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Human Events

1960’s Era Air Traffic Control Due For A Major Face-Lift

By: Lawson Bader
02/24/2014

Last week I was in familiar territory—leveling off at 38,000 feet somewhere over the Midwest’s rural patchwork. I travel frequently and I actually enjoy it.

Human Events

What would Elvis Costello Think?

By: Lawson Bader
02/18/2014

I pondered that recently, when I spoke at a symposium titled, “(What’s so funny ‘bout) Debt, Budgets and Sequestration?” But my thoughts turned to weightier…

Human Events

Farm Bill Lacks A Dry Match

By: Lawson Bader
02/10/2014

The U.S. Capitol Police might investigate me for saying this, but Guy Fawkes was onto something that fateful evening beneath the House of Lords in…

Human Events

Why Presidents Should Deliver A “Union Of The States” Address

By: Lawson Bader
02/03/2014

Not another State of the Union column! Well, you’re in luck. The annual January spectacle has become such a part of the nation’s media furniture…

Human Events

Remembering ‘Reagan Democrats’

By: Lawson Bader
01/27/2014

Students of politics understand the historical importance of the “Reagan Democrats”—those predominantly working-class cultural conservatives who were integral to both of Ronald Reagan’s successful campaigns…

Human Events

Score One For Obamacare

By: Lawson Bader
01/20/2014

Score one for Obamacare. Last week, a federal court struck down one of the major legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act. Washington, D.C. District…

Human Events

Groundhog Day?

By: Lawson Bader
01/13/2014

Feels like Groundhog Day, again. Congress is debating another extension…

Denver Post

Robert Reich: Income inequality the defining issue for U.S.

By: Lawson Bader
01/11/2014

Lawson Bader, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, doesn't disagree that the U.S. economy is performing at a subpar level. But he said Reich's answers…

Human Events

A top 10 list for Congress in 2014

By: Lawson Bader
01/06/2014

I am no David Letterman, but I appreciate a good Top Ten list. As we enter 2014, it occurred to me that Congress could do…

Regulatory Reform

Human Events

Big Government Is Over, If You Want it to Be Over

By: Lawson Bader
12/31/2013

“So this is Christmas. And what have you done?” John Lennon’s holiday classic, now weirdly about as ubiquitous at your local mall as “Jingle Bells,”…

Human Events

23 and Me for You and Me

By: Lawson Bader
12/16/2013

My son’s birth is among my most treasured memories. I knew immediately his arrival had transformed my life. But, the joy of that memory comes…

Business and Government

Human Events

Don’t let the Nanny State ruin holiday feasts

By: Lawson Bader
12/09/2013

In the musical “Oliver!” the opening scene features the protagonist and his band of merry miscreants crying, “Food, glorious food!” The orphans then proceed…

Consumer Freedom

Human Events

Amtrak – Another Government-Run Disaster

By: Lawson Bader
12/02/2013

I am the casualty of a model train collector gone wild. Sorry, Dad, but it’s true. Many a Christmas morning, my brother and I would…

Rail and Mass Transit

Human Events

D.C. Area Has Exploded Since Kennedy Era

By: Lawson Bader
11/25/2013

I’m quite partial to the Potomac River. My mother crossed it on her doctor’s visits in the months leading to my birth. And while I…

Human Events

Setting the Record Straight on Liberty

By: Lawson Bader
11/18/2013

Alexander had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. And that was before he asked Papa where he was going with that axe. So,…

Human Events

I Don’t Hate the Government; Its Unions Are a Different Story

By: Lawson Bader
11/11/2013

As a libertarian I am often asked why I “hate” the government. “Hate” is a strong word, so I’ll leave the question’s key assumption for…

Labor and Employment

Letters

Open Letter to House and Senate Republican Leadership: Preserve the Sequester

By: John Berlau, Lawson Bader
11/08/2013

CEI has joined a coalition urging Congress to maintain the spending restraint established by the Budget Control Act of 2011(BCA). The BCA established limits on…

Banking and Finance

Human Events

Game Almost Up for Obamacare

By: Lawson Bader
11/04/2013

Remember Jenga? It’s a simple game, yet addictive. It involves an intertwined tower of small blocks. The players take turns removing and restacking pieces, until…

Health and Safety

Letters

REINS Act coalition letter

By: Coley Jackson, Lawson Bader
10/28/2013

We, the undersigned public interest organizations, write to urge you to support the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2013 (the…

Regulatory Reform

Human Events

Alarmism is Dangerous

By: Lawson Bader
10/28/2013

I am a twisted father. When my children were in junior high, I would teasingly wake them with the question, “Hey, do you know what…

Energy and Environment

Human Events

Football Team’s Name Is No Business of Congress or the President

By: Lawson Bader
10/21/2013

My 16-year-old daughter is convinced it is ridiculous to call Romeo and Juliet a love story. After all, the “lovers” are really infatuated teenagers, and…

Human Events

Obama, Father of all Czars

By: Lawson Bader
10/14/2013

Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution states: No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States[.] But when George…

Business and Government

Human Events

Shutdown? What shutdown?

