The American Spectator
Progressive Pests Try to Ban Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
The American Spectator cites Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on CCCEH and pesticides. As Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Angela Logomasini has noted, CCCEH works with…
The Hill
Ending Counterproductive, Counterintuitive Regulation
Early in the COVID-19 crisis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chided the Trump administration’s response and demanded “testing, testing, testing.” Yet,…
Blog
INFORM Me When It’s Over
Among other depressing developments, 2020 saw the introduction of the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (INFORM) in both houses…
Blog
All Levels of Government Need a Top-to-Bottom Review of Transportation Policy
Evidence is mounting that mass transit played a major role in spreading COVID-19. According to analytics firm TrendMacro, the only factor “that seems to make…
Blog
Retro Review: William H. McNeill – Plagues and Peoples (1976)
William McNeill was one of the 20th century’s leading big-picture world historians. Interconnectedness is a major theme of his work. Plagues and Peoples applies McNeill’s…
Blog
Should Parents Have to Choose between Keeping Federal Benefits or Keeping their Kids Safe from COVID-19?
Should parents have to choose between keeping federal benefits to cope with COVID-19 or keeping their children at home if the local school isn’t doing…
Letters
CEI Joins Premarket Tobacco Authorization Coalition Letter
View Full Document as PDF Commissioner Hahn: On behalf of taxpayers and consumers across the country, the undersigned 15 organizations…
National Review
Let a Thousand ESG Certifiers Bloom
The business world has recently seen a dramatic increase in the vogue for “socially responsible” rules of behavior. Companies are encouraged to make environmental, social,…
Blog
Retro Reviews: Azar Gat with Alexander Yakobson – Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism (2013)
Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism is the rare book that makes the reader see the world differently, permanently.
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Proposed Regulatory Capital Framework
Dear Mr. Pollard: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I am pleased to submit the following comment letter on the Federal…
USA Today
Trump, Biden Tout Contrasting Economic Plans. Which Will Restore Jobs Lost in the Pandemic Faster?
USA Today cites CEI on regulatory reform: The president says he’ll continue to aggressively cut regulations. He initially promised to scrap two rules…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The last week saw another political convention, another police shooting, and two hurricanes. There was at least one major positive story, though. Polio has finally…
Blog
This Labor Day, Let’s Celebrate Individual Worker Rights
Labor Day 2020 is definitely an ironic moment: The federal government is having a holiday to celebrate working Americans at a time when record numbers…
Blog
Anti-Nicotine Zealots Only Care about Science When it Says What They Want
Opponents of nicotine vapor products like to claim the scientific high ground. For years, they have asserted there isn’t enough evidence on the long-term risks…
Blog
The Washington Post Plays Fast and Loose in Coverage of CFPB performance During Pandemic
In a recent piece, Washington Post Opinions Contributor Helaine Olen slammed CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger for doing too little to protect consumers during the COVID-19…
News Release
SEC Takes Step Towards Equality, Against Privilege with Change to Accredited Investor Rule
Today the Securities and Exchange Commission announced action to liberalize so-called accredited investor regulation. John Berlau, a longtime proponent of such reform, praised the decision.
Blog
Are Scandinavian Countries Socialist?
Are modern Scandinavian countries actually socialist? This question must be asked because it is a common rhetorical device of “democratic socialist” politicians to wave away…
Forbes
What Comes After Trillion? Coming To Terms With The Impenetrable Costs Of Government Intervention
“We print it digitally,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said of money. They sure do. Real…
Blog
Demise of ESG Investing Overstated
The Department of Labor’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in pension fund investments has received a lot of…
The Bookmonger Podcast: National Review
AUDIO: CEI’s Iain Murray Joins The Bookmonger Podcast
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The spring 2020 Unified Agenda was published on August 17. Due four months ago, it collects every rulemaking agency’s plans for upcoming regulations. The number…
Blog
Conservative Carbon Tax: Bad Politics, Bad Policy
A recent article in National Review suggests conservative politicians would be smart to advocate a carbon tax, enabling them to show they care about the…
Blog
A Discussion on Saving Bluebirds through Private Conservation, and a Tribute to Andy Thompson
The following interview of CEI Senior Fellow R.J. Smith was inspired with the encouragement of former CEI staff member Andy Thompson, who passed away recently.
