Blog
Feds Should Stay Out of Google/Twitter Social Search Spat
By Berin Szoka, Geoffrey Manne, and Ryan Radia As has become customary with just about every new product announcement by Google these days, the company’s…
Newsletter
CEI Weekly: The EPA’s Latest Power Grab
Blog
CEI Weekly: The EPA’s Latest Power Grab
Blog
New York Times Documents the Case for Freedom
It’s not every day that the front page of The New York Times has two articles that highlight the importance of limited government, but today’s…
Blog
Re-organizing the Federal Government to Crush Opposition
One of the few virtues of the federal government has been its inefficiency. With functions spread out across different agencies and duplicated powers and responsibilities,…
Blog
Abandoning the Future: The Ruinous Consequence of Debt
Mere months after President Obama and Congress last tussled over the debt ceiling, the United States has once more reached its legal borrowing limit. But it still…
Newsletter
Economic Freedom, Alcohol Regulation Roundup, and the CEI Podcast
Blog
Today’s Links: January 13, 2012
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 13, 2012
Out with the old year and out with the old alcohol laws! 2012 is off to a great start with several states reducing the regulatory…
Op-Eds
Moisturizing the EPA
Property rights advocates had reason to be optimistic this week, as the Supreme Court heard arguments in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At stake…
Daily Caller
Obama Reorganizes Government, Adds Inefficiencies, Expands Economic Footprint
Daily Caller
Myron Ebell: Environmental issues and the 2012 election
Myron Ebell: Environmental issues and the 2012 election…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 206: Buying Drain Cleaner
The state of Illinois now requires consumers to show valid ID to buy drain cleaner.
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 12, 2012: Mistaken Deportations
Immigration Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh tells Jakadrien Turner's story and what it means for the immigration reform debate.
Blog
EEOC Says High-School Diploma is Discriminatory Requirement, Stretches Employment Laws to Harm Small Employers
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently posted a letter on its website claiming that it is illegal for employers to have a high-school diploma requirement…
Study
EPA Regulation of Fuel Economy: Congressional Intent or Climate Coup?
Full Document Available in PDF In May 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule setting standards for motor vehicle…
Blog
Price Fixing Causes Greek Medicine Shortage
Greece is rapidly degenerating into third-world status. The UK’s Daily Mail reports: Youngsters are being dumped by their parents who are struggling to make…
Blog
U.S. Economic Freedom Declines as Regulations Increase
Economic Freedom in the United States declined over the past year, according to the newly released 2012 edition of the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal global…
Daily Caller
Commerce Head Wants Consumers to Pay More for Energy
Americans spent more on gas this year as percentage of their income than at any other time in 30 years. To most people this would…
The American Spectator
“Climate” and the Campaign
So it seems that Al Gore is lamenting that "the climate crisis" is not an issue in the nascent 2012 campaign for the White House.
The American Spectator
Religious Liberty Wins 9-0 at SCOTUS in “Ministerial Exception” Case
The American Spectator
Law Schools Roundup
Blog
Big Labor Political Influence Does Not Make Union Bosses Labor Experts
Openmarket.org A well-known fact is Big Labor’s powerful political influence. According to Opensecrets.org, five of the top 10 all-time federal campaign political donors are unions.
Blog
Fed’s Plan to De-Mystify Interest Rate Intentions Won’t Induce Recovery
Blog
Big Labor Political Influence Does Not Make Union Bosses Labor Experts
Blog
Stuck in a High-Priced Box
The United Launch Alliance just got an Air Force launch contract for 159 launches, which I guess means that they didn’t get the 40-launch block…
Blog
Supreme Court Rejects Obama Administration Power Grab Over Churches in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC
The Supreme Court has rejected the Obama administration's argument that it can dictate who churches hire as ministers or clergy in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical…
Newsletter
Restaurant Workers, a Lost Decade, and a Regulation of the Day
Blog
Today’s Links: January 11, 2012
The American Spectator
Biggest Hidden Cost Is to Democracy
(The Environmental Forum is a publication of the Environmental Law Institute.) The biggest hidden cost of the Obama administration’s fuel economy agenda, as…
Pittsburgh Live
Restoring Due Process
Pittsburgh Live
The Non-Union for Restaurant Workers
When is a union not a union? When it decides that organizing a majority of workers is too much trouble and that it can win…
Pittsburgh Live
Letter to the Editor: EEOC Demands Imperil the Public
The Washington Times was right to criticize the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for its recent letter claiming that it is illegal discrimination…
Blog
Rules for Dictators
Blog
New York MTA Contract Negotiations Show Dangers of Binding Arbitration
In most jurisdictions, government employees responsible for public safety and other essential government services are not allowed to strike. In exchange for unions giving up…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: November – December 2011
Blog
The Lunar Yellow (Non)Peril
Over at PJMedia today, I have a piece on the recently released white paper from the Chinese space program that lays…
Blog
Today’s Links: January 10, 2012
Blog
Regulation of the Day 205: Singing the National Anthem
Indiana state Sen. Vaneta Baker has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to sing the national anthem incorrectly.
