Blog
More First Amendment Violations from Obamacare, Thanks to HHS
Obamacare will drive up costs for most patients and insurance policyholders. Yet "health-insurance companies must tell customers who get a premium rebate…
News Release
Expanded 2012 Edition of Ten Thousand Commandments Now Available
Washington, D.C., May 15, 2012 – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released the expanded 2012 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
Citation
From Watergate to Wedgiegate
From Gene Healy’s column in The Washington Examiner: In a 2011 letter to the nation’s school boards, Department of Education Assistant Secretary…
Op-Eds
The Flawed Case Against Immigration
We all know the buzzwords–no amnesty, no unfunded mandates, no immigrant welfare. Opponents of sensible immigration policy repeat these lines so often you’d think that…
Blog
Labor and Occupy: Comrades in Arms
CEI Brookes Warren Fellow Matt Patterson Featured in Openmarket.org The Washington Examiner is reporting that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is helping Occupy…
Blog
The Constellation Empire Strikes Back
Constellation, the Bush administration's plan to return to the moon, was canceled a couple years ago. But not all of Constellation was canceled. The Orion…
Blog
The Highway Bill and Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s Anti-P3 Propaganda
I've written extensively about federal surface transportation reauthorization, which is currently pending in conference. CEI, along with The Independent Institute and Reason Foundation,…
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments 2012
The scope of federal government spending and deficits is sobering. Yet the government’s reach extends well beyond the taxes Washington collects and its deficit spending…
Blog
Greek Tragedy Nears a Dramatic End
With the prospects for a Greek pro-austerity coalition fading rapidly, here is a round-up of the most useful stories on the Greek tragedy: The…
Blog
Immigration and Demographic Doom
America -- the world’s most recent great civilization -- faces a demographic problem that calls for a solution from the dawn of civilization. When civilization…
Newsletter
Volcker Rule, Iron Man, and Chemical Risk
Blog
Why Are Statists So Inconsistent?
Blog
Today’s Links: May 14, 2012
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
62 new final rules and 1,577 new Federal Register pages covering everything from sunscreen to commericial driver's licenses.
News OK
Letter to the Editor: Companies Have Right to Engage in Political Process
Regarding “Activist shareholders want full disclosure” (Business, May 6): Shareholder proposals calling for greater disclosure regarding “lobbying” sound reasonable until one considers the aim of…
Washington Times
Driving the Market From the Marketplace of Ideas
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recently came under attack from left-wing activists for meeting with representatives of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a nationwide association…
Blog
FCC Delays Threaten to Hurt Wireless Consumers
America’s communications regulatory regime is broken. Case in point: prior government approval is needed for what should be a run of the mill marketplace transaction.
Blog
Austerity Is Mythical, But It Would Have Real Benefits
Left-leaning commentators are wrong to decry “austerity” in Europe, since, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch notes, such “austerity” is largely mythical: European nations have not…
Blog
Framing the Debate on Chemical Regulation
Last week, CEI hosted a congressional briefing on chemical policy and regulation (the video of the event is forthcoming). A news story in…
Blog
Politics Is About Power, Not Ideology
Blog
GAO Releases Study About a Study on Studies
Blog
Why JPMorgan Chase’s Mark-to-Market Losses Don’t Bolster Case for Volcker Rule
There is much still to be known about the $2 billion in losses JPMorgan Chase is reporting due to a flawed hedging strategy. But this lack of…
Blog
Cyberbullying and Bullying Used As Pretexts for Censorship
In the name of fighting “cyberbullying,” many New York legislators would like to force blogs to remove blog comments that offend readers, unless they…
Blog
PATTERSON AND KOVACS: Labor bosses demand their dues
CEI Policy analyst Trey Kovacs and CEI Warren Brooks Fellow Matt Patterson. Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/10/labor-bosses-demand-their-dues/ Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist within the United…
Newsletter
Obama tax on medical devices, union dues, and immigrant agricultural workers
Blog
Today’s Links: May 11, 2012
Washington Times
ObamaCare’s Killer Device Tax
Much of the political conversation in Washington these days concerns innovation, job creation and competitiveness. But talk is cheap, and elected officials must enact policies…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Cyber Security Act of 2012
