Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
40 new regulations, from solid waste to washing machines.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Happy New Year to all of our regulatory followers! Wayne Crews previously summed up 2014’s year-end statistics in this post. Among the highlights are 3,541…
Blog
20 States Raise Minimum Wage: Happy New Year?
The minimum wage is one of the most popular policies for fighting poverty, and proposed increases to it usually poll very well. But the twenty…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The federal government took Thursday and Friday off to celebrate the holidays. Despite the rare three-day work week, agencies still published 25 proposed regulations, more…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
69 new regulations, from washing machines to plants for planting.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
While Congress was busy with the 1,603-page Cromnibus bill (full text), agencies added nearly that many pages to the Federal Register with new regulations for everything…
Blog
New Minimum Wage Study: Tradeoffs Exist
Many progressives strongly support minimum wage increases. This is troubling, because the effects those increases actually have on many poor people are regressive. Signaling your concern for…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
While the number of new regulations last week was normal, their cost was abnormal, totaling well over half a billion dollars just for the four…
Blog
Towards a Humbler Monetary Policy
Is it possible for opposite policies to both be wrong? Over at the Washington Examiner, I argue that it is. The U.S. is ending…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Regulators had much to be thankful for during the short Thanksgiving work week, with new rules covering everything from grocery store ads to wireless signal…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It was a bit of a slow week as these things go, but regulators still published new rules on everything from stress testing to sage…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Federal Register took Tuesday off to observe Veterans’ Day. The short week was still a busy one, with Thursday’s edition alone totaling 783 pages. On to…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Election week was a busy one on the regulatory front, with new rules on everything from fuel taxes to wireless spectrum. With the Senate changing…
Blog
Gordon Tullock, R.I.P.
Imagine making Nobel-worthy contributions to a discipline in which you had almost no formal training. It’s an amazing feat. Gordon Tullock is one of the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
In the final week before the midterm election, agencies published new regulations ranging from dairy profits to Japanese oranges. Fittingly, the total number of new…
Blog
Minimum Wages Have Tradeoffs
Minimum wages help some workers, which is why they are so popular. But they aren’t a free lunch. There are tradeoffs. They aren’t always easy…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It was business as usual, with new rules hitting the books on everything from political speech restrictions to butterflies to football broadcasts. On to the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The federal government took Monday off for Columbus Day, but still managed to pack more than 50 new regulations into a short week. On to…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Even with a mid-term election coming up next month, agencies are cranking out a dozen or so new regulations every workday. The federal government also…
Blog
A Pen and Phone Strategy to Shrink Government
President Obama is right that Congress doesn’t do much. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But the pen and phone strategy Obama proposed…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Federal Register topped the 60,000-page mark on Friday, and is on pace for the 6th-highest page count in its 79-year history. Along the way,…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
A busy week ended with a flourish, with Friday’s Federal Register alone containing 28 final regulations and 542 pages.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Blog
Lesson from Ex-Im Fight: More Agencies Should Have Sunsets
Congress hasn’t voted just yet on the Continuing Resolution that includes the Export-Import Bank’s reauthorization. But we already know that it will pass this week,…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The number of new regulations topped 2,500 on the year, while the Federal Register added 1,853 pages to end the week just shy of the…
Blog
Dueling Ex-Im Commentary
A vote on the Continuing Resolution, which includes the controversial Export-Import Bank reauthorization was originally scheduled for today, but has been pushed back to next…
Blog
Don’t Tie Ex-Im Renewal to Government Shutdown
It appears Congress will decide the Export-Import Bank’s short-term fate this week. There are several bills with different reauthorization terms, and Rep. Justin Amash and…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It was a short week due to the Labor Day holiday, but agencies still managed to issue more than 60 new regulations and push the…
Blog
Ex-Im Update
Congress comes back from its annual August recess next week. One of the top items on its agenda is deciding the Export-Import Bank’s fate. Ex-Im…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
In a week like any other, federal agencies issued regulations for everything from dairy farmers’ profit margins to Canadian apple exports.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Federal Register burst past the 50,000-page mark with Friday’s 878-page effort, which also contained 21 final regulations and four “significant” documents.
