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Capitalism Makes a Comeback on Campus
There’s exciting stuff going on in the world of higher education these days for fans of free markets. Just last week, the University of Arizona’s …
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There Are No “Neutral Taxes” in Politics
Those favoring larger government are finding it harder to finance them by raising taxes. Proponents have sought to reduce opposition by claiming that they’re not…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
In a very cold, holiday-shortened week, federal agencies issued 40 final and 33 proposed regulations covering everything from lithium-ion batteries to small fish in Oregon.
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Brussels Meeting Ends with White Smoke
To surprise of many, Friday’s meeting in Brussels ended with white smoke, like Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has hoped when he was referring to…
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How to Help Tesla and Taxpayers
Policies aimed at reducing auto emissions in California and 10 other states are having a troubling set of unintended consequences, according to a recent editorial at…
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When Kittens Explode
A fascinating Kickstarter funding campaign just ended yesterday, and it was a major one. A new card game with the alarming title of “Exploding…
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Vapes on a Plane: More on Why DOT’s Proposed In-Flight E-Cigarette Ban Is Fatally Flawed
Over at CNN.com, I have a piece arguing against the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) forthcoming rule aimed at outlawing “vapes on a plane.” I explain why…
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NLRB Ambush Election Rule Weakens Worker Privacy
Government should not have the power to force private-sector employers to disclose workers’ private contact information to a third party special-interest group for any cause.
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Does Regulation Hurt Innovation?
How much does regulation crimp innovation? Not very much, according to a new study from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Nathan Goldschlag and George Mason University’s Alex…
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Victory for “Caveman” Blogger and Free Speech in North Carolina
Many people associate professional licensing with consumer safety. For example, we wouldn’t want any schlub doing surgery. But where occupational licensing laws may have started…
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What the U.S. Can Learn from Canada on Aviation Innovation
As I continue to digest the sUAS NPRM, which is expected to be published in the Federal Register on Monday, I came across Canadian drone attorney Diana…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
In a week like any other, regulatory agencies issued more than 50 new rules covering everything from from rockfish to wine. On to the data:…
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Missouri a Step Closer to Enacting Right to Work
Last Thursday, right-to-work passed the Missouri House. The bill, approved 91-64, makes union dues payments in the private-sector voluntary and now awaits a contentious political…
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First Thoughts on FAA’s Small Unmanned Aircraft System Proposed Rules
At 10am on Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced its draft rules to govern small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The announcement is not particularly surprising,…
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Coming Up: King Plaintiffs’ Day in Court
Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in King v. Burwell will be held on March 4, 2015. The Competitive Enterprise Institute is coordinating this…
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Congress Takes First Shot at NLRB Ambush Election Rule
Congress established the National Labor Relations Board as a body made up of neutral arbiters to represent the public in labor disputes. Under the Obama…
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Ridesharing and Regulation
Earlier this week, I appeared on a Cato Institute panel organized by Cato’s Matthew Feeney, author of a new report on for-hire vehicle safety issues. Video…
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New U.S. Dietary Recommendations to Correct Misunderstanding about Cholesterol, Not Fat
Thomas Jefferson once said, “If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in…
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The $7 Billion Slowdown
The ongoing logjam at ports on the West Coast could cost American retailers around $7 billion this year, according to the consultancy Kurt Salmon. That’s a…
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NPR Wrongly Suggests Hate Speech and Blasphemy Are Unprotected by First Amendment
NPR gets a lot of taxpayer money based on a false pretense of objectivity and accuracy. Its departing ombudsman, Edward Schumacher-Matos, says that “as a public…
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Zenefits: A Disruptive Company Fights Back
Sometimes cronyism in the business world takes the form of a company receiving special government favors and subsidies—the now-infamous Solyndra, for example—but sometimes it takes…
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Congress Takes First Shot at NLRB Ambush Election Rule
Congress established the National Labor Relations Board as a body made up of neutral arbiters to represent the public in labor disputes. Under the Obama…
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Harvard Study Confirms Dodd-Frank’s Harm to Main Street
Literally since the day the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by President Obama, my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleagues…
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The Empire Strikes Back!
Right-of-center groups have for some time become a bit complacent. Sure the left had the universities, the media, and pop culture—but we had the think…
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Educating Tomorrow’s Business Leaders on Markets and Politics
This weekend I attended a fascinating event at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business on the subject of economic inequality. Prof. …
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Last week’s batch of new rules covered everything from fluorescent lights to postage rates. On to the data: Last week, 59 new final regulations were…
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GOP Divided on Internet Gambling Ban
As expected, members of the GOP reintroduced a measure that would create a de facto prohibition on all Internet gambling. The effort, which was written by GOP mega-donor…
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Treasury Union President: IRS Needs More Money
As budget talks heat-up, union officials are making their presence known and that their agencies need more money.
