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Ohio Deserves Right-To-Work
Right-to-work has been sweeping the country like a glorious fever (symptoms include swelling opportunity and dangerous spikes in liberty), even seizing brows in deep-blue union strongholds like…
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‘Life of Julius’ shows how unions kill jobs, hurt workers
Many people realize that unions can hurt the workers they claim to represent. For example, the United Auto Workers union drove labor costs up for…
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Government Gives Students Lifelong Lesson— In Debt
Jodi Romine is just your typical 26 year-old. Like most students, Jodi took out a student loan so that she could afford university in hopes…
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John Locke’s Response to Heritage: Don’t Blame Immigrants for Fiscal Problems
Washington's largest conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, has released a study that suggests legalization for illegal immigrants will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars over the next…
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First Amendment Menace: Obama Administration to Expand Americans with Disabilities Act over Websites?
Can websites be forced to change to accommodate the disabled -- by using "simpler language" to appeal to the "intellectually disabled," or by making…
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Update in Apple MagSafe settlement Ninth Circuit appeal
CCAF filed an opening brief in October; after many delays in the briefing schedule, we filed our reply brief in April. Details at…
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Twinkie, Twinkie, Little Star
America will be celebrating this July with parades and fireworks. That’s right, the Twinkie is back! The private equity firms Metropoulos & Co and Apollo…
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Conservatives Must Reject the “Poor Are Parasites” Narrative
When Mitt Romney made his comments about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay taxes and were supposedly “dependent on government,” many conservatives rightly…
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The Doctor Is In, America: Get With the Estonian Program
Don’t let the optimism surrounding last month’s job numbers fool you. The unemployment rate’s decline from 7.6 percent in March to 7.5 percent in…
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How Online “Marketplace Fairness Act” Could Tax Your 401(k)
Today, the Senate likely will pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would force online retailers to collect sales taxes for states in which purchasers reside. Most have heard how this…
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Historian: Housing Nominee Mel Watt Helped Spawn the Subprime Crisis
In the Daily Caller, historian and presidential biographer Charles C. Johnson writes that “Housing nominee Mel Watt helped create the…
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Obama: A Sweet Pension for Himself, But Not For America’s Savers or Investors
In The Washington Post, Allan Sloan points out that while President Obama wants to cap American citizens' IRAs at $3 million or substantially…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
62 new regulations, from the federal flood insurance to California olives.
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Southwest Drink Voucher objection
I’ve previously discussed the problems with the Southwest Drink Voucher coupon settlement, and CCAF attorney Melissa Holyoak is representing a class member objecting…
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Anti-Immigration Group: “They’re Taking Your Jobs!”
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the close-America’s-doors lobby group, has a facile new study that purports to show “there really are no jobs…
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Poisoned Apple: Unions Taint NYC’s Economy
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s recent video “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt Workers” demonstrates how unions lead to higher taxes. Many scoffed at this…
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What Are the National ID Implications of the Senate Immigration Bill?
1. ID standards: The bill requires all employers to check photo IDs of all employees they hire—any employee who fails to present a photo ID…
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Fraley v. Facebook
Lots of class members forwarded me their notices in this settlement, which is likely to pay the class zero; if it pays anything, it will…
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CEI Podcast For May 2, 2013: Small Business Owners Sue Over IRS Obamacare Power Grab
Small business owners and individuals in six states, with help from CEI, are suing the IRS over what General Counsel Sam Kazman calls a flagrantly…
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The Costs Of Union Shareholder Activism
Is shareholder activism a good or a bad thing? That depends on what any given resolution seeks to improve the company's performance, and thereby increase…
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Housing Nominee Watt Flunks Privacy And Transparency Tests
Two prerequisites for any nominee for government posts is dedication to transparency in government and a respect for the privacy of citizens. Before we get…
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Hands Off! Protecting Paychecks From Union Bosses
Last year major labor law reform centered on Right to Work laws. Both Indiana and Michigan passed the commonsense reform that prohibits union security agreements,…
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WPC Pro-Worker Legislation Update
In the month of April, three bills have been introduced in the 113th Congress that are now included in Workplacechoice.org Pro-Worker Legislation, which we then…
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Transatlantic Speakers Express Strong Support Of U.S.-EU Trade Pact
A high-level panel of experts yesterday pointed out the mutual economic benefits of a broad transatlantic trade pact between the United States and the European…
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Did Hensarling Force Obama’s Hand On “Recess” Appointments?