Full Document Available in PDF We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our deep concerns with S. 2105, the Cyber…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 10, 2012: Freeing Our Farms
Current immigration policy keeps many immigrants in dangerous black markets, raises food prices for consumers, makes it difficult for farmers to hire workers and create…
Blog
Legacy Risks
European and American political and private institutions have made many non-sustainable retirement promises over the last 50 years. These promises cannot be kept and that…
Blog
Intellectuals Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite
“Why do so many intellectuals lean politically to the left?” CEI President Fred Smith has written extensively on that question. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Harvard…
Blog
Today’s Links: May 10, 2012
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Federal ‘Stimulus’ Spent $34.5 Million In Michigan For Only 183 Total Jobs
From Anne Schieber's article on Michigan Capitol Confidential: The real problem is that the government is creating these programs in the first place;…
Washington Times
Labor Bosses Demand Their Dues
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. – United States Constitution, 13th Amendment…
Blog
Amendments That Take Away Rights
The Supreme Court, like European courts, has long recognized that corporations have constitutional rights, ever since its 6-to-1 decision in Dartmouth College…
Blog
Labor and Occupy: Comrades in Arms
CEI Warren Brookes Fellow Matt Patterson Featured in Openmarket.org The Washington Examiner is reporting that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is helping Occupy DC become…
Blog
Labor and Occupy: Comrades in Arms
The Washington Examiner is reporting that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is helping Occupy DC become a “more permanent fixture” of the Washington, D.C., landscape…
Blog
Republican Space Socialism Update
Last time we checked in on this topic, House Appropriations Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Virginia) was decrying the wastefulness of competition. Well,…
Blog
Watch Livestream of Cybersecurity Event Featuring CEI Analyst
Blog
Today’s Links: May 9, 2012
Washington Times
Education Roundup
From Overlawyered: “Education Department Pushes Racial Quotas in School Discipline” [Hans Bader, CEI]…
Letters
Letter on Farm Bill Entitlements
Full Document Available in PDF CEI signed a joint letter advocating real reform of…
Blog
Farm Bill Needs Real Reform, Not New Entitlements, Say Free-Market Groups
CEI joined with 10 other free-market groups in a letter today urging Congress to take on real reform of agricultural subsidies in the next…
Blog
Austerity Bites – But It Isn’t the Problem
The election results in Europe, we are told, are a vote against the austerity of "savage" spending cuts. Veronique de Rugy, in National Review Online,…
Blog
There Is Nothing Left to Cut
Blog
European Lessons for America
George Will warns that America’s system of competitive federalism is threatened by our own “Greeces.” (“In Illinois the bills are coming due,” April 27). Europe…
Blog
Today’s Links: May 8, 2012
Washington Times
Forget France, the Greek Elections Are the Beginning of the End for Europe
While much of the world’s attention was concentrated on France’s presidential election last Sunday, the real action was in Greece. French President-elect François Hollande may…
Reason
Obama Is Losing the Keystone Pipeline Battle
From Ronald Bailey's article in Reason: As analyst Marlo Lewis from the free-market think tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out…
Blog
The Great Unanswered Question About the Eurozone
In a column for the FT today, Wolfgang Munchau lays out what may be the only plausible solution to the Eurozone crisis – for…
Blog
H-2A Visas: Open in Theory, Closed in Practice
[caption id="attachment_54582" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="An Immigrant Worker in Idaho"][/caption] “Our immigration problem’s not going away.” That was the title of my article for…
Newsletter
Chemical Fears, Global warming crusaders, and Racial Preferences, Quotas
Blog
IRS Pays Out Billions in Fraudulent Tax Credits, Ignoring Warnings from Whistleblower and Inspector General
Like whistleblowers, inspector generals often tell the government things it does not want to hear, or let the public know about how government agencies have wasted their…
Blog
Today’s Links: May 7, 2012
Blog
The Remote Sensing Problem
Over at the Washington Post, in discussing the coming crisis in weathersats, the editorial board can't resist taking an ignorant dig…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
70 new final rules, covering everything from Pell grants to underground storage tanks.
