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CEI suggests DOT put the brakes on train two-person crew rule
The Transportation Department recently asked the public for comments on how to reduce the regulatory burden. One thought that the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) had…
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Free the Economy podcast: Waste, fraud, and tax hikes with Emily Ekins
In this weekâs episode we cover workplace injuries, MAGA antitrust in theory and practice, portable benefits for gig workers, and the…
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Congress can end Californiaâs EV mandates
This week, the House is expected to vote on three important Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval that would repeal California waivers granted…
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That didnât take long: Tariffs shrink economy in just two months
The US is halfway to a self-imposed recession, and tariffs are to blame. A healthy economy started shrinking even before President Trumpâs Rose Garden…
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Time to shut down IRISâfor good
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reportedly preparing to eliminate its Office of Research and Development, which houses the controversial Integrated Risk Information System…
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Commencing deconstruction of the administrative state â Trumpâs next 100 days
Federal regulation costs trillions of dollars each year. Call it the âcostbergââa vast, submerged amalgam of rules, guidance, and paperwork reshaping the economy without a…
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The week in regulations: Taconite plans and ante-mortem horse inspections
Markets went down when President Trump threatened to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell and went up when he backed off. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
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Ten Thousand Commandments 2025 is out now
The 2025 edition of CEIâs flagship report, Ten Thousand Commandments, is out today. For more than 30 years, my colleague Wayne Crews has been…
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Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Washington’s 10,000 Commandments with Wayne Crews
In this weekâs episode we cover the political roots of totalitarianism, why we should put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out to…
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Otherwise Objectionable episode 6: âThe Rest of the Worldâ
The sixth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
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Earth Day is brokenâonly private conservation can fix it
With this weekâs 2025 Earth Day came the usual media and progressive lawmaker fanfare lauding government programs and regulatory solutions to environmental concerns. But…
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How valuable will anonymous comments be to the Ferguson FTC?
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its âInquiry on Tech Censorshipâ are due next month on May 21, 2025, and the public has…
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Regulators right to approve Capital One/Discover merger
On Friday, federal financial regulators made the right decision in approving the merger of Capital One and Discover. In their joint approvals of the merger,…
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Donât let the next crisis grow the governmentâagain
âNow, Iâm going to sign this, and itâs a great honor â $6.2 trillion. Iâve never signed anything with a âTâ…
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The week in regulations: Wildfire appraisals and portable spas
President Trump and El Salvador president Nayib Bukele confirmed that they would continue to imprison people without due process. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from…
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Trumpâs tariffs: Look for the union label
One of the biggest boosters of President Trumpâs tariffs has been the United Auto Workers (UAW). The venerable union wants to see domestic factories expanded…
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Free the Economy podcast: Economic ideas for American workers with Ryan Young
In this weekâs episode we cover teaching with AI, clearing the way for new nuclear development, and eliminating soda and candy…
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President Trumpâs three new energy executive orders: A quick overviewÂ
On April 8, President Trump signed three new executive orders (EOs) that address the United Statesâs energy sector. The key themes of the EOs include…
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Otherwise Objectionable episode 5: âBlowback, and the Dust Settlesâ
The fifth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, recounts how the…
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Trump is right to target showerheads, but heâll need Congress to finish the job
President Trump is taking another pro-consumer step, this time on showerheads. His April 9th executive order, Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads, reinstates his…
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The executive order that could kill trillion-dollar bailouts
The federal government doesnât just spendâit also regulates through spending. Thatâs one reason crises so often inflate Washingtonâs role in American life. But as I…
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Definitely maybe tariff relief on electronics
Smartphone and laptop buyers got some good news over the weekend with a lower tariff on Chinese-made electronics, at least for now. The exemptionâs…
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The week in regulations: Pool ladders and helicopters
President Trump paused his Liberation Day tariffs after financial markets crashed. Even with the pause, Americaâs tariffs are still among the worldâs highest. Agencies issued…
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Congress needs to repeal the Biden EPA and California attack on gas-powered cars
