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The Antitrust Religion still Has Many Adherents
Why bother with the ongoing challenge of competing in the marketplace if one can merely go to Brussels or Washington?…
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Ebell ranked in top 10 of most-respected global warming skeptics
Myron Ebell may be enemy #1 to the current climate change community. Ebell works for the free-market thinktank Competitive Enterprise Institute and, according to his…
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Regulation of the Day 24: The Width of Ladders
It is illegal for a portable metal ladder to have steps narrower than 12 inches.
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Bonus pay bill: CBO predicts huge costs to private sector, broad swaths of employees affected
After the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated the enormous costs of an all-encompassing health care scheme with a bloated public option, members of Congress…
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Penn and Teller on Organics
The irreverent and hilarious comedians Penn and Teller have produced another episode of their television show Bullshit about organic foods. Friends of CEI, Ron Bailey…
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Policy Peril Segment 3 – Hurricanes (updated 8/19/09)
Is global warming making hurricanes more destructive? Did global warming contribute to the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina? Would Kyoto-style energy rationing help avert future weather-related catastrophes?…
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Argumentum Ad Governmentum
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More on the Microhoo Deal
The long-awaited collaboration of Microsoft and Yahoo on search has the tech business community abuzz. CEI analysts Wayne Crews and Ryan Young made their original…
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California’s Biofuels Policy: Yes, No, or Both
The Los Angeles Times‘ Judith Lewis relates an amusing example of how government can undermine its own harebrained schemes. It was a fine June…
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(Un)Free Press Sticks it to the Essentials
The latest missive from the folks at Free Press has crossed the line: When challenged, the wireless carriers actually compare their industry to another: soda.
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The Obama’s Administration’s Strange Double Standards on Hate Crimes, Terrorism, and Health Care: Soft on the Guilty, Cruel to the Innocent, Unfair to Taxpayers
When black panthers were caught on videotape menacing white voters in Philadelphia, using nightsticks and racial epithets to drive them away from the polls,…
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A Bailout for the First Amendment?
Dan Rather actually made the following two contradictory statements in the same speech: I personally encourage the president to establish a White House…
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Prof. Gates’ property rights likely violated in arrest — but Obama was wrong to weigh in
Amid all the endless media psychobabble about “national conversations” and “teachable moments” – and we will no doubt here more of this in the reporting of…
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Food Safety Bills Moving Through Congress
With all out attention diverted to the government's attempted takeover of the half of US health care that isn't already nationalized, the attempted destruction of…
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In Which Greed Is Good
The great economist Joseph Schumpeter wrote that "[F]ree trade is the cement that holds together the idea of peace." His logic is sound. Commerce gives…
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The Challenge of Network Industries
“Network” industries such as electricity, air transport, telecommunication, freight rail, and internet services face a challenge with their competing flow and grid components. Flows are…
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In Defense of Average Cost Pricing
Many industries in the modern economy are ridiculed for the financing strategies they employ. Only marginal cost pricing is defended as a legitimate practice. Yet…
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Where’s the Reality in Legislation?
In “Why Obamacare Is Sinking,” Charles Krauthammer argues that President Obama’s reliance on rhetoric is finally beginning to fail because “you can’t fake it…
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VIDEO: Healthcare Reform Ideas from the Other Washington
John Barnes at the Washington Policy Center (motto: “Improving Lives Through Market Solutions”) passes on a 3-video series about the fight over healthcare “reform” we’re…
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Russia introduces strict new antitrust law
Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev has signed into law amendments that will bring increased penalties for price collusion and unfair competition. The new amendments will allow…
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Three Cheers for Capitalism and Peter Leeson
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UBS v. IRS saga continues
Today, Wall Street Journal reports that a Miami court has set meeting Friday between the IRS and UBS to look at…
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Policy Translated: Special Access Reform
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQO84UjQ2Fg 285 234]…
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Regulation of the Day 23: Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is both dumb and dangerous. But making it a crime won’t make people stop doing it. It will merely make more people…
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LibertyWeek 53: The Real Crooks of New Jersey
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Movement on the U.S.-Korea FTA?
It looks like things may be moving – slowly — on the trade front. The U. S. Trade Representative has published a notice in…
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Obama Backs Imperial Presidency
Obama is backing an imperial presidency in Honduras. When Honduras removed its ex-president and would-be dictator, Obama demanded his reinstatement, even though he…
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Justice Dept. Should Leave the Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Alone
Statements of Ryan Young and Wayne Crews Washington, D.C., July 29, 2009 – Today, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a ten-year partnership of their…
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Policy Translated: Stimulus to Nowhere
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Food Police Attack Denny’s Over Salt
It seems that the food police at the unconscionably named Center for Science in the Public Interest are at it again. Last week, CSPI filed…
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Ameritrade Stock Spam Settlement briefing
Unlike the Bluetooth case, we were among several plaintiffs who filed substantive objections to this settlement. The hearing will be before Judge Vaughn Walker…
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Best Way to Curb Irrational Exurberance?
