Blog
Keeping Priorities Straight
Bjørn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus, brings some much-needed common sense to the global warming debate. Reporting from Vanuatu, he finds that many locals…
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Regulation of the Day 64: Starting a Business in Sacramento, California
The human mind is capable of creating limitless, endless wealth. The human mind is nearly as adept at preventing that wealth from being created. Sacramento…
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Is Cognitive Dissonance an Insured Condition?
Rep. Diana DeGette is proposing: 1)That health insurers' antitrust exemption be removed. 2) Require, by law, that people buy health insurance. What one hand giveth,…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 63: Sports Agents in New Hampshire
It is illegal to be a sports agent in New Hampshire without a Secretary of State-issued certificate. Don’t forget your biennial renewal!…
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Regulation of the Day 62: Government Employees and Texting while Driving
Executive Order No. 13513 prohibits federal employees and contractors from texting while driving while on duty.
Blog
Deficit Hits $1,400,000,000,000
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Happy 90th Birthday to Nobel Laureate James Buchanan
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Robert Reich Gets It
Some of the consequences of increasing government’s role in health care are easy predict.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 61: Big Screen TVs – Mankind’s Doom!
On November 4, California regulators may vote to ban big-screen televisions. The large sets use more energy than they would prefer.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 60: Hybrid Car Noise
One advantage of hybrid cars is that they are quiet. Too quiet, some would say. Blind pedestrians may not hear a hybrid coming around the…
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Regulation of the Day 59: Pharmacy Interns in Colorado
It is illegal to intern for a pharmacist in Colorado without a license.
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Markets vs. Special Interests
"It is precisely the fact that the market does not respect vested interests that makes the people concerned ask for government interference."…
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This Year’s Economics Nobel Winners
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President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama is in a prime position to work wonders for the cause of peace. He can institute free trade in America. Trade is the…
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Regulation of the Day 58: Banning Children from Playgrounds
A new regulation in Kensington, Maryland bans children over five years old from using a local playground between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Blog
Precisely Backwards
Few things are more taxing than our elected officials’ economic illiteracy. How sad that visiting a wonderful country like ours may soon be one of…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 57: Minimum Price Agreements
A new Maryland law makes it illegal for manufacturers to set a minimum retail price for their products in sales contracts. The law is meant…
American Spectator
Price Fixing
On October 1, it became illegal in Maryland for manufacturers to set the minimum prices at which retailers may sell their products. Sen. Herb Kohl…
Blog
Corporate Human Rights?
Over at the Detroit News, Hans Bader and I explain why corporations have human rights despite not being human. The reason why? Transaction costs.
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Regulation of the Day 56: Kahlua in Ohio
Kahlua contains 20% alcohol in 49 states. But in Ohio, it is 21.5%. Weird, huh? Turns out regulations are the reason.
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Net Neutrality and Rent-Seeking
Net neutrality proposals give companies the incentive to seek rents at each other’s expense when they could be benefitting from each other’s innovations instead.
Blog
The Economics of Net Neutrality
Over at the Washington Examiner's Opinion Zone, I apply what I learned back in Economics 101 to the net neutrality debate. It's all about scarcity.
Blog
Funny, That
An article in today's New York Times laments the difficulty of "building momentum for an international climate treaty at a time when global temperatures have…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 55: Home Environmental Inspections
If cap and trade passes, almost all homes for sale would be required to undergo an environmental inspection. The home cannot be sold until it…
Hot Air
The End of the Fixer-Upper?
Pajamas Media
Politico: Cap-and-Trade Will Depress Home Prices
Politico
Cap-and-Trade Will Depress Home Prices
Cap and trade is back in the news. By the end of this month, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is…
Washington Examiner
Is the FCC Neutralizing Innovation?
In a major speech Monday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that one of his top policy goals is implementing network neutrality rules. That’s a sophisticated…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 54: Shovelnose Sturgeon
Why does the Fish and Wildlife Service want to list it as a threatened species? Because it looks like the pallid sturgeon, which is currently…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 53: Y2K
In which the case for regulatory sunset provisions is inadvertently made.
Opposing Views
Obama Wants to Extend Patriot Act – Just Like Bush
People are often surprised to hear how similar President Obama’s policies are to President Bush’s. They shouldn’t be. One may be a Republican and the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 52: Bar Food
In Arlington County, Virginia, there exist twelve restaurants that are required to sell $350 of food per one gallon of liquor purchased from the Virginia…
Blog
Obama Wants to Extend PATRIOT Act
One may be a Republican and the other a Democrat, but make no mistake. Bush and Obama are two peas in a pod.