The attack on gas-powered vehicles exists on multiple fronts, including through federal and state regulation.Regarding federal regulation, much of the attention has been focused on…
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Paul Atkins is an excellent choice to lead the SEC
On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Paul S. Atkins to serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As I have stated before,…
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What happened to never-needed regulations
CEI led a never-needed campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was simple: if a regulation was causing harm in good times, it was probably…
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Free the Economy podcast: Trade myths (and facts) with Prof. Michael Coon
In this weekâs episode we cover smartphones for kids, insomnia and anxiety in pre-industrial times, and a blueprint for modernizing the…
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Why government reform may hinge on ending federal unions
President Trumpâs executive order ending collective bargaining for a wide swath of federal cabinet agencies and other government entities is a laudable attempt…
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Otherwise Objectionable episode 4: âThe Solutionâ
The fourth episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, picks up…
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Senate should support S.J.Res.4 repealing Bidenâs anti-consumer water heater regulation
The Biden administration gave us far too many anti-consumer appliance regulations, and some of the worst were ones supported by manufacturers angling to create a…
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CEI celebrates agency giving up power
Even if it becomes commonplace, we should pause in wonderment whenever an agency repeals its own regulations and relinquishes power, whether voluntarily or not. And…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
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The shadow nonprofitâs push for ESG
Nonprofit interest groups play a significant role in advancing policy change in government. The IRS affords tax exemption to thousands of these groups via their…
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An economic, constitutional, and geopolitical disaster
Yesterdayâs tariff announcement was long expected, yet its details came as a surprise. In one regard it was less bad than it could have been:…
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CEI’s The Surge: The EPA, WOTUS, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
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Free the Economy podcast: An affordable and reliable future with Gabriella Hoffman
In this weekâs episode we cover Republicans for the Green New Deal, diminishing returns from industrial policy in China, and the bottleneck…
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Trumpâs deregulation push: Several steps forwardâand some sideways
As I cover in a new column at Forbes, Trump 2.0 has brought a flurry of executive orders aimed at deregulationâone-in, ten-out rules,…
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Trumpâs push to remake the NLRBÂ
Things are a bit topsy-turvy currently at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that oversees labor-management disputes in…
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Five ideas for Secretary Chavez-DeRemer
President Trumpâs newly-confirmed labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been viewed with suspicion by many on the free-market right. She can rectify that…
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Otherwise Objectionable episode 3: ‘Law and Disorder’
The third episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, moves beyond…
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Belgium has learned nothing from Germanyâs nuclear phaseout
Doel Unit 1 was shut down in February as part of the countryâs nuclear phaseout policy. In 2021, more than half of Belgiumâs power came from…
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The true cost of the Inflation Reduction Act
The increasingly poorly named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by President Biden in 2022, comes with incredible costs. These come from massive spending, like tax credits and…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
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Free the Economy podcast: Working for a better tomorrow with Vinnie Vernuccio
In this weekâs episode we cover Americaâs founding principles, the Cato Instituteâs recommendations for reforming financial regulation, why Republicans shouldnât be busting…
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Yes, women had access to credit before 1974
March is Women’s History Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate many âfirstsâ for women in public life. One of those âfirstsâ is the ability…
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Hawleyâs bill speeds up union elections by removing guardrails
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) thinks workers are having too hard of a time forming unions. His solution to that is to fast-track the process…
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Is the Solar for All program authorized?
In 2022, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) without a single Republican vote in the House or Senate.One of the most controversial IRA…
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Otherwise Objectionable episode 2: âThe Dawn of the Internetâ
The second episode of Otherwise Objectionable, the narrative-driven podcast that tells the true story of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, focuses on…
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Trump should eliminate this troubled risk assessment program
Among Washingtonâs sprawling regulatory bureaucracies, one program has quietly shaped environmental policy for decades. The EPAâs Integrated Risk Information System, known as IRIS, influences…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Volatile gas and the Gulf of Mexico
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and President Trump put on some pressure to lower them. Trump also fired Democratic FTC commissioners on unclear…