Newsletter
Rest Stops, the BEER Act, and the CEI Podcast
Blog
Rep. Levin Wants to Stall Trade Pact — Colombia Needs to Change its Laws, He Says
Okay -- another big roadblock for the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and not surprisingly, it’s coming from Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member on the…
Blog
Stop the Sweet Deal for Sugar, Says Senator Lugar
There's a great op-ed by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in The Washington Times today telling how Big Sugar’s sweet deal harms consumers, leads to job…
Blog
Speaking at University of Cincinnati April 1
I’m apparently a “leading advocate for class action reform.” An impressive roster of speakers is going to have to sit through my lunchtime…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Blog
Six Pages of Legislation, 1,000 Pages of Regulation
HHS is about to issue over 1,000 pages of new regulations stemming from a 6-page section of last year's health care bill.
Op-Eds
Fee Change Won’t Help Consumers, Banks (Letter to the Editor)
The editorial “Side-swiped” (March 24) defends U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s amendment that put price controls on what banks and credit unions can charge retailers for…
Citation
Republican Back Price Controls
The American Spectator
Unionization Through Regulation
Changing election rules to favor one side is something we usually associate with dictatorships. Yet a U.S. federal agency did just that recently, as…
The American Spectator
Innovation Arrested By The Law Of Unintended Consequences
Wrong-headed regulation often has unintended consequences. A good example is governments’ approach to “genetically engineered” crops. In only 15 years, modern genetic engineering technology —…
Heritage
We Need a Real Fix to the EPA’s CO2 Power Grab
News Release
Sen. Lugar’s Bill to Repeal U.S. Sugar Program to Benefit Consumers, Economy, Developing Countries
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 March 30, 2011, Washington, D.C. – Legislation introduced today by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) marks a bold step towards repealing the…
News Release
CEI Vote Score Alert: FAA Amendment on Union Election Rule Change
What: LaTourette – Costello Amendment # 3 to the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 H.R. 658 CEI Position: No Washington, D.C., March 30,…
Heritage
The Full Price of Ethanol
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses how support for ethanol affects the price of many food and consumer items.
Blog
Virginia Sells Naming Rights to Highway Rest Stops
Faced with budget shortfalls and a steep $20 million annual operating cost, this week Virginia decided to sell naming rights to its 42 highway…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: March 29, 2011
With April Fool's Day just around the corner, you might think that I'm pulling one over on my readers with the some of the laws…
Blog
Delaware DOT Removes a Public Menace
One wonders just how many regulations this rogue basketball hoop violated in the 60 years it spent terrorizing an unsuspecting Delaware neighborhood.
Blog
NVIDIA hearing held March 28
As I discussed on our Facebook page yesterday, I wasn’t given our full ten minutes to argue in the hearing, while Milberg and NVIDIA took…
Newsletter
Corporate Welfare, Censorship of Mobile Apps, and U.S. Death Rates
Blog
Dilbert on Green Technology!
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Heritage
US Supreme Court Hears Massive Wal Mart Discrimination Case
Heritage
Judge Orders More Money for New Jersey’s Education Industrial Complex
Heritage
The Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart is as Meritless as it is Massive
As a lawyer who used to bring class-action discrimination lawsuits for a living, I am puzzled by press sympathy for the massive, meritless class-action lawsuit…
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 28, 2011: Human Achievement Hour
Human Achievement Hour founder Michelle Minton talks about the annual celebration of human creativity and innovation that happens at the same time every year as…
Blog
Maine Gov. LePage Looks to Reform for Balanced Budget
Governor Paul LePage and Maine have skirted the public attention present in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan that have proposed budget reform bills. Maine has proposed…
Blog
March Madness
In the closing days of March, not only are sports fans a bit crazy, so also are the electorate. Consider the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,…
Blog
Geo-Engineering?
Seismologists have long feared that “BIG” earthquakes might trigger other “BIG” earthquakes (a view that warms the cockles of catastrophist’s hearts who immediately connected global…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Heritage
Antitrust In the Airwaves?
For a moment there I was thrilled that AT&T and T-Mobile were merging, thinking how great it’ll be to finally get reception this coming Easter…
Heritage
Is Obama Pro-Immigration?
