Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Private Roads and the Supreme Court on Obscenity
National Journal asks what the cost will be if Congress fails to pass cap-and-trade legislation. The private sector acquires an increasingly large role in transit…
Op-Eds
Wall Street Bill Targets Nevada Incorporations
Over the past year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made pointed efforts to show Nevadans his advocacy on their behalf. In defending new…
News Release
Keep Humanity in Earth Day
Washington, D.C., April 21, 2010—This year, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urges those celebrating Earth Day to remember that human beings are part of the natural…
Blog
Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Depictions of Animal Cruelty
In an 8-to-1 ruling, the Supreme Court has struck down a ban on depictions of animal cruelty as a violation…
Blog
What’s the Cost if Congress “Fails” to Enact Cap-and-Trade?
That is the question posed this week on National Journal’s energy experts’ blog. My answer, available here, is that “failure” will have multiple benefits: —…
Blog
Pennsylvania’s perpetual prohibition
Philadelphians love our beer. Especially our little niche-serving craft-beers. The city of brewerly love has produced some of the countries best-loved brands and…
Blog
The Private Provision of Surface Transportation Infrastructure in the United States
Private sector involvement in surface transportation infrastructure is not new. Public and private turnpikes—roads that require the payment of a toll for passage—have existed for…
Blog
The Spin Zone
Newsletter
Salt Police, Pensions and Union Contracts
The FDA is launching a new initiative to limit the amount of salt in processed food. The White House task force on the middle class…
News Release
National Security Risk Posed by Climate Change Policy, New Report Finds
Climate change alarmists have tried marketing their “fix-it” solutions to the public in several ways. Their latest tactic? Convincing people on the center-right that climate…
News Release
FDA Salt Initiative Leaves Bitter Aftertaste
Washington, D.C., April 20 – Statement of Daniel Compton, Policy Analyst, on the Food and Drug Administration’s plans to impose legal restrictions on the…
Citation
Financial Reform
Citation
Mark-to-Market Accounting Rules
Washington Times
Tolls, More Freeways Would Improve Transport (Letter to the Editor)
The editorial "Freeways are the solution to congestion" (Comment & Analysis, April 12) got it half-right. Widening roads to support more cars is far less…
Study
The Department of Defense Should Assess the Security Risks of Climate Change Policies
Full Document Available in PDF The Pentagon is perhaps the most influential…
Blog
SEIU Recruits College Students as Muscle
At Biggovernment.com, the writer known as Liberty Chick offers a good, concise summary of the corporate campaign being waged by the Service Employees International…
Blog
Chris Horner on His Book “Power Grab” & Obama’s Green Agenda
Blog
LibertyWeek 89: Tax the Sin, Love the Sinner
Blog
Insurers need a fallback plan
It seems that insurance companies can do no right. This is especially true when it comes to setting rates. Customers demand high quality insurance coverage,…
Blog
For Profit, Not-for-Profit and Government – The Metric Problem
Americans tend to forget the value of institutional specialization. A private for-profit firm has a straightforward metric – maximizing shareholder profit-a complex goal, requiring managers…
Blog
Hate mail from an M.D. regarding my AOL News piece, “Did WHO Knowingly Hype Swine Flu?”
Dear Mr. Fumento: Well, if you wish to destroy the credibility of the WHO, publishing a few more articles like the most recent one…
Blog
Trojan Horse Financial “Reform” Bill Enriches Goldman Sachs, Rips Off Taxpayers
The Obama administration and Congressional leaders are pushing a trojan-horse financial “reform” bill that would enrich the wealthy and powerful investment bank Goldman Sachs, which…
Blog
Big Labor Pension Strategy: United States of Argentina?
