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Empire of Rust: How the UAW Killed Detroit
On Detroit’s east side, the abandoned Packard automaking facility looms tomb-like over 40 acres of once-prime real estate, its hollow buildings ringed with mounds of…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
80 new regulations, from turtle-killing to felon financiers.
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The HuffPo’s Sloppy Austerity Analysis
Mark Gongloff, a writer for the Huffington Post, claims to show “The Complete Failure of Austerity, In 1 Chart.” Wow! Either he has found…
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Ronald Coase on Blackboard Economics
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CEI Podcast For July 25, 2013: The UAW And Chattanooga
The United Auto Workers union is campaigning to organize a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Senior Fellow Matt Patterson talks about his recent trip to…
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Come On Into The Immigration Pool, Republicans … The Water Appears To Be Safe
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More Economic Suffering Due to Obamacare
The Washington Post reports on the ever-growing number of people losing wages and facing pay cuts due to the 2010 healthcare law: For Kevin…
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End Of Compulsory Dues Has Led To Plummeting Union Membership In Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker “can deny that he wanted to weaken public sector unions, but whatever his motivation, that’s what has happened.” Thus concluded an eye-opening…
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California Close to Granting Big Labor Protections from Disclosure
California is going where only two other progressive bastions—Maryland and Illinois—have gone before in terms of providing unions with special privileges. If Assembly Bill 729…
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Public Forum Re-cap: Chattanooga, UAW & Free Markets
WPC’s Matt Patterson was invited to speak at a public event about the possible costs and consequences Tennessee might face should the United Auto Workers…
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D.C. Council Bows to UFCW, Votes No on Walmart, Yes to High Prices
Washington, D.C., has some of the highest living costs in the country. Its metro area contains six of the nation’s ten wealthiest counties, making it…
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On Dodd-Frank’s 3rd Anniversary, “North Star” is Further Out of Reach
Over the weekend, President Obama hailed the third anniversary of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank “financial reform.” In his weekly radio address, the president…
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The Government’s Wasteful Obsession with Subsidized Homeownership
The government has spent vast sums of money promoting homeownership through subsidies, tax exemptions, and bailouts. For example, in prosperous Alexandria, Virginia, certain people who…
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Motor City Runs Out of Gas
And here it is, the news we’ve all been expecting: The Motor City has finally sputtered to a halt. On Thursday July 18, 2013, the…
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Time To Make Federal Employees Accountable
Government labor unions have long been able to conduct union business while on the job and on the taxpayer dime, under a little-known policy called…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
68 new regulations, from Topeka shiners to room air conditioners.
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The Million-Dollar Bus Stop Breaks
A new cooling fan should arrive in the next two weeks. Until then, the super stop will be a bus stop like any other, unless…
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Are Markets Rational When It Comes to Economic Fundamentals?
We hear frequently that financial markets thrive on irrational fears. That they are wrong to be wary of unreformed economies and that central banks are…
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CEI Podcast for July 18, 2013: The NSA Gets Sued
In the wake of the NSA’s spying scandal, several groups are filing a lawsuit challenging the NSA’s actions as unconstitutional. Associate Director of Technology Studies…
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Regulation of the Day 232: Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat
Marty Hahne has put on children's magic shows for almost 30 years. USDA regulations require both a license and a written disaster plan for his…
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Bad Science: CDC Forced to Reverse its Recommendations on Salt
Mother may know best, but Uncle Sam certainly doesn’t. In 1977, the federal government put a warning label on saccharine, claiming it caused cancer. It…
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The FTC’s Uneasy Relationship With Innovation
The Sherman and Clayton Acts form the backbone of U.S. antitrust policy. But another piece of legislation gives the government the power to regulate business…
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DC Super-Minimum Wage: Bad Idea, Bad Policy
Washington D.C. City Council’s bill that would require large retailers (namely Wal-Mart) to pay a super-minimum wage is not only bad public policy, but also…
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Obama’s BRAIN Initiative: Brilliant Policy or Brute Waste?
In April, President Obama announced a new BRAIN Initiative. Its stated goal is to “give scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic…
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Gallup: Record Opposition to Closed Borders
A record number of Americans favor allowing more foreigners to enter and live in the United States each year. Nearly a quarter of Americans (23…
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Unions Plead for Changes to Obamacare, Citing Lost Wages and Benefits
The Wall Street Journal reports today that the leaders of three major labor unions are asking Congress to make fundamental changes to Obamacare, saying that without such changes, it will…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
84 new regulations, from apartment building energy usage to when truckers have lunch.
