Politico
Anti-monopoly, the game
But the problem she faces is that she’s being pinched at both ends of the ideological spectrum. Conservative groups including the Bull Moose Project and…
Blog
The Surge: Energy and Environmental Updates – Appliance efficiency standards, IRA tax credits, and more
The following is the second edition of CEI’s new biweekly publication “The Surge.” If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and…
Comment
CEI comments on NHTSA’s proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) proposed corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Junk fees and pool pumps
Hamas attacked Israel, and another tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Claudia Goldin won the economics Nobel for her work on women in…
Blog
What you should know about the grid: A brief primer
For a long time, the electrical grid has dwelt quietly in the background of American life. It hums away quietly and most people seldom think…
Blog
Don’t drink the water: Why FCC treating broadband like a utility could make service worse
In its initial Fact Sheet, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposes to apply Title II of the Communications Act to affirm “that broadband service…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Going into labor with Sean Higgins
In this week’s episode we talk about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s legal fate, rising economic might in India, terrible federal…
News Release
Inflation still too high as of September: CEI analysis
The federal government today released an update on inflation for the month of September, a rise of 0.4 percent in September compared to a 0.6…
Blog
Congress should prohibit the EPA’s use of IRA subsidies to justify its regulations
Instead of taking a regulatory or “stick” approach to address many issues within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legislators specifically chose to use subsidies or…
Blog
Federal energy efficiency requirements are outdated and should be repealed
This is the second article in CEI’s Special Briefing Series: Defending the Personal Energy Choices of Americans. Americans have experienced appliance inflation over the past…
Blog
The SEC’s misguided attempt to regulate AI
My colleague John Berlau and I submitted a comment letter this week to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing its proposed regulations on…
Blog
New EPA air conditioner regulation certain to get homeowners heated up
Another Friday news dump, another bad Biden administration appliance regulation slipped in ahead of the weekend. Last Friday it was one targeting air conditioners –…
Econlib
Seeking an Explanation for the Stagnation
This is the second of two posts I am writing in reaction to Adam Martin, who wrote two responses to my essay about ways in which …
Fox News
Biden admin issues eco regulations impacting air conditioners, refrigerators
Fox News cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on EPA regulations targeting HFCs: “This is likely to raise the costs — it may raise it substantially…
Comment
Conflicts of Interest Associated with the Use of Predictive Data Analytics by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
October 10, 2023 Docket ID: Release Nos. 34-97990, IA-6353, File No. S7-12-23 To the Honorable Gary Gensler, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and…
Fox News
Biden’s depletion of emergency oil stocks comes back into focus amid Israel-Hamas war, price surge
Fox News cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: “There are a lot of reasons why the Biden administration should not have…
Real Clear Markets
“Lina Khan Concocts Market Definitions that Defy Reason”
Luke Hogg from the Foundation for American Innovation argues that the FTC’s relevant market definition in its antitrust suit against Amazon fails to accurately portray…
R Street Institute
“Breaking Down the FTC’s Case Against Amazon”
Josh Withrow from the R Street Institute addresses a long list of problems with the FTC’s antitrust suit against Amazon.
Truth on the Market
“The Changing Role of Structural Presumption at the Federal Trade Commission”
CEI’s Jessica Melugin discusses structural presumptions in the Draft Merger Guidelines as part of Truth on the Market’s symposium, “The FTC’s New Normal.”…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Gag harvests and helium contracts
Populist Republicans got rid of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. In a classic bit of political strategy, they did not have a replacement in…
Fox News
Biden’s depletion of emergency oil stocks comes back into focus amid Israel-Hamas war, price surge
“There are a lot of reasons why the Biden administration should not have used the SPR to try to bring down prices — one of…
Real Clear Energy
Climate Coup Alert: CEQ Proposes to Transform NEPA
In recent comments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), 24 state attorneys general led by Iowa AG Breanna Bird warn that CEQ’s July…
Blog
As Predicted, UAW Strike Remains Limited, Spares Automakers From Full Walkout
It only took about three weeks, but mainstream journalists are becoming aware of something the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been pointing out from the start:…
News Release
Economy adds 336k jobs in September, with implications for unions, job-seekers, and Fed interest rate decisions: CEI analysis
The economy added 336,000 jobs in the month of September, according to just-released government numbers. CEI experts expect this means opportunities for labor unions,…
Blog
The year of strikes ain’t over yet
2023 has had the most major labor strikes the country has seen in decades, with likely more to come. Unions leaders are itching to do…
Bloomberg
“Lina Khan Is Wrong About Amazon”
Bloomberg‘s editorial board outlines several problems with FTC Chair Lina Khan’s suit against Amazon.
