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Shrinkflation, Slack-filling, and the Real Effects of Inflation
The Washington Post’s Laura Reiley recently raised an alarm, with a St. Valentine’s Day theme, on a consumer merchandising trend called “slack-filling.” She noted…
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Regulatory Reform Bills in the 118th Congress: The GOOD Act
Regulatory dark matter is a serious problem. Agencies are supposed to run new regulations through a formal process which includes publishing a draft version of…
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Free the Economy Episode 8: Crypto and ESG with Jennifer Schulp
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the cultural impact of Super Bowl ads,…
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Less is More – EPA’s Methane Rule and the Social Cost Paradox
CEI this week submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rule to establish new and more stringent methane emission standards for…
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Why the ETF is Uniquely American and Ideally Capitalist
A 30-year-old rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission succeeded in lowering barriers to entry for cheaper and more flexible investment options. In January, the…
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Mixed Inflation News for January
Today’s inflation news is mixed. We’re still almost certainly past the worst of the COVID inflation, but January’s numbers took a turn for the…
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It’s Not Just Stoves – Biden Administration Regulators Going After Many Other Appliances
Do you think that Joe Biden’s regulators are sticking to promises not to target gas stoves? Think again, and it is not just stoves but…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
An earthquake killed at least 20,000 people in Turkey. President Biden delivered the State of the Union speech. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from…
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Are Americans Investing for Retirement or Politics?
Being able to save enough during our working lives to fund a comfortable retirement is a top concern for most American households, especially since…
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Fauci Failure to Acknowledge Limited Vaccine Protection Undermines Faith in Government Advice
In a recent article Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that, from the beginning of the pandemic, there was good reason to believe that vaccines against…
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Kathleen and Charles Moore Prepare to take their Fight Against Taxing Unrealized Gains to Supreme Court
In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The new law was a reform of the federal tax code, but also included a…
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Free the Economy Episode 7: Economics for Everybody with Ryan Young
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about Adam Millsap’s proposal to encourage abundance with…
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New Hampshire Civil Forfeiture Would Protect Private Property from Unjust Seizure
Several state legislators in New Hampshire will consider a major change in criminal justice policy later today. The House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public…
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Busting the Myth of Overpopulation
Recently PragerU released a new video on “The Myth of Overpopulation,” featuring the Cato Institute’s Marian Tupy. Marian (also the editor of HumanProgress.org)…
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Regulatory Reform Bills in the 118th Congress: The REINS Act
Every new session of Congress is a new chance to enact substantive regulatory reform. This post inaugurates an occasional series highlighting reform bills that have…
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Walsh Skates out of the Biden Administration
The news that Marty Walsh will be stepping down as Secretary of Labor seems to reflect the diminished agenda that Joe Biden will have…
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Biden Administration Is Late to Right to Repair Party, but that Won’t Stop Them from Taking Credit
President Biden signed an Executive Order on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy” in July 2021. The EO covered a wide-range of policy…
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Administration’s Recent Crackdown on Domestic Mining at Odds with Its Electric Vehicle Agenda
President Biden could hardly be more aggressive in trying to foist electric vehicles (EVs) on the American public, regardless of whether they really meet our…
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State of the Union: Heavy-Handed Tech Regulation Fails to Appeal to Many Democratic Voters
President Biden should take advantage of breaking spy balloon news to talk about that—or anything else—instead of re-upping calls for regulation aimed at big tech…
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State of the Union and Inflation
Presidents, like quarterbacks, get too much blame when things go badly, and too much when things go well. Look for President Biden to take advantage…
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Biden’s State of the Union in Five Words: More Spending, Regulation, and Dependency
Ladies and gentlemen, we can sum up President Joe Biden’s the State of the Union (SOTU) in five words: More spending, regulation, and dependency. That…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had a setback in one of its cases against Meta. The Fed raised interest rates. Meanwhile, agencies…
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NTIA Report Ignores Relevant Competition in Its Study of App Ecosystem
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its report on “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” this past Wednesday. I submitted comments…
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Right Sizing the Federal Trade Commission Is Step One
As part of regulatory streamlining and administrative state reform efforts, members of the 118th Congress have already reintroduced several prominent pieces of legislation. These include…
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America Needs an Abundance Agenda
An abundance agenda—public policies that lead to diversity in consumer goods and financial security for families—should be an economic and moral imperative. That’s what Richard…
