Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2023 Federal Register topped 10,000 pages on February 16. Inflation remained high, but is still below its peak. FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson…
Blog
The Judiciary Is Skeptical of FTC Power Grabs in Meta/Within Case
The FTC tried to stop a merger between Facebook’s parent company Meta and the virtual reality app developer Within Unlimited. A court recently ruled against…
Blog
New CEI Paper on New Merger Guidelines
Any day now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will release new merger guidelines. FTC Chair Lina Khan has not yet released a draft of the…
Blog
Regulatory Reform Bills in the 118th Congress: The Less Is More Resolution
Often, spending is regulation in disguise. The 185,000-page Code of Federal Regulations is not the only way Washington regulates the economy. The federal government…
News Release
New CEI Paper Warns Against Turning Back the Clock on Antitrust Merger Guidelines
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new paper today reviewing the evolution of merger screening at federal antitrust agencies and warning against…
Politico
Three names Biden is circling for Fed Vice Chair
ON BLAST — Former FTC Chair Timothy Muris and Bruce Kobayashi, who served as director of the commission’s bureau of economics during the Trump administration, are…
National Review
Not-So-Quietly Quitting: Wilson’s Resignation a Canary in the Coal Mine of the FTC
FTC commissioner Christine Wilson made the most of her resignation announcement in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Her thoughtful…
Study
Turning Back the Clock: Structural Presumptions in Merger Analyses and Revised Merger Guidelines
Introduction Since 1950, when Congress closed a loophole in Section 7 of the Clayton Act,[1] the federal antitrust agencies have investigated actively, and prosecuted diligently, mergers the government…
The Hill
“Drama and Chaos at the Federal Trade Commission”
Paul Steidler, senior fellow at the Lexington Institute, provides suggestions for congressional oversight of the FTC.
News Release
Washington Couple Challenging Federal Shareholder Tax Petition Supreme Court to Take Up Their Case
Kathleen and Charles Moore, a Washington state couple challenging a 2017 tax on their shares in a foreign company, petitioned the Supreme Court today…
National Review
FTC Runs into the Judicial Wall
Law & Liberty
How the Founders Read Montesquieu
CEI’s Joshua Bandoch is cited on Law & Liberty with respect to Montesquieu: Joshua Bandoch, Research Fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, gives us…
National Review
FTC Runs into the Judicial Wall
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust crusade has run into an obstacle: the judiciary. Indeed, the agency wants to expand its authority and broaden enforcement standards so…
Comment
CEI Comments on the Proposed Regulation on Digital Discrimination of Access
Introduction. On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of…
Fee.org
The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America’s Racial and Economic Divides
Alfredo Ortiz has a message for all of the progressive politicians and activists working to close the economic gap between white and non-white Americans: Please…
Blog
Hearing Shows Bipartisan Momentum for Focused Financial Deregulation
Last week, I had the honor and pleasure of testifying at the first hearing of the newly constituted Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy subcommittee…
Blog
Shrinkflation, Slack-filling, and the Real Effects of Inflation
The Washington Post’s Laura Reiley recently raised an alarm, with a St. Valentine’s Day theme, on a consumer merchandising trend called “slack-filling.” She noted…
Blog
Regulatory Reform Bills in the 118th Congress: The GOOD Act
Regulatory dark matter is a serious problem. Agencies are supposed to run new regulations through a formal process which includes publishing a draft version of…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 8: Crypto and ESG with Jennifer Schulp
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the cultural impact of Super Bowl ads,…
Blog
Less is More – EPA’s Methane Rule and the Social Cost Paradox
CEI this week submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rule to establish new and more stringent methane emission standards for…
The Center Square
Fauci takes heat after casting doubt on efficacy of COVID vaccines
CEI’s Joel Zinberg is cited in The Center Square on COVID vaccines: Joel Zinberg, a Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow, blasted Fauci for pushing for…
Forbes
A Case For The Article I Regulatory Budget Act
There is a case to be made for officially “budgeting” and capping costs of the thousands of rules and regulations that federal agencies set loose…
The Washington Journal
VIDEO: Joel Zinberg Joins the Washington Journal
Dr. Joel Zinberg joins the Washington Journal to discuss the efficacy of COVID lockdowns and government restrictions as they relate to public health and take…
Blog
Why the ETF is Uniquely American and Ideally Capitalist
A 30-year-old rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission succeeded in lowering barriers to entry for cheaper and more flexible investment options. In January, the…
The Washington Journal
Video: Dr. Joel Zinberg Joins the Washington Journal to Discuss COVID Lockdowns
Dr. Joel Zinberg joins the Washington Journal to discuss the efficacy of COVID lockdowns and government restrictions as they relate to public health and take…
National Review
Fauci Changes His Public Tune on Covid Vaccines
Dr. Anthony Fauci has finally acknowledged that there had always been good scientific reasons to believe that vaccines against the respiratory…
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Expresses Need for FTC Oversight
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House Committee on Energy and…
Forbes
“The PBM Transparency Act Will Not Lower Drug Prices”
Ike Brannon from the Jack Kemp Foundation discusses the problems underlying the latest introduction of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act.
