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GOP Cannabis Legalization Bill Could Finally Surmount Partisan Divide
Even with the majority of Americans having supported cannabis legalization for nearly a decade, proposals to decriminalize the substance at the federal level have…
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Biden Administration Seeks to Punish Stablecoin Success
Stablecoin market capitalization has risen by 500 percent in past 12 months. The growth aligns with growing interest in transacting outside heavily regulated banking…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The House passed a $1.85 trillion spending bill, which a 50-50 Senate will now consider. An Alzheimer’s vaccine began human trials. If it…
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Court Strikes Down Trump Tariff: Precedent for Institution-Level Changes?
Pessimism reigns for trade liberalization in the short run, but there is fresh hope for the long run. A new court decision over solar panel…
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New Car Prices Are Soaring Biden’s Policies Would Make Things Worse
New car prices are soaring, according to a report released last week by Kelley Blue Book. From Kelley’s press release: New-vehicle…
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Review of Michael Munger, The Sharing Economy: Its Pitfalls and Promises (Institute of Economic Affairs, 2021)
Transaction costs are one of the most overlooked ideas in economics. They are also one of the most important. The lowering of transaction costs is…
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An Inaccurate Update on OMB’s Inaccurately Reported Costs of Federal Regulation
Here inside the Beltway we are now in fiscal year 2022. In anticipation of the next edition of the chronically late “annual” Report to Congress…
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“America Recycles Day” Should Recognize Markets as the Key to Prosperity and Environmental Protection
Today is “America Recycles Day,” which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains recognizes that recycling contributes to “prosperity and the protection of our…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
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How to Prepare for Administrative State Reform While Stuck in a Progressive Ditch
Would-be regulatory reformers find themselves in a ditch during the Biden administration, which regards Trump deregulatory efforts as “harmful” and overturned reform-related executive orders…
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This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrage (Fourth in a Series)
Here’s a fascinating story in the Arizona Republic about an appeals court hearing earlier this week. Reporter Perry Vandell’s account of that hearing isn’t…
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1.5C Is Not a Tipping Point
A report released on Tuesday by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) made waves at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow. CAT finds that with…
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The Most Wasteful Infrastructure Bill Ever?
The $1.2 trillion dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be signed into law by President Biden on Monday. If it is like past…
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Build Back Better’s $1.5 billion Gift to Unions
Hidden in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan is a provision that amounts to a $1.5 billion gift to unions. It is intended to…
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We Wanna Negotiate This – Unions Cool to Biden Vaccine Mandate
The nation’s top unions have reacted coolly to the Biden administration’s proposed vaccine mandate, with many rejecting the administration’s unilateral approach and saying that workers…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Children can now receive COVID-19 vaccinations, which is good news all around. The economy gained 531,000 jobs in October, showing once again why Congress’ big…
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Rush to Pass Reconciliation Bill Would Embarrass Sausage Makers
There is an old saying, generally misattributed to Otto von Bismarck, that “Laws are like sausages—it is best not to see them being made.” Today,…
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The Fruits of Forfeiture in Little Compton
The Providence Journal’s Antonia Noori Farzan just published a great story (paywalled) about the Rhode Island town of Little Compton—the second-smallest town in the…
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How to Fill 10 Million Vacant Jobs
Would raising the minimum wage help to fill the more than 10 million job vacancies currently open? It makes some intuitive sense—higher pay will attract…
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New Analysis on ESG Investing: Friedman, Edmans, and Materiality
At times it seems like public events on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing are a dime a dozen; some think tank, consulting firm, or…
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Electric Vehicle Windfall Still in Big Spending Bill
Congress’ big spending bill, now called the Build Back Better Act, is evolving from truly terrible to somewhat less terrible. On energy, the highly…
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A Note on Politicized Investment Policy
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a change in its pension rules. DOL announced that it intends to incorporate political…
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Federal Agency “Significant” Rulemakings Return to Bush-Obama Heights
While agencies are on track to issue about the same number of rules as they did last year, the number of “significant” rules among…
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Steel, Aluminum Tariffs to Remain Above Pre-Trump Levels
It is not asking much to undo President Trump’s doubling of U.S. tariffs, which are a major contributor to today’s supply network crisis. But apparently…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Third quarter GDP growth was an estimated at 2 percent, down from about 6 percent the previous two quarters. The 2021 Federal Register topped…
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This Week in Civil Forfeiture Outrages
Not for the first time, I came across so many accounts of civil forfeiture outrages this week that I couldn’t narrow them down to just…
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The Youth Vaping “Epidemic” Has Ended; So Should Extreme Youth-Centric Anti-Vaping Measures
People will tolerate just about any imposition if they believe it will protect children from harm. Hence, appeals to “think of the children” are…
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Only Reconciliation “Emergency” Is the Rush to Spend Trillions
Earlier today, the House Committee on Rules released a revised version of the Build Back Better Act (H.R 5376), now priced at bargain low…
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CEI and AP Polls Agree: Americans Don’t Want to Spend Much on Climate Change
Both the recent Competitive Enterprise Institute and Associated Press polls on climate change find that a clear majority of Americans have at least…
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Illusory Climate Benefits: CEI Files Comments on NHTSA’s Proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
CEI submitted comments yesterday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model year (MY)…
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Lenny Bruce, Capitalism vs. Communism, and Biden’s Banking Nominee
At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, then-controversial comedian Lenny Bruce offered a surprising boost to the defense of capitalism over communism.
