Blog
Adam Smith on how to love and be lovely
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to…
Blog
Is Biden admin disappearing a red flag for costly regulations?
Is the Biden administration trying to do away with the category of “economically significant” regulations altogether? Before this administration, an “economically significant” regulation…
Blog
Court punts to FTC, freezing Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action Monday to stop Microsoft from purchasing the game developer Activision Blizzard. The FTC filed for both…
News Release
House passes sensible regulatory reform bills to shrink power of the administrative state
Earlier today, the House passed 220 to 211 the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA) sponsored by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald…
News Release
CEI expert analyzes the permitting provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
After several attempts to reform the United States’ broken permitting system for large infrastructure projects, major changes have finally made it to the president’s…
Study
Permitting reforms, finally
Introduction The United States has one of the world’s most burdensome, time-consuming, and unpredictable systems for authorizing major infrastructure projects. The centerpiece of…
Blog
Adam Smith’s ‘tolerable administration’ vs. America’s increasingly intolerable one
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to…
Blog
New Biden White House Agenda shows 3,666 rules in regulatory pipeline
The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions has been released. A fall version of this twice-yearly document will also contain…
News Release
Fed holds interest rates steady but shouldn’t have: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve decided to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. CEI senior economist Ryan Young…
Blog
Senate Commerce hearing shows why some junk fees aren’t garbage
In his State of the Union address this February, President Biden reiterated his intent to crack down on so-called junk fees. Biden…
Wall Street Journal
Is a U.S. Wealth Tax Constitutional?
The Wall Street Journal encourages the Supreme Court to grant cert in CEI’s Moore v. US case: The Moores…
Forbes
Virginia’s New Permitting Portal Is A Model For Other States
Our nation’s system of environmental permitting is broken, putting both economic growth and the clean energy transition at risk. So it’s a relief that…
News Release
U.S. House passes legislation to preserve consumer choice in kitchen appliances
The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1615 today, a bill that would protect Americans ability to choose the type of stove they want…
Blog
Time to shine more light on regulators’ ‘shadow boxes’
Accompanying presidential executive orders and memoranda are the numerous sub-regulatory proclamations of departments and agencies we like to call “regulatory dark matter.” Occasionally…
Blog
The real Adam Smith
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to…
News Release
Inflation Slows, Fed Actions Pay Off: CE Analysis
Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in May (up 4 percent this past year), according new inflation data released today by the Labor Department.
Blog
Why Trump and Biden are wrong to sweat a trade deficit
Do trade deficits make American workers worse off? Trade deficits occur when a country imports more goods than it exports, which the U.S. has…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: fireworks shows and cybersecurity subsidies
Russia destroyed a major dam in Ukraine, putting thousands of homes and a nuclear power plant at risk. Former President Donald Trump was indicted…
Blog
FTC, or ‘Fundraising Trade Commission,’ tries to shrug off a Supreme Court judgment
If you thought the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was only coming after “big” business, think again. The FTC is targeting small and family businesses…
Blog
Congress should block Biden’s harmful environmental regulations with power of the purse
Congress shouldn’t sit back and watch as the Biden administration proposes and finalizes costly and harmful energy and environmental regulation. Instead, it needs to…
Blog
SEC just dismissed dozens of cases before its ‘not-quite courts,’ thanks to real court rulings
For over a decade, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been forcing people into in-house quasi-judicial proceedings that lack the basic constitutional protections…
Truth on the Market
“The Robinson-Patman Act: The Anti-Consumer Welfare Statute”
Alden Abbott, former General Counsel at the FTC, explains that a reinvigoration of the Robinson-Patman Act by the FTC would be a detriment to…
Real Clear Markets
“Progressives to Biden: Double Down on Interference”
Paul Steidler, Senior Fellow with the Lexington Institute, argues that calls for the Biden administration and the FTC to ban employee non-compete agreements would…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Immense economic costs with Scott Lincicome
