Blog
Afternoon Links: January 18, 2011
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Recognize the Value of Hedge Funds and Private Equity for Entrepreneurs and Shareholders
Liberate to Stimulate Index Hedge funds and private equity are vehicles for wealthy investors to take risks and potentially reap high returns.
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Reform Federal Agriculture Programs
Liberate to Stimulate Index With America’s economy struggling to roar back to strong growth and a deficit approaching $1 trillion, policy makers…
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Free Smaller Companies to Go Public by Rolling Back Burdensome Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Rules
Liberate to Stimulate Index In CEI’s last Agenda for Congress, we recommended that “smaller public companies be exempt from Sarbanes-Oxley’s Section 404.”…
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NLRB Litigates for Less Freedom
n another demonstration of the overreaching power of the federal government, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is preparing to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South…
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Encourage Credit Access Innovation
Liberate to Stimulate Index The abuses of the subprime crisis have made it all too easy to overlook the myriad…
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Reining in America’s Regulatory Leviathan: America Gets a Second Chance
Liberate to Stimulate Index We at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) have spent 26 years raising the saliency of regulations on our…
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NLRB Litigates for Less Freedom
In another demonstration of the overreaching power of the federal government, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is preparing to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South…
Study
Liberate to Stimulate
We at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) have spent 26 years raising the saliency of regulations on our economy. Taxes and spending receive plenty of…
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Repeal Senseless and Job-Destroying Volcker Rule from Dodd-Frank
On Tuesday, the Financial Stability Oversight Council may issue its recommendations for implementing the Volcker Rule, the provision of the Dodd-Frank financial legislation that bans so-called proprietary trading…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Facebook: Goldman Sachs excludes US investors from deal: “Investors from outside America will be able to take part in…
The New American
The EPA Does It Again
The New American
No Call to Arms in Fight Against Health Care Reform (Letter to the Editor)
When I first heard about the Tucson shootings, I expected people to rush out and blame talk radio, regardless of contrary evidence. But I never…
Slashdot
Encrypt Your Smartphone – Or Else
Slashdot
Obama Needs To Confront Regulation
Today President Obama released an Executive Order called “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.” It calls for a government-wide review of rules,…
Fulton News
Ameren Mo. defends EPA charges
News Release
Repeal Senseless and Job-Destroying Volcker Rule from Dodd-Frank
Contact: Christine Hall, 202-331-2258 Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Washington, D.C., January 18, 2011 – Today, the Financial Stability Oversight Council is issuing recommendations for implementing…
News Release
Obama Executive Order on Reg Reform – Far Too Little, Far Too Late
Washington, D.C., January 18, 2011 — Statement by Wayne Crews, CEI Vice President for Policy Today, President Obama released an Executive Order called…
Fulton News
Obama’s Version of Regulatory Reform
Fox News
Jobs and Regulation — Is Obama Finally Getting Serious About Solutions?
Fox News discusses the size of the regulatory state with Wayne Crews. According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Wayne Crews, the regulatory state stood…
Government Executive
Obama orders review of agency regulations
Government Executive discusses executive overreach and its effects with Wayne Crews. But others said the changes are too little and too late. The…
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Smartphone Searches, Encryption, and the Constitution
The smartphone is arguably one of the most empowering and revolutionary technologies of the modern era. By putting the processing power of a personal…
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How the President Can Foster the “Civil and Honest” Debate He Called For
In his speech in Tucson, where federal Judge John Roll was murdered, President Obama said that “only a more civil and honest public discourse can…
Government Executive
Unions Increasingly Unpopular
ARS Technica
Why You Should Always Encrypt Your Smartphone
Last week, California's Supreme Court reached a controversial 5-2 decision in People v. Diaz (PDF), holding that police officers may lawfully search mobile phones found on…
ARS Technica
Vincent Vernuccio on Unions’ Public Image
CEI Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio discusses the recent attempt of a union to gain public support…
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D.C. Installs Private Car Charging Station
Remember when the Prius first hit the market, and the D.C. Beltway authorities opened the HOV lanes to electric cars as an incentive to switch?…
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Smears and Hypocritical Calls for “Civility” Follow Tucson Shooting
Even though the Tucson shooter was mentally unbalanced, did not listen to talk radio or Fox News, and liked The Communist Manifesto, several…
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CEI Weekly: The Government Continues to Attack Personal Choice
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Afternoon Links: January 14, 2011
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 14, 2010
Gulf States: Laws in some Gulf States get in the way of charity aimed at helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. This article…
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Clarifying For Media Matters
