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CEI and the minimum wage
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently proposed a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $25. Listed below are 18 arguments against raising the…
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The week in regulations: Blacksmith shops and airman certificates
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan passed away. Neither the Reflecting Pool debacle nor its algae have faded away. PCE inflation is over 4…
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Remembering Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan passed away this week. National Review was kind enough to run my remembrance of him: There…
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The week in regulations: Radiology software and foreign atomic energy assistance
No new regulations were issued on Friday in honor of Juneteenth, the most classically liberal holiday there is. President Trump signed an agreement…
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The week in regulations: Cyber sanctions and tinnitus relief devices
Inflation is now more than double the Federal Reserve’s target. The Iran war heated up again. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from vending stands…
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Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250
Last week I participated in a National Association of Scholars event on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. The…
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The week in regulations: Bone void filler and halibut action
May’s job numbers were strong for the third month in a row, though job growth since Liberation Day remains under 100,000, for a labor…
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The week in regulations: Onion marketing and refrigerator leaks
PCE inflation, which the Federal Reserve uses for its interest rate decisions, rose to 3.8 percent, nearly double the Fed’s 2.0 percent target. President…
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Solving the tariff problem
Over at National Review, I summarize my recent paper making three arguments against tariffs. These are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem,…
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The week in regulations: Black boxes and weather reports
The 2026 Federal Register topped 30,000 pages. President Trump’s Justice Department is poised to give him a $1.776 billion fund he can use to…
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New CEI paper: Three arguments against tariffs
I have a new paper out today that explores three arguments against tariffs. They are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem, and the…
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The week in regulations: Date taxes and microreactors
It was nearly a 3,000-page week in the Federal Register, roughly double the usual pace. Year-over-year inflation jumped to 3.8 percent, the worst reading…
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The week in regulations: Fluid milk options and battleship safety zones
The Court of International Trade struck down President Trump’s Section 122 tariffs. The labor force shrank by 92,000 people over the last year. Agencies…
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The week in regulations: Marine terminal fires and marijuana rescheduling
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors when Kevin Warsh takes…
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The week in regulations: Pipeline safety and NFL Draft security
Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh had his confirmation hearing, and President Trump dropped his criminal investigation into Jerome Powell. The government is poised…
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The week in regulations: Drone settlements and gambling losses
The 2026 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. President Trump got into a feud with the Pope. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from mail standards…
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The week in regulations: Spinach proteins and seat belt reminders
The Artemis II mission landed safely after orbiting the moon. Inflation took a huge jump in March from the Iran war’s effects on energy…
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Ten Thousand Commandments 2026 is out now
Today is release day for this year’s edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of CEI’s…
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The week in regulations: Lead paint and mailing firearms
Gas prices topped $4.00 per gallon. The one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs was solemnly observed. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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One year of Liberation Day
Today marks one year since President Trump’s Liberation Day press conference in the White House Rose Garden. Trump declared a national emergency because Americans…
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The week in regulations: Resettling refugees and sea otter casualties
TSA lines reached their longest-ever wait times, bolstering the case for privatizing airport security. President Trump’s signature will appear on US currency starting later…
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The week in regulations: Library pictures and aerobatic airplanes
The Iran war entered its fourth week. ICE agents might be reassigned to airport security. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. President Trump…
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Idaho’s successful regulatory reform
Over at National Review, my colleague Hayden Stolzenberg and I examine some of Idaho’s recent regulatory reforms, as outlined in a recent CEI…
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The week in regulations: Music royalties and avocado maturity
The Iran war continued to raise oil prices. The Trump administration took steps to raise tariffs under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act,…
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Good and bad trade news: Jones Act suspension, but more tariffs on the way
Two conflicting bits of trade news came out yesterday. The good news is that the Trump administration is considering temporarily suspending the Jones…
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The week in regulations: Shellfish inclusion and paper manifest sunsets
The labor force shrank by 92,000 jobs in January. Oil prices spiked. Twenty-two state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s Section 122…
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The week in regulations: Fusion machines and suspicious health care
President Trump launched a preemptive war with Iran, leading many to question the true worth of the FIFA Peace Prize. The 2026 Federal Register…
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The week in regulations: Grandfathered driver vision and socializing dogs
The Supreme Court declared President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional. The White House responded by enacting a 15 percent global tariff under a different statute.
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The week in regulations: Beet food coloring and crab housekeeping
Culture warriors got upset over the Super Bowl halftime show. A mini-shutdown over ICE funding delayed some labor market indicators. Agencies issued new regulations…
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The week in regulations: Reimagining education and underground mines
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chairman. The Fed held interest rates steady at its most recent…
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The week in regulations: Homework gaps and cannabimimetic agents
At Davos, President Trump withdrew his threats to invade Greenland and tariff European countries. The Supreme Court appeared skeptical about his attempt to fire…
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The week in regulations: Neck floats and glazed bus portals
President Trump opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He also proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, effective…
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The week in regulations: Taconite and label shapes
President Trump deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and embarked on a nation-building project. ICE agents killed an American citizen in Minnesota. Agencies issued new…
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Politicians need to think beyond stage one on credit card price controls
President Trump, in a Friday news dump on social media, proposed price controls on credit card interest rates. He wants to cap annual…
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New CEI study: Zero-based regulations
A new CEI study by Alex Adams looks at a regulatory reform approach that succeeded in Idaho: zero-based regulation. The idea is similar…
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The week in regulations: 2025 year-end special
Happy New Year, everyone. The final numbers for 2025’s regulations are in. The first half of this post summarizes those numbers and compares them…
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Best books of 2025: Johan Norberg’s Peak Human
Johan Norberg’s latest book, Peak Human, is a history of golden ages. After starting in Ancient Greece and then Rome, Norberg tours the…
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The week in regulations: Neck floats and stablecoins
Unemployment went slightly up, and inflation went slightly down. President Trump gave a primetime speech, and earlier in the week commented on Rob Reiner…
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Time to end the Christmas tree tax
Fun holiday fact: the federal government has a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. It works a bit like a trade association does in…
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The week in regulations: Fuel casks and water beads
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. President Trump proposed $12 billion in giveaways to farmers harmed by his tariffs. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
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The week in regulations: Cable television rates and estate sales
President Trump announced an easing of vehicle fuel economy standards. Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. and HBO. The Defense Secretary is…
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The week in regulations: From postal possession to foreign atomic energy
It was a four-day week due to Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage pricing to non-endangered woodpeckers. On to the data:…
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The week in regulations: Airport fees and pesticide fragrances
September’s jobs report came out after a shutdown-related delay. The FTC lost its antitrust case against Meta. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage…
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Shutdown lesson: Depend less on DC
The record-length shutdown showed how dependent many Americans are on Washington. This is one of the biggest flaws in the ongoing nationalization of politics.
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The week in regulations, the final shutdown edition: Manifest mailing and broken trash incinerators
The federal shutdown is over. Since the Federal Register has a few days’ lag time for publishing agency documents, it will likely take until…
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Swiss trade deal could be a good start towards mutual recognition
Switzerland’s government announced today that it reached an agreement on a trade framework with the United States. America’s Liberation Day tariff rate on…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Medicare payments and arms trafficking.
The Supreme Court held oral hearings for the V.O.S. Spirits tariff case. Former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away. Democrats had a very good…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Student loans and foreigners’ biometric data
President Trump announced a trade deal with China. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. The continued federal shutdown meant another slow week in the…
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Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Visa fees and regional haze
President Trump demanded that the Justice Department pay him $230 million. He also cut off all trade negotiations with Canada because of a tv…