Blog
Obama Administration Discards Reporting Requirements in Obamacare
The Obama administration has illegally discarded the reporting requirements mandated by the 2010 healthcare law, which were designed to prevent countless billions of…
Blog
French Cheese Ban: An Attack on “Scientific Principles” in Violation of Treaties Protecting International Trade?
Earlier, we wrote about the U.S. government's de facto ban on the commonplace, perfectly healthy, normal-smelling French cheese mimolette (which I once confused with…
Cato
Banning Fancy French Cheese
I’m no cheese connoisseur. . .But I understand that some people have more refined tastes, and they feel very strongly about the issue. And they…
Blog
Another Federal Appeals Court Rules against Obama Administration’s Contraceptive Mandate
Contraceptives are easy to obtain, and forcing employers to include a broad array of contraceptives in employee health insurance makes as little sense as forcing…
Blog
Federal Regulations Make Americans 75 Percent Poorer
"Federal regulations have made you 75 percent poorer," and as a result, "U.S. GDP is just $16 trillion instead of $54 trillion," says an…
Blog
President Repeats False “Equal Pay” Statistic Claiming Women Earn 77 Percent of What Men Do
President Obama repeated a myth about equal pay and pay discrimination, as the economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth notes at RealClearMarkets: Last week in the…
Blog
Obamacare and Activist State Courts Drive Up Health Plan Costs
The so-called rate shock from Obamacare has hit Ohio. The state’s Department of Insurance announced last Thursday that the average individual-market health insurance premium…
Blog
Legal Ignorance of the Day: Federal Officials Seek to Restrict Religious Speech and “Hate Speech”
To be appointed to a Justice Department position in the Obama administration, you may need to satisfy various ideological litmus tests. But apparently…
Legal Brief
CEI v. Social Security Administration – June 6 Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF Plaintiff COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (“CEI”) for its complaint against Defendant SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (“SSA”), alleges as follows:…
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Education Department Can’t Ban Speech
As a former Education Department lawyer, I share George Will’s dismay that the Education Department is now pressuring colleges to ban speech such as sexual…
Blog
Wisconsin Town Criminalizes Parents for Kids’ Bullying and Offensive Speech
Law Professor Eugene Volokh has an interesting post on a Wisconsin town's "bullying" ordinance, which criminalizes speech by minors as "bullying" or "harassment" if…
Long Island Newsday
Colleges Paranoid Over Sexual Speech
As a former U.S. Education Department lawyer, I largely agree with Cathy Young's criticism of the department for demanding that colleges treat as "sexual harassment"…
Legal Brief
CEI v EPA – May 29 Complaint
The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit in federal court to compel the Environmental Protection Agency to turn over text message records of Gina McCarthy, Assistant…
Blog
Education Department Attack on Free Speech and Due Process Criticized in Washington Post, Chronicle, and Other Papers
Earlier, I wrote about a recent letter from the Education and Justice Departments demanding that the University of Montana define as a reportable "sexual…
Washington Post
‘Alice in Wonderland’ coercion
Hans Bader, a former OCR lawyer now with the limited-government Competitive Enterprise Institute, notes that this “Alice in Wonderland” — “sentence first, verdict afterwards” —…
Blog
IRS Political Harassers Could Theoretically Be Fired, as Required by 1998 Law
Earlier, I wrote about how, thanks to civil-service regulations, it is hard to fire government employees for misconduct, despite often-ignored Constitutional provisions, such…
Wall Street Journal
Letter to the Editor: When the First Amendment Is Repealed by Bureaucrats
Greg Lukianoff is right to criticize the Education Department for illegally trying to abolish the requirement that comments must be offensive to a "reasonable person"…
Blog
Anti-Business and Anti-Freedom: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In the American Spectator, CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray and Geoffrey McLatchey explain why the Senate should be skeptical of the United Nations Convention…
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dark Cloud Over Academic Freedom: How the Education Department Would Limit Dating
Recently the Education Department issued a controversial "blueprint" for dealing with sexual harassment that could expose colleges that follow it to First Amendment lawsuits and…
Washington Times
Letter to the Editor: Free Speech Isn’t Harassment
The Washington Times rightly criticizes the Obama administration for demanding unconstitutional college speech codes (“Repealing free speech,” Comment & Analysis, May 17). The…
Blog
Firing Government Employees Is Too Hard; the Constitution Intended for It to Be Easier
It's hard to get rid of a career bureaucrat, even at the managerial level. "After you've been here for a year, it's easier to kill…
Blog
Legal Fallacy Underlies Defense of IRS Harassment by Progressives
Progressives such as those at the Daily Kos are arguing that it would have been just fine to for the IRS to investigate all groups…
Citation
Obama administration demands that colleges adopt unconstitutional speech codes
The Justice Department and the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights have now effectively defined dating and flirting as “sexual harassment,” in addition to demanding…
Blog
Obama Recess Appointments Violate Constitution; Another Appeals Court Rules Against the NLRB
Another federal appeals court has ruled that President Obama's so-called "recess appointments" to the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional because the Senate was not…
The Atlantic
No Sex Talk Allowed: What’s wrong with the Obama administration’s definition of sexual harassment
"Federal government mandates unconstitutional speech codes at college and universities nationwide," the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) accurately…
Blog
IRS Investigated Groups for Teaching about the Constitution
The IRS didn’t just investigate groups based on their perceived political views, but also targeted groups for “educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights”…
Blog
Federal Title IX Enforcers Effectively Define Dating and Sex Education as “Sexual Harassment”
No one would believe you if you made this up, but it's now actually happened: The Justice Department and the Education Department's Office for Civil…
Blog
Youth Unemployment Is at Highest Sustained Level Since World War II
Real youth unemployment is at 16.1 percent, the highest sustained rate since World War II. As the non-partisan youth advocacy group Generation Opportunity notes,…
Blog
First Amendment Menace: Obama Administration to Expand Americans with Disabilities Act over Websites?
