Oppose Federal Gas Tax Increase
A new poll from Benson Strategy Group and SKDKnickerbocker found that 67 percent of Americans oppose increasing the federal gasoline tax by 15 cents, or an…
Breitbart
Federal Register Adds Nearly 1600 Pages of New Regulations
Breitbart discusses the latest regulatory numbers with CEI's Ryan Young. Not to be outdone by the congressional 1,603 page Cromnibus spending bill,…
Letters
IAEP Urges E.U. to Reconsider Proposed Multilateral Interchange Regulation
View the full letter here CEI and 9 other free-market groups are concerned about the implications of the regulation of multilateral interchange…
Blog
Activist Science Undermines Research on Honeybees and Pesticides
As reported in a blog post by David Zaruk, some of the “science” on the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on honeybees appears to have resulted from…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
While Congress was busy with the 1,603-page Cromnibus bill (full text), agencies added nearly that many pages to the Federal Register with new regulations for everything…
Blog
The 8 Amici (Part 2): Review of 4 More Briefs Opposing Breach of Joint-Employer Precedent
Joint Employer—Eight Amici for the Employers In total, 17 amicus briefs were submitted in June 2014, in the seminal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case…
Blog
The 8 Amici (Part 1): Review of 4 Briefs Opposing Breach of Joint-Employer Precedent
Joint Employer—Eight Amici for the Employers In total, 17 amicus briefs were submitted in June 2014, in the seminal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case…
The Freeman
Kickstarting It Old School
Human Events