Blog
Regulation of the Day 73: Snow Globes as Terrorist Threat
Yes, larger snow globes probably violate the TSA’s three-ounce limit for liquids. But they are not bombs. They are, in fact, snow globes.
Blog
Andrew Cuomo Sues Intel
Over at the Washington Examiner's Opinion Zone, Wayne Crews and I explain why New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's antitrust lawsuit against Intel is a…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 72: Brass Toys, Killer of Children
Toymakers presumably choose brass because it is cheap, durable, and better than alternative materials. Now they will have to turn to those second-best materials despite…
Washington Examiner
Andrew Cuomo Should Leave Intel Alone
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on November 4 that he is suing Intel for antitrust violations. Cuomo’s lawsuit is a mistake. He…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 71: Waistlines
In Japan, it is illegal for men to have a waist larger than 33.5 inches. The limit for women is 35.4 inches. Those in violation…
Blog
Cell Phones, Cancer, and Certainty
Every dollar and every hour of researchers' time spent on lessening cancer risks from cell phones is money and time not spent curing heart disease,…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 70: Combustible Dust
OSHA has published a proposed rule to regulate one of the greatest threats to mankind: combustible dust.
Opposing Views
Should We Be Worried About Cell Phones and Cancer
CNN reports: “Last summer, Dr. Ronald Herberman, then director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a warning to about 3,000 faculty and…
Blog
Friday Fun: Brett Bowl II
Blog
Unfunded Mandates
Today's American Spectator Online has a piece by CEI VP Wayne Crews and I on curbing Congressional abuse of unfunded mandates.
American Spectator
Yes, Virginia Foxx
Jaws dropped when the government announced recently that the national debt would increase by $14,000,000,000,000 over the next decade. Right now, roughly every third dollar…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 69: Owning More than Three Cats
A new local ordinance in Dudley, Massachusetts makes it illegal to more than three cats without a license. Coaseian bargaining might be a better solution…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 68: Ironing Tables
At HPI's request, the International Trade Administration will continue to add anti-dumping duties to the price of its competitors' Chinese-made ironing tables. Sorry, consumers.
Blog
Lomborg Strikes Again
Some people want to cure malaria by reducing carbon emissions. Others want to cure it with mosquito nets, and better health care and sanitation. Which…
Blog
Taxes without Borders
This month's issue of Info Tech & Telecom News contains an article by yours truly on certain states' attempts to collect sales taxes from out-of-state…
Heartland Institute
‘Amazon Taxes’ Fad Harmful to States, Consumers, Business
Tax revenues have been plunging during the current recession, and states have been scrambling for ways to bolster their depleted coffers by looking online. While…
Blog
Washington and Wall Street: Best Kept Separate
Russ Roberts' recent Congressional testimony is superb: "I’m mad at Wall Street. But I’m a lot madder at the people who gave them the keys…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 67: Oysters
A new FDA rule requires oysters harvested between April and October to be sterilized before they are eaten. An unintended consequence is that the state…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 66: Trick or Treating
Trick-or-treating is banned in Dunkard Township, PA. The government will hold a four-hour Halloween party to make up for it.
Blog
Sweden’s CO2 Labeling: Deceptive Advertising?
A quick point to add to Fran Smith's post on Sweden's experiment in labeling food and menus with carbon footprints: don't read too much into…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 65: Weighing Animals
If you sell poultry or livestock, it’s a good idea to weigh them first. Makes it easier for buyer and seller to agree on a…
Blog
Keeping Priorities Straight
Bjørn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus, brings some much-needed common sense to the global warming debate. Reporting from Vanuatu, he finds that many locals…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 64: Starting a Business in Sacramento, California
The human mind is capable of creating limitless, endless wealth. The human mind is nearly as adept at preventing that wealth from being created. Sacramento…
Blog
Is Cognitive Dissonance an Insured Condition?
Rep. Diana DeGette is proposing: 1)That health insurers' antitrust exemption be removed. 2) Require, by law, that people buy health insurance. What one hand giveth,…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 63: Sports Agents in New Hampshire
It is illegal to be a sports agent in New Hampshire without a Secretary of State-issued certificate. Don’t forget your biennial renewal!…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 62: Government Employees and Texting while Driving
Executive Order No. 13513 prohibits federal employees and contractors from texting while driving while on duty.
Blog
Deficit Hits $1,400,000,000,000
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Happy 90th Birthday to Nobel Laureate James Buchanan
Blog
Robert Reich Gets It
Some of the consequences of increasing government’s role in health care are easy predict.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 61: Big Screen TVs – Mankind’s Doom!
On November 4, California regulators may vote to ban big-screen televisions. The large sets use more energy than they would prefer.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 60: Hybrid Car Noise
One advantage of hybrid cars is that they are quiet. Too quiet, some would say. Blind pedestrians may not hear a hybrid coming around the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 59: Pharmacy Interns in Colorado
It is illegal to intern for a pharmacist in Colorado without a license.
Blog
Markets vs. Special Interests
"It is precisely the fact that the market does not respect vested interests that makes the people concerned ask for government interference."…
Blog
This Year’s Economics Nobel Winners
Blog
President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama is in a prime position to work wonders for the cause of peace. He can institute free trade in America. Trade is the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 58: Banning Children from Playgrounds
A new regulation in Kensington, Maryland bans children over five years old from using a local playground between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Blog
Precisely Backwards
Few things are more taxing than our elected officials’ economic illiteracy. How sad that visiting a wonderful country like ours may soon be one of…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 57: Minimum Price Agreements
A new Maryland law makes it illegal for manufacturers to set a minimum retail price for their products in sales contracts. The law is meant…
American Spectator
Price Fixing
On October 1, it became illegal in Maryland for manufacturers to set the minimum prices at which retailers may sell their products. Sen. Herb Kohl…
Blog
Corporate Human Rights?
Over at the Detroit News, Hans Bader and I explain why corporations have human rights despite not being human. The reason why? Transaction costs.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 56: Kahlua in Ohio
Kahlua contains 20% alcohol in 49 states. But in Ohio, it is 21.5%. Weird, huh? Turns out regulations are the reason.
Blog
Net Neutrality and Rent-Seeking
Net neutrality proposals give companies the incentive to seek rents at each other’s expense when they could be benefitting from each other’s innovations instead.
Blog
The Economics of Net Neutrality
Over at the Washington Examiner's Opinion Zone, I apply what I learned back in Economics 101 to the net neutrality debate. It's all about scarcity.
Blog
Funny, That
An article in today's New York Times laments the difficulty of "building momentum for an international climate treaty at a time when global temperatures have…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 55: Home Environmental Inspections
If cap and trade passes, almost all homes for sale would be required to undergo an environmental inspection. The home cannot be sold until it…
Hot Air
The End of the Fixer-Upper?
Pajamas Media
Politico: Cap-and-Trade Will Depress Home Prices
Politico
Cap-and-Trade Will Depress Home Prices
Cap and trade is back in the news. By the end of this month, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is…
Washington Examiner
Is the FCC Neutralizing Innovation?
In a major speech Monday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that one of his top policy goals is implementing network neutrality rules. That’s a sophisticated…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 54: Shovelnose Sturgeon
Why does the Fish and Wildlife Service want to list it as a threatened species? Because it looks like the pallid sturgeon, which is currently…