Can websites be forced to change to accommodate the disabled -- by using "simpler language" to appeal to the "intellectually disabled," or by making…
Blog
Historian: Housing Nominee Mel Watt Helped Spawn the Subprime Crisis
In the Daily Caller, historian and presidential biographer Charles C. Johnson writes that “Housing nominee Mel Watt helped create the…
Blog
Obama: A Sweet Pension for Himself, But Not For America’s Savers or Investors
In The Washington Post, Allan Sloan points out that while President Obama wants to cap American citizens' IRAs at $3 million or substantially…
Reason
Democratic Nativist (Yes, Such a Creature Exists) Strikes At Nikki Haley
Every good liberal knows that GOP is the party of bigoted, narrow-minded “knaves and fools” that is in every way morally inferior to the noble…
The American Spectator
Financial Experts: Dodd-Frank Exacerbates Instability
These were the standout insights from a panel discussion hosted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) on April 11. The gathering focused on the Financial…
Legal Brief
CEI v. EPA Region 9 – May 2 Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF 1) This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to…
Washington Post
Letter to the Editor: Getting the history of the Voting Rights Act right
Gary May’s diatribe against Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia displayed the historical ignorance he inveighed against [“Scalia vs. the Voting Rights Act,” Sunday Opinion,…
Blog
U.S. Government Bans French Cheese Based On Food Prejudices
The U.S. government is banning a standard, normal-smelling French cheese based on its own squeamishness. The cheese in question is Mimolette, a commonplace,…
Overlawyered
NYT Breaks Open Pigford Case, Cont’d
Hans Bader wonders whether the Obama administration might have avoided going down the embarrassing settlement route had it taken more seriously the Supreme Court’s 2001…
Blog
New York Times: Obama Administration Discrimination Settlement Was “Magnet For Fraud” That Enriched Trial Lawyers
A page 1 New York Times story today describes how the Obama administration, despite opposition from civil servants, radically expanded a legal settlement that…
Blog
Obama’s Controversial Nominee For Labor Secretary To Be Voted On
Cato Institute attorney Ilya Shapiro wrote Tuesday about “Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights who personifies . . . this…
Blog
Lawsuits Over “Customary International Law”: A Menace To Free Speech, Our Liberties, Our Companies, And Our Economy
Earlier, I wrote about how it was a good thing that the Supreme Court blocked foreigners from suing in the U.S. over…
Blog
EEOC: A Scofflaw That Poisons The Climate For Hiring
One way the current political climate discourages hiring is by turning problem employees into potential lawsuits for the employers who take the risk…
Blog
More On Supreme Court Ruling Limiting International Lawsuits
Earlier, I wrote about the Supreme Court’s closing the door on lawsuits by foreigners alleging nebulous violations of “human rights” or international norms…
Blog
The Train Wreck That Is Obamacare
At least one union that supported passage of Obamacare, is now calling for its repeal. As The Wall Street Journal notes, the United…
Blog
Supreme Court Dismisses Alien Tort Lawsuit Over Nigerian Dispute
The Supreme Court today refused to allow Nigerians to sue Dutch and other corporations in U.S. court over alleged abuses in Nigeria that occurred…
Blog
Don’t Waste Billions Putting Gun-Wielding Guards In Our Schools
School violence has diminished in recent years, but in response to a few mass shootings, the National Rifle Association and the Obama…
Overlawyered
SCOTUS: U.S. Can’t Play Tortmaster-General to the World
Notably, all nine Justices sidestepped the issue that had caused extensive angst among many popular commentators, namely whether the statute could be applied to corporations…
Blog
Food Safety Modernization Act Far More Costly Than Supporters Claimed
“Proposed FDA safety rules frustrate tree fruit farmers,” reported The Washington Post. As the FDA puts “in place a massive overhaul of the nation’s…
Blog
Obama Budget: Bad News For Investors, Taxpayers, And Education Reform
Blog
Obamacare Strangles Job Creation, Stifles Medical Innovation
Earlier, I wrote about the dismal March jobs report and how high unemployment has been masked by rising numbers of discouraged workers and people…
Capital Press
Group Sues EPA Over Instant Messages
A new lawsuit accuses U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials of using instant messaging to avoid revealing their communications to the public. The plaintiff, the Competitive…
Philly
Letter to the Editor: Race Has No Place in Gun-Law Debate
