The Open Market Blog

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/25/2007

“Time to ditch Kyoto” says a commentary in Nature magazine’s October 25 issue. The article, written by Gwyn Prins and Steve Rayner, points…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/25/2007

California wildfires have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, caused death and destruction, and consumed more than 700 square miles of land.

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/25/2007

Cato’s Center for Trade Policy Studies has just released a study by Dan Griswold showing that increased trade is not responsible for a lower…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/25/2007

The new SCHIP bill set for a vote today, attempts to woo Republicans by prohibiting illegal immigrants from enrolling in the program. These changes don’t…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/24/2007

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/24/2007

The Wall Street Journal today carries an opinion piece by Stephen J. Rose (subscription required), a labor economist with the Progressive Policy Institute, titled…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/24/2007

The European Commission is taking Finland to court to try to force it to ban the sale of snus, a form of smokeless tobacco.

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/24/2007

MSN says that Merrill Lynch wrote down the value of its mortgage holdings by nearly $8 billion just in the past quarter, producing a…

• By: Ryan Radia
• 10/24/2007

Comcast is under fire again, this time for spoofing network packets to stop its users from uploading using peer-to-peer software. The technology Comcast…

• By: John Berlau
• 10/24/2007

Hans, excellent points about the folly of a government-organized bailout. Indeed the Dow had gone back to 14,000 the week before Paulson opened his…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/24/2007

I am sick and tired of waiting for my morning cup of coffee. At the joint I go to (which shall remain nameless) I can…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/24/2007

A New York Times article today poses the question of whether or not regulatory oversight has been too lax on the meat packaging industry.

• By: William Yeatman
• 10/24/2007

The developed world’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for miracle fuels made from food is pushing Russia further towards authoritarianism. The Financial Times today reports that…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/23/2007

The bloated farm bill making its way through the new Congress is not only a budget-buster. It is chock full of corporate welfare…

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/23/2007

Don Boudreaux over at CafeHayek is outraged at an off-the-wall, gratuitous attack on Norman Borlaug in Alexander Cockburn’s latest diatribe appearing in the…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/23/2007

London Times columnist Sarah Baxter offers an amusing anecdote that illustrates what happens when two incompatible, yet equally illiberal, ideologies collide. A glorious…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/23/2007

My article on organized labor’s response to the rise of private equity is now online at TCSDaily.  Private equity presents a unique challenge for…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/23/2007

300,000 people have fled their homes in California owing to out-of-control fires that have consumed more than 384 square miles of land. Those fires…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/23/2007

The use of torture overseas in enemy interrogations has attracted considerable opposition, for good reason. Military interrogators have recently criticized the practice, saying it is…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/23/2007

To the surprise of nobody, CBS canceled the bizarre murder mystery/musical/comedy Viva Laughlin after dismal ratings this past Sunday. Yes, the show was…

• By: Clyde Wayne Crews
• 10/23/2007

Alan Weisman, author of World Without Us describes what would happen to the planet if we weren’t on it in this interview. I would…

• By: Alex Nowrasteh
• 10/22/2007

It’s always humorous to read stories of outrage during periods of rationing. The same people outraged by the water shortage in the Southeast don’t…

• By: Ryan Radia
• 10/22/2007

Facebook has “voluntarily” agreed to warn users about explicit images and redouble its efforts to combat obscenity as part of a settlement with…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/22/2007

The U.S. government is urging Turkey not to invade the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq after Turkish Kurdish separatists based on northern Iraq killed…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/22/2007

MSN and The Economist point out the deep flaws of the bail-out fund backed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that would try to…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/22/2007

• 10/22/2007

Here’s further proof that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their collectives are clueless. Embroiled in a silly debate over what species residing…

• By: Clyde Wayne Crews
• 10/22/2007

An engaging oped in yesterday’s Washington Post Outlook section is entitled “I Just Couldn’t Sacrifice My Son.” It’s about the state of public schooling…

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 10/19/2007

You know things are bad when elected officials find it perfectly acceptable to call millions of Americans — including some of their own constituents —…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/19/2007

Normally I’m a fan of celebrity chef Mario Batali. His appearances on Iron Chef America are always entertaining, and he’s got a great sense…

• By: Marlo Lewis, Jr.
• 10/19/2007

In this post, I comment on Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen's opening statement, “America's Energy Future Is at a Crossroads,” at this week's “Cellulosic…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/19/2007

My earlier post about the incompetence of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which generally fails to detect explosive ingredients and fake bombs, was understated.

