Truth on the Market
“More FTC Overreach in Labor Markets”
Alden Abbott, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and former FTC General Counsel, discusses the recent memorandum of understanding between the FTC and…
Comment
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
September 26, 2023 RE: Premerger Notification; Reporting and Waiting Period Requirements Docket ID No.: FTC-2023-0040-0001 On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations: Tea Experts and Coin Batteries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited America. The federal government is a week away from a potential partial shutdown. Sen. Bob Menendez was…
Blog
CEI Special Briefing Series: Defending the Personal Energy Choices of Americans
To push its energy and climate agenda, the Biden administration thinks it should limit or even prohibit what kinds of goods Americans can buy,…
Blog
The Regulatory Assault on Gas Stoves – And Consumer Freedom
This is the debut article in CEI’s Special Briefing Series: Defending the Personal Energy Choices of Americans. Gas stoves provide…
Forbes
Federal Paperwork Hours Consume The Equivalent Of 14,883 Human Lifetimes Annually
The White House Office of Management and Budget has this year issued catch-up editions of Information Collection Budget of the United States Government, a task…
Blog
Wall Street Journal agrees with CEI, opposes Railway Safety Act
In an editorial today, the Wall Street Journal joined with many other voices, including Bloomberg, National Review, and a coalition…
Truth on the Market
“Regulatory Humility of Regulatory Hubris at the Federal Trade Commission?”
Lawrence J. Spiwak, president of the Phoenix Center, explains how the FTC, under Chair Lina Khan’s leadership, has departed from longstanding antitrust norms.
American Consumer Institute
“An FTC Challenge to Kroger-Albertsons Merger Seems Likely to Fail”
Nate Scherer from the American Consumer Institute argues that the FTC would find little success in challenging the Kroger/Albertsons merger.
Blog
In today’s age of musical abundance, we all live like ‘kings’
We are in the midst of an art renaissance, and very few people are talking about it. One person who is talking about it…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: unemployment that works with Matt Darling
In this week’s episode we talk about banning plastic gift cards in California, the solution to Germany’s energy crisis, the…
News Release
Fed keeps interest rates the same but Washington politicians remain a threat: CEI analysis
As expected, the Federal Reserve today left interest rates unchanged at its Open Market Committee meeting today. CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young warns…
Blog
What’s wrong with Bidenomics?
Yesterday, I pointed out that in the looming threat of a government shutdown, President Joe Biden is aiming to cement as his legacy something…
National Review
Restricting Pharmacy Benefit Managers Could Decrease Competition and Increase Drug Costs
Congress is considering multiple bills that aim to restrict the ability of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate discounts and rebates and to require the…
Blog
Flawed guidance for monetizing nature should be withdrawn
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has proposed new guidance aimed at improving how federal agencies account for environment-related costs…
Comment
CEI’s James Broughel Comments on Proposed Guidance for Assessing Changes in Environmental and Ecosystem Services in Benefit-Cost Analysis
September 18, 2023 Docket ID: OMB–2022–0016 Request for Comments on Proposed Guidance for Assessing Changes in Environmental and Ecosystem Services in Benefit-Cost…
Econlib
Reevaluating the Influence of James Buchanan on Libertarian Thought
James M. Buchanan was an economist known for his affiliation with the “Virginia School of Political Economy,” otherwise known as Public Choice theory. Trained…
Blog
Bill banning Fed-controlled crypto a good first step, but Congress must do more for monetary freedom
On Wednesday, the US House Financial Services Committee is expected to vote on House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s ‘‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act,” aiming to…
Blog
Congress can say no to Bidenomics in shutdown showdown
The contentious fiscal year 2024 budget battle, which might result in a partial federal government shutdown, is unfurling precisely as the national debt…
Blog
Shareholder support for ESG proposals is falling
With the 2023 proxy voting season officially behind us, we can note a few trends in corporate governance that stood out. For one,…
Washington Examiner
UAW strike: What the media won’t tell you about the strike
One of the things that liberal groups, unions included, have been good at is creating a narrative and selling that to the …
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: milk losses and duck vehicles
Google’s antitrust trial started, and the Justice Department cited Russian antitrust actions to back up its case. The latest inflation numbers were…
Blog
Will polyester recycling become fashionable?
The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating article last week on the future of innovation and technology, but it’s not about AI or…
Blog
22 months after we asked, the Food and Drug Administration answered!