Daily Caller
“The FTC’s Amazon Lawsuit Is an Anti-Market Disaster”
Economist Vance Ginn argues that the FTC’s antitrust suit against Amazon is a waste of taxpayers’ money and would deprive consumers of valuable services.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Financial regulation and ESG with Hester Peirce
In this week’s episode we talk about commuting via bicycle, regulatory reform legislation from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the new book…
Blog
House Republicans try defunding the home appliance regulators
This year began with a powerful consumer backlash to the suggestion from a Biden administration official that gas stoves may be banned, followed by…
News Release
Supreme Court hears case against CFPB, including unusual claim concerning government powers: CEI analysis
Today, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in CFPB v. CFSA, in which the Court will decide if the CFPB’s funding structure, which bypasses…
Blog
No, electricity markets are not free markets: A Q&A with Cato’s Travis Fisher
The following is a Q&A with Travis Fisher, director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Q: Could you…
Blog
The way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded is unconstitutional
Today the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the case CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association. The appellee correctly complains that…
News Release
A Supreme Court ruling against CFPB would benefit consumers: CEI analysis
Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in CFPB v. CFSA, in which the Court will decide if the CFPB’s funding structure, which bypasses…
Blog
Biden administration finalizes costly and unnecessary furnace regulations
There’s a lot of consumer anger over pending federal regulations targeting stoves, but Biden administration bureaucrats are also going after dishwashers, refrigerators,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Improper CHIPS funding to pool motors
The FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away. The federal government almost partially shut down. Agencies issued new regulations…
Washington Examiner
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried trial to start Tuesday in NYC
CEI’s John Berelau is cited by Washington Examiner on the FTX Trial: John Berlau, a senior fellow and director of finance policy at the Competitive…
Forbes
A New Shot At Enlisting The Office Of Management And Budget In Regulatory Streamlining
Congressional leadership on regulatory streamlining is more urgent than ever in the wake of a post-Covid legislative flurry and attendant regulatory pressures soon to be…
Daily Caller
The Supreme Court Term Begins This Week. Here Are The Cases You Need To Watch.
Daily Caller cites CEI’s Dan Greenberg on a Supreme Court case: “A century of precedent shows that – in order to be taxed –…
Washington Examiner
Biden plans taxpayer-backed ‘green giveaway’ climate change operation in Morocco
The Washington Examiner cites CEI’s Myron Ebell on Morocco climate change operation: “It doesn’t help anybody except the politically correct, who have become empowered…
Fox News
Biden admin issues restrictions on gas furnaces in latest war on appliances
Fox News cites Ben Liberman on the war against home appliances: “It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything…
News Release
Biden administration releases extreme five-year plan for offshore oil and gas lease sales
The Biden Administration released a new five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leases, approving just three lease sales. Director of CEI’s Center for…
Comment
CEI Comments on National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions Phase 2
To Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality: The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public interest organization committed to advancing the…
Blog
Biden’s war on energy continues with unprecedented restrictions on offshore oil and gas lease sales
Today, the Interior Department (DOI) released its five-year plan (2024-2029) for offshore oil and gas lease sales. In a press release, the agency…
Blog
UAW’s Fain says new strike strategy has produced no ‘meaningful progress’
UAW President Shawn Fain announced Friday that the union would expand its strike against Ford and GM. Fain said an additional 7,000 members…
Blog
Barbie, lemons, and economics
Wayne Crews and I have a fun piece up at RealClearMarkets that ties together the Barbie movie, the vintage toy market, and Nobel economist…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed NEPA Implementing Regulations
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Phase 2 of the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ’s) proposed revision of its National Environmental Policy Act…
Real Clear Markets
Barbie, Hot Wheels, and the Market for Lemons
The Barbie movie is more than a bit of good fun. It also teaches an economics lesson about lemons—the old slang term for defective goods, not the…
Blog
Introducing CEI’s The Surge: Gas stove bans, Biden admin blocking oil and gas leases, the Blackout Plan, and more
The following is the debut edition of CEI’s new biweekly publication “The Surge.” If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental…
Study
The World Needs More Lawyers
This study was originally authored for the Regulatory Transparency Project at The Federalist Society By Shoshana Weissmann, Daniel Greenberg, Luke Wake, Braden Boucek and Jonathan…
City Journal
Equity vs. Evidence
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—a volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that makes recommendations for clinical preventive services such as…
News Release
CEI Supports Legislation from Sen. Rick Scott to Cut Back on Outdated, Duplicative, and Unnecessary Rules
