Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Bent coins and Irish potato taxes
The leader of the Hezbollah terrorist group died in an Israeli military strike. The 2024 Federal Register is poised to reach 80,000 pages this week.
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Pedestrians’ heads and avocado maturity
CEI celebrated its 40th anniversary at its annual Julian Simon Memorial Award Dinner. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. Agencies issued new regulations…
Blog
Turning point on interest rates
The Federal Reserve went for the big cut at its interest rate meeting this week. There was uncertainty on whether the federal funds rate…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Robocalls and toddler carriers
Culture warriors falsely accused immigrants of eating people’s pets. Donald Trump discussed the issue in his presidential debate with Kamala Harris. The final…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Nuclear casks and radiofrequency toothbrushes
It was a four-day week due to Labor Day. The unemployment rate declined from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent. The Biden administration signaled it…
Blog
Government efficiency commission: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Donald Trump is proposing a new government efficiency commission and he wants Elon Musk to lead it. Like most campaign proposals, it does not…
Blog
Steeling politics
Politics ruins everything. Right now, it is ruining America’s steel industry. The Biden administration, with plenty of bipartisan support, has announced it will block…
Blog
Price controls: right problem, wrong solution
In an op-ed being syndicated by Inside Sources, I take a look at Kamala Harris’s price control proposals for groceries and housing:…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: marijuana scheduling and do-not-call fees
Rather than allow more housing to be built to combat rising rents, the Justice Department sued RealPage, a rent-listing service. CEI’s James Broughel released…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: energy labeling and FCC rules for homework
There are now more than 2,000 new final regulations on the year. The Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago. A labor market statistic caused…
Blog
Price signals and virtue signals
It’s a divisive election year, but all of us still have some things in common. Since the pandemic began, inflation has devalued the dollar by…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Horse race integrity and threatening air cargo
Now that it’s August, agencies began publishing their Spring 2024 Unified Agenda entries for their planned regulations. Economists had a frustrating week, with Kamala…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments in the news
The 2024 edition of Wayne Crews’s Ten Thousand Commandments is out now. For those not familiar, the report puts together a big-picture view of…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Bank hiring and salmonella frameworks
Baseless recession freakouts dominated the news cycle. The just-released 2024 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments got its share of attention as well. Kamala…
Blog
Americans are open to trade
Politicians win elections by telling voters what they want to hear. Right now, both parties think voters are angry about foreign trade. But when you…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Closed captioning and toothless blindcats
The new 2024 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments is out now. The Paris Olympics began. Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro stole another election. Agencies issued…
Blog
Jerome Powell risks the Fed’s gains against inflation
The big story from today’s Federal Reserve decision isn’t that interest rates are staying the same. It’s that the dual mandate is back. This…
Blog
2024 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments is out now
The federal government has a spending budget that the public can see. Every year Congress allocates a certain amount of money to each agency, and…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Water heaters and children’s passports
President Biden dropped out of the race, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris as the likely Democratic nominee. The Federal Register topped 60,000 pages and remains…
Blog
Book review: The War on Prices by Ryan Bourne
I have reached a stage in my career where younger colleagues sometimes ask me for advice. There are a few evergreen pieces of advice I…
Blog
Rent control doesn’t work. Increase housing supply instead.
President Biden will soon announce a proposed 5 percent cap on rent increases. Rent control is one of the most ridiculed economic policies there…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Watermelon taxes and crash test dummies
CEI’s home distillery court case had a good week. President Biden had a bad week. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from rotorcraft to desert…
Blog
You have the right to a jury trial
The Supreme Court’s recent Jarkesy decision affirms that people have the right to a jury trial, even in regulatory agencies’ special in-house courts. My colleague…
Blog
A rule for the Fed
The Washington Examiner is running a series of pieces on policies the next administration should pursue. My contribution details a way to contain inflation…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Coke ovens and stolen firearms
It was a short week in honor of Independence Day. Speculation swirled about President Biden’s political future. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from brominate vegetable…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Rear impacts and hot air balloons
The Supreme Court issued its Jarkesy decision and restored the right to a jury trial in regulatory agencies’ in-house courts. President Biden and former…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: known mailers and medical gases
The Supreme Court issued an unfavorable but narrow decision in the Moore v. United States case about taxing income that was never received. CEI’s…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: amplifiers and subsidized chickens
CEI’s Joel Zinberg released a new study on guidance document reform. The unemployment rate extended to 30 months its streak of being 4…
Blog
Fed hold interest rates steady, balance sheet concerns remain
The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady at its June 11-12 meeting. This is good news, but the bigger story isn’t about…
Blog
David Boaz, 1953-2024
It usually begins with Ayn Rand. In my case, it began with David Boaz. David, the Cato Institute’s longtime executive vice president, passed away…