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Bastiat on the Stimulus Package
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Regulation of the Day 51: Mandatory Hand Sanitizing
In Jersey City, New Jersey, the school district is requiring students to “sanitize their hands when they walk into the class in the morning, before…
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Regulation of the Day 50: Tires from China
The burden is on tariff supporters to explain why they think people who live in one country are more deserving of economic opportunity than people…
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To Heckle the President, or Not?
Politicians make themselves look bad far more effectively than any heckler could. They don’t need the help.
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Do Corporations Have Human Rights?
Intel’s defense in its EU antitrust case has taken the surprising line that the company’s human rights were violated. Over at Real Clear Markets, CEI…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 49: Political Speech
If Congress can’t pass laws abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, maybe they can pass laws abridging the freedom of speech and…
RealClear Markets
Does Intel Have Human Rights?
Intel's battle for the ages against the European Commission's antitrust regulators has a surprising new twist: Intel is claiming that its human rights were violated.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 48: Barbers in Nevada
Want to be a barber in Nevada? You’ll need to get a license first. One of the requirements is a chest X-ray, of all things.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 47: Irish Potatoes
It is bad policy to keep perfectly good food off the market because of its shape, especially during times of recession and high food prices.
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Dog Bites Man
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Regulation of the Day 46: Chemical Weapons
If your company exports chemical weapons, make sure you keep good records. Every year, on company letterhead, you have to list ten things for the…
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Regulation of the Day 45: Wooden Crates
Even the humble wooden crate cannot escape the government’ watchful regulatory eye.
Blog
The Starry-Eyed 37 Percent
Some time ago I said that President Bush's chronically low approval ratings were a good thing. Evidence of widespread skepticism about politicians. Or at least…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 44: Soil Scientists
In Wisconsin, you need a license to work as a soil scientist.
Blog
Economics 101: Where Do Monopolies Come From?
Bryan Caplan says there are only two ways for a monopoly to form: government protection, or being the best.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 43: Telemarketing
It is a federal offense for telemarketers to charge their customers without permission. In English, this is called stealing. Which was already against the law…
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Hoover and the Great Depression
It’s certainly possible to blame Herbert Hoover’s policies for the Great Depression. Just not on the grounds that those policies were free-market.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 42: Hearing Aid Calibration
In Virginia, state law requires hearing aids to be calibrated at least annually. Records must be kept for three years.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 41: The Color of Beer Cans
Having already solved all of the country's economics woes, the FTC now has time to threaten to step in and stop Budweiser from selling cans…
Club For Growth
Checked Baggage Regulations
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Nanotech: Innovation or Stagnation?
In the long run, a competitive, cut-throat market process driven by innovation is better for consumers than if government were to fund and direct research.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 40: Flying a Plane
Want to fly a plane? The FAA just published 72 pages worth of changes to its already extensive certification rules. 173 changes in all.
Washington Examiner
Nanotechnology: Innovation vs. Corporate Welfare
For the sake of consumers, nanotech firms should compete in the marketplace, not in Washington. Otherwise a vibrant, dynamic, and innovative sector risks…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 39: Postmodern Microwave Ovens
Appliances have to have little badges on them that say they comply with rule that requires the little badges. Perhaps the rule came from the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 38: Carrying Letters
If anything qualifies as an anti-competitive practice, fining and jailing people for competing with you would certainly top the list. Which brings us to a…
Blog
DOJ to Investigate Microsoft-Yahoo Search Partnership
As expected, The Department of Justice is launching an antitrust investigation into the Microsoft-Yahoo search engine partnership. As I've said before, this is not an…
Blog
Why I Want a Public Option in the Health Care Bill
A bill with a public option will probably not pass. Too much opposition. But one without it probably will.
Blog
Friday Fun: Viking Funeral
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Regulation of the Day 37: Lemonade Stands
It is illegal for children to sell lemonade in New York City without a permit.
Blog
New Schumpeter Book
In the tradition of the Reader’s Digest condensation of F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, Joseph Schumpeter’s Can Capitalism Survive? is coming out on September…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 36: Buying American
The $787,000,000,000 stimulus contains a provision requiring the Department of Homeland Security to buy american textiles. Basically, that means TSA uniforms will go up in…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 35: Doctors with Borders
In 49 states, it is illegal to practice medicine outside of the state in which you are certified. Tennessee is the lone state with an…
Overlawyered
July 16 Roundup: Chronicling the High Cost of Our Legal System
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Rose Friedman, 1910-2009
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Regulation of the Day 34: Diabetic Truckers
It is a violation of federal regulations to “operate a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce” if you have insulin-treated diabetes.