In this week’s episode we talk about central bank digital currencies, bankers backing off of ESG claims, avoiding the mistakes…
Fox Business
Banking industry pushes back on CFPB’s warning over use of AI chatbots
Fox Business quotes CEI’s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent advisory: John Berlau, the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Biden Labor pick Julie Su claims she cannot recall her Prop 22 vote
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su claimed multiple times Wednesday that she could not recall how she voted on California’s Proposition 22, the ballot…
Blog
Activist securities regulators should worry as Supreme Court revisits Chevron doctrine
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a major announcement that may impose significant changes to agency statutory interpretation. The Court has agreed to…
Blog
Rising small business regs may spur Senate to pass REINS Act
In a bid to restore congressional accountability over the regulatory enterprise, the 118th Congress this week is set to vote on the so-called REINS…
Bloomberg Law
“Courts Should Curb the FTC’s Historic Disgorgement Tactics”
Caleb Kruckenberg, attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, explains how the FTC extracts large settlements from small businesses without a trial and without congressional…
Blog
War over gas stoves heats up with two House votes today
President Biden’s administration has declared war on gas stoves, but today the House of Representatives is fighting back Two Biden administration agencies, the…
Hannity
FURNACES NOW?! The Biden Admin’s War on American Energy Continues
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is quoted on Hannity on the current crackdown on American energy: “This is a classic example of one size not…
Fox News
Biden admin is preparing to target Americans’ gas furnaces amid stove crackdown
Fox News
Biden admin is preparing to target Americans’ gas furnaces amid stove crackdown
Ben Lieberman is cited on Fox News about the crackdown on gas stoves: “This is a classic example of one size not…
Fox News
Banking industry pushes back on CFPB’s warning over use of AI chatbots
Fox News quotes CEI’s John Berlau on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent advisory regarding artificial intelligence in customer service:…
Blog
Biden administration keeps making it harder to track government ‘guidance’ documents
Federal government “guidance documents” consist of agency memoranda, bulletins, circulars, administrative interpretations, letters, manuals, and so much more. These are not supposed to be…
Blog
Lina Khan’s whole new level of economic bloodletting
The Biden administration in its Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and, more pointedly, the Federal Trade Commission in many…
News Release
SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Threatens All U.S. Entrepreneurs
John Berlau, CEI Director of Finance Policy, today criticized the SEC for its ill-founded lawsuit targeting Coinbase: “The Securities…
Washington Times
“FTC Chair Lina Khan Has Abuses Her Power, Needs to Go”
The Washington Times’s editorial board argues that FTC Chair Lina Khan should resign.
National Review
Global Britain Is Closed for Business
One of the supposed benefits of Brexit was that Britain would once again become “Global Britain,” able to adjust its regulatory approaches to one…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Supporting Efforts to Stop Tobacco Prohibitions in Ag Approps Bill
Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member DeLauro, The undersigned organizations representing millions of consumers and taxpayers support Sections 768 and 769 of the Fiscal…
Comment
Comments to the Office of Management and Budget on the proposed draft update to Circular A-4: Regulatory Analysis
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public interest organization committed to advancing the principles of free markets and limited government. CEI has…
Forbes
Biden’s ‘Evil’ Modernizing Regulation Update
Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley tech tycoon, has a fond aphorism he employs that he apparently borrowed from the late conservative journalist…
Daily Caller
Biden Wants To Give Power Over Defense Contracts To Climate Activist ‘Cabal’ Bent On Curtailing Economic Growth
The Daily Caller quotes CEI’s Myron Ebell on giving certain climate activist groups veto power over major Pentagon contracts:…
Dr. Rich Swier
Biden Wants To Give Power Over Defense Contracts To Climate Activist ‘Cabal’ Bent On Curtailing Economic Growth
Real Clear Markets
“Lina Khan’s FTC Is Importing Crushing European Tech Banditry”
Daniel Savickas from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance warns that the FTC’s adoption of European style regulation will ultimately harm U.S. innovation and competitiveness.
