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How Private Property Can Protect Rivers From Pollution
Many prominent environmental activists, such as teen media star Greta Thunberg and former Vice President Al Gore, raise various environmental concerns from climate change…
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Justices Affirm that Collective Bargaining Rights Shouldn’t Trump other Rights
The Supreme Court was correct in its 6-3 ruling today in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid that a California regulation granting union organizers access…
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New CEI Video: Section 230, Explained
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new policy video today, aiming to clarify the debate around Section 230 and to debunk some of…
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ABA Antitrust Event with Jessica Melugin
On Monday, June 28, at 1 pm EDT, I’ll be joining the American Bar Association for an antitrust event entitled, “Big Tech in the Cross-Hairs:…
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CEI Files Comments on Biden Administration Social Cost of Carbon Estimates
CEI today is filing comments on the Biden administration Interagency Working Group’s (IWG) Interim Technical Support Document on the social cost of greenhouse gases.
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Supreme Court Requires Involvement of Principal Officers Before Final Decisions
Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Arthrex that has massive implications for the limits on the administrative state. It…
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The Way to Maximize Worker Freedom: Combine Right to Work and Micro-Unions
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a pro-union bill currently awaiting action in the Senate, includes a lot ideas to coerce individual…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Members of Congress introduced five antitrust bills last week. Antitrust activist Lina Khan was confirmed to a seat on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and…
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Why Increase the Cost and Scope of Antitrust?
Widely regarded as the least controversial of the five antitrust bills introduced in the House last week, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act would…
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A Better Approach to Tariff Diplomacy
In diplomacy, carrots tend to be more effective than sticks. Yet, two consecutive administrations have used tariff threats to try to achieve their objectives. Former…
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Biden Administration to Impose Wave of Costly Regulations on Home Appliances
The spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda) has been released. It’s the roadmap of federal regulatory priorities, and being…
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Platform Competition and Opportunity Act Is An Innovation Killer That Won’t Serve Consumers
One of five antitrust bills introduced last week, The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, would prohibit leading tech platforms from acquiring companies that are…
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Digital Yuan Threatens Global Freedom
“[Bitcoin] is an escape hatch from tyranny and nothing less than freedom money.” – Alex Gladstein, Human Rights Foundation The world is recognizing…
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ACCESS Bill Would Increase Consumer Privacy Risks and Stifle Innovation
One of five antitrust bills introduced last week, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act (they did a lot of heavy…
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Reviewing SEC Climate Disclosure Comments
Earlier this week, I wrote a short summary of the comments from myself and my colleague Marlo Lewis to the Securities and…
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The PRO Act Would Erode Individual Workers’ Rights
Suppose a piece of legislation was presented as an expansion of rights, when in fact it narrowed those rights. That ought to stir up some…
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What Do We Want from Our Platforms?
Two recently introduced House bills seek to restructure antitrust law, supposedly to tackle purported abuses by “big tech” firms. They aim to change how the…
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Exposed: Bloomberg’s Anti-Tobacco Meddling in Developing Countries
Back in February I wrote a piece for Inside Sources titled “Bloomberg’s Philanthro-Colonialism: A Threat to Global Health and Science,” criticizing the behavior of…
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PRO-SPEECH Act Seeks to Reintroduce Problem Solved 25 Years Ago
For those generally skeptical of Congress’ ability to make good policy, the existence of Section 230 in the 1996 Communications Decency Act evokes a…
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Boeing-Airbus Dispute Remains Unsolved: Tariffs Gone, Subsidies Stay
The European Union and the United States eagerly announced today that they had resolved their 17-year dispute over aerospace subsidies. They exaggerate their claims.
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CEI Submits Comments to the SEC on Climate Risk Disclosure, Part 2
On Friday, June 11, CEI, joined by nine other free market organizations, submitted two comment letters in response to Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioner Allison…
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CEI Submits Comments on Biden Administration Proposal to Repeal Trump Auto Rule Enforcing Preemption of California Motor Vehicle CO2 Regulations
On Friday, June 11, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined by eight other free market organizations, submitted comments on the National Highway Traffic Safety…
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It’s up to Drug Reformers to Stop the War on Nicotine
In recent years, a growing number of Americans have been waking up to the failure of the War on Drugs. Officially initiated by President…
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Climate Disclosure Comments to the SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Allison Herren Lee solicited comments on climate change from the public back on March 15, and the deadline for…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The economic recovery continues, but Congress is still intent on passing unneeded stimulus and infrastructure spending. Inflation is also up, and five antitrust bills are…
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Biden’s Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulation, by the Numbers
The Biden administration released the Spring 2021 edition of the twice-yearly Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions today. The purpose…
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Lessons from the Demise of ANWR and Keystone XL
Two iconic North American oil projects, federal leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Keystone XL pipeline carrying Canadian crude to U.S.
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The Paycheck Fairness Act’s Solution to the Gender Pay Gap: Make It Impossible to Defend Against Claims of Discrimination
Congress hit a wall this week on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which narrowly failed 49-50 on a Senate vote on Tuesday to break…
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CPI Inflation Indicator Hits 5 Percent: Not Stagflation, But a Useful Warning
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May came out this morning. At 5 percent, it was higher than expected. CPI has its flaws…
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Junk Science Gains Traction at the Biden EPA
The Biden administration has begun to reverse a host of policies that could have substantially improved the quality of science produced by government agencies. One…
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Stimulating the COVID Recovery without Trillions in Spending
Over at Inside Sources, I make the case that deregulation, freer trade, and continued vaccinations will do more to open up the economy than…
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Why Republicans Should Abandon the Infrastructure Compromise with the White House
The GOP should go nowhere near any trillion-dollar infrastructure deal with the White House. Reasons include the already enacted stratospheric COVID spending that couldn’t…
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Consumers May Lose Access to Herbicide Roundup Thanks to Junk Science Lawsuits
Agrochemical company Bayer’s quest to continue selling the herbicide known as Roundup to consumers may soon come to and end. The company is considering…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Unemployment is back under 6 percent, and it’s looking more and more like the economy is reverting back to trend. We’re not there yet, but…
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Michigan Civil Forfeiture Appeal Declined by U.S. Supreme Court, but Underlying Problem Remains
In July 2015, Stephen Nichols presented a counterfeit insurance certificate during a traffic stop in Lincoln Park, Michigan. He was not arrested or charged with…
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New Job Numbers Show a Positive Trend
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) new jobs report is the latest proof that rolling back the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak remains the…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Endless Frontiers Act remains the big story in Congress. After an 850-page trade was added via amendment in the Senate, the bill has been…
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Should the SEC Require More Climate Data from Public Companies?