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern made a big splash last week, when he announced his retirement from leading what is arguably America’s…
Newsletter
Stevens’ Legal Legacy, Goldman Sachs and Internet Gambling
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring. The SEC is charging Goldman Sachs with securities fraud. Opponents of internet gambling are circulating a memo…
Washington Times
The Obama-Dodd-Frank-Everthing’s-A-Bank-Bill
Liberal pundit Michael Kinsley once defined a political gaffe as an instance of a politician accidentally telling the truth. House Financial Services Committee Chairman…
Cafe Hayek
Wayne Crews and Ryan Young explain that regulation is a costly tax
Cafe Hayek features Wayne Crews and Ryan Young's article on a costly hidden tax. In an industry dominated by government subsidies, here’s an…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Ten Thousand More Commandments in 2010
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features Wayne Crews' study "Ten Thousand Commandments," which focuses on the…
Blog
CEI in the News: April 16, 2010
Blog
Taxpayers Take Another Hit from Obama; Administration Panders Yet Again to Big Labor
Taxpayers will pay billions more due to an executive order signed by President Obama that effectively restricts federal construction contracts to the minority of construction…
Blog
Justice Stevens Retires; Left-Wing Law Professor Nominated to Federal Appeals Court
Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the Supreme Court’s liberal bloc, is retiring. His most famous ruling is probably the 5-to-4 Kelo decision, which…
Blog
Online gambling opponents play the Abramoff card
Gambling as an activity for fun has been around since the dawn of human civilzation. When man first discovered fire, there were probably cavemen…
Blog
Obama-Dodd financial bill would further enrich Goldman Sachs
Today, the SEC charged giant investment bank Goldman Sachs with more than $1 billion worth of securities fraud for its dealings in the subprime mortgage…
Newsletter
Tax Day, Open Skies and Toyota’s Legal Tactics
Tax Day inspires out an array of protests and demonstrations. The U.S. and EU signed an “Open Skies” agreement last month, which purportedly allows airlines…
Blog
Ideas for Regulatory Reform
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…
Cafe Hayek
Goldman Sachs Fraud Charges
News Release
White House Conservation Program Faces Identity Crisis
The White House’s recently announced “America’s Great Outdoors” conservation program shows some encouraging signs – such as including landowners, sportsmen and business representatives in initial…
Newsletter
The Cost of Government, Carbon Taxes and Sugar Subsidies
Today is Tax Day, the day when Americans think most about how much the government is costing them. James Hansen writes in The Huffington Post,…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments
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…
Blog
My Commentary on James Hansen’s Huffington Post Column
Is tax-and-dividend (aka “carbon fee and green check”) a morally compelling alternative to cap-and-trade? Is it the path to presidential greatness? Will it be good…
News Release
Report Reveals Crushing, Hidden Tax of ‘10,000 Commandments’ of Federal Regulation
Washington, D.C. April 15, 2010 – Federal regulations cost a whopping $1.187 trillion last year in compliance burdens on Americans. That’s the finding of…
Cafe Hayek
Fly the Free Skies
When the United States and European Union first signed their Open Skies aviation agreement in 2007, the U.S. airlines got the better of the…
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments 2010
Full Document Available in PDF President Barack Obama’s federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 proposes $3.83 trillion in discretionary, entitlement, and…
AOL News
The Huge, Hidden Tax You Pay for Government
Taxpayers rushing to fill out and file their form 1040 today may think their obligation to the federal government is complete. But it's really just…
Fox News
The Hidden Tax That’s More Than $1 Trillion
Last year, Americans paid $989 billion in income taxes. Add to that sales taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, and other taxes, and the total tax…
Blog
Higgs and the Expanding State
Blog
USDA may increase sugar quotas
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture may increase the import quotas for sugar to address a tightening supply…
Blog
What’s at Stake for Entrepreneurs?
Newsletter
Unions, New Taxes and GM Crops
Andy Stern is leaving his post as head of the Service Employees International Union. The Obama Administration may soon propose a Value Added Tax (VAT).
Blog
Value Added Tax? Bad Idea
Daily Caller
VAT Chance
After running up more than $3 trillion in debt in just two years, the federal government is looking for new ways to raise money. Promised…
Blog
Stern Jumps off Sinking Pension Ship
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern plans to retire as head of the union that he helped to transform into the most…
Blog
Green Thumbs and GMOs
A friend just recommended this op-ed published in the Boston Globe on Sunday. The title and subtitle say it all: "Green Thumbs: Genetically engineered crops…
Blog
Do we really want to be like Europe?
With the passage of ObamaCare, we’ve taken another giant step towards Europeanizing America. Tragically, our history shows a steady trend in that direction, with government…
Newsletter
Liquor Licensing, Off-label Drugs and Fannie & Freddie
A new proposal in New York to set up a “medallion” system of liquor-licensing will serve as a compromise between wine retailers and grocery store…
Blog
LibertyWeek 88: Facebook Confidential
Daily Caller
Short-Sighted Ban Endangers Food Supply
This week, the Senate may vote on an amendment to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that could undermine the integrity of the U.S.
MSNBC
The Constitutional Issues of Cloud Computing
MSNBC
Fix America’s Immigration System by Focusing on Security
America’s immigration bureaucracies are rife with waste and inefficiency. Yet taxpayer dollars are not the only thing they put at risk. The nation’s security…
News Release
New Study Shows Benefits of “Off-Label” Promotion for Patients, Doctors
New Study Shows Benefits of “Off-Label” Promotion for Patients, Doctors Court to Weigh In on Pharmaceutical Free Speech Washington, D.C.,…
Study
Truth or Consequences
The Benefits of Off-Label Drug and Device Promotion…
Blog
Toyota’s “questionable, evasive, and deceptive legal tactics”
“Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn…
Newsletter
Pub Restrictions, Tax Freedom Day and Turmoil in Kyrgyzstan
UK regulators are punishing pub owners for promoting happy hour specials and drinking games. April 9th is Tax Freedom Day, statistically the day Americans have…
West Virginia Record
The Incentives of a Class Action
The West Virginia Record discusses Ted Frank's insights on the problems behind class action lawsuit settlements that benefit the attorneys more than the class members.