Blog
App-less in Sacramento? Uber and Lyft Allowed to Postpone California Departure
On August 20, an appeals court in California allowed Uber and Lyft to halt their plans to flee the Golden State rather than comply with…
Blog
California’s Rolling Blackouts Cast Further Doubt on Electric Vehicles’ Future
However, California’s rolling blackouts underscore the difficulties that a massive scaling up of electric vehicles would entail. The problem is that EVs don’t really reduce…
City Journal
Pointless Quarantine
New York’s restrictions on interstate travelers are overbroad and punish rather than protect New Yorkers. At the end of March, Rhode Island governor…
National Review
How Trump Can Help Reopen America’s Schools
It’s almost the middle of August, and many parents still have little idea if their kids will be able to go to school in a few…
National Review
App Shrugged: Will Uber Go Galt in California?
The rideshare company Uber is threatening to end its operations in California entirely if the Golden State forces the company to classify all its drivers as…
The Wall Street Journal
The White House Prepared for a Pandemic
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the Democrats’ broadside against the Trump administration’s Covid-19 response. “Our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent,” he told…
Blog
CFPB Shouldn’t Burden Debt Settlement with Regulations that Could Harm Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published a report that explores the use and proliferation of debt settlement. While its findings identify some important trends…
Blog
The Year of the Weeniecane May Be Ending
Every prediction for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season—and there are many of them—has been forecasting above normal activity, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic dvice-presidential candidate, a massive storm swept through the Midwest, and Congress is out of session until September. The…
Blog
Can You Have Worker Representatives without Unions? Uber Hopes So
Rideshare company Uber is trying to find a way to allow its drivers to collectively express any grievances or concerns they have without having those…
Blog
The Socialist Temptation: Why Don’t People Remember the Horrors of Socialism?
Why are people still attracted to socialism when its history is plain for all to see? One reason is that those who proclaimed the dawn…
News Release
CEI Successfully Challenges Harmful and Unlawful Conditions on Charter-Time Warner Merger
In Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Federal Communications Commission, the DC Circuit Court agreed with CEI and co-litigants Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) that several major…
Blog
How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears, Part II
In a previous post, CEI's Michelle Minton described how, through the use of statistical hocus pocus, anti-vaping interest have exported vape panic around the world.
Blog
Tragedy of Young Investor Shouldn’t Be Exploited to Harm Freedoms
The recent death of Alexander Kearns, the 20-year-old day trader who took his own life, has sparked a conversation about the business practices of an increasingly important…
Blog
Solutions to Locust Plague Are the Same as for COVID: Freedom and Technology
As nations around the world have struggled to address COVID-19, desert locusts have wreaked havoc in Africa this year. For months, billions of these pests…
National Review
When George Washington Met Moses
In 1790, the United States of America was a new nation, but Moses Seixas was already living what would come to be called the American…
Blog
Department of Energy Proposes More Water and Less Government Intrusion in Showers
The Department of Energy has proposed a rule loosening existing the federal requirements and allowing more water from showers. This is good news for those…
Blog
Can 15 States Be Wrong? Yes, When They Want More Federal Appliance Regulations!
Fifteen states have threatened to sue the Trump administration unless the Department of Energy sets new energy efficiency standards for 25 appliances. Almost every point…
News Release
Regulatory Report Card Act Brings Accountability to Government, Wins Praise from CEI Expert
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) introduced a Regulatory Report Card Act directing the Comptroller General of the United States to issue regulatory scorecards to agencies. The…
Reason
Capitalism Trumps Hate
Big business wasn’t exactly the first place activists looked for allies as the modern gay rights movement emerged. Large corporations have long been seen…
News Release
Report: #Neverneeded 1920 Jones Act Hinders Coronavirus Economic Recovery
A 100-year-old law that imposes restrictions on commercial shipping now stands as a barrier to economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and imposes unfair costs…
Blog
America’s “Unconstitutional Slop” Predates Trump’s Executive Actions on Pandemic Economic Relief
The logic of the administrative state dictates the expansion of itself in response to any crisis. Executive actions play a game rigged against limited government.
Study
Repeal or Reform the Jones Act
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Tens of millions have lost their jobs. Unleashing the innovation and productivity…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing Proposal
On behalf of the undersigned federal and state-based organizations, we write to express our grave concerns with the “most favored nation” (MFN) executive order to impose foreign…
Blog
Trump Adopts one of Barack Obama’s Better Ideas: The Payroll Tax Cut
Trump’s decision to Institute a payroll tax holiday via an executive order over the weekend is a good idea even if its effectiveness as an…
Blog
New CEI Video: Eliminating Never Needed Regulations to Help with Recovery
In a new CEI video, Kent Lassman talks about three things agencies can do rein in regulations that are hindering the COVID-19 response and making…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
August’s 2020 disaster list so far includes a massive warehouse explosion in Beirut that killed more than 100 people and Hurricane Isaias. In positive news,…
Blog
CEI Submits Comment Letter in Support of EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis Rule
The comment period closed this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rulemaking. Under the proposal, all economically significant Clean Air Act regulations…
Blog
Cautious Optimism on July Jobs Numbers: Prudence, Resilience Will Aid Recovery
In July, 1.8 million new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate dropped to 10.2 percent. That is a welcome follow-up to the second quarter’s…
National Review
Why Are We Even Contemplating Canceling Aristotle?