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Free the Economy Episode 6: The Cultural Impact of YouTube with Javier Hernandez
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the myth of overpopulation, the problem with…
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Federal Attacks on Gas Stoves Continue
Think Biden administration regulators at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have really backed away from their threat to target natural gas stoves? No, they…
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FTC Should Not Trade Consumer Welfare for an Antitrust Crystal Ball
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It Isn’t Just Gas Stoves That Biden Regulators Dislike – EPA Adding Costly Red Tape To Air Conditioners
In response to a strong consumer backlash, Biden administration regulators now insist they are not considering a ban on natural gas stoves, at least…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Department of Justice filed another antitrust lawsuit against Google. GDP numbers for the final quarter of 2022 looked healthy. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations…
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Berlau Crypto Letter and Comments in Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner
This week, I have had the honor of being quoted in a great article on cryptocurrency trends and regulation in the Washington Examiner and having…
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Avoiding Passive Income Scams
Recently, on episode three of the Free the Economy podcast (about 5:30 in), we discussed the promise and perils of “passive income” investments. On…
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Free the Economy Episode 5: Corporate Purpose and ESG with Russ Greene
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the economic and cultural impact of YouTube,…
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Inventories of Federal Agency Major Rules and Regulations Poised to Rise
Federal government reports and databases on regulations serve different purposes: The Federal Register details anddepicts the aggregate number of proposed and final rules—both those that…
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Agency Notices in the Federal Register Merit Close Monitoring by Congress
Along with presidential proclamations like executive orders and memoranda (examined recently here) are those of departments and agencies, which are numerous and sweeping. Without…
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Adam Smith, Greek Tragedy, and Public Policy
In high school civics classes, Adam Smith is a cartoon character. Like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, he is portrayed as selfish, cold, and calculating.
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An Update on Biden Administration Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda
Executive orders, presidential memoranda, “Fact Sheets,” and other executive proclamations make up a substantial component of what passes for lawmaking in the United States today.
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Philip Howard’s Not Accountable Focuses on Reform of Public Sector Unions
Of the 14.3 million people that the Department of Labor says are currently union members, almost half, 7.1 million, work in public sector jobs.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The U.S. government hit its debt ceiling, setting up some congressional drama. Microsoft and Google joined the parade of antitrust targets announcing layoffs despite…
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Free the Economy Episode 4: Entrepreneurship and Equality with Alfredo Ortiz
Thanks to everyone for listening to and sharing the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s new podcast, Free the Economy. If you like the show, please leave…
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Unionization Is Down to 10.1 Percent of the Workforce, Lowest Level on Record
The Department of Labor annual survey of union density, released today, shows that unions have fallen to just 10.1 percent of the overall workforce,…
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Congress Should Require the Administration to Adopt a Regulatory Budget in Exchange for Raising the Debt Ceiling
Every once in a while, the escalating drama of Washington policy debate has a genuine problem behind it. The suddenly heated focus on the need to…
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How the UK Can Reform Net Neutrality Regulations and Promote Innovation
As post-Brexit United Kingdom recalibrates its approach to net neutrality, the country needs to balance competing priorities of Internet access, efficient broadband networks, consumer…
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A Rise in Unfunded Mandates on State and Local Governments Could Spur Calls for Regulatory Reform in the 118th Congress
The Biden administration’s surge in federal regulations affecting small business will likely to induce some calls for regulatory reform during the 118th Congress. Now…
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The Debt Ceiling and the Trillion-Dollar Coin
Another debt ceiling battle is brewing, and pundits are debating what to do about it. Over at National Review’ Capital Matters, I take a look…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Inflation fell to a 6.5 percent annual pace. Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro staged their own version of January 6. An…
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Free the Economy Episode 3: Washington’s 10,000 Commandments
Thanks to everyone for listening to the first two episodes of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s new podcast, Free the Economy. We’ve got more great…
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332 Costliest Rules in the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations
Every year, federal agencies issue thousands of rules, regulations, and guidance documents, compared to a relative handful of laws passed by Congress.
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Federal Reserve Declines to Become Climate Regulator
Most agencies can either do one thing well or many things poorly. For example, the Federal Reserve would be perfectly capable of keeping inflation low…
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The Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations Extends “Whole-of-Government” Activism
The genius of the Progressives in the late 19th century was to preempt or push large sectors of the emerging…