City Journal
Unions’ Choice
At first glance, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of one-term congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Labor secretary is mystifying. The former congresswoman…
Yahoo News
John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says the “supposed purpose” of this crackdown is to “prevent banks from doing business…
Blog
Kerry’s statements reflect the moral failings of climate extremism
Last week, John Kerry told a Harvard audience how he thinks we need to address climate change: “We need to get people…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The value of work with David Bahnsen
News Release
Economy adds 227,000 jobs in November, suggesting a steady labor market: CEI analysis
Today’s labor report for November suggests a steady job market, with 227,000 jobs being added to the economy last month. Considering the report,…
The Daily Economy
The Debanking Craze Reveals Everything Wrong with the Administrative State
After an appearance by financier Marc Andreessen on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Elon Musk’s X exploded with indignation that tech entrepreneurs were being debanked owing…
Blog
US businesses brace for a triple climate disclosure burden
Thousands of US companies—both public and private—are bracing for an expensive wave of climate disclosure mandates. If regulators in the US and abroad have…
News Release
North Carolina’s deregulatory approach to environmental permitting reform
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report highlights North Carolina’s commitment to significantly reforming its environmental permitting system. The reforms, which focused on accelerating project…
News Release
Report: SEC climate disclosure rule complicated by EU, California
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report explains the problem businesses face complying with complicated, disparate climate disclosure rules imposed by multiple governments – the…
News Release
Biden Labor Department withdraws controversial apprenticeship rule opposed by CEI
On November 27, the Biden administration withdrew the Department of Labor’s proposed rule imposing costly, burdensome requirements on everyone involved in federal apprenticeship…
Study
Basketball vs. Bureaucracy
North Carolina’s permitting reforms in recent years have significantly reshaped the state’s regulatory landscape, focusing on accelerating project approvals and reducing bureaucratic delays. Key changes…
Study
Climate Disclosure’s Triple Threat
Introduction Financial regulators from the US federal government, California, and Europe have each recently adopted climate disclosure rules for companies. These environmental, social, and…
News Release
Trump nominee for SEC will refocus agency on core mission
President-elect Trump has nominated prior SEC commissioner Paul Atkins as chair of the agency, a move that CEI Director of Finance Policy John Berlau…
Blog
Biden breaks Federal Register record
Joe Biden’s administration has set a new Federal Register record with 96,088 pages as of December 3, 2024, surpassing the Obama administration’s 95,894 pages…
Letters
Post-Chevron Suggestions for Congress
Dear 118th & 119th Congress,On June 28, 2024, in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, the United States Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine, which…
Blog
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,…
Washington Examiner
Biden did it: Most regulation-filled Federal Register ever at 96,088 pages
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on the final number of regulation pages in the Federal Register for Biden’s term Clyde…
Reason
Abolish the Securities and Exchange Commission
Reason cites CEI’s expert on the magnitude of SEC compliance costs Besides, the costs of SEC compliance are staggering. Looking at the climate…
Blog
CEI has warned about debanking for 20+ Years – We were right
Over the last week, millions of Americans were exposed to the idea that their government has been encouraging banks to withdraw financial services from…
Blog
Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy,…
Comment
Student Debt Relief Comment
Re: Student Debt Relief Based on Hardship for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal…
E&E News
Trump win puts endangerment finding in the crosshairs
E&E News cited CEI’s expert on EPA regulations Daren Bakst, a senior fellow and director of the institute’s Center for Energy & Environment,…
E&E News
Chris Wright and Sean Duffy hold the keys to Trump’s EV plans. How far will they go?
E&E News quoted CEI’s expert on federal EV support Daren Bakst, an energy and environmental analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, outlined one…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Milk marketing and sport fishing
It was a shortened week on account of Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from fed cattle to general service lamps. On to the data: • Agencies issued 57 final…
Law and Liberty
Milton Friedman’s Revenge
It’s rapidly becoming the received wisdom that an important reason President Trump won the 2024 election was because inflation matters. Too many…
Wall Street Journal
A Thumb on the Scale for Wegovy
The Biden administration announced one more bit of executive overreach on its way out the door. On Nov. 26, the Centers for Medicare and…
National Review
Please, Somebody Google ‘Hubris’
The pretense of knowledge is on full display in the Department of Justice’s proposed remedies for the Google trial. The…
City Journal
Defying Administrative Tyranny
Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law, by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze (HarperCollins, 304 pp., $25.60)…
National Review
“It Is Time for One Agency to Enforce Antitrust”
James Edwards with the Committee for Justice explores the benefits of the One Agency Act, which would strip the FTC of its antitrust authority.