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Facebook Leaks Are Hardly Newsworthy
The frenzied media coverage of Facebook document leaks seems to confuse hosting disagreeable content with the platform being the cause of humanity’s ills. Worries…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved COVID-19 booster shots for adults over 65, or with certain medical conditions, or who have job-related…
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Are Sky High California Gas Prices in Store for the Rest of the U.S.?
Want to know how high gasoline prices can go thanks to administration policies? Just look at where they’re already at in California. At $4.55…
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Climate Change Alarmism: This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages, Part 3
A fascinating story in the Huffington Post hits a CEI trifecta: abuse of government authority, climate change alarmism, and reckless spending of civil forfeiture…
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The Philadelphia Steal Mill: This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages, Part 2
The Institute for Justice has just published an extraordinary report on civil forfeiture. For many years, the City of Philadelphia ran what is best…
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I, Pencil Meets Today’s Political Realignment
Conservatives are different than they were just a few years ago, and it isn’t just because of Trump, who is more a symptom than a…
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The Destruction of a Perfectly Good Corvette Convertible: This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages, Part 1
A colleague suggested that CEI should start up a regular feature: Civil Forfeiture Outrage of the Week. That assignment is more challenging than one might…
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Manchin Zaps De-Facto “Clean” Energy Mandate, Carbon Tax
The Hill reported yesterday that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Tester (D-MT) “poured cold water” on Democratic colleagues’ attempt to include a carbon…
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“Stop Wall Street Looting Act” Would Empower Wall Street, Harm Main Street
Washington policies are often misnamed. Recent legislative proposals labeled “infrastructure” concerned not roads or bridges, but social spending. But sometimes, a bill in Congress…
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Reconciliation Bill Provision Threatens IRA Holders’ Investing Opportunities
A couple of weeks back, I commented, in a Competitive Enterprise Institute blog post, on a provision of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In a four-day week, the economy got mixed news on employment and inflation, a dubious new antitrust bill was announced, and…
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Markets Aren’t Perfect; Regulation Is Often Far Worse
A rhetorical tactic commonly employed by both my technocratic and progressive friends is a straw man argument. “If market processes are so great,” they charge,…
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The United States Should Oppose the EU’s Proposed Common Charger Regulation
The European Union (EU) wants to require all cell phone manufacturers to use a common charging device. According to European policy makers, if everyone…
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The Radicalism of “Build Back Better” Is the Crisis that Classical Liberals Must Not Let Go to Waste
If the mantra of the day is, “Never let crisis go to waste,” then what are we to do when artificial crisis is being created…
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There Is Less to Biden’s Ports Deal than It Appears
President Biden on Wednesday announced that the two main ports on the West Coast will start operating 24 hours a day to help address…
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Sen. Klobuchar’s Half-Baked Antitrust Bill
A famous scene in the 1990s comedy movie Half Baked has a young Jon Stewart musing about how different everyday activities can be while…
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IRS Licensing of Tax Preparers Is Ripe for Abuse
Roughly a quarter of all jobs in America now require some sort of occupational license. Sixty years ago, it was about one job in…
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September Inflation Remains High and Fixable
Inflation remains high, with September’s numbers coming in at a 5.4 percent annualized rate, the highest number in a decade. The Federal Reserve’s target…
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The 2021 Economics Nobels: The Importance of Empiricism, and its Limits
The economics Nobel is given to individuals, but it often really intends to recognize schools of thought or methodological approaches. That is the case with…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Katherine Tai, the new U.S. Trade Representative, gave a major speech affirming President Biden’s commitment to former President Trump’s trade protectionism. Facebook’s website…
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Public Interest Groups Challenge Nasdaq Diversity Rule in Federal Court
Back in August, I wrote about the new board diversity requirements on Nasdaq-listed companies that had been approved by the Securities and Exchange…
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IRS Needlessly Chases Minnows to Catch Whales
As part of its Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has asked Congress to authorize a sweeping new financial reporting…
