Blog
Regulation of the Day 186: Missing Children
Covington, Kentucky police ordered a grieving grandmother to take down fliers of her missing granddaughter from city property.
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 21, 2011: Stopping the Music
Labor Policy Counsel Vinnie Vernuccio, who coauthored a recent op-ed in the New York Daily News, finds that labor unions, by resisting necessary changes and…
Blog
Competitors: Stop That Merger!
Real competition happens in the market. Not in Washington.
Daily Caller
Competitors: Stop That Merger!
AT&T and T-Mobile would like to merge. The $39 billion deal would make them the largest mobile phone service provider in the country. Not everyone…
Blog
Federal Job Security
More workers die than get fired at many federal agencies.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 185: How to Wear Pants
Collinsville, Illinois officials know that when you look good, you feel good. That’s why they are now regulating the height at which people shall wear…
Blog
Police Shut Down Renegade Lemonade Stand
Vendors inside the car show didn't appreciate the competition. So they talked the city government into passing a new ordinance that put the girls out…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 184: Picking up Dog Poop
A Vienna, Austria man was recently jailed for not picking up after his Great Danes.
One News Now
Regs Reform Merely a Pittance
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 14, 2011: The Incandescent Light Bulb Ban
Have a listen here. Earlier this week, General Electric (GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt gave a speech at a conference on free enterprise. Energy Policy…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 183: Throwing Wet Sponges
Apparently British regulators don’t think their subjects are sponge-worthy.
Blog
Schumpeter on Why People Are Bad at Arguing
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Regulation of the Day 182: The Definition of a Hot Dog
Having solved the state’s fiscal crisis, California’s state legislature has moved on to more important issues, such as the legal definition of “hot dog.”…
Blog
Strangely Specific Regulations
The next someone tells you the economy is dangerously unregulated, refer them to this list:…
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 7, 2011: How Much Does Regulation Cost?
One federal study says federal regulations cost $1.75 trillion. Another says it's $62 billion. The difference is almost a factor of 30. Vice President for…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 182: PowerPoint Presentations
A political party in Switzerland is seeking to ban Microsoft PowerPoint presentations in meetings.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 181: Offensive Bumper Stickers
Tennessee drivers can be fined $50 if someone else finds their bumper sticker offensive.
Blog
Schumpeter on Ideology
Blog
The Neuroscience Behind Partisanship
Blog
Costs and Benefits of Regulation
One of the major developments in regulation over the last 30 years has been the rise of cost-benefit analysis. At first, agencies squirmed and resisted.
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 29, 2011: Stealing You Blind
Blog
Regulation Roundup
King County's $86 fine for swimming without a life vest, plus more.
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 23, 2011: Bunker Fuel
Bunker fuel is a heavy fuel used by large ships around the world. Land Use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner looks at new environmental…
Blog
We Need Regulators, Not Interveners
Most of what people call regulation doesn't have anything to with regular commerce. These kinds of rules are more accurately called interventions.
Blog
Where Do TSA-Confiscated Items Go?
The TSA has a habit of confiscating security-unrelated items. Over at The American Spectator, I recall just such an experience that I had at O'Hare.
American Spectator
My Mother-in-Law Is Owed an Apology
My mother-in-law once gave me a Leatherman multi-tool for Christmas. The one she gave me had Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, scissors, a knife, and…
Daily Caller
Regulators Should Regulate Economy, Not Intervene In It
Just as surely as summer is followed by autumn, it seems that these days every proposed corporate merger is followed by antitrust complaints —…
Blog
No Such Thing as an Average Cancer Patient
CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko has an excellent piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Greg doesn't think it's right that the FDA is denying terminally…
Blog
Lessons in Entrepreneurship: Lemonade Stand Edition
Lemonade stands are technically illegal in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 15, 2011: Do ATMs Kill Jobs?
In a recent NBC interview, President Obama blamed ATMs for taking away bank tellers' jobs. Communications Coordinator Lee Doren points out that innovation doesn't affect…
Blog
Standardized Test Scores Continue to Disappoint
Children would be far better served if government were to take a leading role in K-12 education… oh, wait.
Blog
Regulation Roundup
A new Senate bill would make lip-synching to other people’s music a jailable offense, plus more.
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 9, 2011: The Other Black Friday
Online poker has been illegal since April 15, now called Black Friday by poker fans. Policy Analyst Michelle Minton goes over the controversy and explains…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 180: Braiding Hair
Businesses often use regulations as a cudgel to bludgeon their competitors. Occupational licensing is one of the most-abused types of regulation.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 179: Giving Food to Homeless People
Last Wednesday, three people were arrested in Orlando for giving food to homeless people.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 178: Helping Tornado Victims
Mike Haege, a tree-trimmer in Hastings, Minnesota, was threatened with jail and fined $275 for helping clear damaged trees from tornado victims' yards.
Blog
Regulation Roundup
Tennessee makes it illegal to use someone else's Netflix password, plus more.
Blog
Top 3 Myths about Immigration
According to Ben Powell, the three most common immigration myths are that immigrants are a drag on the economy, they steal our jobs, and that…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 31, 2011: FDA Rescinds Approval of Breast Cancer Drug
Conko believes this battle boils down to one question: who decides which treatments patients can use? Will it be the FDA, or doctors and patients?…
Blog
Liberalize High-Skilled Immigration
Over at the Daily Caller, Alex Nowrasteh and I tell the story of Jeffrey Lin. He is a Ph.D student at CalTech who holds three…
Daily Caller
Immigration Reform Can Jumpstart Economy
Jeffrey is a talented electrical engineering PhD student at CalTech. He already holds three patents. One of his inventions may cure glaucoma. It is…
Blog
Regulation Roundup
Some of the zanier happenings in the world of regulation:…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 26, 2011: President Obama Proposes Deregulation
Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar, announced today that the administration intends to repeal regulations from 30 different agencies. CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain…
Blog
Sunstein and Obama, Deregulators?
Winston Churchill observed that "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities." We may finally be…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 177: Single-Wide Trailers
In Cordova, Alabama single-wide trailer homes are illegal. After years of lax enforcement, regulators are cracking down after tornadoes left many residents homeless.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 176: Cooking a Burger
In North Carolina, it is illegal to cook a burger to an internal temperature under 155 degrees.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 175: Firing Dwarves
It would be nice to help out and give a job to someone who needs it, but for many employers, it’s just not worth the…
Blog
In Other TSA News…
TSA officials recently performed a bomb drill at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and didn't tell anyone about it in advance.
Blog
TSA Sing-Along
The good folks at Reason.tv have released an educational music video about the TSA featuring singer-songwriter-comedian Remy. Worth watching.
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 18, 2011: Suing Chuck E. Cheese
Communications Coordinator Lee Doren breaks down a bizarre class action lawsuit against Chuck E. Cheese's. The suit accuses the company of offering gambling services to…