Media Matters for America is an organization dedicated to “comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” They didn’t, in my opinion,…
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WikiLeaks Backs Censorship in Response to Tucson Shootings
In a press release, WikiLeaks has blamed Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and other conservatives for the Tucson shootings, and called for them to…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Google Release Chrome 8.0.522, Pays $14,000 in Bug Bounties: “Google has released version 8.0.552.237 of its Chrome browser, which includes fixes for…
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Secret of Lawmaking: It’s All in the Enforcement
Lawmakers are quick to DEMAND ACTION when circumstances change. But when it comes to encouraging citizens’ good behavior, sometimes the secret is in simply enforcing…
ARS Technica
Ex-Congressman Gets Soapbox for Violent Remarks (Letter to the Editor)
Liberal columnists like Paul Krugman have sought to scapegoat conservatives for the recent shootings in Tucson. But the shooter was once described as a “liberal…
ARS Technica
Debit Card Price Controls May Help Businesses, but Hurt Consumers
Poker Listings
Washington Post Article Defends Poker as a Game of Skill
AASHTO
Competitive Enterprise Institute Report Examines Limitations of PPPs
News Release
EPA Ratchets Up Campaign to Destroy Jobs
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2011 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sharply criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for its decision to revoke a Clean Water…
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Kids These Days Are More Financially Responsible Than You
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The Meaning of Civility in the Aftermath of the Tucson Shootings
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Victory: court rejects Classmates.com settlement
We’d like to think our objection had at least a little to do with the end result. This decision is not a big surprise…
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When the Green River Runs Dry
Jobs created become jobs destroyed. Two recent articles highlight the struggle that renewable energy companies run into when taxpayer subsidies are tightened. The first,…
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Quick Comparison: Financial Advice from Two Sides of an Age Gap
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Person Tweeting Death Wish for Palin Now Wants Privacy: “Now YouTube is threatening to pull the video because one of the people…
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Benefits of Cutting White Pages Distribution
After asking why so many states get involved in TelCo activity (requiring that phone books get distributed in hard copy, even over phone companies’ vigorous…
AASHTO
The Left’s Fetish With Its Own Paranoid Hatred
AASHTO
Politicized Science Costs Us All
After a 21-month delay, White House science adviser John Holdrenhas finally issued a four-page memo on scientific integrity in government. The guidelines demonstrate an intractable…
Townhall
Going Broke by Going Green
Big Government
Proponents of California’s Global Warming Law Were Against Renewables Before They Were For Them
NCPA
The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships
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Tab Rally 1/12/11
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One Nation, Ungovernable?
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CEI Podcast for January 12, 2011: Public-Private Partnerships
Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner talks about his new CEI Issue Analysis, "The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships."…
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US Loses Ground in 2011 Index of Economic Freedom
The U.S. dropped from 8 to 9 on the just-released “Index of Economic Freedom” put out by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street…
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Afternoon Links: January 12, 2011
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The Political Climate is Too Dull and Conformist Already
There is a lot of cynical and dishonest blather right now about the need to dial down America’s political rhetoric because of the shootings…
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Why Do States Still Require Phone Books to Be Delivered?
Did you know that some states require companies to deliver phone books to state residents? Never mind the fact that most people don’t use phone…
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Villaraigosa: Brown’s Elimination of Redevelopment Agencies “a Non-Starter”
Pro-smart-growth, “green” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is upset with Governor Jerry Brown’s remarkably sensible decision to shut down the state’s 425 redevelopment agencies, including…
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Troubles in Central Planning: New York City Cabs
Via the New York Times, an article with empirical evidence that regulatory incentives encourage cabs to disappear around 5pm, just when they are needed…
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Employee Rights at the Discretion of Unions
The AFL-CIO has filed a formal complaint against Roquette for the ongoing lockout of union employees. The union claims that Roquette refused their terms of…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Verizon iPhone Could Double U.S. Mobile Games Industry This Year: “Earlier today, Verizon and Apple finally confirmed what everyone knew was coming:…
NCPA
The Online Poker Players Next Door
Ask any professional poker player after a losing night what happened, and very rarely will he attribute the outcome to bad luck. There is an…
Wall Street Journal
Big Lies and Little Ones
Wall Street Journal
The FDA Needs Strong Medicine
Christmas came a couple of weeks late to the business sectors regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The greatest threat to the success of…
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Press coverage of the Bachman case
In Litigation Daily, Forbes.com, and the Washington Times. Also Amy Alkon’s blog.