Wall Street Journal
“Car Shopping Ain’t Broke, So the FTC Will Fix It”
Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board argues that the FTC’s proposed rule on auto purchases is a solution in…
Real Clear Markets
“Lina Khan’s ‘Underfunded’ FTC Takes Its Act to Europe”
Market Institute President Charles Sauer explains how FTC Chair Lina Khan is using European regulators and the EU’s Digital Markets Act to get around…
Blog
5 myths about Joe Biden’s crackdown on gas stoves
The Biden administration’s craziest idea yet? The assault on gas stoves. Second craziest? The lame attempts to deny it. Now that two…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: electric motors and small business loans
Congress and President Biden reached a debt ceiling deal. Texas attorney general and antitrust hawk Ken Paxton was impeached. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations…
Washington Examiner
Low-income communities need affordable energy, not Biden’s ‘environmental justice’
Union jobs, sports fields, and tree cover. What do they have in common? President Joe Biden wants to promote them through his…
Blog
SPPI-TV hit: How price controls endanger small dollar loans, boost loan sharks
In my first media appearance from the sleek new CEI studios at our offices in Washington, DC, I joined a great panel on the…
News Release
Labor Market Remains Strong Despite Participation Rate Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the Department of Labor found employers added 339,000 new jobs in May, according to a new…
National Review
Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Clean Water Act Case Will Aid Property Rights
On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA unanimously held that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can’t regulate wetlands on…
Blog
‘Passive-aggressive’ regulators are a growing headache for American business
“The Future of Independent Agencies: Fallout from Problems at the Federal Trade Commission,” was an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) to…
Blog
Congress should stop the White House from rewriting ‘Circular A-4’
Barring an extension, next week (June 6) is the deadline for comments on the White House Office of Management and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Capitalists of the world unite! with Richard Salsman
In this week’s episode, we talk about conservatives defending the D.C. swamp, Andrew Stuttaford’s warning about green land grabs, a new Heartland Institute…
The Blaze
Horowitz: How McCarthy debt deal will destroy our leverage for the rest of Biden’s term
Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains the problem with speeding up energy projects without first repealing…
Washington Examiner
“US Antitrust Enforcers Should Heed China’s Tech Crackdown”
Dr. Ryan Yonk and Ethan Yank from the American Institute for Economic Research argue that China’s antitrust crackdown on tech companies has been a…
Blog
Do more deregulation in debt limit deal
The internal GOP debate this week is over lower-case “d” default if a June 6 deadline for an increase in the debt…
Blog
Moore good news? CEI responds to government in landmark tax case
Earlier today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a reply brief in the Moores’ case. A few weeks ago, the government argued that the…
Legal Brief
Moore v. United States Reply Brief
No. 22-800 In The Supreme Court of the United States CHARLES G. MOORE and KATHLEEN F. MOORE, Petitioners, v.
Blog
Debt deal’s PAYGO law won’t pay out. Here’s how to fix it.
In an effort to curb excessive government spending, a provision known as statutory administrative PAYGO (Pay-As-You-Go) has been introduced in the debt ceiling deal…
Blog
Why is the debt ceiling deal helping to ban gas stoves?
When Biden-appointed Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. announced last January that his agency was investigating gas stoves and…
Blog
McCarthy-Biden debt-ceiling deal fully funds the climate-industrial complex
The deal to raise the debt ceiling announced Saturday by the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) drops the provisions in…
Comment
CEI Comments on Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2018–0794
Dear Ms. Benish: I appreciate this opportunity to submit comments on the proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants. Attached…
Blog
Protecting private property in the Peach State
Institute for Justice communications manager Dan King brings us an infuriating but important story out of the state of Georgia. Property owners…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby formula labels and room air conditioners
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. The Supreme Court upheld property rights in a 9-0 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, in which CEI…
Blog
Repealing green energy subsidies must come before permitting reform in debt ceiling package
There are reports that the debt ceiling negotiators are close to agreeing on permitting reform provisions as part of the final package. This may…
Blog
Supreme Court ruling restores property rights, closes spigot on Clean Water Act abuses
The U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA has finally provided some clarity on one of the most basic questions in environmental law:…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Transparency for government, privacy for people with Brian Hawkins
In this week’s episode we talk discuss Tim Carney’s view on why big government is good for big business, Stone Washington on…
Blog
Supreme Court breathes new life into Takings Clause in Tyler v. Hennepin County
When you don’t pay property taxes, you run the risk of the government seizing and selling your property. That’s what happened to Geraldine Tyler,…
News Release
Supreme Court Protects Property Rights from Federal Overreach in Sackett v. EPA Decision
The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the Sackett family in a property rights dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA…
Reason
“The FTC Is Investigating Anti-Competitive Baby Formula Contracts. Bad Federal Policy Is to Blame.”
Reason Reporter Eric Boehm explains that the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is to blame for any lack of competition between baby formula…
Blog
Let’s get this huge ‘hidden tax’ of regulation out into the open
Smack dab in the middle of contentious debt limit negotiations, the House Budget Committee held another in its series of hearings on American economic…
Testimony
Testimony of Wayne Crews: Removing the Burdens of Government Overreach
I appreciate the opportunity to discuss issues surrounding Removing the Burdens of Government Overreach, and I thank Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, and Members…
Testimony
Testimony of Ben Lieberman : Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Gas Stoves
Introduction Chair Fallon, Ranking Member Bush, and members of this Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on an issue few…
National Review
Pharmaceuticals: Marching into Trouble
The National Institutes of Health recently rejected a request by private petitioners to exercise “march-in rights” under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act to control…
Blog
What happens if governments stop trying to make electric vehicles happen?