They called it a "stunt" early last week when House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) refused to allow Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)…
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U.S. Government Bans French Cheese Based On Food Prejudices
The U.S. government is banning a standard, normal-smelling French cheese based on its own squeamishness. The cheese in question is Mimolette, a commonplace,…
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Jerry Brown’s Legacy Train Wreck
California Governor Jerry Brown, along with an entourage of high-profile business and financial leaders from the Golden State, recently traveled to China on a trade…
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Supreme Arrogance: NLRB Challenges Court Ruling
Stop! In the name of the Constitution. On April 25 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) petitioned the Supreme Court to review a previous ruling…
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Gang Of 8’s Euphemism For National ID System: “Identity Authentication Mechanism”
Our new euphemism for a national identification system is “identity authentication mechanism.” The Gang of 8, the leaders of which are proponents of biometric national…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
66 new regulations, from the federal Processed Pear Committee to desert buckwheat.
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Meet Julius: How Unions Hurt The Average Worker
Meet Julius. Julius is an African American man living in modern-day America. Julius is a fictitious character, but the problems he faces are real problems that real…
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New York Times: Obama Administration Discrimination Settlement Was “Magnet For Fraud” That Enriched Trial Lawyers
A page 1 New York Times story today describes how the Obama administration, despite opposition from civil servants, radically expanded a legal settlement that…
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Maryland Bill Will Force Teachers To Pay For The Privilege Of Going To Work
In a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed and WorkplaceChoice.org blog post, I argue against Maryland’s Orwellian-named Fair Share Act,…
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Regulation Roundup
From adjustable headlights to going on strike over tight pants.
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The Case of the Missing BLS Source
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Labor Policy team re-launched its flagship website, WorkplaceChoice.org, featuring the original video: “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt…
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Welcome to the New Workplace Choice!
Step right up! Welcome, boys and girls of all ages, to the new and improved WorkPlaceChoice.org, your one-stop shop for all things labor. Included herein…
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Margaret Thatcher Vs. Today’s GOP
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CEI Podcast For April 25, 2013: Regulations Are Less Than Transparent
Every year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases a report on the costs and benefits of the previous year's new regulations. Wayne Crews…
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The Maryland State Education Association’s Blatant Money Grab
As I recently explained in a column for the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) is salivating at the chance to force all…
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Will EU “Cultural Diversity” Exception Undermine U.S.-EU Trade Talks?
A possible bump in the road toward a U.S.-EU trade agreement emerged today as a parliamentary committee of the European Commission voted to begin…
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Why BPA (And Other Chemicals) Don’t Belong On Proposition 65
If you want to have fun in California's Disneyland, avoid reading the warning signs saying that products used in the park may give you cancer…
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Obama’s Controversial Nominee For Labor Secretary To Be Voted On
Cato Institute attorney Ilya Shapiro wrote Tuesday about “Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights who personifies . . . this…
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Iron Man vs. The Musicians Union
Iron Man has faced a variety of dastardly villains in his storied, five decade-long super hero career: Communists, terrorists, evil tycoons, rust. And most frightening…
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Lawsuits Over “Customary International Law”: A Menace To Free Speech, Our Liberties, Our Companies, And Our Economy
Earlier, I wrote about how it was a good thing that the Supreme Court blocked foreigners from suing in the U.S. over…
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The Other President Reagan
The actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan is remembered by some both for his on-screen presence and his impact on American politics. Too few, however, know of his…
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Joy Division vs. The Lighting Union
In his new and riveting biography recounting the rise and fall of his legendary band, Joy Division bassist Peter Hook (Hooky, to friends and fans)…
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Costs Rise In Obama’s New 2013 Draft Report To Congress On The Benefits And Costs Of Federal Regulations
Last year, the Obama Office of Management and Budget’s 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal…
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Another victory for CCAF: Pecover v. EA Sports triples class payouts
You will recall that we objected to a class action settlement over EA Sports’s Madden games: as in our successful Baby Products objection,…
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CEI Study: Cost Of Keeping One Unauthorized Immigrant From Getting A Job — $13,000
If Americans truly want to ensure no unauthorized immigrants work in the United States, they better get ready to pay top dollar. E-Verify, the electronic…
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Why FAA’s Child Seat Campaign Is Deadly
Federal law allows airline passengers with children under the age of two to travel with their children on their laps. This option, which has existed…