Zachary Goldfarb, a Washington Post staff writer, discusses (p. A10, “SEC Moves to Limit Short Sales of Stocks”) this SEC proposal – sympathetically. The article…
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Policy Peril Segment 2: Air Pollution
Last Friday, I launched a blog series on CEI’s film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself. The film is our…
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Regulation of the Day 22: Rhinestones
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, after much deliberation, has banned crystal rhinestones from children's products, despite no evidence of harm.
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The Folly of 100%
The same groups that have been insisting for years that there is something fundamentally wrong with the United States’ international broadband ranking…
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Just Another Tuesday in Washington
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Policy Translated: Introduction
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Obama Health-Care Plan Will Harm People With Insurance, and Raise Taxes, Obama Adviser Says
Obama’s health-care plan is drawing criticism from one of his own advisers, Harvard University’s Martin Feldstein. In today’s Washington Post, Feldstein warns that…
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Policy Peril Segment 1: Heat Waves
As announced last Friday, each day this week and next I’ll post an excerpt of CEI’s film Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More…
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The Wall Street Journal on the Union Pension Debacle
Two weekend Wall Street Journal editorials sum up well the ticking time-bomb of underfunded union pension funds. First, the dire state of many union…
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Put it in quotes: health care “reform”
Robert J. Samuelson has a hard-hitting column in today’s Washington Post on the non-reform elements of the health care reform package. He points out…
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Dems’ Health Care Bill Looking Weaker by the Day
For the Democrats still supporting the health care overhaul, the blows just keep coming. As if the financial problems I described in a previous…
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NEW VIDEO: Policy Translated
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UAW Gives Taxpayers the (Gettel)finger
Considering the enormous amounts of cash that the federal government has hurled at the auto industry since the start of the financial crisis, recipients…
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Health Insurance Reform: look at what does and doesn’t work already
“One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and…
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The People’s Phone
Venezuela’s increasingly ridiculous strongman, Hugo Chavez, would be funny if not for the misery and repression he continues to impose upon his own citizens. From…
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An Important, yet Little Noticed Civil Liberties Case
A friend currently in law school complained to me recently about the lack of public attention and media coverage that has been accorded to the…
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Radia reacts to Zittrain in NY Times
Mr. Zittrain proposes a “fair practices law” that would require companies to release personal data back to users upon request. Such a rule may sound…
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How to End the War over Antitrust
If the executive branch is not going to consistently enforce antitrust laws -- and they shouldn't -- they should be repealed.
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Obama Health-Care Plan Would Take Away 5 Important Freedoms, CNN Says; Obama Would Also Raise Taxes, End Affordable Plans, and Break Promises
CNN notes that there are “5 freedoms you’d lose in health care reform” as promoted by the Obama Administration: the freedom to choose your…
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Regulation of the Day 21: Potato Research and Promotion
The Agricultural Marketing Service has a potato research and marketing plan, pursuant to the Potato Research and Marketing Act.
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Getting the Health Care You Pay For
There was a good front page article in yesterday's Washington Post on the history of advances in medical science and technology. The conclusion: Although the…
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Net Neutrality: A Dialogue With Ars Technica
CEI’s broadband reply comments from earlier this week received a generous quotation by Ars Technica’s Nate Anderson. Mr. Anderson took issue,…
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The Washington Post’s Conflicted Take on Honduras and the OAS
That the Organization of American States has squandered whatever credibility it had should be obvious to all by now — and it’s not just right…
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Miami Is Corrupt and Weird
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Policy Peril: Looking for an antidote to An Inconvenient Truth? Your search is over. Updated 8/10/09
When Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth (AIT), came out in 2006, I expected to see some hard-hitting criticism by scientists of Gore’s unfounded alarmism and by economists of…
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CEI Weekly: Attack of the National Broadband Plans
CEI Weekly is a compilation of articles and blog posts from CEI's fellows and associates sent out via e-mail every Friday.
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Our Colleague Julie Called it “Subprime Healthcare”
I think that about sums it up.
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Reports of the death of climate skepticism are greatly exaggerated
Is the science debate on global warming “over”? Politicians, pundits, and academics never tire of repeating “the debate is over” mantra. They could not be…
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Regulation of the Day 20: Anti-Flatulence Medication
The U.S. Code contains an entire section on over-the-counter anti-flatulence medication. There are rules for permitted active ingredients, maximum dosage, and label text.
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Exploiting the Minimum Wage
Young people with little or no work experience may not be able to offer $7.25 per hour worth of productivity; small wonder so many of…
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Leave it to the Experts
Send your used light bulbs to Washington! They're the experts. They'll know what to do.
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Obama Health-Care Plan Destroys Cheap Health-Care Options, Raises Taxes, Breaks Promises
In 2008, Obama promised not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. But he is now breaking that promise by…
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Standing Before the FCC Shouting Stop
CEI submitted our initial comments to the FCC on broadband policy last month, and this week we submitted our reply comments. A brief overview.