There is a good piece hidden in philosopher Agnes Callard’s recent article for the New York Times about cancel culture. Unfortunately, that piece is lost in the framing device.
National Review
Socialists on the March
Last week, several self-proclaimed Democratic Socialists defeated long-serving Democratic incumbents in New York State primaries. One of the insurgents, Zohran Mamdani, tweeted out the words, “Socialism won.” His pinned tweet on…
The Capitalist League
Iain Murray: Socialism, Capitalism, and American Values
One of the most important things I learned at the feet of Fred Smith, founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was that most Americans don’t…
Town Hall
Socialism and the Cultural Revolution
In the 1953 classic film The Wild One, a girl asks Marlon Brando’s smoldering Johnny Strabler what he is rebelling against. He answers, “What’ve you got?”…
National Review
Socialism and the Corporation: A Love-Hate Relationship
Socialists would rather the traditional American firm did not exist. Animosity towards the capitalist boss for reaping all the rewards of his employees’ labor, or (perhaps…
News Release
July Jobs Numbers Show Economic Impact of Coronavirus Policy Reversals
CEI labor policy expert Sean Higgins breaks down what the jobs numbers from July are telling decision makers:…
Blog
Canadian Aluminum Tariff Increase is #NeverNeeded, Should Be Repealed Instead
President Trump on Thursday announced he will reimpose 10 percent aluminum tariffs against Canada. Originally enacted in 2018 on national security grounds, the tax was…
News Release
Aluminum Tariff Increase is #NeverNeeded, Should Be Repealed Instead
Blog
Californians: Educate Your Children at Your Own Risk
Activist Carl DeMaio caused a stir this week by holding a press conference in which he declared that hiring tutors could be could result in…
News Release
Ebell Pushes Back on Discredited and Illegitimate Attacks Against Critical Project for Alaska’s Economy
Last month, the Trump Administration released a final environmental analysis finding the proposed Pebble Mine project would not pose serious risk to the environment or fish population…
Blog
Voodoo Economics—Congress pushes for COVID-19 relief for the deceased
Blog
When Spending Is Regulation: The Grand Unification Theory of Government Growth
Alongside helplessness in the face of a looming $27 trillion debt, debating administrative state policy hasn’t been much help in forestalling federal government growth.
Blog
Donald Trump Jr.’s Opposition to the Pebble Mine Shouldn’t Matter
Well-connected sportsmen, often Republicans, have been known to side with environmental obstructionists on occasion. When they learn that one of their isolated hunting or fishing…
Comment
CEI Comments on BCA Rule
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rule.[1] Codifying best practices for BCA, as…
City Journal
Following The Science — Where?
When doctors meet a patient for a new complaint, we make a list of different possible explanations for the problem—a differential diagnosis—and try to determine…
Epoch Times
Why ‘Socialism’ Sounds Like ‘American Values’ To So Many
The Epoch Times quotes CEI’s Iain Murray Support for socialism in America isn’t new, nor is the successful push for socialist policies. It seems…
The Epoch Times
Basis for Biden Climate Plan Challenged by Experts
The Epoch Times cites a joint study conducted by Kevin Dayaratna from the Heritage Foundation and CEI senior fellow Patrick J. Michaels on endangerment findings: Dayaratna…
Duluth News Tribune
Jones Act Draws Critics, Defenders: Battle Lines Are Forming as the Merchant Marine Act Marks its Centennial
The Duluth News Tribune references CEI senior fellow Mario Loyola’s writing on the Jones Act: Mario Loyola, a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Forbes
From SpaceX To George Washington: How Our First President Welcomed Balloon Flight And Predicted Air Travel
With its splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the SpaceX Crew Dragon became the latest vehicle to continue the tradition of manned flights taking off from and…
Blog
An Executive Order 13,891 Guidance Document Portal Update: Another Lap to Go
President Donald Trump’s October 9, 2019 Executive Order 13,891 (E.O. 13,891) and a subsequent White House Office of Management directive to amplify and clarify it…
American Greatness
U.S. Economy Suffers Biggest Quarterly Decline Ever, Under Coronavirus Lockdowns
American Greatness cites CEI senior fellows John Berlau and Iain Murray: The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are considering bills for additional coronavirus relief…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
What a week. COVID-19 deaths passed 150,000. Second-quarter GDP declined 9.5 percent from a year ago and 7 percent from the previous quarter. In more uplifting…
Blog
NEPA Reform Gives More Power to the People, Less to Environmental Lawyers
The Trump administration’s recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would reduce the years of red tape and litigation that frequently blocks job-creating energy…