Blog
New RegData Site Makes it Easier to Track Regulation
About three years ago, our friends at the Mercatus Center launched a website called RegData that compiles a searchable database on many facets of…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
75 new regulations, from tax delinquents to spectrum auctions.
Blog
The Ex-Im Bank’s Unilateral Disarmament Fallacy
One of the weakest arguments against free trade is the "unilateral disarmament" fallacy--that a country should refuse to liberalize its trade policies until other countries…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Despite another 47 proposed regulations and 80 final regulations last week, 2014 remains on pace to have the smallest number of new regulations of any…
Blog
The Case for Closing the Export-Import Bank
Over at American Banker’s BankThink blog, I have a piece making the case for closing the Export-Import Bank, mostly on corruption grounds: The…
Blog
The Let Me Google That for You Act
When it comes to government transparency, more is better. As a general principle, the government should make public as many of its documents as possible…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Ninety-eight new regulations, from Moroccan blueberries to home furnaces.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Seventy-four new regulations, from spearmint oil to insurance exchanges.
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 24, 2014: Victory in Halbig v. Burwell
General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about what the Halbig decision means for the Affordable Care Act, as well as broader principles such as taxation…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
In addition to 100 final regulations, 62 proposed regulations made their way to the Federal Register last week.
Blog
Ten Reasons to Abolish the Export-Import Bank
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 15, 2014: Time to Close the Export-Import Bank
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
63 new regulations, from poultry plans to headaches. …
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 10, 2014: The Wire Act and Online Gambling
Michelle Minton argues that the Wire Act applies only to interstate sports gambling, not online gambling as a whole. The Wire Act's 50-year history…
Blog
Cronyism and the Export-Import Bank
Over at Rare, I have a piece on the cronyism angle of the Export-Import Bank debate. The Senate will likely vote this on month on whether…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It was a short work week due to the 4th of July holiday, but a busy one. Monday’s Federal Register topped 500 pages, and Tuesday alone saw 29…
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 1, 2014: John Holdren’s Poor Data Quality Control
General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about presidential science advisor John Holdren's refusal to comply with the federal Data Quality Act when CEI questioned…
Blog
Is John Boehner’s Lawsuit the Best Way to Rein in the Executive Branch?
House Speaker John Boehner plans to sue President Obama over perceived abuses of the separation of powers. Over at the Daily Caller, I argue that…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
There were no major regulations this week, but more than 80 little ones, covering everything from a religious exemption to the federal tanning tax to…
Blog
Ex-Im’s Invitation to Corruption
When government has a lot of money and power, it is natural for people to curry its favor. It is just as natural for those…
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 24, 2014: TSA Still Flouting the Law on Body Scanners
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The Federal Register topped the 35,000-page mark last week. New regulations cover everything from tariffs on foreign cheese to dental implants to fireworks shows.
Blog
Ex-Im Reauthorization Fight: Release the Reagan
The Export-Import Bank is up for reauthorization in September. If the vote fails in Congress, the Bank and its $140 billion portfolio will cease to…
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 17, 2014: CEI Celebrates 30 Years
Blog
Laughing All the Way to the Export-Import Bank
The Kronies are back with a video about the Export-Import Bank, one of the federal government’s largest corporate welfare programs. While the video is less than…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Seventy-nine new regulations, from olive assessments to phone calls from prison.
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 12, 2014: CEI Sues the NSA
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
New regulations published last week cover everything from what to call UV lamps used for tanning to the federal government’s National Sheep Industry Improvement Center.
Blog
Regulatory Improvement Commission
That idea is now captured in a bi-partisan bill in Congress. Wayne Crews and I wrote about it this week in The Washington Times:…
Blog
CEI Podcast for June 3, 2014: EPA Proposes Major Carbon Emission Regulation
Senior Fellow William Yeatman breaks down a proposed EPA regulation intended to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the U.S.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
62 new regulations, from electric motors to handling kiwifruit.