West Virginia Record
Amnesty Isn’t the Problem, it’s our Immigration Limits
With the passing of health care reform, immigration is in the news again — and for good reason. Even with a recession, financial crisis,…
Spectator
Coal Workers Are Heroes
American Spectator discusses the West Virginia coal mining tragedy with Iain Murray. The coal mining tragedy in West Virginia shows that we should…
Blog
Friday Regulation Roundup
It is illegal in Kentucky for anyone under 18 to play pool without photo ID and written parental consent.
Blog
Awaiting NY Supermarket Wine Sales
Blog
A deal too good to be legal
Blog
Tax Freedom Day
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.
Blog
The Rich are Society’s White Mice
Blog
Kyrgyz Daze
Blog
Fannie and Freddie finally called to Crisis Commission
It is good that the commission, after several months, is finally visiting the role of Government-Sponsored Enterprises, but the setup of today’s hearing is still…
Newsletter
Household Chemicals, Fuel Efficiency, and “The Story of Stuff”
The website KeepitOrganic.org, which warns people about the dangers of using plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA), is actually owned and operated by the Glass…
Spectator
Over the Counter Goes Under
"They won’t be so opposed to it once they see what’s in it." That’s the rationalization House leaders had given skittish Democrats to get…
Spectator
Fannie, Freddie Finally the Focus of Crisis Commission
The congressionally chartered Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, after several months, finally is visiting the role of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…
Washington Times
Famishing Feds
Blog
Rent Seekers Keep it Phony
Why does industry sometimes (all too often) support government regulation? You would think they would prize their freedom. But think again. Many businesses are willing…
Blog
The Story of Leftist Propaganda in Schools
At BigHollywood.com, Anne McIlhinney critiques the anti-industrial environmental propaganda film, The Story of Stuff. The film’s narrator, Annie Leonard, argues that modern civilization…
Blog
A salute to coal mining
In today’s Investor’s Business Daily, CEI’s Iain Murray tells about his first-hand experience with coal-mining and salutes the miners and the mine owners…
Blog
PETA’s meat lust defense to murder
Blog
Regulation of the Day 133: Feeding Ducks
A new ordinance in San Luis Obispo, California makes it illegal to feed ducks.
Washington Times
EPA’s Ginormous Power Grab
It’s a sure sign that a government agency has become overmighty when it vastly increases its budget, grabs power unconstitutionally and treats Congress with…
Washington Times
What Would Reagan do About Climate Change?
Washington Times
The Other Individual Mandate
In the continuing debate over the recently signed health care bill, the flash point is the individual mandate—the requirement that nearly all American adults…
Wall Street Journal
A Community Activist With No Regrets
Blog
Regulation of the Day 132: Fire Sprinklers
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…
Blog
CEI Weekly: Chris Horner Writes New Book: “Power Grab”
CEI weekly is a compilation of articles and blogs from CEI's staff. This week features the debut of Chris Horner's new book "Power Grab," as…
Blog
How Wisely Is Stimulus Money Being Spent?
Newsletter
Comcast v. FCC, Chemical Scares and Eminent Domain
The U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision in Comcast v. FCC limits the FCC’s power to enforce net neutrality. Time magazine publishes a list of “household…
Blog
U.S. avoids Brazil’s retaliatory tariffs — for now
With Brazil poised to retaliate against the U.S. for its cotton subsidies that were deemed unfair by the World Trade Organization, the two countries…
Blog
Lincicome: Obama and Free Trade
International trade lawyer and free trade blogger-libertarian, Scott Lincicome, outlines the ups and downs of President Obama’s stance on trade in yesterday’s Daily Caller.
Blog
States Expand Gambling as Feds Attack It
Last week the Tax Foundation called attention to state initiatives to expand the lottery system. To cover lost revenues from the recession many states…
Blog
The BPA Myth – continued
I have an article today on both NRO and NPR about the environmental establishment’s continued war on science as it relates to the…
Wall Street Journal
I Got People Too
Like John, I "got people" too. Here is a summary of points made in response to the question by my Competitive Enteprise Institute colleague,…
Wall Street Journal
God Bless The People Of Coal Country
I was raised among British coal folk. My grandfather was a coal miner who hacked at the coal seam with a pickaxe for much…
Syracuse - Opinion
Property Rights: Eminent domain law gives developers unfair leverage
Syracuse - Opinion
Don’t Be Afraid To Drink The Water
On Thursday, April 1, Time published a list of the "ten most common household toxins," focused on plastics. It claimed, "Chemicals in…
Syracuse - Opinion
The BPA Myth
On Thursday, April 1, Time published a list of the “ten most common household toxins,” focused on plastics. It claimed, “Chemicals in plastics and…
Syracuse - Opinion
Dem-Packed NLRB May Rush Through Pro-Union Rulings
Blog