Reason
Return of the ‘Tariff Man’
Reason writes in memoriam of CEI’s founder passing In Memoriam: Fred Smith, the quirky and brilliant founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI),…
Blog
Circuit Courts split over the SEC’s regulatory treatment of proxy advisors
The Fifth and Sixth Circuits are currently split over the legality of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Proxy Advisory Rule. Depending on…
Blog
Republicans shouldn’t do anything lame in the lame duck
Next year is looking good for Republicans at the federal level. Control of the House, Senate, and the White House is a recipe for…
News Release
Trump promises day-one tariffs to the detriment of consumers
President-elect Trump says he will sign an executive order on his first day in office imposing new tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and…
LewRockwell.com
Fred L. Smith, Jr. R.I.P.
Thomas DeLorenzo mentions Fred Smith’s passing Fred Smith, founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has passed away. I first met Fred and his…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Pear handling and airport construction
CEI founder Fred Smith passed away at age 83. Few people were as effective as Fred in pushing back against regulatory excesses, and nobody did…
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute Founder Fred L. Smith, Jr. (1940-2024)
Powerline
Fred Smith, RIP
Very sad news today of the passing of Fred Smith. Fred founded one of the most important and feisty think tanks of all time,…
National Review
Telehealth Is Less Promising Than It First Seemed
A key issue facing Congress in its postelection, “lame duck” session is whether to extend regulatory flexibilities expiring at year end that make telehealth services…
WSJ Opinion
Recipe for a Regulatory Spring Cleaning
Despite bold promises from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, skeptics doubt that the Department of Government Efficiency can deliver sweeping changes. The scope of federal regulation…
Blog
Thank you, Fred Smith
When I was fresh out of college, I attended a large classical liberal conference. After one day’s sessions wrapped up, I had dinner at…
CNN
Trump’s Labor secretary pick is surprisingly pro-union. It doesn’t mean his administration will be
CNN’s Chris Isidore relays Sean Higgins’s misgivings about the Trump Labor Dept. nominee “While it is hard to predict what (Chavez-DeRemer) would do…
Blog
At minimum, keep the de minimis import exemption
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has just issued its recommendations for China policy. One of them is to eliminate the de…
Blog
Concerning transmission provisions in the Energy Permitting Reform Act
As Congress enters its lame duck period, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso…
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…
Blog
Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer is not qualified to be Labor Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) for the position of…
Forbes
A Trump 2.0 Agenda For Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence represents an unprecedented economic opportunity as well as a complex security challenge for the United States. As Trump gets set to begin…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Commentary: Automation could be a problem in retail theft
Headed into the holiday season, the retail industry is wrangling with a surge in shoplifting and possible solutions to prevent theft. The upsurge may be…
DC Journal
Debanking May Be a Problem for Melania Trump and Many Others
In her new memoir, former First Lady Melania Trump reveals that she was abruptly dropped by a bank with which she had a long-standing financial…
Forbes
“Why Trump May Consolidate Federal Antitrust Enforcement”
Former FTC general counsel Alden Abbott argues that the FTC’s antitrust authority should be consolidated in the Department of Justice.