A persistent myth about President Obama is that he is pro-immigration. Obama’s rhetoric may be pro-immigration, but his actions reveal that he is the most…
Heritage
Ban Bulb Lunacy
Blog
Big Company With Ties to White House Paid No Taxes; GE Also Got Corporate Welfare and Bailout on Special Terms
“The top corporate tax rate in the United States is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world,” but General Electric, whose CEO was…
Blog
Judge Orders More Spending on New Jersey’s Education-Industrial Complex
New Jersey spends more money on education than almost any state, resulting in the nation's highest property taxes (and arguably the highest…
Heritage
Federal Bully
One News Now
Gov’t regs hurt consumers, do in top-loaders
Blog
Wisconsin Judge’s Strange Ruling Blocking Limits on Collective Bargaining Surprises Legal Observers
Wisconsin legal observers were “surprised last week when Madison-based judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Gov. Scott Walker’s bill…
Blog
Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution
In the latest example of big government run amok, several politicians think they ought to be in charge of which applications you should be able…
Blog
Obama Administration Understated Deficits by $2.3 Trillion; Resists Spending Cuts Needed to Stem Deficits
The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Obama administration understated budget deficits “by more than $2.3 trillion over the upcoming decade,”…
Newsletter
Bullying, Career Colleges, and the CEI Podcast
Blog
CEI Weekly: CEI Warns Against Hysterical Response to Japanese Crisis
Blog
Morning Media Summary
National Geographic
Earth Hour 2011: When Is It? What’s the Point?
Despite Earth Hour's growth since its introduction in Sydney in 2007, not everyone's on board. (Related: "Earth Hour 2009: A Billion to Go Dark…
Study
Class Conflict
Gainful Employment Proposal Penalizes At-Risk Student Populations and Hurts the Economy…
Blog
Free Speech, Privacy, and Federalism are Casualties as Obama Administration Exploits Bullying Issue
The topic of bullying is in vogue, and President Obama is taking advantage of that: "President Barack Obama has acknowledged he was taunted as…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
National Geographic
A Sudden Surfeit of Bullies
National Geographic
This Saturday Celebrate, Don’t Lament, Human Achievement
Human beings must exploit the environment. It is how we survive—and thrive. We don’t have claws or fur. We don’t live in trees or burrow…
News Release
New CEI Study Challenges Department of Education’s “Gainful Employment” Rule
Washington, D.C., March 24, 2011 – In a new study released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), author Kara Cheseby challenges the…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Open Market Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A structural…
Newsletter
Property Rights Index, Brazil, and Labeling Mandates
Newsletter
Regulatory Reform, Cigarette Taxes, and Bullying
Blog
Morning Media Summary
National Geographic
Three Lessons From Japan’s Nuclear Crisis
Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima is at last approaching stable, if still serious, condition. The struggles the Japanese have faced there, on top…
National Geographic
Frankenfish Fatuity
I’ll say one thing for the most recent New York Times‘ rant about genetically engineered food: They got the headline — “Frankenfish Phobia”…
National Geographic
Obama Grabs More Land With Conservation Corps
Blog
TTB Should Allow, Not Mandate Nutritional Labels
Last month I penned an article for BigGovernment.com in which I asserted that some large alcohol producers were in favor of the nutritional label…
Blog
U.S. Property Rights Protections Continue to Decline
This morning, I attended the Property Rights Alliance’s launch presentation of the 2011 International Property Rights Index. Overall, the United States declined to…
Blog
Obama’s Support of Brazil
President Obama was in Brazil over the weekend: “The United States doesn’t simply recognize Brazil’s rise; we support it enthusiastically,” Obama said in Brasilia,…
Blog
Obama Administration Undermines Free Speech and Due Process in Crusade Against Harassment and Bullying
The Obama administration’s recent push against “bullying” resulted in a letter to school officials that undermines both free speech and due process. On October 26,…
News Release
CEI Urges Congress to Address Orphan Works Problem
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a proposed class action settlement agreement between Google, the Authors Guild,…
National Geographic
Believing Fairy Tales About Civil-Rights Law Enforcement
Newsletter
College Education, Sunday Sales, and Greenhouse Gasses
Blog
High-Speed Rail Follies: International Edition
Over at the excellent NewGeography.com, Wendell Cox has an article about the battle over high-speed rail investment in Britain. As we've seen in the…
Blog
New Hampshire Experiments with Lower Cigarette Taxes
File this under "Adventures on the Laffer curve." The New Hampshire House is seeking to lower its cigarette tax from $1.78 per pack to…
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 21, 2011: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about how ever-stricter energy efficiency regulations are making washing machines more expensive and less effective than they used to…
Blog
Liquor Wholesalers Enlist Mormon Lawmaker