Finally! Nearly two years after we asked, the government has finally told us what it was doing! Here’s what happened: We asked…
Washington Times
Newsom boosts climate cred by suing ‘Big Oil’ as California struggles to tap brakes on fossil fuels
CEI’s Myron Ebell is cited by the Washington Times on Newsom suing big oil: Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s…
Reason
Environmentalists Are Destroying My Kitchen
Reason Magazine cites CEI’s Devin Watkins and Sam Kazman on environmentalist agendas: “When a new energy standard is adopted by the DOE, the…
Forbes
Regulatory Reforms Belong In The FY2024 Budget Deal
Certain regulatory reforms with deep bipartisan endorsement should be incorporated into contentious fiscal budget agreements, particularly when spending cuts are difficult (which is always).
New York Post
Americans may be richer, but they’re not happier
US household wealth has hit an all-time record of $154.3 trillion. So what? “Americans have never been wealthier,” CNN’s Matt Egan reports,…
Frederick News Post
A new proposal for constitutional restoration
Now that Congress has gotten past debt-ceiling drama, next up is wrangling the nation’s budget for the coming year. A budget is about…
Blog
The road to pork product serfdom
There are interesting developments afoot in the world of agriculture and livestock, as recently recounted in the pages of the New York Times.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Supreme Court preview with Ashley Baker
In this week’s episode we talk about the long history of the Lewis Powell memo of 1971, innovation in textile recycling,…
Blog
UAW strike mostly a PR move
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is making much of the fact that the union is currently engaged in its first-ever strike against…
PCMA
Just the Facts: Research and Analysis Finds Anti-PBM Legislation Does Not Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Patients
PCMA cites CEI’s Joel Zinberg anti PBM legislation: “This policy would significantly change drug pricing and utilization and shift billions of dollars annually…
Wall Street Journal
Court to FDA: Stop Playing Doctor
The Food and Drug Administration regulates pharmaceuticals, but it has no business playing doctor and giving you medical advice. That’s the message of a…
Comment
CEI Comments on FTC-DOJ Merger Guidelines
September 15, 2023 RE: FTC-DOJ Merger Guidelines Matter No.: P859910 The authors of this submission first want to thank the Federal…
News Release
CEI commends House for bipartisan vote to help preserve vehicle choice for Americans
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1435, the “Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act,” today by a bipartisan vote of 222-190. Eight Democrats voted…
Blog
What I told Congress about the unlawful plan to ‘align’ NEPA with Biden Climate Targets
I testified today at the House Natural Resources Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Examining Systemic Government Overreach at CEQ.” My testimony developed three main…
Blog
Will COVID-era work-from-home flexibility disappear?
The question of how many Americans are going to continue working remotely, post-COVID, is back in the news again (if, indeed, it ever…
Based Politics
GOP Senator Josh Hawley channels his inner AOC with new nanny-state credit card proposal
Testimony
CEI’s Marlo Lewis testifies before Natural Resources subcommittee on examining systemic government overreach at CEQ
Testimony of Marlo Lewis, Jr.Senior Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)on“Examining Systemic Government Overreach at CEQ” before…
Testimony
CEI’s Ben Lieberman testifies before Energy and Commerce Committee on DOE efficiency standards for home appliances
Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security U.S. House of Representatives 2123…
Forbes
How Durbin & Co. Credit And Debit Card Controls Could Pave The Way For CBDCs
Central Bank Digital Currency – the digital form of a national currency that tracks transactions within a government digital ledger – is an idea…
Forbes
DC Politicians Roll Out The Red Carpet For Big Tech At AI Meeting
America’s tech luminaries gathered in Washington, D.C. this week, ostensibly to “educate” senators on the nuances of artificial intelligence. The convening, referred to as…
Blog
United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie
If the United Auto Workers go on strike this week – and as I write this it appears as though they will –…
Truth on the Market
“The FTC Lacks Authority for Competition Rulemaking”
Gregory J. Werden from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University argues that the FTC’s proposed rule banning noncompete agreements in employment contracts is…
Blog
August CPI: Rising energy prices hide underlying inflation progress
This month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a jumble of numbers that look like they contradict each other. But they make sense on…
DC Journal
Gensler ‘Choke Point’ Strategy on Crypto Suffers Legal Setbacks
CEI’s John Berlau is cited on DC Journal discussing crypto choke points: “There just seems to be a war on crypto if you…
News Release
Congressional Efforts to Regulate PBMs Risk Higher Drug Costs, Worse Health Outcomes for Patients
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are private businesses that developed in the free market to manage prescription drug benefits for health insurance plan sponsors. Nearly…
Study
A Free Market Solution for Drug Distribution
Executive summary This paper describes and explains the function of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) in the American health care economy. PBMs are private…
Blog
The SEC’s anti-competitive assault against private fund advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting new rules that radically redefine how investment companies are regulated, undercutting the ability of private fund advisers…