Reason
Refinery Not a Well
From Chris Woodward’s article on OneNewsNow: John Berlau, senior fellow for finance and access to capital for the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) Center…
Reason
Immigration Policy is an Economic Meltdown Trifecta
Three seemingly unrelated news stories have converged to create a disturbing picture. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently unleashed another wave of intimidation against…
Reason
Global Warming Crusaders Lose Steam, Tempers
Eco-warriors are losing the public relations battle on global warming — and it’s driving them batty. Take environmental writer Steve Zwick. Writing for Forbes.com, Zwick…
Reason
Our Immigration Problem’s Not Going Away
The Pew Hispanic Center’s recent report on the decline of unauthorized immigration has elicited a flood of responses. The report’s finding that “the net…
Blog
Endocrine Disrupters: Should We Fear Mother Nature?
A recent article published in the The New York Times touts a new report that claims to have finally proven that trace…
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: Honor Mexico Edition
In honor of Cinco de Mayo I'll start today's alcohol regulatory roundup with some international news from Mexico: People are up in arms over…
Blog
Law Professors: I’m Shocked to Find Gambling In This Casino!
Just as a character in Casablanca claimed to be shocked to find gambling in a casino, race-conscious employers typically deny that they considered race…
Blog
Today’s Links: May 4, 2012
Blog
Education Department Pushes Racial Quotas in School Discipline
At Point of Law, Ted Frank of the Manhattan Institute criticizes the Obama Administration's demand for de facto racial quotas in school discipline:…
Reason
Lending Cap Is Unfair to Small Business
The recent viral video sensation “If I Wanted America to Fail” confirms that the regulatory state is a major focal point for the center-right…
News Release
Groups Call on Senate to Lift Regulations Stifling Credit Unions, Entrepreneurs
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2012 – Leaders of 14 conservative, libertarian, and free-market groups are calling on the U.S. Senate to lift regulations keeping the…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 3, 2012: Paving the Way for Innovation and Job Creation
Unemployment remains stubbornly high, more than three years after the financial crisis hit. John Berlau, CEI’s Senior Fellow for Finance and Access to Capital, suggests…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: March – April 2012
Blog
Today’s Links: May 3, 2012
Blog
Center-Right Coalition Calls For Credit Union Deregulation to Lift Lending
The recent viral video sensation "If I Wanted America to Fail" confirms that the regulatory state is a major focal point for the center-right…
American's for Tax Reform
DC City Council Pushes for Higher Taxes on Consumers
From ATR.org: Don’t just take ATR’s word for it. In today’s Washington Times, Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute highlighted the…
Blog
Today’s Links: May 2, 2012
American's for Tax Reform
Why You Should Stop Attending Diversity Training
From Suzanne Lucas’ article on CBS News: So why do we continue to do this? Well, for one reason, government or professional organizations…
American's for Tax Reform
The Pipe Crisis Beneath NYC
The recent nasty water-main break on West Broadway was a grim reminder that the city’s infrastructure woes aren’t restricted to pockmarked streets, creaky bridges and…
Washington Times
Letter to the Editor: D.C. Alcohol Tax Increase Will Hurt Servers
Council member Jim Graham’s proposal to increase the District’s liquor excise tax by 6 cents a drink is not as innocuous as he claims…
Washington Times
The Off-Label Drug War of Words
If knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss, what is power used to prevent knowledge from eliminating ignorance? I don’t know; ask the FDA (U.S.
Newsletter
Student Loan Debt and Free-Market Lessons for America
Blog
On May Day, Why Do We Still Have Unions?
