CEI Weekly: Big Labor Alliance With Democrats in Jeopardy

CEI Weekly is a compilation of articles and blog posts from CEI’s fellows and associates sent out via e-mail every Friday. Also included in the weekly newsletter is a brief description of CEI’s weekly podcast and a feature on a major CEI breakthrough made during the week. To sign up for CEI Weekly, go to http://cei.org/newsletters.

CEI Weekly
July 8, 2011

>>Featured Story

In states across America, Democratic leaders are being forced to re-evaluate their close relationship with powerful union lobbyists. Taxpayers are holding politicians accountable for broken state budgets now more than ever; and Democrats are realizing that they can’t seriously address their constituents’ economic concerns if they’re continuing to give political gifts to Big Labor. In this month’s Labor Watch, Ivan Osorio and Trey Kovacs examine the causes and consequences of the disintegrating friendship between leftist lawmakers and powerful unions. Read the study here (PDF).

>>Shaping the Debate
Mandatory Voting
Fred Smith’s televised debate with Norm Ornstein

TSA Under Fire After Man Boards Flight With Expired Boarding Pass

Vincent Vernuccio’s interview on Fox Business

The Cost of Government Regulation
Wayne Crews’ column in Forbes

Fuel Economy Standards Need a Warning Label
Sam Kazman’s citation in The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Employers Doubt Obama’s Promise of Less Red Tape
CEI’s citation in The Washington Times

NYT: Tea Party vs. John Mica’s Myopic Monorail to Nowhere
Marc Scribner’s citation in The Washington Examiner Blogs

>>Best of the Blogs


Third Time’s the Charm: Ray LaHood Announces TIGER 3

By Marc Scribner

Sour Attitudes on Raw Milk
By Greg Conko

The EU’s Sanctimonious Climate Bluster

By William Yeatman

Virginia’s Child Support Guidelines Likely to Become Grossly Excessive for Most Households
By Hans Bader

Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Independence Day Edition
By Michelle Minton

>> CEI Podcast

July 7. 2011: How Much Does Regulation Cost?

One federal government study says federal regulations cost $1.75 trillion. Another says it’s $62 billion. The difference is almost a factor of 30. Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews compares the two, and talks about the hazards of calculating regulatory costs and benefits. As it turns out, $1.75 trillion might be an understatement.