National Desk
Iran truce eases oil prices, but inflation risks remain
Blog
The Trump-Sanders plan to nationalize AI
“As far as economics is concerned, we have certain things that aren’t that far apart.” —President Donald Trump on Bernie…
Fortune
A quartz countertop tariff could double your kitchen renovation cost — and kill 13 jobs for every one it creates
Blog
The week in regulations: Cyber sanctions and tinnitus relief devices
Inflation is now more than double the Federal Reserve’s target. The Iran war heated up again. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from vending stands…
The Washington Examiner
Warsh faces similar trap to the one that led to huge inflation in 2022
CEI senior economist Ryan Young is cited by the Washington Examiner on the inflation rate. The problem for Warsh is that former Fed…
Blog
Legislators should increase entrance fees to fund national parks
On August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law. Among other things, the law funnels up to 50…
Representative Harriett Hageman
Rep. Hageman Targets Agency Overreach with Two New Judicial Reform Bills
Representative Hageman features statement from CEI Fred L. Smith Fellow Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. on two new reform bills. “Rep. Hageman’s new…
Washington Times
Inflation rises again, driven by energy costs amid Iran war
The Washington Times cites Finance and Monetary Policy Analyst Steve Swedberg on inflation and rising costs: “The economic data provide little support for…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Taxing the rich with Jared Walczak
In this week’s episode we cover America’s low-income churn, reforms to civil asset forfeiture, changes to vehicle emissions testing, a…
Fox News
Either ignore climate change lunacy or high energy prices will make you wish you had
Congressional Republicans spent four years opposing the Biden administration’s energy policies, asserting that they raised prices from the gas pump to our utility bills.
News Release
AICOA’s heavy-handed approach would harm consumers, stifle innovation, and degrade security and privacy
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) re-introduced a modified version of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which introduces new…
Blog
BEAD and the cost of conditions
Last month the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Nebraska had connected one of the first households in the country to…
The Washington Times
Inflation rises again, driven by energy costs amid Iran war
The Washington Times cites CEI’s Steve Swedberg on inflation and the continual push for lowered interest rates. The report on rising inflation arrived…
Reason
Inflation Reaches 4.2% as Prices Outpace Paychecks
Reason cites senior economist Ryan Young regarding inflation. The fact that those two lines have now crossed again should be setting off…
The Center Square
Inflation spikes to 4.2% in May, highest in three years
The Center Square cites senior economist Ryan Young on inflation numbers. The Competitive Enterprise Institute said a rate hike could be coming at…
News Release
Labor-supported bill would protect unions, force workers into unions they never voted for
Twenty Republican House members joined their Democratic colleagues in passing the Faster Labor Contracts Act last night. The bill would fast-track union negotiations, allowing…
News Release
Inflation still stubbornly high in May, future rate increase growing more likely: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for May shows inflation rose 0.5 percent across all sectors, with energy continuing to be a major factor…
Blog
Congress wants to retrain workers for the AI economy. The private sector is already doing it
Last week, Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, an AI policy…
Blog
The EU ran the experiment, America should not repeat it
“I worry a lot about the broad scope and the vague language that [AICOA] contains that I believe would lead to an untold…
News Release
CEI announces Professor Donald J. Boudreaux as Simon awardee, CEO Mick Ebeling as keynote speaker, and historian Lindsay Chervinsky as emcee at the 2026 Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner.
Blog
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz insurance plan gambles with taxpayer dollars
As wars and skirmishes escalate, the risks to commerce increase and are reflected in market prices. In past conflicts, shipping firms faced soaring premiums…
Blog
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250
Last week I participated in a National Association of Scholars event on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. The…
Blog
The week in regulations: Bone void filler and halibut action
May’s job numbers were strong for the third month in a row, though job growth since Liberation Day remains under 100,000, for a labor…
Washington Examiner
The government has no business in AI
People worry about the ways artificial intelligence will change jobs, education, creativity, and daily lives, according to polling. But…
Washington Examiner
Business
Soaring stock market defies broader US economic doldrums CEI senior economist Ryan Young gave comment to the Washington Examiner regarding consumer bias in stock…
Washington Examiner
Fed and Warsh under increasing pressure to keep rates higher, thanks to labor market strength
CEI senior economist Ryan Young gave comment to the Washington Examiner regarding price stability. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
The Economist’s founder and the fight for free trade
My CEI colleagues Iain Murray and Ryan Young wrote in 2018 that tariffs benefit “domestic producers and the politicians they support,” at the expense of “everybody else in the…
News Release
Economy added 172,000 jobs in May, better than expected report: CEI analysis
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report for May shows an unexpected increase of 172,000 jobs, indicating an economy that has…
Blog
Section 301 and the problem of limitless tariff justifications
Earlier this week, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced findings from a series of Section 301 tariff investigations concerning imports allegedly made with…
The National Desk
Broad new tariffs renew uncertainty for business, trading partners
CEI’s senior economist Ryan Young was cited regarding new tariffs. Trump’s latest tariffs may throw a wrench into ongoing negotiations with a…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: State budgets and bailouts with Thomas Savidge
In this week’s episode we cover promising new classroom technology, increasing productivity (and avoiding layoffs) with AI, and the repeal of…
Blog
The Faster Labor Contracts Act would force workers into unions they never voted for
Unions and their allies in Congress say that the Faster Labor Contracts Act is needed to prevent businesses from endlessly delaying workers’…
Reason
Do You Trust the Government To Control AI?