By: Lawson Bader
10/07/2013

In case you hadn’t noticed, the federal government is not currently functioning at full capacity. As one who works in Washington, D.C., I can certainly…

Human Events

A Final Blow on the War on Coal

By: Lawson Bader
09/30/2013

A funny thing happened on the way to the coal plant the other day. But it wasn’t ha-ha funny. In fact, it was tragic –…

Energy

Human Events

In Name Only

By: Lawson Bader
09/23/2013

Traipsing through Dulles Airport the other day, my eyes were drawn to a series of wall poster advertisements. Each one featured a supposed “foreign aid…

Business and Government

Human Events

Converting the Unconvertible

By: Lawson Bader
09/16/2013

Here’s a thought experiment: What words come to mind with the following statements? I grew up in Marin County, Calif., during the late 1960s and…

Business and Government

Human Events

No Bipartisanship, Please

By: Lawson Bader
09/12/2013

We’ve heard it a million times: What Washington needs is more bipartisanship, more cooperation among the parties … like the old days. To which I…

Business and Government

Human Events

Entrepreneurial Immigrants: America’s Lifeblood

By: Lawson Bader
09/03/2013

It’s a story as American as apple pie: An immigrant comes to the United States, starts a business and becomes the proud owner of a…

Immigration

Human Events

The EPA Doesn’t Have to Tell Anyone Anything, Or Does It?

By: Lawson Bader
08/26/2013

I am the new president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute – also known as the feistiest think tank in D.C. – and the newest contributor…

Energy and Environment

Daily Caller

Why we held the ‘Rainbow on the Right’ event at CPAC

By: Lawson Bader
03/18/2013

I became the president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) two months ago, and I’m already considered a Marxist? I’ve been asked why I have…

Study

Passing the Torch at CEI

By: Lawson Bader
02/01/2013

Those of us who direct “free-market” groups should remember that our leadership is not given by birthright, but is a transfer of a precious inheritance.

Letters

Letter to Congress on Nomination of Richard Cordray to the CFPB

By: Lawson Bader, Sam Kazman
01/30/2013

CEI and the 60 Plus Association sent a letter urging Congress to take time to consider the re-nomination of Richard Cordray to the CFPB, in…

Banking and Finance

Washington Post

Fred Smith passes the torch at CEI

By: Fred L. Smith, Jr., Lawson Bader
01/28/2013

Most think tanks are earnest places — and then there’s the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “People say, ‘CEI has fun people, but some of them are…

Business and Government

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1960’s Era Air Traffic Control Due For A Major Face-Lift

What would Elvis Costello Think?

Farm Bill Lacks A Dry Match

Why Presidents Should Deliver A “Union Of The States” Address

Remembering ‘Reagan Democrats’

Score One For Obamacare

Groundhog Day?

Robert Reich: Income inequality the defining issue for U.S.

A top 10 list for Congress in 2014

Big Government Is Over, If You Want it to Be Over

23 and Me for You and Me

Don’t let the Nanny State ruin holiday feasts

Amtrak – Another Government-Run Disaster

D.C. Area Has Exploded Since Kennedy Era

Setting the Record Straight on Liberty

I Don’t Hate the Government; Its Unions Are a Different Story

Open Letter to House and Senate Republican Leadership: Preserve the Sequester

Game Almost Up for Obamacare

REINS Act coalition letter

Alarmism is Dangerous

Football Team’s Name Is No Business of Congress or the President

Obama, Father of all Czars

Shutdown? What shutdown?

A Final Blow on the War on Coal

In Name Only

Converting the Unconvertible

No Bipartisanship, Please

Entrepreneurial Immigrants: America’s Lifeblood

The EPA Doesn’t Have to Tell Anyone Anything, Or Does It?

Why we held the ‘Rainbow on the Right’ event at CPAC

Passing the Torch at CEI

Letter to Congress on Nomination of Richard Cordray to the CFPB

Fred Smith passes the torch at CEI