I recently spotted an interesting analysis of the market for electric vehicles and the prospect for them eventually replacing ones powered by internal…
American Institute for Economic Research
“The FTC Should Answer Its Call of Duty to Gamers”
Dr. Gary Galles, Professor of Economics at Pepperdine University, argues that the FTC is engaging in “antitrust protectionism” while challenging Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision.
News Release
Surgeon General lacks evidence for warning against social media for young people
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy today issued a public advisory against alleged risks of social media use to the mental health…
Blog
A remembrance: C. Boyden Gray, 1943-2023
We mourn the passing of C. Boyden Gray. He was a man of his family, the law, and his country. Boyden served in…
Fox Business
VIDEO: CEI’S Jessica Melugin Joins Fox Business to Discuss Twitter’s New CEO and the ‘unintended consequences’ of Children Using A.I.
Competitive Enterprise Institute Center for Technology & Innovation director Jessica Melugin discusses Twitter’s new CEO and the ‘unintended consequences’ of children using A.I.
The American Institue for Economic Research
The FTC should answer its Call of Duty to Gamers
The American Institute for Economic Research cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on the Microsoft-Activision merger: The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray…
News Release
EU’s Massive Fine Against Meta Could End Up Harming European Consumers
The European Union announced a new enforcement actions today against Meta, the parent company of Facebook. The action penalizes Meta for data transfers…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: lowfat yogurt and halibut sharing
Debt ceiling negotiations remain stalled, and will likely remain that way until the deadline draws nearer. The Supreme Court left Section 230 intact.
American Institute for Economic Research
The FTC should answer its Call of Duty to Gamers
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray has also noted several other important problems with the assertion that the Microsoft-Activision merger would harm consumers. He has…
Blog
Bill targets ag department slush fund worth billions
The House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee favorably reported its spending bill along party lines Thursday. The bill’s next stop is the full House…
The Washington Post
Social media’s effects on children are not yet clear
In their May 12 op-ed, “We must protect kids online,” Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)…
Wall Street Journal
“Antitrust Gone Wild Against Amgen”
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board describes the FTC’s desire to revive the antitrust theory of “potential competition” in light of the agency’s attempt…
The Hill
Don’t give federal agencies carte blanche on regulations — make Congress vote
The Limit, Save, Grow Act, recently passed by the Republican House of Representatives, would raise the nation’s borrowing limit through March 31 of next year…
Discourse
How Can You Advocate for Abundance with Skeptics?
Advocating for abundance will succeed or fail based on how well we address skeptics’ real emotions, legitimate concerns and understandable fears. Far too often,…
Blog
EPA’s new coal rule: Still unlawful after all these years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-publication draft of its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for fossil-fuel power…
Forbes
Why The Existential Threat Of AI May Be Overblown
In response to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s recent Congressional testimony, a heightened national conversation is taking place surrounding the potential existential risks stemming from…
The Spectator
“One Government Agency Is Undermining Biden’s Cancer Moonshot”
Matthew Foldi argues that the FTC’s blocking of the Illumina/Grail merger undermines President Biden’s goal of fighting cancer.
Blog
Time to rip the veil of secrecy off government agencies’ in-house courts
In a previous piece, we explored some of the pros and cons of administrative law courts (ALCs). These are regulatory agencies’ special in-house…
News Release
Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Section 230, Leaving Protections for Third Party Content in Place
The Supreme Court today in Google v. Gonzales and Twitter v. Taamneh declined to rule on the meaning of Section 230 of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Letting people prosper with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, a…
City Journal
Nature’s Vaccine
Public-health officials in the U.S., unlike their counterparts elsewhere, have steadfastly focused on Covid-19 vaccines in fighting the pandemic, acting as if natural immunity…
National Review
The EPA Strikes Back
In last summer’s West Virginia v. EPA decision, the Supreme Court held that the EPA’s claims of vast new powers to reorganize America’s electricity sector…
Blog
Biden administration wants to make bad clothes washers even worse
The Biden administration started the year by targeting gas stoves and has followed it up with a flood of additional appliance regulations.