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No free lunch: Price controls won’t make groceries more affordable
When Americans go to the grocery store, they expect to find food and drinks. Lately, many are encountering something else: sticker shock. According to…
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Happy birthday to the Wealth of Nations – and to CEI
Today is the 250th anniversary of the publication of perhaps the seminal work of economics, Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of…
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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 tariffs.
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Free the Economy podcast: Mississippi renaissance with Douglas Carswell
In this week’s episode we cover housing abundance, capitalism’s approval rating, audits of state finances, and the consumer nostalgia of…
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The problem with the EU’s deforestation regulation
The European Union’s (EU) Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was adopted in 2023. The stated objective of the EUDR is “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions…
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The Railway Safety Act would derail progress one provision at a time
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment spilled hazardous chemicals and prompted a massive, controlled burn that sent plumes…
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Tariffs and inflation: Response to latest CPI release
On February 13th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent CPI release showed a 0.2 percent month-to-month increase for January and a 2.4 percent…
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The major questions doctrine at a crossroads
In Learning Resources v. Trump, the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize President Trump’s tariffs. This…
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The most powerful monopoly isn’t a corporation: Introducing the Capitol Control Quotient
Policymakers often argue over whether capitalism works and how aggressively it should be restrained. But they rarely ask the more pertinent question: where, exactly, does…
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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 topped…
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Minimum lot sizes, maximum costs
When Americans think about the housing affordability debate, they tend to picture cranes, lumber prices, or mortgage interest rates. It is certainly important to focus…
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The market has spoken: Consumers define the relevant video market
Washington loves drama, and recent debates over video industry consolidation have delivered plenty – billions of dollars at stake, congressional theatrics, and political posturing. But…
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Déjà vu all over again as Trump administration move to protect freelancing
The Department of Labor has proposed a new worker classification rule to replace the previous administration’s 2024 rewrite. This new version would…
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Free the Economy podcast: Big Tech, Europe, and free speech with Spence Purnell
In this week’s episode we cover the Supreme Court’s recent decision on tariff powers, myths of the Great Recession, and fiduciary duty…
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Politicians should push deregulatory initiatives – not investor limits – to boost housing affordability
Both President Trump and Democrats in Congress seem to blame the high costs of housing on certain groups of real estate investors and to restrict…
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Trump’s State of the Union: A closer look at the claims
Last night, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address filled with optimism, applause lines, and bold claims about the country’s direction. There…
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Abolish, shuffle, repeat: The SOTU’s ill omen for federal retrenchment
Shrinking the federal government and abolishing agencies sounds simple — decisive, even. In practice, however, it appears neither can be done under modern administrative-…
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Yes, Trump has shrunk the government
President Trump’s big jobs boast in his State of the Union address Tuesday was that under his watch every job created in the US…
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Freelancers want to be free
The labor movement has been trying for years to organize gig economy workers, claiming that they are traditional employees being exploited by their bosses. The problem is that gig employees don’t view themselves that way…
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Red tape, green bribes: Deregulation as an anti-corruption strategy
Corruption in politics is often thought of in narrower terms, such as bribes, kickbacks, or high-profile scandals with millions of dollars of fraud. However, political…
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House to consider two bills that would place limits on federal appliance meddling
It is time for Congress to place limits on costly and intrusive federal meddling in home appliances. Two House bills coming up for a vote…
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Trump’s SOTU conundrum: Deregulation today, swamp tomorrow?
Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union (SOTU) address presents an opportunity to confront the federal spending, entitlement, and regulatory behemoth in a new way…
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EPA repeals another costly rule targeting affordable and reliable coal
Though not nearly as far-reaching as the recently announced end to the Endangerment Finding, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) February 20 final rule repealing…
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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. The…
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Supreme Court reaffirms that tariff power belongs to Congress, not the president
In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and the consolidated case Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc., the Supreme Court delivered an important separation of powers ruling…
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Free the Economy podcast: The impact of Trump’s trade war with Alex Durante
In this week’s episode we cover the sneaky federal cause of high housing prices, record outflows from ESG investment funds, and why…
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Rule by Vibes, Ruined by Reality: Why the FTC’s HSR Loss Demands a Legislative Fix
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is doubling down on a losing hand. Despite a stinging courtroom defeat last week that vacated its 2024 premerger…
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Merger relief vs. the consolidation regulators ignore
A federal court’s decision blocking a 2024 Federal Trade Commission’s expanded merger-disclosure rule is welcome. But its significance risks being overstated. Skirmishes over reporting…
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Cut the steel, cut the cost: Why Congress is right to scrap the chassis mandate
If buying a home in the US feels more expensive, that is not merely your imagination. A Harvard University study found that national single-family home…
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FDA’s Moderna decision demonstrates how science and government are incompatible
Last week, the FDA announced that it would not be considering Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine because the control group Moderna used…