Charlotte and Harriet Childress falsely claim that "nearly all of the mass shootings in this country in recent years . . . have…
Blog
Overcriminalizing Childhood: Maryland Turns Distressing Speech Into A Crime
Under the First Amendment, the government has far less power to restrict speech when it acts as a sovereign (such as when it criminally prosecutes…
Blog
Dismal Jobs Figures Don’t Increase Official Unemployment Rate, As Job-Seekers Give Up, Or Go On Disability
The stock market has fallen this morning in response to the dismal March jobs report released this morning, which showed that a meager…
Legal Brief
CEI v. EPA, Fee Waiver Case – April 4 Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF Plaintiff COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (“CEI”) for its complaint against Defendant UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (“EPA” or…
Blog
The Myth Of Welfare Reform
Welfare reform is largely a myth. Many people who used to be on welfare have since gone onto Social Security Disability. That benefits states…
Legal Brief
CEI and ATI v. EPA – March 28 Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF Plaintiffs COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (“CEI”) and AMERICAN TRADITION INSTITUTE (“ATI”) for their complaint against Defendant UNITED STATES…
Blog
Education Department Joins EPA In Touting Communist Killers
Blog
When The Nanny State Kills
The government told people to switch from saturated animal fats to unsaturated vegetable fats. But that advice may have killed a lot of people.
Law
West Virginia AG’s New Rules for Outside Counsel
Legal reform advocates have had harsh words for outside counsel selection under McGraw. In a 2010 report, the Competitive Enterprise Institute named McGraw to its…
Blog
Obamacare Harms Colleges And Their Employees
The University of Virginia is expecting a roughly $7-million bill for Obamacare's new employer penalties, said Susan Carkeek, the University's vice president and…
Blog
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter Shows Contempt For First Amendment Freedoms
Philadelphia magazine published an article called "Being White in Philly," with the subtitle, “Whites, race, class, and the things that never get said.” Compared…
Letters
Data Quality Reconsideration Request to EPA Regarding Biofuel Mandates
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute and ActionAid USA hereby ask that EPA reconsider its December 12, 2012 denial…
Blog
More Calls For Censorship To Prevent “Bullying”
We live in a culture where harsh but truthful criticism, or exposure of wrongdoing, is viewed by some as "bullying," especially when it affects…
Blog
No, Hugo Chavez Did Not Improve Health Or Human Development In Venezuela
Reuters’ recent obituary for Venezuela’s anti-American strongman, Hugo Chavez, obscured the fact that he made life worse for his countrymen — worse, that is, than…
Blog
Washington Examiner: “Congress: Obamacare To Boost Premiums To $7,186 — A Year”
Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports on massive premium increases due to Obamacare: Health insurance companies, facing new and costly rules and…
Blog
Harvard’s Jeffrey Miron: Sequestration Will Help National Economy
Blog
Wells Fargo Economists: Sequestration Helps The Economy In The Long Run
Yet again, the Obama administration is busy engaging in scare tactics about sequestration, inflating its impact on the government and the country (to the point…
PJ Media
Here’s to Austerity: Last Day Until Sequestration
Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute wrote on February 25 that these cuts are good. The Cato Institute describes why most of these cuts…
The News Tribune
Budget: Herbert Hoover Increased Spending, Deficits
Blog
VAWA Bill Likely To Pass Congress This Week, Despite Violating First Amendment
Congress never lets the Constitution get in the way of passing a law with a catchy title. Thus, the Senate’s version of the bill…
Blog
The Myth Of British Austerity, And Why It Was Concocted
Opposition to spending cuts in America has been based heavily on “the myth of British austerity,” even though “if the British government is practicing…
Blog
Why The Sequester Budget Cuts Are Good
As we noted earlier, the automatic budget cuts contained in the sequester will help the economy in the long run, even if they are…
Slate
Opening Act: “A Vote for Cloture is a Vote to Confirm”
CEI's Hans Bader argues that sequestration will be good for the economy in the long run. This is another problem with…
Blog
VAWA Bill Still Contains Provisions Violating First Amendment And Other Constitutional Provisions
Legal scholars say the Senate-passed bill reauthorizating the Violence Against Women Act contains provisions that violate the First Amendment and Articles II and III of…