Alcohol wholesalers have enlisted Mormon Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) to lead their quest for passage of anti-competitive liquor legislation during the 112th Congress [see…
National Geographic
Ban Bulb Lunacy
National Geographic
EPA’s Greenhouse Power Grab: Baucus’s Revenge, Democracy’s Peril
Last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced an amendment to S. 493, a bill reauthorizing small business research and technology programs. Baucus’s amendment would essentially codify…
National Geographic
We Must Have Real Accountability From Our Overseers (Letter to the Editor)
The CFPB’s lack of checks and balances violates the constitutional separation of powers. It has a single head who can’t be fired even if voters…
National Geographic
Washington Invents an Anti-Bullying Law
There’s no federal law against bullying or homophobia. So the Department of Education recently decided to invent one. On October 26, it sent a “Dear…
Daily Caller
Hammertime: Japanese silver lining? Not hardly
News Release
EPA Case for Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Torn Apart by New Study
Washington, D.C., March 21, 2011- The Environmental Protection Agency is relying on accounting tricks and gimmicks in its claims that clamping down on greenhouse gas…
Blog
The Obama Administration’s “Open Government” Empty Rhetoric
Liberal "open government" advocates are giving the president a medal for supposedly promoting "government transparency." He shares their liberal ideology, but not their alleged…
Blog
America Doesn’t Need More College Graduates at Taxpayer Expense
President Obama says that “the best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates.” No doubt this is best for colleges, which have been…
Daily Caller
Voluntary Nutritional Labeling on Alcohol Is the Best Recipe
Last month, I discussed the negative impacts that a nutritional label mandate would have on small producers of alcohol beverages, such as craft brewers. Another side…
New Jersey
The climate-change crowd’s running on empty
New Jersey
Kenya Could Reap Big by Supporting Investments in Smart Science
New Jersey
GOP Lawmakers Seek Labor Reform in Michigan
While most of the nation focused on the Wisconsin government union fight in recent weeks, Michigan has been pushing major labor reforms in both the…
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on Railroad Competition Before the Surface Transportation Board
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI),…
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: St. Patrick’s Hangover Edition
While you guzzled green beer and nursed the subsequent hangover, politicians and other interested parties were busy creating or preventing regulatory headaches of their own.
Blog
Peer-to-Peer Visa Payments Coming to the U.S.
Newsletter
CEI Weekly: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
Blog
CEI Weekly: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
Newsletter
Japan’s Nuclear Plants, Text Messaging, and the CEI Podcast
Breitbart
The Truth About Obama and Nuclear Power
We have established that Obama’s war on coal assumed a massive, crash program of 100 new nuclear reactors — for optics purposes, keeping the cost of…
Campaign for Liberty
“Dirty” Energy Regulations
Campaign for Liberty
Chris Horner on the Future of Energy
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses the prospects of coal and nuclear power. Horner says the Obama administration wants to use current crises to force…
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 17, 2011: Are Biotech Crops Coming to Kenya?
CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko discusses his recent trip to Kenya where he met with members of Parliament and other officials about the best way…
Study
Clearing the Air on the EPA’s False Regulatory Benefit-Cost Estimates and Its Anti-Carbon Agenda
The EPA’s anti-carbon campaign threatens to greatly undermine future U.S. economic growth and job creation, while doing virtually nothing to restrict global CO2 emissions, and,…
Blog
Labor Unions Join Fight Against EPA Regulations
This is a few days old, but it's worth mentioning: "EPA Tangles With New Critic: Labor." The labor unions were supportive of the…
Blog
Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?
Text messages cost 20 cents to send, even though they use a fraction of a penny of bandwidth. What gives? Antitrust authorities want to know.
Campaign for Liberty
Save Edison’s Light Bulb
Campaign for Liberty
Too Many College Grads?
New York Times
The Problem With Mandates
Why can't Senator Rand Paul and others be more like Europeans, so much better — we're told — at accepting '"encouragement" from the state? But…
The Wall Street Journal
How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
It might not have been the most stylish, but for decades the top-loading laundry machine was the most affordable and dependable. Now it’s ruined—and Americans…
The Wall Street Journal
Save Edison’s light bulb
American Spectator
Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?
Text messages are expensive. Most carriers charge customers 20 cents for every text they send. But the tiny messages use up only a fraction…
Blog
Florida House Subcommittee Approves Dress Code Bill
There are a few reasons to be bothered by the Florida dress code bill that just passed a State House Subcommittee. First, it’s unnecessary.