Blog
Takeaways from Biden’s new Spring 2024 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations
At the end of the July 4th holiday weekend, the Biden administration Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Spring 2024 edition of the…
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
Free the Economy podcast: Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
In this week’s episode we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme Court’s…
Blog
Could AI regulation hamper the next agricultural revolution?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the agricultural industry, along with other sectors of the economy. Already, AI has reduced…
Blog
Reflecting on independence: More than fireworks and barbecues
As we enjoy barbecues, fireworks, and parades on the Fourth of July, we also reflect upon the deeper significance of our nation’s Independence Day and…
Blog
New Jersey moves to ban gas powered leaf blowers
In the latest example of the environmentalist cause going too far, the New Jersey State Senate has voted to move forward with a bill that…
Blog
California’s Newsom grants exception to state law so restaurants can cope with other state law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation over the weekend that exempted restaurants in the Golden State from…
Blog
USTR inconsistent in their application of new tariffs
I recently made comments on the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) latest Section 301 tariffs, specifically those imposed on facemasks and steel and…
Blog
CEI opposes SEC’s gag rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission does not like to be criticized. That’s not unusual. What is unusual is that the SEC includes a prohibition of…
Blog
SCOTUS overrules Chevron Doctrine
The Supreme Court has spoken. “Chevron is overruled.” The 40-year-old Chevron decision had increased the level of judicial deference accorded to federal agencies to interpret…
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
Can moderators ask debate questions that don’t presume a progressive policy agenda?
Numerous policy issues are shaping this year’s first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the entire campaign atmosphere. These include…
Blog
Supreme Court protects the right to a jury trial – and the public from lawless agency fines
Today the Supreme Court issued a decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, one of the most significant civil rights cases in decades. This case is about…
Blog
Biden’s pro-labor policies will linger past fall election
The Biden administration is trying to cement a pro-union labor policy into place for the next four years, even if likely Republican candidate Donald Trump…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Protecting taxpayers with Tim Sandefur
In this week’s episode we cover the problems with the SEC’s new climate rule, the recent Supreme Court decision on income taxes,…
Blog
Spam alert! A devastating outlook on the SEC’s final climate disclosure rule
I have a paper out today, exploring the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) landmark finalized climate disclosure rule and the many challenges it…
Blog
CEI comments opposing destructive anti-merger rules from troubled FDIC
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has been the subject of recent hearings and news reports regarding findings of a toxic workplace atmosphere of…
Blog
Congress just passed legislation to greenlight nuclear energy
The Senate just passed the “Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act” (ADVANCE ACT), which was part of the “Fire Grants and Safety…
Blog
Biden-era unfunded and funded mandates alike are co-opting state and local priorities
Policymakers are increasingly aware of the federal red tape burden on small businesses, but they should also recognize its emergent implications for state and…
Blog
More thought goes into a coffee order than tariff rates
Tariffs are the hot new trend in Washington, and neither party can get enough. In the month of May alone, the Biden administration announced new…
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
SEC’s Orwellian surveillance system faces its greatest challenge yet
The Eleventh Circuit Court will soon decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by proposing the first market-wide surveillance…
Blog
Wi-Fi: A freedom and innovation success story
There’s a been a lot of bad news on the regulatory front lately with the FCC darkening broadband’s success with burdensome regulation. But let’s celebrate…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Up from poverty with Josh Bandoch
In this week’s episode we cover pork-barrel spending in Congress, reform of federal guidance documents, restaurants with minimum age requirements, and…
Blog
AEA launches major campaign against the PROVE IT Act
Our friends at the American Energy Alliance (AEA) have launched an important digital campaign against the PROVE IT Act (S.1863).The PROVE IT…
Blog
The Surge: California train regulations, DOE lawsuits, 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…
Blog
Even SCOTUS liberal wing skeptical of NLRB moves
The most notable thing about the Supreme Court’s ruling last week against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Starbucks Corp.
Blog
Everyone agrees we need more spectrum, so why is Congress making it complicated?
Politics prioritized over policy is de rigueur these days, but it shouldn’t be for spectrum auction reauthorization. The importance to the US economy and to…
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
Free the Economy podcast: Enlightened capitalism with Siri Terjesen
In this week’s episode we cover regulatory burdens on small businesses, common-sense solutions to poverty, a legal challenge to the TikTok…
Blog
Three years of Chair Lina Khan’s unhinged FTC
Lina Khan’s appointment to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was meant to bring about significant change and a new direction for the independent agency. Before…
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
Technological limitations of California’s in-use locomotive rule
Like our cardiovascular system, freight trains work like arteries running 24/7 transporting bulk commodities and goods. This includes transporting everything from cardboard boxes for…
Blog
Congress should heed GAO’s new regulatory reform recommendations
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a December 2023 report titled “Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal…
Blog
Yes, make tipping tax-free
Republican candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to make tips tax-free is a good idea, and not just because it will be a…
Blog
The Surge: EPA’s new power plant rule, the PROVE IT Act, 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…
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…
Blog
A brief look at the Senate’s proposed AI regulations
As new artificial intelligence (AI) models release and their capabilities grow, fears around artificial intelligence have begun to crop up as people wonder what AI…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Texas pimplebacks and pension funds
The 60-legislative-day Congressional Review Act deadline has likely passed, unless Congress keeps an unusually busy election year schedule. As a result, rulemaking has slowed to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Economic facts and vibes with Joey Politano
In this week’s episode we cover advances in dentistry, the slow pace of EV charger deployment, a victory for free speech at…
Blog
The inherent contradictions of unionized political campaigns
President Joe Biden is the first candidate expected to win their party’s presidential nomination with a unionized staff. Whether this is…
Blog
The end of the ‘economically significant’ rule
Friends and allies in the liberty movement still often refer to high-cost regulations from the Biden administration as “economically significant” rules. What…
Blog
Regulations hit small businesses and low-income households hardest
There are about 33.3 million small businesses in the United States, comprising 99.9 percent of all American businesses. About half of all employees work for…
Blog
Three cheers for House efforts to defund climate-related foreign aid
House Republicans should be applauded for introducing an FY 2025 State Department appropriations bill that blocks climate change-related foreign aid. Specifically, the bill wouldn’t…
Blog
21 cents worth of stupid in the Department of Energy’s latest stove proposal
The good news is that the Biden Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest proposed efficiency regulation for residential stoves is considerably less damaging to consumers…
Blog
Conservatives oppose the PROVE IT Act
How does a federal tax on every aspect of our lives sound? How about punishing energy use?It’s probably safe to say that most people think…
Blog
The federal government’s shift toward controlling small business
Recent proclamations by the Biden administration have revealed a worrying shift in the federal government’s attitude toward America’s small businesses. In a new column…
Blog
Unions outdo Donald Trump in crying foul over election losses
The US labor movement is rivaled only by Donald Trump when it comes to throwing out claims of election fraud. Like the Republican presidential candidate,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: food hazards and powerline permits
Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in his hush money case. Apparently nothing else of note happened all week, since that was the only…
Blog
Freddie Mac second mortgage funding could foment financial crisis
The 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis never fails to be invoked whenever there is any pushback to excessive financial regulation. Progressives regularly bring up…