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/19/2007

Today's Financial Times has an -- unintentionally -- hilarious op ed by James Wilsdon of the think tank Demos, on how Muslim societies…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/19/2007

The administration of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has blocked a new power plant from being built, despite looming energy shortages, because, like virtually all…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/19/2007

Hugo Chavez’s insistences notwithstanding, not everyone in Venezuela is enamored of Che Guevara, as Australia’s Herald Sun reports: A GROUP of Venezuelans shattered…

• By: Julie Walsh
• 10/19/2007

In “Housing Construction Plunges” (Examiner, October 18, 2007), the author, Martin Crutsinger, correctly identifies the reasons for the current problems in the ever-important housing…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/19/2007

Neil Clark, who usually writes for the Guardian, on his blog, mocks what he calls another commenter’s “over the top” Che Guevara analogy. And…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/19/2007

Since the government took over aviation security since 9/11, security has actually gotten worse. Fake bombs usually pass undetected by the Transportation Security Administration…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/19/2007

The upholding of Bush’s SCHIP veto is no big victory for spending control. As reported in Time magazine online on Wednesday, Bush wasn’t exactly…

• 10/18/2007

Today, the House Natural Resources Committee is considering the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, sponsored by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Shays (R-CT).

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 10/18/2007

Today’s USA Today reports on the growing trend among city lawmakers to tax, ban, and otherwise regulate bottled water. CEI recently highlighted the absurdity…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/18/2007

The House of Representatives just failed to override Bush’s veto of a bill that would have greatly expanded the cost and scope of the…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/18/2007

The Financial Times has an article on how the agricultural subsidies contained in the Farm Bill seemingly promote obesity by encouraging the production and…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/18/2007

Alex, I mostly agree with your post but, well, I think that private enforcement of law in Medieval Iceland is an example of exactly…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/18/2007

CEI’s The Nation’s Top Ten Worst State Attorneys General described how wealthy trial lawyers like the indicted Milberg Weiss law firm have bankrolled state…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/18/2007

Today the house is expected to vote to override President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill—which would increase the funding by…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/18/2007

Michael Cannon lists the nine cardinal sins of the federal SCHIP health care program, whose exploding costs led President Bush to veto a…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/17/2007

The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia recently upheld an FCC ruling that deregulated high-speed internet service over traditional phone lines. The…

• By: Iain Murray
• 10/17/2007

This one takes the cake. If there was a Nobel Prize for Absurd Assertions (hmmm, perhaps there is) RFK Jr would win it hands down…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/17/2007

The Wall Street Journal has an editorial today discussing all the ways that expanded ethanol production resulting from costly federal ethanol subsidies is harming…

• By: Iain Murray
• 10/17/2007

He didn’t win the Eleanor Roosevelt prize this year. But somebody equally worthy did.

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/17/2007

Mortgage lenders face a Hobson’s Choice. When a lender doesn’t provide mortgage loans to people in high-crime areas with high default rates, that’s considered racist…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/17/2007

At Slate, Tim Wu explores how the federal criminal code has become so vast that almost anyone can be prosecuted for violating some obscure…

• By: Alex Nowrasteh
• 10/17/2007

Reuters released a story today about Professor Eric Maskin, one of three American economists to receive the Nobel prize for economics. In it…

• By: Lene Johansen
• 10/17/2007

A world where there’s not enough electricity. This story I found in the Philadelphia Inquirer this weekend is a view into where life will…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/16/2007

As I explain below, federal meddling will merely delay the mortgage meltdown and make the ultimate implosion of the mortgage industry all the worse.

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/16/2007

Mortgage-backed securities have collapsed in value, and aren't worth as much as once thought. That's becoming clear as increasing numbers of homeowners default on their…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/16/2007

Volunteer fire departments would be endangered by a union-backed bill that has overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives and now is pending in the…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 10/16/2007

Government finances are suffering, spending on the Iraq war continues to escalate while Social Security and Medicare continue to head over the financial cliff. Yet…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/15/2007

Wayne told me about an NPR story about credit unions getting into the payday loan alternative business. My only comment is: Why didn’t they…

• By: Ryan Radia
• 10/15/2007

The white space debate is intensifying, with the National Association of Broadcasters running television ads showing a grandmother watching pixilated football thanks to unlicensed wireless…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/15/2007

Wayne emails today with a link to an NPR story about an ominous milestone in U.S. history: The first member of the Baby…

• By: William Yeatman
• 10/15/2007

If Al Gore harbors Presidential ambitions, he would be insane to run in ’08. In the parlance of campaign operatives, Al Gore”‘owns” the global warming…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/15/2007

James Kirchik has an interesting column on Clarence Thomas and affirmative action in The Los Angeles Times. The Supreme Court justice’s revealing autobiography,…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/15/2007

Today’s Washington Post carries a story decrying the growth of bank branches in the District of Columbia. Reporter Paul Schwartzman writes: District officials…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/15/2007

One of the surest ways to create a budget deficit is to assume that a government health care program can be funded solely by a…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/12/2007

For all we know, SLORC may well have been nominated by some sycophant of theirs, but it’ll take us 50 years to find out,…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/12/2007

