Blog
Much Ado about Nothing: Budget Cut Edition
News Release
Re-regulating the Railroad Industry Would Harm Railroads, Shippers, and Consumers
Washington, D.C., April 13, 2011 — Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submitted a second comment letter in response to the Surface Transportation…
News Release
Alaska Considers Lowering the Drinking Age for Soldiers
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Nicole Ciandella, 202-331-2773 Washington, D.C., April 13, 2011 – Alaska State Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Anchorage) has proposed a bill that…
Comment
CEI Submits Supplemental Comments on Railroad Competition Before the Surface Transportation Board
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the…
Blog
The Environmental-Industrial Complex
Sometimes the green part of green regulations isn't the environment. It's money.
Blog
Should Helicopter Parents Stop Hovering Over Their Kids?
Blog
School Forces Kids to Eat Cafeteria Lunch or Go Hungry
A public elementary school in Chicago has banned brown bag lunches. Little Village Academy Principal Elsa Carmona says the purpose of the ban is to…
Blog
China Had a Quarterly Trade Deficit — And it was Hardly Noticed
Here’s a bit of news that didn’t get too much attention — China had a first quarter 2011 trade deficit. It’s the country’s first quarterly…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
News Release
Senate Committee Considers Raising Efficiency Standards, Oblivious to the Mess They’ve Already Created
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Nicole Ciandella, 202-331-2773 Washington, D.C., April 12, 2011 – The Senate takes a step towards further…
Op-Eds
Why Does Capitalism Enjoy So Little Support From Politicians?
As government grows, businesses try to adapt, often by opening government affairs offices in Washington. Yet the regulatory burden continues to increase as public attitudes…
Op-Eds
Democrats Fight Over Power, not Economics (Letter to the Editor)
Re: “EPA’s days as ‘rogue’ agency are numbered” & “Democrats will yield on everything but abortion,” April 11 Congressional Democrats’ approach to their pet projects…
Heartland
Congress Rejects EPA’s Global Warming Claims
Blog
Education Department Changes Burden of Proof in Sexual Harassment Cases Under Title IX
The Education Department is trying to change the burden of proof that many colleges and universities use in disciplinary proceedings over sexual harassment, despite court…
Newsletter
Government Unions, Sexual Harassment, and Free Trade
Blog
Court reduces fees after CCAF objection to HP settlement
In January, we discussed a Center for Class Action Fairness objection to a coupon settlement involving HP inkjet printers. That settlement turned out to…
Blog
Cuts in Agricultural Subsidies Gain Support
“Farm Subsidies: Sacred Cows No More” is the headline of the WSJ April 9 article. Agricultural subsidies, in a period where budget cuts are…
Blog
U.S. Swipes at Colombia’s Sovereignty with Onerous Labor Requirements
AEI’s Claude Barfield posted an insightful comment on the new labor requirements the U.S. foisted on Colombia in connection with the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Heartland
Why Can’t Obama and Congress See That Our Poor Immigration Policies Punish American Companies Who Want to Hire Skilled Immigrants?
On April 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) began accepting petitions for H-1B visas for 2012. H-1Bs are temporary employer-sponsored work visas for highly…
Heartland
A Tale of Two Bridges
What do you do if you lose 25 percent of your population in a decade, bringing your city to a 100-year low, and…
The Mercury News
An Alternative to California Proposal to Tax E-Commerce
Painful awards shows aren’t the only odious things stirring in California these days. State lawmakers want to collect sales taxes on Californians’ purchases from…
The Mercury News
Activists Sue USDA to Block Herbicide-Resistant Alfalfa
The Mercury News
New Guidance for Universities From Office for Civil Rights Would Deny Students Due Process, Argues Former OCR Attorney
Boston Globe
Google Cleared for ITA Purchase
The Boston Globe discusses the Google antitrust lawsuit settlement with Wayne Crews. The settlement came under fire from Wayne Crews, vice president for…
Blog
Education Department “Dear Colleague” Letter Shreds Presumption of Innocence in Harassment Cases, Ignoring Supreme Court
To promote due process, some college disciplinary systems recognize a strong presumption of innocence, requiring clear-and-convincing evidence of guilt for discipline. That practice is now…
Blog
Constipated Colombia Pact
Pres. Obama has made expanding U.S. exports a centerpiece of his economic plan. In his January State of the Union Address, he noted that "95%…
Newsletter
The Durbin Amendment, the Government Shutdown, and Alcohol Regulations
Blog
CEI Weekly: Paul Ryan’s Budget Will Cut Spending But Won’t Reform Washington
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Boston Globe
A Slightly Different Take on Prosser-Kloppenburg
Boston Globe
Still Burning Witches at the FCC
It seems that things are never quite perfect enough these days for the Federal Communications Commission to elect to leave competitive communications markets alone. When…
Boston Globe
Obama Administration Covers Up Union Welfare Program
The Obama administration is more than a year late in releasing an important report on federal government union costs. Clauses within collective bargaining agreements require…
Boston Globe
Dodd-Frank Durbin Amendment Shifts Costs to Consumers
In my last column, I blasted 17 Republican senators who voted last year for Dodd-Frank’s Durbin Amendment, which puts below-cost price controls on what credit…
Heritage
Drivers Don’t Need a Mandate for Choice
CNET
Privacy dispute tests Obama’s earlier promises
News Release
Justice Department Approves Google’s ITA Acquisition, With Conditions
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Nicole Ciandella, 202-331-2773 Washington, D.C., April 8, 2011 – Today, the Department of Justice announced a proposed…
Blog
My Response to Simon Johnson’s Defense of Price Controls Benefiting Big Retailers
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post blasting 17 Republican senators who voted last year for Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment, which puts below-cost price controls…
Blog
WaPo Freaks the Heck Out Over Gov’t Shutdown
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Yahoo! Finance
Royale Energy Hosts East Coast Energy Summit
Daily Caller
House moves against net neutrality but obstacles remain
American Thinker
Regulatory Dysfunction
American Thinker references Wayne Crews's study on the cost of government regulations. In a 2008 review of the cost of government regulations entitled…
Blog
Elitist WaPo Rant Against “Extreme Couponing,” Affordable Food
A Washington Post reporter today heaped scorn on "Extreme Couponing," a TLC show about people who go to great extremes to clip and use coupons. …
Blog
ReasonTV video on Protectionism at the Smithsonian
ReasonTV just produced an eye-opening video regarding how easily politicians can utilize rhetoric to create economically absurd policies. In the video below, Bernie Sanders works…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: April 6, 2011
Nation: Wine shipping is once again being threatened by federal legislation threatening to overturn Supreme Court decisions that clearly made it illegal for states…
Blog
Michigan Demonstrates Clean Energy “Success”
In what should be a satirical piece from The Onion, Reuters has an exclusive interview with former Michigan Governor Granholm who boldly proclaims that…
Newsletter
Inflation, Health Food, and the CEI Podcast
Blog
Morning Media Summary
News Release
Leading Free Market Groups Urge Congress to Update U.S. Privacy Laws
Washington, D.C., April 6, 2011 — This morning, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear key administration officials testify about the statute that governs…