Reason cited CEI’s Jessica Melugin around the debate to trust government with running or controlling artificial intelligence. But—this is important—it explicitly states…
DC Journal
Trump, Vance help rail unions put the brakes on automation
Letters
CEI Joins ATR’s Coalition Letter in opposition to Banning, Over-Regulating Drug Ads
Dear Members of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations, write in opposition to recent efforts to quash direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs.
News Release
CEI Report: AI Industrial Policy Schemes Create “Misalignment by Design” and a New AI Welfare State
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute contends the greatest risk associated with artificial intelligence is not technological misalignment but what author…
Study
Welcome to the Machine
The transition toward superintelligence will come with serious risks—from economic disruption, to misuse in areas like cybersecurity and biology, to the loss of alignment…
National Review
The Insane Climate Bureaucracy That Never Was
On Friday, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins made one of the most important announcements in the history of modern financial regulation. His…
Blog
Clean Air Act reform bills may be on the move: Mostly good, one bad
There are more Clean Air Act (CAA) bills that could be on the move in the House.Tomorrow, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment…
News Release
Trump EO on AI recognizes innovation imperative but leaves room for overreach
The Trump White House today put forward an executive order on “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” CEI regulatory…
Review Journal
Editorial: Easing burden of federal regulatory compliance
An editorial by The Las Vegas Review Journal cites CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. and his work on the Ten Thousand Commandments report.
Washington Times
D.C. GOP calls for end of federal income tax for city’s residents
CEI’s Richard Morrison and CEO Kent Lassman were cited in reference to a list of actions that could relieve the tax burden on D.C.
Blog
The week in regulations: Onion marketing and refrigerator leaks
PCE inflation, which the Federal Reserve uses for its interest rate decisions, rose to 3.8 percent, nearly double the Fed’s 2.0 percent target. President…
News Release
SEC seeks end to costly climate-related mandates
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed rescinding the costly, Biden-era rules mandating that companies provide climate-related information in registration statements and annual reports. The SEC cited a return to the…
The Modesto Bee
Commentary: How AI is already improving lives
Blog
The Railway Safety Act would shift freight from safer rails to deadlier roads
More than 36,000 Americans died on US roads in 2025. Fewer than 1,000 died on the rail system. Yet while highway fatalities…
Washington Examiner
Market expectations for rate hike haunt Warsh and GOP
The Washington Examiner cites Senior Economist Ryan Young on the consumer price index: Additionally, the producer price index showed wholesale inflation shot up…
National Review
Three Arguments Against Tariffs
President Trump loves tariffs. The Americans paying them don’t. A recent CNN poll found that 65 percent of Americans blame Trump’s tariffs…
Blog
State legislatures targeting noncompete clauses
At least 15 states have enacted significant restrictions on noncompete agreements, ranging from minimum income thresholds to outright bans. Eight states have passed…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Fighting for freedom with Kent Lassman
In this week’s episode we cover bank privacy, SNAP benefits, a new study on tariffs, and a great new…
Blog
Solving the tariff problem
Over at National Review, I summarize my recent paper making three arguments against tariffs. These are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem,…
Blog
The inconsistent burdens of the state regulatory patchworks affecting ISPs
As the debate over federal- versus state-driven artificial intelligence (AI) regulation intensifies, many observers emphasize the risks of an emerging state AI patchwork…
Blog
Colorado legislature joins Illinois in breaking national payment system
One of the glories of the modern economy is that you can walk into a store anywhere in America, or indeed much of the…
News Release
CEI leads coalition letter urging Senate action on regulatory reform bills
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today led a coalition letter to Senate Republican leaders urging passage of two important House-passed regulatory reform bills, the Guidance Out of Darkness…
National Review
Bank regulators finally back off reputational risk overreach
We are in the middle of a quiet revolution in how banks are regulated in the United States, and you can be forgiven if you…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter Urging Passage of Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act (H.R. 1515) and the Information Quality Assurance Act (IQAA) (H.R. 6329)