National Review
House Antitrust Hearing Discusses Everything but Antitrust Law
In Wednesday’s antitrust hearing with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, questions from liberal members of Congress laid the groundwork for expanding the…
Blog
2020 Second Quarter GDP Decline Is Worst in U.S. History—But Not 32.9 Percent
The good news is that the second quarter’s GDP numbers aren’t nearly as scary as the more dramatic headlines are saying. The economy has not…
Blog
A Fond Farewell to a Dear Friend
Reason
Capitalism Trumps Hate
Big business wasn't exactly the first place activists looked for allies as the modern gay rights movement emerged. Large corporations have long been seen as…
The Bulwark
Taking Up Trump’s Sec. 230 Petition Would Be a Mistake
Blog
R.I.P. Herman Cain (1945-2020)
Blog
Observations from the Tech Antitrust Hearing
This post collects some observations from yesterday’s lengthy House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law hearings with the chief executives of Amazon,…
National Review
The Many Distortions of the Jones Act
Protectionism isn’t always bad. But sometimes protectionist measures are so poorly designed that they hurt everyone, including the intended the beneficiaries, and wind up benefiting America’s…
The Wall Street Journal
Moonlighting Could Lift a Threat to Uber
Letting drivers work for competitors demonstrates that they’re contractors and not employees. If you use Uber regularly, you’ve probably climbed into a car…
Comment
Comment on Employee Benefits Security Administration Proposed Rule “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments”
The Department of Labor’s move to safeguard the retirement future of beneficiaries of pension funds governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974…
Blog
Cheers to Department of Labor for Protecting Retiree Investments
At the end of last month the Department of Labor published a new notice of proposed rulemaking on the investment choices that private pension fund…
Blog
Tech Antitrust Hearing as Political Theater
Large, innovative tech companies have been invaluable during the COVID-19 crisis, helping to ease the burden of millions of Americans and businesses under quarantine. But…
Blog
The Socialist Temptation: Socialism and American Values
The way to reach people is by making sure a policy accorded with their values. In his new book, The Socialist Temptation, Iain Murray argues…
News Release
House Hearing with Big Tech Companies Unwarranted on Antitrust Grounds
The Subcommittee on Antitrust, Administrative and Commercial Law of the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday noon on ““Online Platforms and Market Power,…
Inside Sources
Government Contact Tracing Won’t Help Get Americans Back to Work, but Innovation Will
Contact tracing identifies people who have an infectious disease (cases) and people they came in contact with (contacts) who may have become infected.
Forbes
Antitrust Showdown In Congress: Big Tech, Meet Big Government
There’s a contradiction in the Trump, and by extension Republican, deregulatory agenda that could inadvertently threaten the recovery of an already wavering economy.
Blog
If You Can’t Convince Them, Confuse Them: California Political Establishment Doubles Down on AB5
Progressives are fond of saying that authority never gives up power easily. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is demonstrating that by rewriting the ballot language…
Blog
Trump’s Drug Price Control Orders Are Bound to Backfire
At a White House gathering last Friday, President Trump announced four new executive orders intended to restrict the ways pharmaceutical companies set the price of…
Blog
A Memorial Note About Christopher L. Culp (April 7, 1969 – June 30, 2020)
National Review
Trump’s Push to Modernize Our Infrastructure
Last week President Trump accomplished one of his most important goals: to reform the broken system of federal approvals for major infrastructure projects such as highways,…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 4 million last week. Congress returned to session after its July 4 break and is putting together…
Blog
Reversing Opening Comes at a Price
This is one of those things that is kind of obvious but needs to be pointed out anyway: Reversing opening your state’s economy due to…
News Release
Price Controls for Medicines Risk Harming Innovation When Breakthrough Drugs or Vaccines May Mean Life or Death
President Trump is expected to issue an executive order today directing his administration to take a series of actions related to pharmaceuticals and the price…
Blog
Electronic Union Elections: A Permanent “Temporary” Solution?
Some lawmakers and their union allies want to use the COVID-19 crisis to institute a radical change to union elections allow them to be held…
Blog
Antitrust Tech Hearing Unlikely to Prove Useful
Monday’s upcoming House Antitrust Subcommittee hearing featuring CEOs from Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple may turn out to have very little to do with antitrust.