Pittsburgh Live
Avoiding a Lost Decade
Remember Japan’s “lost decade” of the 1990s? For the United States, 2011 was the “lost year.” Congress and President Obama are engaged…
Pittsburgh Live
Thinking Fast, Slow and Not at All
Reading Daniel Kahneman’s fantastic new book, Thinking Fast and Slow, on the eve of a presidential election can only lead to despair. Yet his careful…
Pittsburgh Live
International Law Roundup
Pittsburgh Live
EPA’s Latest Power Grab
Chris Horner explains the EPA's latest power grab involving private property rights in Idaho…
Newsletter
Fannie/Freddie, Duopolies, and a Regulation Roundup
Blog
Regulation Roundup
The latest goings-on in the world of regulation:…
Blog
Fannie and Freddie Helped Spawn the Mortgage Crisis, and So Did Affordable Housing Mandates
In a recent letter in The New York Times, I noted the role played by the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 204: How to Buy Liquor
Self-checkout lanes have been popping up in grocery stores across the country over the last several years. Some people worry that without the adult supervision…
Blog
The Dying Duopoly
Blog
Today’s Links: January 9, 2012
Washington Post
How Art History Majors Power the U.S. Economy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Does Four Loko Help Live La Vida Loca?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mistaken Deportation of Texas Teen Highlights the Rigid, Incompetent Immigration Bureaucracy
The unintended consequences of government regulations on the U.S. economy are disastrous. Among the most harmful are regulations that restrict immigration—the movement of laborers and…
Blog
Wisconsin: The Canary in the Coal Mine
Faced with a $9.2 billion budgetary shortfall next year, California Gov. Jerry Brown has not surprisingly reached for the only tool in the Democratic shed…
Blog
Regulatory Capture
Businesses, especially larger ones, aren’t afraid of regulation. They often welcome it. They can use rules to stifle competitors, or can pad their profits by…
Blog
Economic vs. Political Processes, or Why More Students Should Major in Economics
Newsletter
Michigan Union Power Grab and Fred Weekly
Blog
Reply brief filed in Cobell v. Salazar
Today, we filed our reply brief in the Cobell v. Salazar appeal (No. 11-5205 (D.C. Cir.)). Oral argument is scheduled for February 16.
Blog
Today’s Links: January 6, 2012
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Obama’s Power Grab Sets Precedent Democrats Will Regret
What’s next? Appointing executive branch officials when the Senate is taking a lunch or bathroom break? In November 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared…
Daily Caller
Modern Dancers, Bed-Bug Battlers, Earth Worshipers Get EPA ‘Environmental Justice’ Grants
Daily Caller
Obama’s Abuse of Power Threatens to Shut Down Senate
Daily Caller
No Time for Advice and Consent
On Wednesday, President Obama infuriated Republicans and threatened to spark a constitutional crisis when he announced he would make four recess appointments during a…
Daily Caller
The Backwards Purpose of EPA’s Environmental Justice Grants
Chris Horner explains the EPA's "environmental justice" grants.
Blog
Profits and Losses
Capitalism is a system of both profit and loss. Wishing losses away would have consequences quite different from Bhidé’s good intentions.