Real Clear Markets
“Republicans Must Hold Biden to His Promise About Not Being Bernie”
Charles Sauer, President of the Market Institute, asserts the need for congressional oversite of the FTC.
Washington Examiner
“Biden’s Proposed Ban on Noncompete Agreements Ignores the Constitution”
Asheesh Agarwal, former Assistant Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the FTC, explains that the proposed ban on employee noncompete agreements runs contrary…
Wall Street Journal
“The Many Abuses of Lina Khan’s FTC”
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board discusses FTC Chair Lina Khan’s continued departure from antitrust norms in light of Commissioner Wilson’s plans to resign from…
New York Post
The numbers prove Cuomo’s lockdowns hurt NYers on EVERY metric — while Florida flourished
What a difference a few years make. In 2020, the mainstream media lauded Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his strong but compassionate COVID-19 leadership. He won a…
Truth on the Market
“No, Chevron Deference Will Not Save the FTC’s Noncompete Ban”
TechFreedom’s Corbin Barthold discusses the constitutional problems with the FTC’s proposed ban on employee noncompete agreements.
Ballotpedia
A look ahead at ESG in 2023
Wall Street Journal
Christine Wilson: “Why I’m Resigning as an FTC Commissioner”
Commissioner Christine Wilson announces her intention to resign from the Federal Trade Commission in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.
Testimony
Written Testimony Regarding the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on February 16, 2023 titled “Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Pharmacy Benefit Managers”
The Honorable Maria Cantwell ChairCommittee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationU.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Ted Cruz Ranking MemberCommittee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationU.S.
Blog
Mixed Inflation News for January
Today’s inflation news is mixed. We’re still almost certainly past the worst of the COVID inflation, but January’s numbers took a turn for the…
Blog
It’s Not Just Stoves – Biden Administration Regulators Going After Many Other Appliances
Do you think that Joe Biden’s regulators are sticking to promises not to target gas stoves? Think again, and it is not just stoves but…
Fox News
DeSantis’s Florida beats Newsom’s California, again. Here’s the comparison
The COVID-19 pandemic elicited unprecedented government interventions into American life. Yet, the stringency and duration of government measures varied considerably across the U.S. …
Fox News
California’s grid faces collapse as leaders push renewables, electric vehicles, experts say
“They already are suffering,” said Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. “They’re, in…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA Methane Emission Performance Standards for the Oil and Gas Sector
February 13, 2023 Docket No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0317-1460 Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
An earthquake killed at least 20,000 people in Turkey. President Biden delivered the State of the Union speech. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from…
Study
Freedom Wins
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Joel M. Zinberg, M.D., J.D. is the Director the Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative at Paragon Health Institute, and a senior…
Reason
Photos Show the Transformation of Great Britain
Not so long ago, Great Britain was deemed “the sick man of Europe.” The 1970s were plagued by inflation, labor union strikes, and a rise…
Blog
Are Americans Investing for Retirement or Politics?
