![Will COVID-era work-from-home flexibility disappear?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1432935110-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Will COVID-era work-from-home flexibility disappear?
The question of how many Americans are going to continue working remotely, post-COVID, is back in the news again (if, indeed, it ever left).
![United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-119689299-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie
If the United Auto Workers go on strike this week – and as I write this it appears as though they will – it…
![August CPI: Rising energy prices hide underlying inflation progress](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1425579462-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
August CPI: Rising energy prices hide underlying inflation progress
This month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a jumble of numbers that look like they contradict each other. But they make sense on closer…
![The SEC’s anti-competitive assault against private fund advisers](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1447564898-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
The SEC’s anti-competitive assault against private fund advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting new rules that radically redefine how investment companies are regulated, undercutting the ability of private fund advisers to…
![Biden admin blocks oil and gas leases in Alaska, hurting Alaskans and all Americans](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1124977922-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Biden admin blocks oil and gas leases in Alaska, hurting Alaskans and all Americans
The Biden administration took two aggressive steps in its war on energy last week. The US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the cancellation…
![Under Biden, thousands of government guidance documents are becoming much harder to find](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1164751366-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Under Biden, thousands of government guidance documents are becoming much harder to find
Laws passed by Congress get cataloged in the U.S. Code, while rules and regulations that incubate in the daily Federal Register land in the…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: crash test dummies and potato promotion](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1209793467-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: crash test dummies and potato promotion
Congress returned from its August recess. It was a four-day week for the Federal Register due to Labor Day, but the Federal Register still grew…
![Senate needs to block USDA slush fund in its minibus bill](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-517934076-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Senate needs to block USDA slush fund in its minibus bill
The House agriculture appropriations bill, which was favorably reported out of the Appropriations Committee, includes language to help put a stop to what has…
![The Powell Memo was good, actually](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-467449527-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
The Powell Memo was good, actually
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my study (co-written with my colleague Iain Murray) on the 50-plus year history of the…
![Free the Economy podcast: freedom and conservatism with Avik Roy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/e37-free-the-economy-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: freedom and conservatism with Avik Roy
In this week’s episode we talk about the future of nuclear power, the possible end of remote work, and the complexities of…
![If you thought being on the road this past Labor Day weekend was unusually expensive, then you would be right](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Fuel-pump-GettyImages-1081329100-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
If you thought being on the road this past Labor Day weekend was unusually expensive, then you would be right
This August, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data going back to 1991, regular retail gasoline prices reached $3.84 per gallon. This marked the…
![Politicians take too much credit for good news](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-130406402-1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Politicians take too much credit for good news
Over Labor Day weekend, Inside Sources syndicated an op-ed of mine arguing that politicians do not deserve credit for the economy’s post-COVID recovery. They…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: dairy donations and kiosk interpretations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1423002945-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: dairy donations and kiosk interpretations
The 2023 Federal Register topped 60,000 pages. Price controls are on the way for 10 common prescription drugs. Hurricane Idalia hit Florida. Culture warriors shouted…
![An invitation for union organizers to cheat in elections](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-83273505-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
An invitation for union organizers to cheat in elections
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a new rule for union organizing elections that says the election will go ahead even when there…
![Climate policy deserves thoughtful discourse, not petty attacks: a response to Paul Krugman](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1133783066-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Climate policy deserves thoughtful discourse, not petty attacks: a response to Paul Krugman
Just because someone doesn’t support an extreme climate policy agenda, like the Inflation Reduction Act, doesn’t mean that they deny climate change is occurring. Science…
![Biden administration working overtime to regulate working overtime](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-596803190-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Biden administration working overtime to regulate working overtime
The Biden administration issued a new rule this week that vastly expands of the number of workers covered by federal overtime rules. While some…
![Free the Economy podcast: Defend your points and miles with Bryan Bashur](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/e36-free-the-economy-1-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defend your points and miles with Bryan Bashur
In this week’s episode we talk about where our doctors come from in the US, what current inflation numbers tell us about…
![Why Congress needs to care about Biden’s ‘Circular A-4’ subterfuge](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1164751366-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Why Congress needs to care about Biden’s ‘Circular A-4’ subterfuge
Proposed changes in the American government’s executive regulatory functions showcase a conflict of visions over separation of powers; over executive overreach; over the size and…
![Trump proposes 10 percent universal tariff](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-926907538-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Trump proposes 10 percent universal tariff
Everyone makes mistakes. It’s part of life. It’s not even necessarily a bad thing. If you’re the entrepreneurial type, mistakes are an opportunity to learn…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: walnut marketing and railroad dispatchers](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-531534806-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: walnut marketing and railroad dispatchers
The number of new final regulations this year topped 2,000, ending the week at 2,007. Economically significant regulations may be a thing of the…
![S&P Global downplays its ESG ratings. Will rival ratings firms follow suit?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1253833443-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
S&P Global downplays its ESG ratings. Will rival ratings firms follow suit?