At Reason, Jesse Walker has an amusing guide on “How to Win a Nobel Peace Prize.” He points out three options. The first, “Be…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/12/2007

The reasons Al Gore was given the Peace Prize, according to Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel awards, was not because of any…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/12/2007

Our very own Marlo Lewis was on CNN this morning (twice!) to inform viewers why Al Gore does not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. Early…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/12/2007

I’ll leave it to others who have thought far more about Al Gore’s work than I have but it’s worth noting that Nobel Peace Prize…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/12/2007

A committee selected by Norway's socialist legislature has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Its criteria…

• By: Lene Johansen
• 10/12/2007

I am ashamed to be Norwegian today. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chose to give the prize to a shyster and a bureaucratic ministry of truth.

• By: Ryan Radia
• 10/12/2007

Two lawsuits have been filed over the iPhone, accusing Apple and AT&T of illegal monopolistic behavior. The lawsuit seeks damages because of software Apple…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/11/2007

The City of Belmont, California has banned smoking in most apartment units as well as in public parks and other public spaces. (In Santa…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/11/2007

Jacob Sullum writes in Reason about the downside of the FDA tobacco regulation bill. CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman earlier wrote to Congress…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/11/2007

Edwin Meese, who served as attorney general under President Reagan, defends again the late President’s rejection of the Law of the Sea Treaty in…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/11/2007

David Freddoso has an interesting column in National Review Online about the D.C. Government’s lack of concern for crime victims. The District justifies its…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/11/2007

The New York Times today reports that Americans are neglecting the health of their teeth more than ever. While the number of dentists…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/11/2007

Dorris Lessing won the Nobel prize in literature today. I’ve never been a fan of her work myself. I don’t think I ever finished…

• By: Gregory Conko
• 10/10/2007

Lots of good commentary in today’s newspapers. In the Financial Times, Columbia University economist (and Friend of CEI) Jagdish Bhagwati notes that rumors of…

• By: Iain Murray
• 10/10/2007

The British government decided that it would be a good idea to send copies of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth to all schools, with then…

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/10/2007

Eli’s post on D.C. taxicab fare proposals comes out strongly for the zone system over metered cabs. As a person who used to take…

• By: Marlo Lewis, Jr.
• 10/10/2007

A new report by the International Trade & Agriculture Policy Council (IPC) examines the “early lessons” from U.S. and EU biofuels policy. The report’s…

• By: Marlo Lewis, Jr.
• 10/09/2007

For decades, the “rack” (wholesale) price of ethanol was higher than that of regular unleaded gasoline. This was the case even during late 2005,…

• By: Cord Blomquist
• 10/09/2007

On a note related to Jerry Brito’s post on “L’iPhone” at TechLiberation.com today, I’d like to point out Thomas Hazlett’s “How the…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/09/2007

One of the problems of letting the Nanny State tell you what you can put into your body is that it often tells you to…

• By: Michelle Minton
• 10/09/2007

The New York Times today detailed New York regulators’ plan to “help” insurers meet their obligations. By forcing them to take less profit…

• By: Fran Smith
• 10/09/2007

The Progressive Policy Institute recently posted a new paper, “The Truth About Middle Class Jobs” by Stephen J. Rose. Rose, a prominent labor…

• By: Iain Murray
• 10/09/2007

It is quite possible the US Congress will follow, on environmental policy at least. The UK's Treasury minister, Alistair Darling, has just announced a raft…

• By: Eli Lehrer
• 10/09/2007

The Washington Post carries a…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/08/2007

Bjorn Lomborg has an insightful op ed on global warming in Sunday’s Washington Post.  He discusses how global warming regulations, such as carbon emissions restrictions, fail to provide as…

• By: Hans Bader
• 10/08/2007

Andrea Peyser had an interesting column this weekend in The New York Post about how wealthy parents are billing the public for their children…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 10/08/2007

The common claim that America is the “land of the free” continues to look ever more hollow.  The latest of many targets of the authoritarian…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/08/2007

Yesterday, Costa Rica’s voters approved ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). This is good news for most Costa Rican consumers and…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/08/2007

In The Wall Street Journal, Edwin Meese and William P. Clark, who served under President Reagan, respectively, as Attorney General and National Security Adviser,…

• By: Doug Bandow
• 10/08/2007

You've got to love the state of Oklahoma. To "protect" its citizens from organizing against the established political order, Oklahoma bars out-of-state residents from gathering…

• By: John Berlau
• 10/05/2007

Michelle, Excellent points about the lack of correlation in Australia between global warming and forest fires. And, for an in-depth look at what’s really…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 10/05/2007

Chris was on Hannity & Colmes last night, and you’re going to want to watch all the way through to the end to hear his…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 10/05/2007

As I noted yesterday, Sens. DeMint and Vitter provided the questions that most needed asking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s second hearing on…