Newsletter
The Tucson Shooting, Wyoming Poker, and Autism
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Afternoon Links: January 11, 2011
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New Jersey Quietly Approves Online Gambling Bill
Yesterday the New Jersey Assembly voted to approve a bill that would allow for residents of New Jersey to participate in some forms of…
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Americans Resist Blame Game Over Arizona Shooting, Poll Suggests
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Iceland protests to U.S. over Twitter data demand: “Iceland called in the U.S. ambassador in Reykjavik on Monday to register its displeasure…
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The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships
Government at all levels in the United States has been slowly moving away from grand central planning schemes and toward markets. One result has been…
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Pub Poker on the Table in Wyoming
There are many bars in Washington, D.C., where one can find a free poker tournament. Such events draw in a diverse crowd of customers and…
Wall Street Journal
The Authoritarian Media
Wall Street Journal
Inspector General Says ‘Jobs Saved’ Numbers Are Nonsense; Totals ‘Should Be Offset By Thousands Destroyed’
Atlantic Yards Report
Atlantic Yards cited in Competitive Enterprise Institute report as example of bad public-private partnerships
News Release
New Report Highlights Public-Private Partnership Successes, Failures
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Bachman v. A.G. Edwards coupon class action settlement appeal
Our unsuccessful objection to the Bachman v. A.G. Edwards settlement, which consisted almost entirely of time-restricted non-transferable $8.22 coupons, received press coverage…
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Thoughts on the Tucson Shootings
In the Washington Examiner, I have a commentary entitled “Shootings Obscure America’s Generally Bland and Timid Political Culture.” In The Wall Street Journal, law…
Newsletter
Dodd-Frank, SEIU, and Four Loko
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Commonsense Proposals for Sustainable Government
In the midst of federal and state deficits at record levels, politicians are attempting to run the government similar to a business. Elected officials are…
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Afternoon Links: January 10, 2011
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Autism Doctor a Fraud, But Hardly Alone
“A deliberate fraud.” That’s what the British Medical Journal, one of the world’s most prestigious periodicals, has written of the study…
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Dime a Drink Tax in Maryland will Hit Everyone
Though it is touted as a “dime a drink” increase on alcoholic beverages, the proposal in Maryland to raise the excise tax on alcohol…
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The Fate of the Renewable Fuel Standard
As this article in Wired notes, the U.S. has effectively hit the “blend wall” for domestic ethanol production in the short term. Given current…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Twitter endorsements face OFT clampdown: “How does a celebrity declare their affiliations to certain brands in fewer than 140 characters? Many may…
Yahoo News
Experts say Metro escalator woes product of union inefficiency
Forbes
Lawyer Appeals Judge’s Award Of $21 Million In Fees, $8 Coupons For Clients
Forbes reports on Ted Frank addressing the issue of class-action lawyers requesting huge fees and gaining small coupons for the class members who were harmed. For…
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Dodd-Frank Financial “Reform” Violates Property Rights and Equal-Protection Guarantees
Last week, I described how the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law passed last summer violates constitutional separation-of-powers safeguards by giving unaccountable bureaucrats the…
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Four Radicals Renominated to Federal Judgeships
On Wednesday, President Obama renominated four radicals to federal judgeships, even though their nominations previously died in the Senate. A week earlier, he made six controversial recess…
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SEIU Arbitrates Life or Death
In two recent reports revolving around the Service Employee International Union have shown their callous disregard for human life, in the name of contract negotiations…
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Dodd-Frank Violates Separation of Powers and Constitutional Checks and Balances
In a recent edition of the Washington Post, former White House counsel C. Boyden Gray noted that the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law passed…
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Afternoon Links: January 7, 2011
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Committee Name Change Puts Big Labor on Offensive
In the midst of the Republican takeover of Congress labor union officials have been vigilant to the changes that are sure to come concerning labor…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup and Update on Four Loko: January 7, 2011
Update on Four Loko: After being pulled off of shelves by FDA decree, the wholesalers who purchased of alcoholic energy drinks such as…
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Fred Smith: Government Force vs Personal Choice
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CEI Weekly: Enviros Stubbornly Ignore Climate Evidence
Newsletter
The D.C. Metro, Gasoline, and Plastic Bags
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Hackers find new way to cheat on Wall Street – to everyone’s peril: “High-frequency trading networks, which complete stock market transactions in…