Being able to save enough during our working lives to fund a comfortable retirement is a top concern for most American households, especially since…
National Review
House Republicans Can Make 2023 ESG’s Worst Year Yet
Blog
Fauci Failure to Acknowledge Limited Vaccine Protection Undermines Faith in Government Advice
In a recent article Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that, from the beginning of the pandemic, there was good reason to believe that vaccines against…
Blog
Kathleen and Charles Moore Prepare to take their Fight Against Taxing Unrealized Gains to Supreme Court
In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The new law was a reform of the federal tax code, but also included a…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 7: Economics for Everybody with Ryan Young
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about Adam Millsap’s proposal to encourage abundance with…
Forbes
“The FTC’s Fight Against Non-Monopolies Won’t Help Consumers”
Ike Brannon from the Jack Kemp Foundation explains that the FTC’s focus on narrow, ideological issues like Pharmacy Benefit Managers and “right to repair” is…
Blog
New Hampshire Civil Forfeiture Would Protect Private Property from Unjust Seizure
Several state legislators in New Hampshire will consider a major change in criminal justice policy later today. The House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public…
Testimony
Written testimony on amendment to HB 593 (forfeiture reform)
In the statement below, I discuss several ways that the proposed amendment to HB 593 will improve New Hampshire’s justice system. The House Committee on…
Blog
Busting the Myth of Overpopulation
Recently PragerU released a new video on “The Myth of Overpopulation,” featuring the Cato Institute’s Marian Tupy. Marian (also the editor of HumanProgress.org)…
News Release
New Video: Kathleen and Charles Moore on Why the Supreme Court Should Hear their Challenge to Tax on Unrealized Gains
“If you haven’t received any income, how can you be required to pay income taxes?” The question, asked by Charles Moore in a new…
Legal Brief
Kathleen and Charles Moore Prepare to take their Fight Against Taxing Unrealized Gains to Supreme Court
In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The new law was a reform of the federal tax code, but also included a…
Study
Climate Fact Check January 2023
Presented by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the Heartland Institute, Energy & Environment Legal Institute, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), the International Climate Science…
Blog
Regulatory Reform Bills in the 118th Congress: The REINS Act
Every new session of Congress is a new chance to enact substantive regulatory reform. This post inaugurates an occasional series highlighting reform bills that have…
Testimony
CEI’s John Berlau Testifies Before House Financial Services Committee: Hearing: “Revamping and Revitalizing Banking in the 21st Century”
Chairman Barr, Ranking Member Foster, and honorable members of this Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on behalf of my organization,…
Washington Examiner
Republicans can use the debt ceiling fight to better prepare Americans for the next economic crisis
On the outside chance that House Republicans are able to wrangle President Joe Biden into cutting federal spending to set a new debt…
Regulatory Transparency Project
AUDIO: Explainer Episode 48 – The FDA & the Practice of Medicine: Possible Regulation of Off-Label Prescriptions
Senior Fellow Joel Zinberg joins the Regulatory Transparency Project to discuss possibly regulation of off-label prescriptions: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations…
Blog
Walsh Skates out of the Biden Administration
The news that Marty Walsh will be stepping down as Secretary of Labor seems to reflect the diminished agenda that Joe Biden will have…
Blog
Biden Administration Is Late to Right to Repair Party, but that Won’t Stop Them from Taking Credit
President Biden signed an Executive Order on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy” in July 2021. The EO covered a wide-range of policy…
Blog
Administration’s Recent Crackdown on Domestic Mining at Odds with Its Electric Vehicle Agenda
President Biden could hardly be more aggressive in trying to foist electric vehicles (EVs) on the American public, regardless of whether they really meet our…
Wall Street Journal
“Lina Khan Chalks Up Another Defeat”
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board discussed the FTC’s recent loss in its challenge to block Meta’s acquisition of the VR app developer, Within Unlimited.
Truth on the Market
Dirk Auer of ICLE: Mergers Help Tech Companies ‘Level Up’
Director of Competition at the International Center for Law & Economics explains how mergers allow tech companies to enter adjacent markets and expand their offerings…
Real Clear Investigations
The Left’s Little Financial Engine That Could (Change the World Radically)
Richard Morrison, senior fellow at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Amalgamated can, at a minimum, “serve as an example for other managers and CEOs…
Blog
State of the Union: Heavy-Handed Tech Regulation Fails to Appeal to Many Democratic Voters
President Biden should take advantage of breaking spy balloon news to talk about that—or anything else—instead of re-upping calls for regulation aimed at big tech…
Blog
State of the Union and Inflation
Presidents, like quarterbacks, get too much blame when things go badly, and too much when things go well. Look for President Biden to take advantage…
Blog
Biden’s State of the Union in Five Words: More Spending, Regulation, and Dependency
Ladies and gentlemen, we can sum up President Joe Biden’s the State of the Union (SOTU) in five words: More spending, regulation, and dependency. That…
AEIdeas
“The Federal Trade Commission Is Abandoning Consumers”
Mark Jamison of the American Enterprise Institute discusses the FTC’s decreasing reliance on the consumer welfare standard and its narrow market definitions in recent tech…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had a setback in one of its cases against Meta. The Fed raised interest rates. Meanwhile, agencies…
Boston Herald
Murray: College credential snare should be bipartisan issue
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, did all Pennsylvanians a favor in January by making 92% of state government jobs open to anyone without a…
