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Weak GDP is first stress test for inflation fighters
I have been saying for a while that inflation expectations will remain high until policymakers prove they can restrain their stimulus spending during an economic…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: service lamps and summer meals
Congress debated aid bills to Ukraine and Israel. Donald Trump’s hush money trial began. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from incinerator permits to effluent analysis.
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This week in ridiculous regulations: train crews and airport concessions
Our colleague R.J. Smith passed away. R.J. coined the term “free-market environmentalism,” ran CEI’s private conservation efforts for many years, and was a valued…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: energy labeling and wheel weights
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to visit President Biden this week. The moon may get assigned a time zone. Agencies issued new regulations…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Trademark fees and threatened sloths
A cargo ship struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman died at age 90.
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Climate change doesn’t cause inflation.
A new study in Nature from two scientists and two European Central Bank officials argues that climate change could cause inflation. A Daily Caller…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: NASA penalties and emergency alerts
The 2024 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. The Justice Department sued Apple for having an iPhone monopoly. Russia held an election-themed event where Vladimir Putin…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Space innovation and mariner credentials
The House passed a bill to ban TikTok that could easily be repurposed for other companies. It now moves to the Senate. Agencies issued new…
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The FTC, the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and the relevant market fallacy
Over at National Review’s Capital Matters site, Alex Reinauer and I look at the FTC’s word games in its case against the proposed Kroger-Albertsons…
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February inflation stays high, fiscal credibility remains a problem
Headline CPI inflation numbers sped up in February. Monthly inflation increased 0.3 percent in January, and 0.4 percent in February. Year-to-year inflation is 3.2…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Taconite and lab fees
President Biden delivered his State of the Union address. Super Tuesday primaries all but settled this year’s presidential combatants. The FTC has a full slate…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Seabird mitigation and nuclear locations
CEI is hosting a hill event on March 5 about reforming administrative law courts. Politicians got upset about Wendy’s menus. GDP growth was…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Space debris and dried prunes
The privately-built Odysseus spacecraft became the first American moon lander since 1972. President Biden announced new Russian sanctions in response to opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s…
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New student loan proposal is regressive, politicized, and won’t stop rising prices
President Biden this week unveiled a new student debt relief proposal. It would cancel student debt for up to 153,000 people who incurred $12,000…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Cooking energy and steel plants
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Time to simplify trade agreements
Over at National Review’s Capital Matters site, Kent Lassman and I make the case that trade agreements should stick to trade. We also argue…
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Adam Smith, national ruin, and human progress
During the American Revolution, British Member of Parliament John Sinclair wrote a letter to Adam Smith. He was worried about how badly the war was…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Horseracing and postal products
The Supreme Court heard a case about whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding public office under the Fourteenth Amendment. A lawyer’s memo called…
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New CEI paper: Toward a US-Swiss Free Trade Agreement
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have gotten so large and unwieldy that they are almost impossible to pass. The result is lost economic opportunities for America…
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Trump proposes 60 percent China tariff
Donald Trump recently pledged to enact a 60 percent tariff against China if he becomes president again. His latest comments indicate, “Maybe it’s going…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Energy labels and human food guidance
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady. Employment grew by 353,000 workers in January. The Energy Department partially backed off its proposed…
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The good and bad of Nippon Steel deal
There is good and bad in everything. This includes Nippon Steel’s planned buyup of US Steel, which politicians from both parties are criticizing. The good…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Burning trash and methane emissions
GDP grew at a healthy 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Regulators blocked an airline merger, and a carbon tariff moved…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: address labels and consumer reviews
Yet another federal shutdown crisis was averted, this time until March. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee marked up the PROVE It Act,…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Independent contractors and emergency haddock action
Happy MLK-government snow shutdown days, everyone. There was more shutdown drama last week. The US launched strikes against the Houthis, one of three factions trying…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Auto dealers and automated tariffs
The first week of the new year’s regulations is in the books. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from junk fees to cable tv competition. On…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: 2023 year-end special
The tentative final numbers for new regulations for 2023 are in: The final four-day week of 2023 was relatively slow: 60 final regulations, 34 proposed…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Oxides of nitrogen and approaching of whales
Congress has adjourned until January, so the Republic is safe until then. The Fourteenth Amendment suddenly became a factor in the presidential race. Meanwhile,…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Baby formula waivers and phonorecords
The 2023 Federal Register became the second-largest ever, dating back to 1936. A new CEI study makes the case for reforming administrative law…
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America’s unfair second court system
Stone Washington and I have a paper out today on reforming administrative law courts, or ALCs. We also summarize our findings over at National…