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The Apple E-Book Ruling and Antitrust Absurdity
A recent ruling against Apple over its e-book pricing policies highlights the absurdity of antitrust laws, as I point out in the Daily Caller:…
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DHS Secretary Napolitano Resigns, TSA Body Scanner Scandal Remains Unresolved
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is resigning to become president of the University of California system. Republican politicians such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)…
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Redman v. Radio Shack
Redman v. Radio Shack Corp., No. 11-cv-06741 (N.D. Ill.) is a class action alleging a right to statutory recovery for Radio Shack’s practice of…
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CEI Podcast for July 11, 2013: Farm Bill Controversy
Adjunct Fellow Fran Smith breaks down the controversy surrounding this year's farm bill.
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Scientists Warn of Dangers of “Precautionary Science”
Eighteen scientists recently weighed in on the unscientific and dangerous nature of the so-called “precautionary principle” in the July issue of the journal Food…
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Senate Committee Passes ENDA, Which Would Lead to Meritless Litigation and Erode Free Speech
A Senate Committee has voted 15-to-7 to approve the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, "a bill that would prohibit employers from discriminating against workers on the basis…
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Farm Bill Bloat Should Be Voted Down
Today, CEI sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging a vote against the farm bill, H.R. 2642. The letter pointed out that…
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VMT Comes to Oregon
Since its inception, the Interstate Highway System has been universally revered for its scale and accessibility. But the primary funding mechanism which supports it, the…
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SEC Finally Permits Free Speech for Hedge Funds, VCs, and Entrepreneurs
Today is finally the day that the Securities and Exchange Commission -- one year and three months after it was instructed to do so by…
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Bioscience Buzzwords: Seductive Notion or a Way Forward?
Innovation- it’s the buzzword of the day. From President Obama’s State of the Union address to Foreign Policy’s latest cover story to initiatives to revive…
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European Court Invalidates “Whole-Life” Sentences: Fuzzy International Norms Erode Sovereignty, Freedoms, and Safety
It's common to see supporters of U.S. ratification of international treaties claim that they will not radically uproot existing U.S. practices or freedoms, because their…
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Is Agriculture Leadership Trying an End-Run?
Today, a coalition of 20 free-market and conservative groups, including CEI, sent a letter to Speaker of the House Boehner urging him to ensure…
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Another Reason to Love the Sequester: Budget Cuts Prevent Agency from Destroying Valuable Computer Equipment
An agency unnecessarily destroyed $170,000 worth of computing hardware, and planned to destroy $3 million more, in response to garden-variety, easy-to-guard-against malware that…
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Austerity Means Cuts, Not More Spending
Despite its frequent use through the media and in political debate, few journalists and politicians actually use the term “austerity” correctly. But Cypriot Finance Minister…
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Regulation Causes Inflation
Over at the American Spectator, I show why an unintentional and unavoidable side effect of regulation is inflation:…
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Going Nowhere: Transit Workers’ Strike Immobilizes City
After scouring travel sites for hours, I finally found a great deal—the flight would land at the Oakland Airport (OAK) in the San Francisco Bay…
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Obama Administration Discards Reporting Requirements in Obamacare
The Obama administration has illegally discarded the reporting requirements mandated by the 2010 healthcare law, which were designed to prevent countless billions of…
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Beauty and the Beast: Agriculture for the Future
It’s a tale as old as time. How will we feed all the people on this planet of ours, especially with the global population set…
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After 78 Years the NLRA Needs a Makeover
Last week marked the seventy-eighth anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing the National Labor Relations Act into law. In that time, it has become clear…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
78 new regulations, from energy efficiency standards for imports to the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee.
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CEI Podcast for July 3, 2013: The EPA’s Assault on State Sovereignty
William Yeatman discusses his new study, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Assault on State Sovereignty."…
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New York State Bureaucrats Block Lyme Disease Control
As Americans gather outdoors to celebrate the 4th of July, ticks are also out — and in record numbers — particularly in certain places…
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Terrible Ideas that Don’t Die: National Infrastructure Bank Edition
Last Tuesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced a bill to create a government-owned corporation that would finance infrastructure projects, otherwise known as a national infrastructure…