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Tainted Claims about “Agglomerated” Corks
A recent article in Wine Industry Insight titled “Micro-Agglomerates: 350 Million Illegal Corks Per Year?” reports: “Agglomerated cork manufacturers and importers are facing scrutiny from two major…
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No Sprinkles in Obama’s America: Trans Fat, Hyperbole, and the Threat Nobody Is Talking about
“Say goodbye to your favorite sprinkled doughnuts,” warned Clayton Morris, guest host on Fox & Friends. “The [FDA] is now regulating Americans intake of trans fat…the…
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Congress Should Reject Obama Budget Increase for Education Department Office for Civil Rights
The Obama administration perversely rewards agencies that overstep their authority by giving them budget increases to handle the increased workload that results. A classic example…
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Transportation Roundup: Obama Budget, DOT 2045, and Sad Transcontinental Railroad Nostalgia
The President’s FY 2016 Budget On Monday, the White House released its DOA FY 2016 budget. Like President Obama’s previous budgets, this one has no…
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Greek Government’s Stance Suggests a Confrontation with the EU
The latest statements of the newly elected Greek government show that negotiations between Athens and the so-called “Troika” will not be easy. SYRIZA sent a strong…
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Premature Capitulation?
Over the decades I’ve spent in this Heart of Darkness (a.k.a., the bowels of American politics), I’ve learned two lessons that have encouraged the steady…
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Poll: 75% of Ohioans Disapprove of Using Taxpayer Funds to Collect Union Dues
Jason Hart, Watchdog.org labor reporter, recently published a story that highlights a new poll from the think tank Opportunity Ohio on Ohioans' opinions of labor…
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Obama Administration Learned Nothing from 2008 Financial Crisis, Mortgage Expert Says
Ed Pinto had a depressing and revealing op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Friday about how the Obama administration is artificially creating markets for risky mortgages, using…
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Bet on the Big Game? You Probably Broke the Law
Industry experts expected yesterday’s Super Bowl game to bring in around $100 million in legal sports wagering in Nevada. That’s a lot of moola, but…
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GOP Introduces Labor Reform Bills
As the 114th Congress kicks-off, labor reform seems to be on the minds of the GOP. On January 28, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Lamar…
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Study: Cutting Unemployment Benefits Boosted Hiring
President Obama’s policies reduced employment and slowed America’s economic recovery by discouraging people from working. The Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare will shrink employment by around …
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Regulators stepped up their pace last week, with nearly 80 regulations covering everything from defibrillators to Korean oranges. On to the data: Last week, 77…
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Main Street Fights Dodd-Frank’s Chipping Away at the Constitution
“Wall Street Chips Away at Dodd-Frank,” blared a recent front-page headline in The New York Times about bipartisan measures that have passed the U.S. House of Representatives…
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Invest in Transportation Act of 2015 Violates Fiscally Conservative Transportation Principles
It was just announced that Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) would introduce the Invest in Transportation Act of 2015. The bill aims to offer…
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Don’t Reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank
Here’s a letter I wrote to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that appears in today’s paper: The Post-Gazette’s editorial board calls on Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import…
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FDIC Retreats from Operation Choke Point
In a partial victory for all those campaigning against the abuse of power known as Operation Choke Point (see our comprehensive study here), the Federal…
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Study Shows Health Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol is a favorite target for health nannies and politicians looking to boost revenue. Excessive drinkers, they say, cost society millions or billions of dollars!…
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National Labor Policy Increasingly Grants Big Labor Privileges as Union Membership Declines
A recent press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the percentage of American workers in labor unions dropped again. In 2014, only…
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Gas Tax Mission Creep: From User-Pays to Carbon Tax?
The Niskanen Center is a new libertarian think tank that we at CEI look forward to working with on a number of issues. However, one where…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Even in a shortened work week due to Martin Luther King Day, federal agencies still put out 40 final regulations and more than 50 proposed…
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Did Slanted NPR Story Lead to Hasty, Illegal Education Department Sexual Harassment Rules?
Bad things can happen when an agency (like the Education Department) throws caution to the wind and regulates based on slanted media coverage from National…
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Oregon Blueberry Farmers Prevail over Department of Labor Overreach
A majority of attention paid to federal agency overreach in the labor policy arena during the Obama administration has focused on National Labor Relations Board…