S&P Global, a premier financial data company, has recently put an end to its quantitative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rankings. Rather than issue…
![Are you ready for Jacobin the board game?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1140032244-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Are you ready for Jacobin the board game?
One of the most beautiful things about capitalism is that, wherever there is demand, there will be supply. Even though dedicated Marxists make up a…
![Free the Economy podcast: The ESG Agenda with Jack McPherrin](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/e35_free_the_economy_16_9-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The ESG Agenda with Jack McPherrin
In this week’s episode we talk about job recruiters who lie to applicants, post-Covid reforms to the CDC, debunking socialist takes…
![EPA won’t rush ozone decision. Good. Now do the same for particulate matter.](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GettyImages-485495077-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
EPA won’t rush ozone decision. Good. Now do the same for particulate matter.
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put an end to the possibility that it would soon revise the existing ozone standards. This was…
![‘Economically significant’ regulations: an obituary](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-534204002-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
‘Economically significant’ regulations: an obituary
I never thought I’d miss “economically significant” rules and regulations. But Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (“Modernizing Regulatory Review”) has redefined “Significant regulatory action.”…
![How regulations crush small businesses and the poor](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-537442618-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
How regulations crush small businesses and the poor
Today, the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship is holding a field hearing in Iowa on the topic of “One Size Does Not…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: baby bumpers and AI campaign ads](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1482822117-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby bumpers and AI campaign ads
A wildfire in Hawaii killed more than 100 people. Donald Trump was indicted again. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from magnificent ramshorns to pasteurized…
![Free the Economy Episode 34: Permitting Prosperity with Daren Bakst](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/e34_free_the_economy_16_9-1-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 34: Permitting Prosperity with Daren Bakst
In this weeks episode we talk about labor union history, demands for a 4-day work week, YIMBY policy wins, and Reason’s…
![America’s insurance commissioners still pursuing bad investment charges that EU is scrapping](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1431889699-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
America’s insurance commissioners still pursuing bad investment charges that EU is scrapping
Last month, a significant development took place in Europe that so far has not been widely reported in the US, even though it will likely…
![How the Inflation Reduction Act takes aim at gas stoves](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1332985903-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
How the Inflation Reduction Act takes aim at gas stoves
The American people have reacted very negatively to potential federal regulations targeting natural gas stoves in favor of electric versions. But beyond regulations, there…
![Inflation Reduction Act turns one, and wow that’s an ugly baby](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Inflation-GettyImages-1308116067-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Inflation Reduction Act turns one, and wow that’s an ugly baby
As President Joe Biden celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (here’s the White House “Fact Sheet“) we…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: ice fog and pre-merger paperwork](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-627337336-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: ice fog and pre-merger paperwork
Inflation more or less held steady. The FTC is reportedly getting ready to file an antitrust suit against Amazon. The Federal Register had…
![Don’t regulate AI. Defund it.](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1435014643-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Don’t regulate AI. Defund it.