Openmarket.org Big Labor and Occupy are using May Day protests in hopes of reinvigorating their movements. Unions are digging up the same old talking…
Blog
How Elites Milk Racial Preferences for Their Own Gain
One of the pitfalls of race-based affirmative action is that many disadvantaged people are less able to take advantage of it than the legal and…
Blog
When Commodities Analysts Should Stick To Commodities
Some analysts at Barclays attempt to understand the business case for Planetary Resources, and massively fail: Their…
Blog
On May Day, Why Do We Still Have Unions?
Big Labor and Occupy are using May Day protests in hopes of reinvigorating their movements. Unions are digging up the same…
Blog
Liquor Tax Hike Would Hurt the Little Guys
D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham’s proposal to increase the alcohol excise tax by “6 cents a drink” is not as innocent as he makes it…
Blog
Court Rules State Biotech Food Labeling Mandates Preempted By Federal Law
It’s been a few years since biotech foods have been regular front page news. The anti-technology activists cried wolf a few too many times, and…
Newsday
Transportation bill stymied in Congress
From Alfonso A. Castillo's article in Newsday: Marc Scribner, a spokesman for the Competitive Enterprise Institute — a think tank that advocates limited government —…
Newsday
Flight Attendant Unionists Tell Customer To Drop Dead
Nerves are fraying as attempts to restructure American Airlines into a viable, freestanding company through the bankruptcy process drag on. Last week in Forbes, I…
Newsday
The Heartland Institute Under Attack
Full Document Available in PDF Summary: It was Valentine’s Day, but it was no love letter. On February 14, 2012, renowned environmental…
Newsday
Stakeholders Examine State Immigration Laws, Offer Solutions
From C-SPAN: The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) brought together legislators, law enforcement officers and activists to discuss solutions to immigration problems.
Newsday
Union Sues Indiana, Says Right-to-Work Law is Slavery
From Michael P. Tremoglie’s article on LegalNewsline: F. Vincent Vernuccio, labor policy counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, addressed this issue for the…
Newsday
Law Schools Begin to Shrink
From Overlawyered: George Leef wonders whether economic necessity will drive them to radical, even Olsonian, lengths. [NRO “Phi Beta Cons”]…
Newsday
Federal Pressure Spurs Harassment Convictions
Regarding the April 24 Associated Press story, “Colleges find new rules for handling rape cases a legal minefield”:The story got my words right, but…
United Press International
Settlement in Netflix/Walmart suit slammed
United Press International reports on the case in which a Netflix and Walmart settlement granted lawyers huge payments and class members less than a dollar each.
Fierce Online
Netflix subscribers decry $27M class action settlement
Fierce Online reports on Ted Frank's objection to a Netflix and Wal-Mart settlement that would benefit the attorneys more than the class members and distribute…
Blog
Central Bankers are Playing a Losing Game
The supposed economic “recovery” is faltering. The sugar high of freshly printed money from the world’s central banks is beginning to wear off. In…
Blog
Student Loans Drive Up Tuition, Create Demographic Time Bomb and Higher-Education Bubble
Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds writes in the New York Post about how student loan programs have contributed to skyrocketing debt and rising defaults:…
Blog
The Deregulator Who Wasn’t
Washington Examiner columnist Conn Carroll refutes President Barack Obama’s attempt to blame the nation’s ongoing economic problems on his predecessor. In a recent interview,…
Letters
Coalition Letter on the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act
Full Document Available in PDF As conservative, libertarian, and free-market organizations concerned about government regulatory overreach, we’re writing to you to urge…
Blog
Today’s Links: April 30, 2012
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
81 new regulations passed last week, covering everything from Medicare to fishing for northeast skate.
Fierce Online
The European Central Bank vs. Reality
The four-year charade of central bank bailouts is starting to come undone. Reacting to rising European bond yields in a Saturday meeting with world leaders,…