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EIA Releases International Energy Outlook 2021–What Is the Big Picture?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) yesterday released International Energy Outlook 2021, this year’s iteration of the agency’s annual report projecting world energy market…
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Retro Review: The Social Responsibilities of Business (1970)
The Biblical book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “there is no new thing under the sun.” Even centuries before the modern era, our ancestors…
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Why Don’t U.S. Ports Operate 24/7? Ask the Unions
There has been a massive backlog for months now of cargo ships waiting to drop their goods at West Coast U.S. ports. As I…
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How Civil Forfeiture Can Enable Public Officials’ Misuse of Funds
A fascinating story at Reason last week—about the misuse of money confiscated through civil forfeiture—illuminates the many kinds of corruption that the practice of…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress averted a government shutdown and continued to negotiate over nearly $5 trillion in combined spending. Merck announced an antiviral pill for COVID-19 that…
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Let the Market Make Corrections and Leave the Red Tape out of It
YouTube banned anti-vaccine content on its platform, Instagram is accused of being “toxic” for its teen users, and Facebook’s Oversight Board is routinely…
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CEI Files Legislative Proposals to Rescue Crypto
On Monday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute responded to Sen. Patrick Toomey’s (R-PA) request for proposals to clarify laws around cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
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America Needs More Truckers on the Road
Severe backups and bottlenecks in the nation’s ports, particularly on the West Coast, have created severe logistical and supply problems throughout the country. This is…
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Federalist Society Experts Duel on Climate Risks and Regulation
Earlier this week, the Federalist Society presented a panel discussion titled “Corporate Social Responsibility, Investment Strategy, and Liability Risks” that addressed some important issues…
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Illusory Climate Benefits: CEI Comments on EPA’s Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards
CEI submitted comments yesterday on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for motor vehicles during model years 2023…
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Tobacco Tax Equity Act Perpetuates Economic and Health Disparities
Mainstream interest in the issue of structural racism is long overdue. Yet nascent efforts to root out vestiges of racism in the U.S. political system…
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Fighting Income Inequality Won’t Help Workers
I just learned of the latest forthcoming study focusing on the issue of income inequality, this one promising to explain how regulations can exacerbate…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
CEI held its Julian Simon Award dinner, honoring the development economist William Easterly. We also paid remembrance to 2020’s winner, the late, great…
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Cost of Air Conditioning to Heat up, Thanks to New EPA Climate Regulation
We can soon add air conditioning to the long list of products contributing to inflation, thanks to a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule,…
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Are Unions Losing Hope for the PRO Act?
In a sign that unions are losing hope that the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act can pass Congress, they are now…
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Not Always an Antitrust Issue: Airline Edition
The Justice Department is gearing up to file an antitrust case against JetBlue and American Airlines over an alliance they recently formed. The Wall…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Inflation remains high at over 5 percent, California’s governor will finish out his term after a recall attempt failed, and culture warriors got outraged at…
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More Evidence that the Biden Administration Is Not Following the Science
In a rebuke to the Biden administration’s announcement that it would be rolling out COVID-19 booster shots for adults during the week of September…
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Happy Constitution Day!
When I was a civil servant in the United Kingdom, I had a friend who worked at the Ministry of Defence. Part of his duties…
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Some Questions About the Legality of President Biden’s OSHA Vaccine Mandate
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Biden announced he is directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)…
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Regulatory Flexibility: Good for the Booze Business and Consumers
The coronavirus pandemic has taught us a few things, including the economic fragility of many industries. The restaurant industry, with its reliance on in-person dining,…
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Must We Be Submissive to the Cops?