Dear Leader Thune and Senator Paul: We write to urge the passage of the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act (H.R. 1515) and…
Blog
OPFAIL: Establishing a Congressional Office of Political Failure Analysis
For decades, reformers have proposed some version of a Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis (CORA), a congressional counterpart to the regulatory oversight apparatus housed…
Blog
Less discretion, more discipline: Three focus areas for Warsh at the Fed
New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh should focus on three dimensions of reform: how the Fed makes decisions, the size of its market footprint,…
Blog
The week in regulations: Black boxes and weather reports
The 2026 Federal Register topped 30,000 pages. President Trump’s Justice Department is poised to give him a $1.776 billion fund he can use to…
Post Gazette
Rail safety legislation finally moves through Congress 3 years after East Palestine derailment
Post Gazette cited CEI’s Research Fellow Sean Higgins and Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murray when discussing rail safety legislation.
NOTUS
EPA Eases Limits on ‘Super Pollutants,’ Claiming It Will Lower Food Prices
NOTUS cites senior economist Ryan Young regarding possible lower food prices. That’s virtually nothing for the consumer, said Ryan Young, a senior…
Comment
CEI Comments on Collaboration Guidelines Request for Information
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s…
News Release
Misnamed ‘Railway Safety Act’ advances in House
The misleadingly named Railway Safety Act pushed by the Trump administration was inserted in the Build America 250 Act today and passed out of the…
NOTUS
EPA Eases Limits on ‘Super Pollutants,’ Claiming It Will Lower Food Prices
The Trump administration is loosening restrictions on “super pollutant” chemicals that are highly potent greenhouse gases, claiming that allowing their increased use will drive…
Washington Examiner
Freedom Conservatives plot a post-Trump Republican Party
MAGA, “America First,” paleoconservatism, integralism, Christian nationalism, social conservatism, the disruptor Right, and fusionism all the way through to the Never Trumpers: The conservative…
Blog
Railway Safety Act in the balance
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is marking up the BUILD America Act — the surface transportation reauthorization bill. Among the amendments…
Blog
Enemy of affordability: The radical climate agenda
For decades, some lawmakers and other proponents of radical climate policies have given little consideration to the adverse effects on consumers and the poor.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Fighting Medicaid fraud with Parker Thayer
In this week’s episode we cover higher inflation numbers, a strike on the Long Island Rail Road, and new disability…
Bloomberg Tax
SEC Proposes Scaling Back Auditor Testing of Fraud Safeguards
Most US-listed companies would be exempt from requirements they hire an outside auditor to field test safeguards meant to ensure investors can rely on…
Blog
House subcommittee to hold hearing on forest management bills
On Thursday, May 21, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a hearing on several bills, many of which would…
News Release
New CEI report outlines the major reasons why tariffs don’t work
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report by CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young entitled “Three Reasons Tariffs Don’t Work”…
Study
Three Reasons Tariffs Don’t Work
He just likes tariffs. President Trump’s decades-long love of tariffs comes from the heart. The intellectual arguments Trump and his aides use to justify…
Blog
New CEI paper: Three arguments against tariffs
I have a new paper out today that explores three arguments against tariffs. They are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem, and the…
Washington Examiner
Inflation still has room to run, experts fear
Washington Examiner cited senior economist Ryan Young on producer price index numbers. And on Wednesday, the producer price index showed wholesale inflation…
Blog
America 250 election year rightsizing: Time to get things undone
The new 2026 Ten Thousand Commandments survey of federal regulation and reform landed at an awkward moment. Election cycles tend to crowd out serious…
Blog
The week in regulations: Date taxes and microreactors
It was nearly a 3,000-page week in the Federal Register, roughly double the usual pace. Year-over-year inflation jumped to 3.8 percent, the worst reading…
Daily Signal
‘FAKE NEWS’: EPA Sets the Record Straight as Former Staff Say Changes Put ‘People at Risk’
Daily Signal cites CEI Director of the center for energy and environment Daren Bakst regarding IRIS. “The IRIS program has rightfully drawn criticism over…
Washington Post
A simple step by Europe could loosen Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz
John Berlau is director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. As European nations ponder unilateral actions to bring shipping back to…
Blog
DOL gets flexible on overtime