PJ Media
The Bogus Wage Gap War
Additionally, women tend to work fewer hours than men, which could also partially explain…
Free Beacon
A Different Standard
Hans Bader, senior attorney and counsel for special projects at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which filed a brief in the St. Paul case, said…
Blog
NIH-Funded Conspiracy Theory Smearing Tea Party Gets Even Wackier
Overlawyered
February 17 roundup
Federal taxpayers via National Cancer Institute grant dished out more than a million dollars to pay for laughable conspiracy-theory report smearing Tea Party [Hans…
Blog
Shades Of McCarthyism: Federal Government Funds Smear Campaigns On Tea Party, Kochs
Blog
Schools Trample On First Amendment
Schools like Tarrant County College have banned "empty holster" protests in favor of gun rights, which administrators perceive as somehow threatening. Never mind that…
Blog
Obama Renews Call For Paycheck Fairness Act
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama renewed his call for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it…
Blog
Sequester Budget Cuts Would Increase Long-Term Economic Growth
The automatic budget cuts contained in the sequester will increase economic growth in the long-term, if Congress will just let them happen—rather than listening to…
National Post
Frum Wrong About Budget Cuts
David Frum claims modest automatic budget cuts scheduled to go into effect in the U.S.A. in March will somehow harm the economy if they aren’t…
Blog
Progressive Myths About Poverty And Inequality
Blog
Obamacare: More Cost, Less Coverage
Seven million fewer people than predicted will have health care coverage a decade after Obamacare’s passage, admits the Congressional Budget Office. One reason “is that…
Blog
Misleading Food Stamp Campaign By Progressive Officials
Washington Examiner
Letter to the Editor: Sequestration Cuts Will Increase Long-Term Growth
Re: "Drop in GDP a preview for area," Jan. 31 This article falsely claims that the U.S. economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012…
Blog
Thrifty People Punished Yet Again By Obama Administration
When I bought my home, I chose a mortgage that was within my means. That meant buying a little two-bedroom house, and using much of…
Blog
$180 Billion Wasted On Head Start; Progressives Seek To Ban Private Schools And Homeschooling
The Head Start program has now wasted $180 billion, but it has no lasting effect on student achievement. In the long run, children who…
Washington Times
Letter to the Editor: Under Obama, a Failing America
Blog
Obama Administration Thumbs Nose At Court Ruling On Separation Of Powers
Thumbing its nose at the federal courts, which ruled today President Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board last year were not…
Blog
Economic Freedom Declines Again; Government Control Is Bad For Your Health
Economic freedom has declined under the Obama administration, and America's rank has repeatedly fallen on the Index of Economic Freedom and other rankings issued…
Right Side News
Economic Freedom Declines Again; Government Control Is Bad for Your Health
Economic freedom has declined under the Obama administration, and America’s rank has repeatedly fallen on the Index of Economic Freedom and other rankings issued by…
Blog
Obamacare Increases Unnecessary Medical Tests, Wastes Doctors’ Time, Drives Up Billings And Costs
President Obama claimed Obamacare would cut healthcare costs, but it actually increased them in many ways, some of which are chronicled here. Here are yet…
Blog
Obama Promotes Constitutional Fallacies In Gun Control Push
The president's remarks about gun control yesterday promoted fallacies about the Constitution and the scope of federal regulatory power under it. Under the Constitution,…
Blog
Bankrupting America, One Vote At A Time
Blog
Obamacare Imposes New Fees, Cost Increases On The Public
Obamacare was sold to the public based on the fallacy that it would cut healthcare costs, but each month brings additional evidence that it…
Blog
Teaching Self-Esteem Undermines Students’ Academic Achievement
Self-control, not self-esteem, leads to success, researchers have found. Indeed, teaching self-esteem actually harms students' achievement and work ethic. "In one study, university students…
Blog
Guatemalan Children Starve Due To Ethanol Mandates
The New York Times reports that ethanol and biofuel mandates in the U.S. and Europe are fueling rising hunger in Guatemala, which now has the fourth-highest…
Washington Examiner
Ethanol mandates and starving kids in Guatemala
Our federal law requires refiners buy ethanol. This results in ethanol imports from places like Guatemala. This spurs the ethanol industry in Guatemala. This exacerbates…