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 29, 2014: Rachel Was Wrong
Seeing as Carson's book set malaria prevention back decades, CEI Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini thinks there are other figures more deserving of such tributes.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
66 new regulations, from Panama to refrigerants.
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 20, 2014: Phones on a Plane
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner supports the FCC's attempt to lift a ban on in-flight cell phone use.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
77 new regulations, from cotton grading to walk-in coolers.
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 14, 2014: Federal Ban on Online Gambling?
CEI Fellow Michelle Minton discusses why a federal ban on online gambling would be counterproductive.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Despite nearly 60 new regulations and more than 1,300 Federal Register pages, regulations remain on a below-average pace this year. On to the data: Last…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 8, 2014: The Future of Self-Driving Cars
Marc Scribner talks about his new paper, "Self-Driving Regulation."…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
77 new regulations, from gooseberry imports to preventing collisions at sea.
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 29, 2014: Ten Thousand Commandments
Wayne Crews talks about the new 2014 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2014
The 2014 edition of Wayne Crews’ annual Ten Thousand Commandments report comes out today…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
84 new regulations, from spearmint oil to hot air balloons.
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 23, 2014: Reforming Fannie and Freddie
Senior Fellow John Berlau argues that a bill from Senators Tim Johnson and Mike Crapo intended to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would only…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
84 new regulations, from stair-climbing wheelchairs to crustacean irradiation.
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 17, 2014: Brexit Strategy
Iain Murray, CEI's Vice President for Strategy, along with Freedom Association Director Rory Broomfield, won second place Institute for Economic Affairs' Brexit Competition. The goal…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
59 new regulations, from rearview cameras to pocket gophers.
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 9, 2014: A Consumer’s Guide to Chemical Risk
Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini talks about her new Consumer's Guide to Chemical Risk.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
79 new regulations, from whistleblowers to watermelon promotion.
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 3, 2014: Clean Air Act Costs and Benefits
Senior Fellow William Yeatman is skeptical of an EPA report claiming the Clean Air Act will have nearly $2 trillion in annual benefits by 2020.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
64 new regulations, from refrigerators to Korean chicken.
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 27, 2014: Bait and Reciprocal Switch
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner talks about his new paper, “Bait and Reciprocal Switch: Forced Access Regulation Threatens the Rail Renaissance.”…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
67 new regulations, from reformulated gasoline to vitamin D2.
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 12, 2014: CEI Turns 30
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
84 new regulations, from soybean referendums to jaguars.
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 6, 2014: The ALERT Act and Regulatory Transparency
Last week was Stop Government Abuse Week in Congress, and the House passed a number of reform bills that would increase government transparency. One of…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
81 new regulations, from grading grapefruit to detaining journalists.
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 27, 2014: Can the EPA Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a case that could determine whether or not the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
35 new regulations, from helicopter ambulances to infant formula.
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 20, 2014: The Expanding Regulatory State
CEI Fellow Ryan Young discusses the large stock of existing regulations and the rapid flow of new regulations.
Blog
Suing the IRS – And Winning
Proving that sometimes good guys can win, our friends at the Institute for Justice are celebrating a big win against the IRS.
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
56 new regulations, from lamp fixtures to handling potatoes.
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 12, 2014: Are Cell Phones Coming to an Airplane Near You?
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner opposes a bill that would ban in-flight cell phone usage on airplanes. He believes that decision should be left to airlines,…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
55 new regulations, from kiwifruit administration to dehumidifiers.
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 6, 2014: Keystone XL Pipeline Inches towards Approval
Have a listen here. Marlo Lewis examines a State Department report finding that Keystone serves the national interest and finds opposing arguments wanting.
Blog
Regulation without Representation
Over at The Hill's Congress blog, Wayne Crews and I make the case for reining in the regulatory state as a way to improve the…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
52 new regulations, from hedge funds to California dates.
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 30, 2014: State of the Union
Blog
State of the Union: Economic Band-Aids for Poverty and Unemployment
One of progressivism’s most admirable traits is its concern for the little guy. But many progressive policies for alleviating poverty, unemployment, and other social problems…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
43 new regulations, from flood elevations to extra parentheses.