CEI has just published my paper “They’re Taking My Stuff!”: What You Need to Know about Seizure and Forfeiture.” My interest in this topic…
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Unions on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate: That’s Not in Our Contract
President Biden’s vaccination mandate announcement on Friday has drawn a notably cool reaction from unions. While none appear to have come out against it, few…
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Proposed New Restrictions Threaten Opportunity for Middle Class Investors
While President Biden and Congressional Democrats have called for reining in big firms through antitrust and other punitive policies, a tax provision contrived by Congress…
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Texas May Still Be the Wild West, But Its Social Media Shouldn’t Be
The Texas legislature passed and Governor Greg Abbott recently signed into law H.B. 20, which he described as “safeguarding the freedom of speech by…
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Exorbitant Tax Incentives for Electric Vehicles to Be Voted on in House Ways and Means Committee
If electric vehicles (EVs) are to be judged by the amount of tax incentives needed to induce Americans to choose them, the latest provisions…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2021 Federal Register surpassed 50,000 pages in a short Labor Day week. Fresh off a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, Congress began work on a $3.5…
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Jobless Claims Are Down, but Tensions Remain in COVID Recovery
Jobless claims are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic; 310,000 people filed first-time claims last week, down roughly 95 percent…
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FDA Shows Its Bias against E-cigarettes as Deadline Approaches
After years facing the constant threat of extinction, it seemed the vapor industry would finally be vindicated. The evidence on e-cigarettes regarding their safety and effectiveness…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The United States officially ended its military occupation of Afghanistan. Hurricane Ida killed at least 40 people in the Northeastern U.S., while in the New…
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Web 3.0 Requires New Regulatory Thinking
“[A] digital economy isn’t simply an industrial economy on the internet.” The Blockchain Innovation Hub at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia…
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The Cost of Uncertainty in Dealing with the Pandemic
If there is one thing that businesses want more than anything else when it comes to regulations, it is predictability. That’s one case where what’s…
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Fighting Bias and Misinformation, from Pierre Bayle’s 17th Century to the Social Media Age
Many people insist that media bias and misinformation are getting worse in the social media age, and we need to do something about it. Depending…
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UK’s Attempt to Block a Merger Between American Firms Could Cripple Innovation
As I explain in both an op-ed and regulatory comments submitted yesterday, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s version…
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Deep Dive on Plastics: CEI Launches Series on Benefits to Mankind and Wildlife
Members of Congress have introduced several proposals to regulate plastics, which as I noted here and here, could basically destroy the U.S. plastics…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress seems to have reached a deal to combine the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. A $6 trillion budget bill remains…
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Landlords Deserve Protection Too
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s extension of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide eviction moratorium. While most…
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Non-Binding, Non-Enforceable Paris Agreement Poised to Destroy U.S. Fossil Fuel Industry—as We Warned
For years, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been making the case that the Paris Agreement is a signed but non-ratified treaty that must win…
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EPA’s Proposed Auto Rule: What We Said at the Agency’s Zoom Meeting Today
Today and tomorrow, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public Zoom meeting on the agency’s proposed motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission…
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Capitalism and Corporations: Respect Stakeholders, But Follow the Law
Last week the Law & Economics Center at George Mason University hosted a fascinating event here in Washington, D.C. on the debate over shareholder…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big story of the week was the United States’ military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Back home, a new school year began and the economic…
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The Progressive Playbook? Thoughts on a Slippery Slope
Is there a master plan behind the blunders of governments? Or are politicians just making it up as they go along? The cabal model…
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No, Crypto Is Not a Criminal Haven
“In 2020, the criminal share of all cryptocurrency activity [was] just 0.34%, or $10.0 billion in transaction volume.” This finding by crypto intelligence firm…
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Mexican Workers Deserve Secret Ballot Elections; So Do U.S. Workers.
Today, U.S. labor leaders applauded Mexican workers for getting rid of an allegedly corrupt union at a General Motors (GM) plant in Silao, in…
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FTC Re-Files Facebook Antitrust Complaint
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted a revised antitrust complaint against Facebook today. In June, a judge threw out the initial complaint for…
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Senate Republicans Revive Kyoto Lite
Bad policy ideas never die; they just get recycled. A prime case in point is the Senate’s recent passage of the Growing Climate Solutions…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Senate passed the big infrastructure bill in a dramatic marathon vote. It now goes to the House. Up next is a $3.5 trillion spending…