Washington Examiner
DOGE target: Paperwork hits 10 billion hours, equals 15,000 lifetimes
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on financial regulation “For periodic real-time assessments, the OMB maintains an online landing page for ‘Government-Wide Totals for…
Blog
From cuts to costs: Why federal paperwork keeps piling up
The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of the 2023 Information Collection Budget (ICB) paints a troubling picture of not just of growing…
Daily Caller
Trump Could Make Biden’s EV Mandates Obsolete, Revamp Auto Industry With One Move
The Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on EPA under the Clean Air Act “The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could make a…
Forbes
Durban-Marshall & Reg II Benefit Big Retail at Customers’ Expense
Stop, thief! It’s common knowledge that looting and burglaries are often most successful when people are distracted by an attention-getting event – be it…
The Washington Times
Thanksgiving dinner will cost less this year as inflation cools
The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on inflation “Even without the drop in turkey prices, Thanksgiving would still be more affordable than last year,”…
News Release
Louisiana’s market-based approach to permitting reform: CEI report
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report analyzes Louisiana’s progress in reforming its environmental permitting system. Efforts to reform permitting in Louisiana include the…
Study
Mardi Gras for Permits
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) Expedited Permit Program, established in 2006, represents an innovative approach to speeding up environmental permit approvals. This…
Blog
Biden overtime rule overruled
A Texas court last week threw out the Biden’s administration’s attempt to rewrite the rules for overtime. The court said that the Department of…
Blog
Swamp things: Why DOGE moving Beltway agencies to states isn’t deregulation
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), expected to be established by president-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, aims to slash…
National Review
The Price of Credit-Card Convenience Is Not a Matter for Big Government
Card is $8, cash is $7,” said the taco-truck employee to me. I paid for my tacos by card because I rarely carry cash, and…
News Release
CEI Report: Wi-Fi success shows permissionless innovation is a competitive advantage
Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in the United States. It provides Americans with broadband access in countless locations, including homes, schools, hotels, coffee shops, offices, airports,…
Study
No Permission Needed
Robust, resilient, and high-capacity internet service is critical to America’s economic prosperity and success. A key part of internet service is Wi-Fi, which provides…
Blog
NLRB moves to silence employers during union drives
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the independent federal agency that oversees union activity, ruled Wednesday in a case involving…
Blog
Tariffs are lousy revenue generators
President-elect Donald Trump has proposed cutting income taxes and raising tariffs to replace some of the revenue. Economists of all political stripes have…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Mergers and mail
The 2024 Federal Register topped 90,000 pages and is now the second-longest ever, dating back to 1936, with more than a month still to…
New York Post
As EPA czar, Lee Zeldin should scrap these three awful Biden rules FAST
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to serve as the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Once confirmed, he’ll have…
The Daily Economy
Why Fewer Are Trying to Climb the Corporate Ladder
Someone once told me that my career fitted the dictionary definition of the word – a headlong rush, usually downhill. For most people, however,…
Blog
The ‘Carbon’ Futures Trading Commission vows to decarbonize futures trading
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently approved one of its most controversial guidance document to date. Under this new policy, the CFTC…
The Hill
DOGE is no joke — don’t underestimate Trump’s attack on government inefficiency
The Hill cited CEI on Federal Regulatory Burdens Ditto the regulatory burden that stems from excess government red tape spewed across businesses and…
Blog
Republicans should wait for real permitting reform in the new Congress
The 2024 election has dramatically shifted the political landscape, with Republicans securing control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. As Washington…
Financial Times
“US Regulators Plan to Investigate Microsoft’s Cloud Business”
The Financial Time reports on the FTC’s preparations to investigate the tech company.
E&E News
EPA in Elon Musk’s crosshairs
E&E News cited CEI’s expert on the EPA’s future under DOGE Wayne Crews, a fellow of regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…
Blog
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…
Washington Examiner
Biden’s swamp record: $1.8 trillion in regulations, 800x Trump
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s experts on tracking regulation Besides breaking the cost burden on America with his regulations, Biden is on…
Capitol Matters
Biting the Science That Feeds Us: The War against Fertilizers
Advocates of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement urge shareholders and corporations to look beyond the bottom line toward a…
Study
Evaluating Telehealth
Executive Summary Why Did We Write This Report Telehealth—the use of remote audio and/or video technologies to provide health care services—has…
News Release
Report: Telehealth flexibility deadline looms, but Congress needs better information to decide
Congress is poised to consider proposals that permanently or temporarily extend flexibilities for telehealth services enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic that are set to…
Blog
A blueprint for digital censorship in the US?