The Department of Labor (DOL) will formally reverse a Biden-era rule that expanded the number of workers eligible for overtime on Friday. Courts…
Blog
How the Bank Holding Company Act helped shape modern banking consolidation
Back in the 1950s, Congress feared a future in which a small number of powerful banking organizations would dominate the financial sector.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Pension politics with Jarrett Skorup
In this week’s episode we cover more legal headaches for the Trump tariffs, keeping kids safe in an AI world, and…
Reason
A Circuit Split Gives SCOTUS an Opportunity To Overturn a Federal Law That Makes Home Distilling a Felony
Reason cited General Counsel Ondray Harris regarding 5th circuit decisions impacting private businesses. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which helped develop the…
News Release
April PPI shows inflation still a major problem for the Fed and the economy: CEI analysis
The April Producer Price Index (PPI) shows a 1.4 percent jump, the largest increase since 2022. Inflation remains a stubborn issue for the…
Blog
A federal gas tax holiday won’t do much to ease the pain at the pump
The best policy ideas for making gasoline more affordable – faster permitting for domestic drilling and pipeline construction alongside fewer regulations targeting refineries or…
News Release
FDA commissioner resignation opens opportunity for refocus on science over politics
After a somewhat tumultuous tenure, FDA commissioner Marty Makary is stepping down. While Dr. Makary made his mission to accelerate drug approval and bring…
Blog
Deputizing banks for citizenship verification could halt America’s financial greatness
A few weeks after he was confirmed as Treasury secretary last year, Scott Bessent delivered a message to the American Bankers Association that regulatory…
News Release
Inflation increases again in April, no end in sight for higher energy prices: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index for April shows inflation increased by 0.6 percent across all sectors, slightly lower than March’s 0.9 percent but still…
Blog
The compound interest of innovation: Wi-Fi and the power of unlicensed spectrum
Investors understand the power of compound interest. Over time, small gains accumulate into exponential growth. Innovation often works the same way. One breakthrough…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fluid milk options and battleship safety zones
The Court of International Trade struck down President Trump’s Section 122 tariffs. The labor force shrank by 92,000 people over the last year. Agencies…
The Hill
Trump, frustrated by courts, sees his tariff policies take new hit
The Hill cites senior economist Ryan Young on tariff policy. “If anything, it just pushes forward the administration’s timetable to turn to…
News Release
Economy added 115,000 jobs in April, modest boost amidst economic uncertainty: CEI analysis
The jobs report for April shows 115,000 jobs were added to the economy, a modest boost compared to previous months. While unemployment remains…
News Release
Court ruling against Trump tariffs upholds rule of law
The US Court of International Trade on Thursday ruled 2-1 against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, finding a 1970s era law did not…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Highway robbery with David Ditch
In this week’s episode we cover how to make the moral case for capitalism, affordable housing via regulatory reform, and tracking…
Town Hall
Data Center Freak-Out
Town Hall cites Research Fellow Paige Lambermont on data cen “If our economy was allowed to develop at the speed of Bernie Sanders, we…
Blog
A smoother path through security: Improving the TSA short of privatization
With Congress finally passing a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill last week, the immediate crisis that left airport security strained is behind us.
News Release
SEC seeks end to quarterly reporting mandate: CEI analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed to end mandatory quarterly reporting for public companies and switch to semiannual reporting. “The SEC…
The Washington Examiner
Kevin Warsh set up for failure with Powell staying on and markets expecting rate hike
The Washington Examiner cites senior economist Ryan Young on the Fed and the Department of Treasury. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive…
Blog
Affordable manufactured housing versus unaffordable climate regulations
The Biden administration had a field day piling on one costly climate-related regulation after another, not knowing – or caring – that affordability would…
Blog
Deregulation by the numbers: One-third into 2026 — a rulebook rewrite?
At the close of the first third of the year, a spring 2026 Unified Agenda formally outlining agency priorities has yet to appear. In…
Chicago Tribune
Steve Swedberg: Springfield’s interchange fee ban takes a costly swipe at Illinois consumers
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, including eating out at Lou Malnati’s, visiting Chicago museums on weekends and…