Just yesterday, Smart Home speakers were infuriating us with their confused and stubborn responses to simple questions. These days, the ascent of something closer to…
![America receives first debt downgrade in 12 years as history repeats itself](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1137014447-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
America receives first debt downgrade in 12 years as history repeats itself
Fitch Ratings, a credit reporting agency, recently issued a foreboding outlook on America’s credit health. For the first time in 12 years, the United States…
![Work, dignity, and the common good](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1340582332-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Work, dignity, and the common good
Many on the right (especially self-described “national conservatives”) say that there is no “dignified work” for Americans today. What they mean by this is,…
![Free the Economy Episode 33: Federal Trade Commission Failures with Kimberlee Josephson](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/e33_free_the_economy_16_9-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 33: Federal Trade Commission Failures with Kimberlee Josephson
In this week’s episode we talk about defending financial privacy, new polling on what Republican voters want, reactions to new employment…
![CEI warns EPA: Biden Blackout Plan is unauthorized, harmful, and unrealistic](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1432208692-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
CEI warns EPA: Biden Blackout Plan is unauthorized, harmful, and unrealistic
In West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)…
![Amazon doesn’t have a monopoly in everything](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1221101939-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Amazon doesn’t have a monopoly in everything
As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released their draft merger guidelines, Amazon has found itself in the…
![GOOD Act only first step in forcing federal agencies to come clean on guidance documents](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1157957895-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
GOOD Act only first step in forcing federal agencies to come clean on guidance documents
Alongside the familiar profusion of notice-and-comment regulations, federal agency guidance can include memoranda, notices, bulletins, directives, news releases, letters; even blog posts and…
![New premerger filing rules raise costs for no benefit](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-499125789-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
New premerger filing rules raise costs for no benefit
In late June, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust division proposed a new set of premerger notification rules.
![This week in ridiculous regulations: steroids and cyber scholarships](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-629808308-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: steroids and cyber scholarships
Unemployment remained at 3.5 percent, and Donald Trump got indicted again. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from cooking products to squid harvests. On to…
![New merger guidelines have a concentration problem](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GettyImages-499125789-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
New merger guidelines have a concentration problem
The new draft merger guidelines from the FTC and the Justice Department have sparked a lot of commentary. Over at National Review’s Capital Matters…
![Free the Economy podcast: Government rules behind a paywall with Patrick McLaughlin](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/e32-free-the-economy-578x324-c-default.png)
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Government rules behind a paywall with Patrick McLaughlin
In this week’s episode we talk about banning incandescent light bulbs, mission creep at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, new nuclear capacity…
![Let them eat public transportation](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1392279121-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Let them eat public transportation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its latest attack on Automobility with proposed CA standards on combustion engine vehicles. The war on…
![What you don’t know about the Wagner Act](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1412722623-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
What you don’t know about the Wagner Act
What stance does the National Labor Relation Act, the main federal law regarding union rights, take towards workers joining unions? A long-held article of…
![The Paycheck Protection Act gives Congress a chance to defend the little guy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1364970875-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
The Paycheck Protection Act gives Congress a chance to defend the little guy
Freshman Missouri congressman Eric Burlison (R) has introduced legislation called the Paycheck Protection Act. The act, a project of the nonprofit American Legislative…
![Why are America’s insurance commissioners trying to import harmful European rules?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1431889699-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Why are America’s insurance commissioners trying to import harmful European rules?
With high prices and the threat of recession looming over America’s economy, another threat is emerging. Influential policymakers overseeing the U.S. insurance industry are on…
![This week in ridiculous regulations: dishwashers and shore leave](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GettyImages-1366538341-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: dishwashers and shore leave
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, and GDP grew at a healthy 2.4 percent annualized rate. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
![Life lessons from Alfred Kahn, father of airline deregulation](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1386596137-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Life lessons from Alfred Kahn, father of airline deregulation
“Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie.” Alfred Kahn’s opening words during an American Bar Association session were strange and confusing. Why would a man known for…
![Good news about new business starts nationwide](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1347502115-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
Good news about new business starts nationwide
The Economic Innovation Group has a fascinating report out this week on how we’re seeing a boom in new businesses being started – definitely a…