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently introduced the Unnecessary Agency Regulations Act, a bill that directs the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Threats to economic freedom, then and now with Iain Murray
On this week’s podcast we talk about recycled Legos, socially responsible pension funds, pessimistic views about politics, and a special…
Washington Examiner
Biden blocking oil and gas leases will hurt families
High gas prices are slamming families. The Biden administration has taken two recent actions in Alaska that are the…
Washington Examiner
Europe strikes back with chip subsidies to counter US and China
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on Washington Examiner about chip subsidies: “I don’t think the U.S. has much to worry about involving [the European Chips…
Blog
Net neutrality is political predation
It’s fitting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chose to dig up the net neutrality corpse just before Halloween. Now, our elected representatives need to…
Blog
Here we go again: FCC tries to bring back failed ‘net neutrality’ regulation
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced a proposed rulemaking to apply Title II of the Communications Act and common carrier regulation once again…
New York Post
“FTC Chair Lina Khan’s Mission to Destroy Amazon Will Harm Millions of Consumers”
Geoffrey Manne and Dirk Auer from the International Center for Law & Economics explain that the FTC’s antitrust case against Amazon is wasteful and could…
News Release
FCC move to reinstate heavy-handed Net Neutrality regulations risks health of telecommunications infrastructure
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced her intention to re-instate so-called Net Neutrality rules that were repealed in 2018. The FCC issued the…
Blog
Biden taps Strategic Petroleum Reserve more than any other president
Instead of actually addressing the root causes of high gas prices, President Joe Biden is depleting the …
Blog
Now the Biden administration is targeting your next water heater
As discussed in recent CEI testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Biden administration Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed an avalanche…
Reason Magazine
FTC Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited on Reason Magazine following the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon: Ryan Young, senior economist for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said in…
Blog
Federal agency closes! British embassy celebrates!
Nobody knows how many federal agencies there are, but the number just went down by one. The Board of Tea Experts is shutting down…
Comment
Comments on the Department of Energy’s Proposed Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters
I. INTRODUCTION The undersigned free market and consumer organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations, which are…
News Release
FTC antitrust lawsuit against Amazon risks harming American consumers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 states filed a lawsuit today in federal court alleging antitrust violations by Amazon. The lawsuit seeks the…
Washington Examiner
FTC hits Amazon with antitrust lawsuit accusing it of manipulating the online marketplace
Jessica Melugin is quoted in the Washington Examiner on Amazon’s Antitrust lawsuit: “Free markets require functioning markets,” Mr. Davis said. “This requires enforcement of our…
Blog
Former NHTSA administrator nominee still serving as acting administrator, raising serious issues
On May 30, President Joe Biden withdrew the nomination of Ann Carlson to be the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Blog
‘On a crash course with energy reality’: Study finds EPA’s Blackout Rule will hurt the US grid
Center of the American Experiment recently published a study modeling the impact of the Biden administration’s new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule regulating…
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 the…
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 Institute (CEI), we respectfully…
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, from…
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 tens of…
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 in…
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 led…
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 is…
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 political…
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 the…
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 that…
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 PBMs…
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 and…
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 Analysis Comments Prepared…
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 at…
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 prevent…
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 is…
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, it…
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 a…
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 semiconductors.
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 the Food and…
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 Center for…
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 result is…
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). We’re…
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, and then raises…
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 policy and…
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. According…
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, how…
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 three…
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 from patients…