Archives

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/17/2010

Contrary to popular belief, the Bush administration was the best friend regulators have had in a generation or more.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/16/2010

Here's an excerpt from an early 1980s Office of Management and Budget report.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/12/2010

The Pentagon's official brownie recipe is 26 pages long.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/07/2010

In Yukon, Oklahoma, it is illegal for a patient to pull a dentist's tooth, plus more.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/07/2010

Today's Daily Caller features an article of mine about CEI's entry in the EPA's YouTube video contest on regulations.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 05/06/2010

This morning, the 2010 Federal Register passed the 25,000 page mark.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/30/2010

If you work for the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a regulation in 18 CFR 385.2201 requires you to keep records of off-the-record…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/28/2010

Just like church and state, hair and food are best kept separate. Which brings us to the latest fad in Brooklyn’s trendy Cobble Hill neighborhood:…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/27/2010

Despite its flaws, democracy has worked tolerably well in this country for a long time. Perhaps the best part of our particular democracy is that…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/23/2010

Some of the stranger governmental goings-on I’ve dug up recently.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/16/2010

Tax Freedom Day was April 9. But when you factor in the cost of regulation, it turns out we work nearly half the year just…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/15/2010

Federal regulations cost as much as the income tax plus another quarter-trillion -- $1.24 trillion in all. Read all about it in the freshly-released 2010…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/09/2010

It is illegal in Kentucky for anyone under 18 to play pool without photo ID and written parental consent.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/09/2010

Today, April 9, is Tax Freedom Day. According to the Tax Foundation, that's how long you have to work just to pay off your taxes.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/08/2010

A new ordinance in San Luis Obispo, California makes it illegal to feed ducks.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/07/2010

Cries for tax simplification grow every year. How does Congress respond? By introducing legislation to "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/05/2010

March 31 was Cesar Chavez Day. Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated in California for some time. But this year, for the first time, it…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/02/2010

Some of the stranger governmental goings-on I dug up over the week.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/01/2010

Laws are supposed to be made by legislative branch, not the executive. What we have here is one more case of regulation without representation, out…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/01/2010

A dying patient in the UK's NHS made the news after nurses refused to bring him a glass of water, despite his repeated begging. Had…

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/29/2010

In New York City, it is illegal for four or more unrelated people to live together. At least 15,000 New York homes openly flout the…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/26/2010

Government does more wacky things than anyone could possibly write about in any detail. Listed here are just a few that I dug up over…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/19/2010

Washington, DC city law states that “No loose herd or flock shall be driven or conducted in the District, except with a permit issued by…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/18/2010

You need a license to be a bounty hunter in New Jersey.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/18/2010

Over at the American Spectator, I explain why it won't, but a deregulatory stimulus would.

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/17/2010

He was one of only a few sane souls who insisted that regulations be judged by their actual results, not their intended results.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/16/2010

Angelina and Quan Ha, of Orange, CA, ditched their water-hungry grass lawn in 2008 to save money and water. The city promptly sued them.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/15/2010

Cheese-rolling races have been held at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, UK since the 1800s. Until this year, that is. Health and safety regulators shut down…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/11/2010

Assemblyman Ortiz has introduced legislation that would “make it illegal for restaurants to use salt in the preparation of food. Period.” A $1,000 fine would…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/10/2010

How do we know the terrorists are winning? When a man kissing his girlfriend good-bye at Newark Liberty International Airport results in the evacuation of…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/04/2010

If you’re gay, you can’t donate blood. It’s illegal. Rather than screening donors for sexual preference, they should be screened for blood-borne diseases. Straight people…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/04/2010

It only took 4 working days to top 1,000 pages. Now, after 42 working days, the grand total is 10,158. That’s an average of 242…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/03/2010

It is illegal to home-school your children in Germany. One family faced "[F]ines eventually totaling over $11,000, threats that they would lose custody of their…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/02/2010

It’s officially “Cuss Free Week” in California. Last Thursday, the state legislature passed a resolution to make the first week of March swearing-free.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 03/01/2010

In Tenneessee, it is illegal for barbershops to have fish tanks. That could change as soon as today, though.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/25/2010

School bake sales are basically banned in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s Department of Education worry that they contribute to child obesity.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/24/2010

An article in this month's Infotech & Telecom News on a TSA proposal to ban in-flight wi-fi quotes me at length. Here's what I had…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/24/2010

In Los Angeles, it is illegal to own a dog without a license. Packs of wild, unlicensed dogs roam the streets at night. People are…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/23/2010

The AAP says hot dogs are a choking hazard for children. According to the data, Little Timmy is literally more likely to be struck by…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/19/2010

Alexa Gonzalez, 12, was arrested and put in handcuffs for writing "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" on her…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/18/2010

The secret to winning is to cross the finish line before your opponents do. That usually means running. The problem is that sometimes, running violates…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/11/2010

Department of Health inspectors seized, slashed open and poured bleach over thousands of dollars of local peaches, pears, raspberry and plum purees owned by pastry…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/09/2010

As of May 1, American Airlines will charge $8 to customers who want to use a blanket and pillow. Why don't they just include the…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/09/2010

Two students at James Madison University in Virginia were charged with felonies for throwing snowballs at a snowplow and an unmarked police car.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/08/2010

There is great wisdom in Mark Twain’s famous adage: “No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the congress is in session.”…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/08/2010

The federal government is loosening its restrictions on importing pork rinds from Brazil.

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/06/2010

It is illegal for grocery stores to sell wine in the state of New York. Only liquor stores are allowed to sell the stuff.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/04/2010

In 2002, Robert Fidler built his family a house that resembles a castle. It is his dream home. Authorities want to require him to demolish…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/03/2010

A Los Angeles couple recently paid an artist to paint a mural on the wall in front of their house. The city is threatening the…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/02/2010

Fear is a terrorist's only effective weapon. There are so few of them, and their attacks are so rare, that fear is all they have.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/29/2010

It's a good idea to be in control of your car when you're driving. This good idea is also law in most places. But sometimes…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/27/2010

Welcome to CEI's live-blog of the 2010 State of the Union address.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/27/2010

Some homeowners' associations ban clotheslines. For people who would like to use clotheslines and aren't allowed to, this presents a problem. Now regulators want to…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/26/2010

John Delacey of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, received a court summons for keeping a car in his driveway and not driving it.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/25/2010

Haggis is the national dish of Scotland. It has also been banned in the United States since 1989. Fortunately, the ban may soon be reversed.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/22/2010

Two states have regulations for when stores can say their products are on sale.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/22/2010

CEI released a comprehensive report card this week on the Obama administration's first year in office. My contribution is below; read the full report card…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/21/2010

The White House is expected to propose today a maximum allowable size for banks.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/20/2010

[A]ny child who has a meal in day care or is in care for more than four hours will be required to brush their teeth,…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/13/2010

$40 million and change plus some antitrust troubles is a really small price to pay for a legal guarantee of vastly increased business, forever.

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/12/2010

New York City is seeking to regulate how much salt is in peoples' food. Enforcement will prove difficult; most food that New Yorkers eat comes…

Consumer Freedom