Crowd Fund Insider
House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Schedules Hearing to Discuss Banking and Need to Update Regulations in Line with Emerging Technology
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on Crowd Fund Insider on banking regulations: The House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, part of the Financial Services…
Blog
NTIA Report Ignores Relevant Competition in Its Study of App Ecosystem
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its report on “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” this past Wednesday. I submitted comments…
Blog
Right Sizing the Federal Trade Commission Is Step One
As part of regulatory streamlining and administrative state reform efforts, members of the 118th Congress have already reintroduced several prominent pieces of legislation. These include…
News Release
Economy Adds 517,000 Jobs in January: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January 2023, according to newly released government numbers. That’s higher than expected. CEI experts explain what it…
Blog
America Needs an Abundance Agenda
An abundance agenda—public policies that lead to diversity in consumer goods and financial security for families—should be an economic and moral imperative. That’s what Richard…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 6: The Cultural Impact of YouTube with Javier Hernandez
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the myth of overpopulation, the problem with…
Blog
Federal Attacks on Gas Stoves Continue
Think Biden administration regulators at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have really backed away from their threat to target natural gas stoves? No, they…
News Release
CFPB Cap on Credit Card Late Fees = Price Controls that Raise Cost of Credit for Everyone
The Biden White House is touting a new proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would cap most credit card late fees…
National Review
“The FTC Is Using a Tool It Shouldn’t Even Have in Its Toolbox
Dominic Pino, the Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at the National Review Institute, discusses the FTC’s renewed interest in the Robinson-Patman Act and the need to…
News Release
Latest Fed Interest Rate Increase Brings Us Closer to a Soft Landing: CEI Analysis
The Federal Reserve today announced an interest rate increase of a quarter percentage point, as expected. CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young says the series of…
Blog
FTC Should Not Trade Consumer Welfare for an Antitrust Crystal Ball
Wall Street Journal
Muris: “Lina Khan and the FTC Go Back to the Antitrust Future”
Former FTC Commissioner Timothy J. Muris explains the folly in the FTC’s desire to abandon established economic standards and revert back to antitrust populism.
Washington Examiner
Democrats and Republicans: Unite around abundance
Inflation may finally be starting to wane, but there is no clear end in sight to the economic turmoil that Americans have experienced for nearly…
The Washington Times
Hotels recover revenue, but staff shortages linger
The hotel industry this year will surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand and room revenue but struggle with lingering pandemic-era staff shortages, according to annual projections…
Blog
It Isn’t Just Gas Stoves That Biden Regulators Dislike – EPA Adding Costly Red Tape To Air Conditioners
In response to a strong consumer backlash, Biden administration regulators now insist they are not considering a ban on natural gas stoves, at least…
Real Clear Markets
“Low Morale at the FTC is Directly Related to Lina Khan’s Reign of Error”
Norm Singleton from the Market Institute discusses the FTC’s falling ratings in the Federal Employee Standing Survey in an opinion piece for Real Clear Markets.
Comment
Comment to EPA on AIM Act Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons
INTRODUCTION The undersigned free-market organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations, which are often neglected by agencies…
Americans for Tax Reform
Q&A on Credit Card Regulation
Americans for Tax Reform has been consistently opposed to government regulation of debit and credit card transactions. Last year, ATR opposed the Credit Card Competition…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Department of Justice filed another antitrust lawsuit against Google. GDP numbers for the final quarter of 2022 looked healthy. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations…
Governors' Wing & Solar Energy Coalition
One Republican stands between the far right and ESG
Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, called McHenry “a really good, free-market conservative” and…
Washington Examiner
House Democrat on climate change caucus rakes in cash from oil and gas investments
Still, if Frankel was serious about targeting the fossil fuels industry through her pro-green energy stance, she would…
News Release
CEI Commends House for Passing H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act today. The bill, sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers…
Blog
Berlau Crypto Letter and Comments in Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner
This week, I have had the honor of being quoted in a great article on cryptocurrency trends and regulation in the Washington Examiner and having…
Blog
Avoiding Passive Income Scams
Recently, on episode three of the Free the Economy podcast (about 5:30 in), we discussed the promise and perils of “passive income” investments. On…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 5: Corporate Purpose and ESG with Russ Greene
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the economic and cultural impact of YouTube,…
News Release
CEI TV Ad “Versus” to Run Sunday During NBC’s Meet the Press as Part of Eye on FTC Campaign
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will run a 30 second television ad as part of its Eye on FTC campaign on Sunday,…
The Well News
Justice Dept. Sues Google Again Alleging Monopolistic Ad Tactics
Google was joined in criticizing the Justice Department by Jessica Melugin, the director for technology and innovation at the Washington, D.C.-based…
Fox News
Democrats, eco groups take aim at other home appliances amid gas stove debate
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited on Fox News the home appliance and gas stove debate: “There’s bad news for almost every room in the…