Internal documents from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), as revealed by digital censorship journalist Matt Taibbi, showed that the group’s…
Blog
Consumers benefit from access to Buy Now, Pay Later options
In a rapidly evolving retail landscape, with more and more commerce moving online, there has been a rise of financial technology (or fintech) tools.
Blog
New CEI video: The case for big and small business in America
Some questions don’t have a correct answer. For example: What is the right size for a business? A new CEI video and…
Forbes
Court’s NEPA Ruling Casts Doubt On CEQ Authority
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dropped a bombshell this week that could reshape how federal agencies implement environmental laws. In …
Blog
Congressional lessons learned: Prioritize private risk capital investment
There is always a temptation for Congress to act during a lame duck session to show it is hard at work doing good for…
News Release
Inflation slightly higher in October, credibility remains a stubborn obstacle: CEI analysis
The latest Consumer Price Index report shows inflation increased from 2.4 percent in September to 2.6 percent in October. While economic growth and…
The Hill
Federal Court takes aim at White House’s environment authority
The Hill cited CEI’s expert on the White House’s environment authority While some expressed concern that the ruling could cause confusion, Devin Watkins,…
News Release
Court ruling against regulator power in environmental assessments wins praise from CEI
Today the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on an important case concerning the authority of federal regulators to prescribe the content of environmental…
City Journal
“Lina Khan’s Norm-Busting Legacy”
Corbin Barthold with TechFreedom explains how Khan defied norms at the FTC but fell short in ushering a revolution at the agency.
NPR
With Trump coming into power, the NIH is in the crosshairs
NPR cited CEI’s expert on changes in NIH “I do think you probably will see changes in NIH, as well as other public…
Business Insider
The future of betting markets
Business Insider cited CEI’s expert on the future of election betting markets Prediction markets are “going to attract people who want to influencepublic…
The National News Desk
New administration brings unknowns to Fed’s path on interest rates
The National News Desk quoted CEI’s expert on the new administrations spending initiatives. “There is a huge amount of uncertainty on the…
Blog
No more taxpayer dollars for environmental treaties until UN ends China’s developing country status
Most environmental treaties are a bad deal for the American people, and some are made worse by the fact that the United Nations (UN)…
Blog
Biden’s regulatory report is in, but key costs remain in the shadows
The election is over and among much else, federal regulations are emerging front and center for the incoming administration. While the federal debt…
Blog
Biden’s 2024 Federal Register page count already second highest ever
We’ve not closed the Book of Regulation for 2024, Biden’s final calendar year in office, but we can mark a milestone nonetheless. The…
Yahoo Finance
Biden led a consumer protection revival. Will the election cut it short?
Yahoo Finance cited CEI’s expert on consumer protection revival. As John Berlau, director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, put it:…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Cable pricing and outer space arms trafficking
Donald Trump won a second term. The change in power might mean a second regulatory midnight rush between now and the inauguration. An initial…
Bloomberg
“Lina Khan’s Replacement at FTC to Be Vetted by an Aide to Vance”
Bloomberg reports on potential leadership changes within the FTC under the incoming administration.
Washington Examiner
Berlin Wall anniversary offers lessons for today
The Berlin Wall toppled 35 years ago. First, the world looked on with awe, and then the disbelief gave way to jubilation.
Bloomberg Tax
Trump’s Push to Deregulate Faces Challenges in Post-Chevron Era
Bloomberg Tax cited CEI’s CEO on Deregulation challenges post-chevron era Kent Lassman, president and CEO of Competitive Enterprise Institute, which favors deregulation, said…
Truth on the Market
“The FTC World Keeps on Turning”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics provides an overview of the latest at the FTC.
News Release
Fed cuts interest rates and continues to decrease balance sheet: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by a predicted 25 basis points and also announced that it will continue to decrease its…
Reason
“Good Riddance, Lina Khan”
Elizabeth Nolan Brown from Reason bids an early farewell to Lina Khan’s reign at the FTC.
ITIF
“Antitrust in a Second Trump Term: Six Challenges Facing the New Administration”
Joe Coniglio with the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation offers some antitrust advice for the second-term Trump administration.