Blog
Cordray Already on Board — In a Video — At Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Obama administration wasted no time in putting in place – in a home-page video — Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial…
Blog
Judge Upholds Michigan Union Power Grab
A federal judge in Michigan has denied class action status to a lawsuit brought by a group of independent child care workers who objected to…
Blog
CEI Files Amicus Brief in Magner v. Gallagher, to Guard Against Financial Meltdowns and Racial Preferences
To help prevent another financial crisis, CEI helped file an amicus brief in a pending Supreme Court case, Magner v. Gallagher. The case tests…
Blog
Rhode Island’s Bold Pension Reforms Point the Way Forward
To describe pension reform, Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist put it best: "This is not a conservative-versus-liberal issue, this is a reality issue." Liljenquist…
Blog
Congressional Democrats Join Republicans’ Call for GAO Investigation into California High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Government Accountability Office, 11 House Democrats called on the watchdog agency to investigate California's high-speed rail program. The…
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 5, 2012: The Iowa Caucuses
Blog
Today’s Links: January 5, 2012
Politico
Left Bloggers Hail “New Obama”
Politico
The New Politics of Silicon Valley: Revenge of the Nerds
Politico
Grassroots Perspectives
Politico
Is Grover Norquist Breaking Up With SOPA?
Politico
F. Vincent Vernuccio: NLRB and Union Bosses
Vincent Vernuccio: NLRB and Union Bosses…
Newsletter
Recess Appointments, Driving, and Fannie/Freddie
Blog
Public Pensions Fuel Government Growth
The straitened finances afflicting state and local governments across the nation have brought unprecedented scrutiny to government employees’ compensation, particularly pensions. As pro-market critics have…
Blog
Cordray Recess Appointment is Travesty for Government Accountability
News is just breaking that President Obama will today make a "recess" appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a powerful and…
Blog
Today’s Links: January 4, 2012
Politico
Environmentalists Are Bad for the Environment
A few weeks ago, I was walking the streets of Washington, D.C. when I happened to look up and catch the eye of a…
Reason
New York Times Green Jobs Lunacy
Hot Air
Obama Follows Cordray Recess Appointment With Three More to NLRB
Hot Air
Obama’s Cordray Play Won’t Advance CFPB
News Release
Obama’s Recess Appointment of Cordray Eschews Constitutional Process
Washington, D.C., January 4, 2012 — Today, the White House confirmed that President Obama is using a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray the…
News Release
Obama Surprise Recess Appointments Are End-Run Around Democracy, Senate
Washington, DC, January 4, 2011 – President Obama’s decision to make a slew of surprise recess appointments today drew criticism from CEI experts.
News Release
CEI Defends Consumer Choice as FTC, State Attorneys General Unfairly Target Popular Alcoholic Beverage
Washington, DC, January 4, 2011 – As state attorneys general and federal regulators move forward with efforts to persecute the maker of the alcoholic beverage,…
Blog
Obamacare Causes Layoffs in Medical Device Industry, Harms Medical Innovation
Ramesh Ponnuru writes about the layoffs and lost jobs resulting from Obamacare's new tax on medical devices at Bloomberg News: A year from…
Blog
Driving Continues to Decline in 2011
October 2011 marked the eighth straight month [PDF] of declining year-over-year vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. Compared to October 2010, driving was down…
Blog
Good News, Bad News for Gamblers’ Freedom
President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has waged a hostile war against online gamblers including federal arrests and asset seizures of major Internet poker…
Newsletter
The Federal Budget and a Regulation of the Day
Blog
Today’s Links: January 3, 2012
Hot Air
Letter to the Editor: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Financial Crisis
I found Joe Nocera’s attempt to minimize the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the financial crisis unconvincing (“The Big Lie,” column,…
Hot Air
In the Battle of Man Vs. Nature, Give Me Man
Welcoming the new year contemplating the sunset comfortably ensconced on a cliffside balcony high above the manicured banks of the Miami River, it’s hard not…
Insurance News Net
The Cure for the Common Coupon: Missouri Lawyers Weigh In On Class Action Concerns
Insurance News Net mentions the Center for Class Action Fairness and explains why Ted Frank started the nonprofit organization. That's where Frank comes in.
Insurance News Net
B-D Wants Supreme Court to Rule in Finra Suit
New York Times
After Three Decades, Tax Credit for Ethanol Expires
New York Times
Police Inquiry Prompts New Speculation on Who Leaked Climate Change Emails
Blog
Pension Tsunami, Record Federal Spending Increase U.S. Debts by $4.2 Trillion; State Debts Explode
Massive budget deficits and mushrooming pension, Social Security, and Medicare obligations increased the federal government's long-term obligations by $4.2 trillion in 2011 -- more than three…
New York Times