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Aggravated FCC Bureaucrat Knows Better than Us; Calls Petitioners “Sloppy”
Federal Communcations Commission broadband coordinator Blair Levin, charged with coming up with a “U.S. National Broadband Plan,” by February, says the 8,500 pages…
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Fred Smith comments on Hillel’s piece
Below see CEI President Fred Smith’s comments on Jonathan Hillel’s piece in the San Jose Mercury News: Hillel’s piece raises the…
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Hillel: Justice Department’s fear of Google book publishing is misplaced
Afraid of Google taking over the world? The Justice Department seems to be. It recently confirmed its antitrust investigation into the Google Book Search Settlement.
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Regulation of the Day 19: Fospropofol
The Drug Enforcement Administration, would like to schedule fospropofol, approved by the FDA last year for use as an anesthetic, as a Schedule IV controlled…
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Democrats Inconsistent on Senior Death Discount
White House health care policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel has explicitly endorsed adopting not only comparative-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in the health care realm, but also…
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Doctors On Strike: What if They Just Said “No” to the Healthcare Hairball?
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Water Displacement Forty
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If you like FEMA, you’ll love federal health care, says Jindal
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal providing a succinct critique of the Democrats’ health care plan and offering…
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Regulation of the Day 18: Shipping Live Animals
If you ship live animals via the USPS’s Express Mail Service and it takes three days or more, you may be eligible for a refund,…
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Corrupt, Bullying Nicaraguan Ruler Emboldened by Obama’s Demand That Honduras Accept Return of Would-Be Dictator
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Want Recovery? Remember Antitrust is Anti-Economy
More restraint is in order when it comes to the Obama administrations intent to escalate “antitrust” enforcement against business and enterprise in America.
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Richard Rahn on “Washingtonosis” — The Most Destructive Disease
"Washingtonosis(n): a disease most often found in people working within three miles of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, ... Those infected tend to lose…
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Summer 2009 and the Triumph of Unlimited Government
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Policies to Promote Competition often Stifle it Instead
Chairman Genachowski is right that the Internet has been “the most successful driver of economic growth” in recent years. Why, then, pursue an agenda that…
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Obama Rejects Reality as “Politics of the Moment,” Embraces Politics of Fear
Listening to President Barack Obama and other top Democrats on the subject of health care, one could be forgiven for thinking commercial medicine itself is…
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CEI Praises California Oil Drilling and No-New-Tax Budget Compromise
But State Still In Trouble With Global Warming Law WASHINGTON, DC, July 21, 2009 – Top California lawmakers have included a plan for expanding…
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Santacruz in Forbes: “Toxic Revenge”
In today’s Forbes, CEI Warren Brookes Fellow Silvia Santacruz talks about the lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco in Ecuador.
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“Libertarian paternalism”?
In Sunstein's latest book Nudge. . . he makes the case that people often make bad decisions, and a slight "nudge" can set things right…
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NRO on EFCA’s Binding Arbitration Provision
Today’s National Review Online editorial looks at the so-called Employee Free Choice Act’s arbitration provision, which would subject newly unionized companies to having a…
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1+1=2
By introducing new regulations the Congress together with major airlines are discouraging us to travel. While the Congress is deciding on how to regulate the…
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Regulation of the Day: Sliding Car Doors
A new set of rules for sliding car doors will come into effect on September 1, 2010.
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LibertyWeek 52: Tim Carney – Uncensored
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Subsidize Cheese to Stimulate?
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Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing!
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Virginia’s shutting down 19 Rest Areas along the interstates
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In Which the Case for Antitrust Action against Telecoms Weakens
New research finds that U.S. telecoms are charging, on average, ten cents less per minute than their counterparts around the world. Tell me again why…
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Stimulus Surrealism
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Union Pension Fund Bailout Taking on a New Form
Senate Democrats and organized labor leaders are reportedly near a deal on removing the card-check provision from the s0-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). That…
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“Farming” for dollars in the EU
Most of us knew that the European Union’s system of farm subsidies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) gives out huge amounts to farmers in the…
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E. coli Happens
This story in the San Francisco Chronicle just shows the insanity of the conventional wisdom these days advanced by greens and anti-corporate farmers. They…
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Keynes Remains Popular with Politicians
"‘What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’ The answer is yes.” -…
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Rep. McClintock and “California’s Meltdown”
CEI and the Pacific Research Institute recently co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on “California’s Meltdown” – the unprecedented combination of flawed economic, energy…
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CEI Weekly: Response to EPA Cover Up Increases
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…
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Regulation of the Day: Endangered Snails
The sixteenth in an occasional series that shines a bit of light on the regulatory state. Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from…
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House Dems Would Ban New Private Health Insurance
"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first…
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Conko letter in FT: “Nationalising healthcare flaws”
In today’s Financial Times, CEI Senior Fellow Gregory Conko responds to Clive Crook’s…