Blog
The Long Odds of Voting
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Regulation of the Day 33: Pressure-Sensitive Plastic Tape
Ending the levy would “likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping,” so it’s here to stay. Domestic tape producers must be pleased. Consumers,…
Blog
Federal Budget Deficit Hits $1,270,000,000,000
Federal spending is going up. Tax receipts are going down. 2009's federal budget deficit is now up to $1.27 trillion as a result. That's about…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 32: Migratory Birds
If you’re planning on hunting migratory birds this year, be sure to read all 14 subparts and 61 sections in Title 50 of the Code…
Blog
TARP Transparency: A Good Start, but Not Enough
More transparency would alleviate some of TARP’s symptoms. But TARP itself is a disease. The sooner Congress gains the political will to recover from its…
Blog
Money Is Not Wealth
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Regulation of the Day 31: Fraud in Wholesale Oil Markets
If you’re a wholesaler of crude oil or gasoline, a new FTC rule makes it illegal to engage in any business practice that“operates or would…
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Media Bias: The More, the Better
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Regulation of the Day 30: Labeling Mustard
If your company makes mustard bottles that are reusable as beer mugs, you are specifically required to put a country-of-origin label on your product.
Blog
They Can’t Even Keep Drugs Out of Prison?
Armed guards. All the bad guys behind bars. Under constant supervision. And Mexico still can’t keep drugs and drug dealing out of its prisons.
CEI Planet
TARP Transparency: A Good Start, but Not Enough
Herbert Allison is President Obama’s newly-confirmed head of the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Stability. On Thursday, June 25, he promised to “emphasize transparency so…
Blog
All Community Organizing Is Astroturfing – And That’s Fine!
The fact that members of Congress extolling the president’s plan are attacking astroturfers while leaving their arguments alone says to me that the Congressmen believe…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 29: Protecting Us from Cheap Foreign Goods
Sometimes (but not always), when a foreign producer sells goods to U.S. consumers cheaply, the U.S. government takes action to put a stop to it.
Blog
Inconvenient Evidence Suppressed in EU-Intel Antitrust Case
The EU’s top antitrust regulator intentionally suppressed “potentially exculpatory" evidence in its case against Intel. This is the rule of men, not law.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 28: Urine Trouble Now
Want to work for HHS? You’ll have to comply with approximately 32,463 words worth of regulations in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing…
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Reporting the Hidden Costs of Stimulus
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Microsoft, Yahoo, and Antitrust
If regulations are to be effective, they must be either clear or silent; antitrust statutes are neither. That alone is reason enough to urge trustbusters…
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Regulation of the Day 27: Beekeeping in South Dakota
Beekeeping in South Dakota is illegal without a license.
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Today’s Unintentionally Funny Headline
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Regulation of the Day 26: Fortune Telling in Maryland
You need a license to tell fortunes in Annapolis, Maryland.
Washington Examiner
Trustbusters Should Lay Off Microsoft and Yahoo
Yahoo and Microsoft are going to join forces – that is, if regulators let them. But will their much-vaunted search partnership succeed? Both firms certainly…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 25: Cattle with Scabies
If you own cattle and they are at risk of catching scabies, you may want to read up on the pertinent federal regulations. There are…
Blog
The Antitrust Religion still Has Many Adherents
Why bother with the ongoing challenge of competing in the marketplace if one can merely go to Brussels or Washington?…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 24: The Width of Ladders
It is illegal for a portable metal ladder to have steps narrower than 12 inches.
Eweek
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Partnership
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In Which Greed Is Good
The great economist Joseph Schumpeter wrote that "[F]ree trade is the cement that holds together the idea of peace." His logic is sound. Commerce gives…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 23: Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is both dumb and dangerous. But making it a crime won’t make people stop doing it. It will merely make more people…
Eweek
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Partnership
Yahoo! Finance
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Partnership
SC Magazine
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Partnership
News Release
Justice Department Should Leave the Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Alone
Today, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a ten-year partnership of their search businesses in order to better compete against Google. The Department of Justice, citing antitrust…
Opposing Views
Justice Dept. Should Leave Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Alone
Today, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a ten-year partnership of their search businesses in order to better compete against Google. The Department of Justice, citing antitrust…