This week, Case Western Reserve University law professor (and CEI alum) Jonathan Adler hosted a fascinating event titled “Climate Change, Financial Markets &…
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Biden’s $6 Trillion Budget Should Warn Republicans to Drop Infrastructure Compromise
The release of the Biden $6 trillion, biggest-ever and latest-in-a-century fiscal year 2022 budget proposal is a good time to reflect upon…
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Does Joe Biden Want to Do to Car Prices What California Has Done to Gas Prices?
Most Americans taking to the roads this Memorial Day weekend will be paying around $3 per gallon of gasoline, but in California the number…
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Alabama Enacts New Civil Forfeiture Reforms
On Tuesday, May 25, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey enacted SB210, which reforms state laws that allow law enforcement agencies to seize cars, homes, money,…
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Lawmakers Break Free from Logic with Anti-Plastic, “Climate” Legislation
In an effort to address the so-called “climate crisis,” members of Congress have proposed legislation so extreme that it could destroy the entire U.S. plastics…
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Railway Unions Want Minimum Crew Numbers
Cars are learning to drive themselves on U.S. highways. Unmanned aerial drones are fueling the expansion of e-commerce. Railways have been trying to…
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Federal Interest Rate Cap and Overturning of “True Lender” Rule Threaten Credit Innovation
On May 11, the U.S. Senate passed a measure, which, though sold as stopping “predatory lenders,” would greatly limit access to credit from solid lenders…
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Steel Companies Lobby for Steel Tariffs, Biden to Double Lumber Tariffs
One of the first things President Biden should have done upon taking office was to eliminate the Trump tariffs. This would have provided potent economic…
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Biden Administration’s Net-Zero Climate Agenda Is a Loser for Americans, International Energy Agency Confirms
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just released two major reports that destroy the plausibility and advisability of the Biden administration’s net-zero climate agenda.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
CEI’s Wayne Crews looked at the Biden administration’s dismantling transparency reforms for guidance documents and warned that political spending on scientific research would…
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Microsoft to Retire Internet Explorer: Lessons for Today’s Antitrust Cases
Microsoft just announced it will retire its Internet Explorer browser next year. This is the same program that was at the heart of an…
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The Endless Frontier Act to Boost Science and Tech Can Mean Endless Regulation
Related to regulatory effects of mass spending on national plans and the deadweight costs of spending, are the distortions, diversion of resources, and…
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EPA Follows Through on Biden Directive to Hide Guidance Documents from the Public
Before President Joe Biden signed an executive order called Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation that, among much else, instructed federal agencies…
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The Colonial Pipeline Shutdown May Shift Infrastructure Debate in a More Useful Direction
If there is a silver lining to the cyberattack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline and left many East Coast drivers waiting in line for…
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NHTSA Proposes to Repeal Preemption of California’s GHG Vehicle Regulations
The comment period opens today for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to repeal portions of the Trump…
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What Inflation Is, and What It Isn’t
It looks like we’re in for a bit of inflation. After decades of stable 2 percent inflation, the latest indicators say it’s moving up…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The best news of the week was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising that vaccinated people can safely go mask-free pretty much anywhere.
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California App Drivers Seem Happy that Proposition 22 Passed
Ever since Proposition 22’s lopsided November victory in California, critics of that ballot initiative have pushed the narrative that voters were confused by it…
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One of Google’s Antitrust Cases Dismissed, for Now
A District judge on Thursday dismissed a private antitrust case against Google brought by a group of advertisers. It does not affect separate cases…
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The CDC Finally Does the Obvious
Calling Captain Obvious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now stated what has been clear to anyone following the scientific literature for…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Facebook Oversight Board conditionally upheld former President Trump’s Facebook ban. Many Republican responses showed that they either do not understand the First Amendment or…
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EPA Proposes Rule Cracking Down on Refrigerants
On April 30, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to create a rationing scheme for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a widely…
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Latest Jobs Report Shows – Again – that Economy Can Heal Itself
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest job numbers are being treated as gloomy news because overall unemployment marginally increased to 6.1 percent…
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IEA Study Quantifies the Need for More Mined Materials in Transitioning to a Low-Carbon Economy
CEI and others have noted the substantial need for mined materials to transition away from fossil fuels. Now a May 5 International Energy Agency…
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Arizona Adopts Landmark Civil Forfeiture Reform Legislation
On May 6, Arizona Governor Greg Ducey signed into law House Bill 2810, which reforms the state’s civil forfeiture law and strengthens due process…
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Why Policy Makers Should Consider Expanding Financing and Exit Options for Startups
Last month, the online chat startup Discord halted accepting bids for a potential acquisition. Suitors included Microsoft, which had offered to acquire the company…
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Overboard over the Oversight Board
Yesterday’s decision by Facebook’s Oversight Board that the company was correct in restricting then-President Trump’s ability to post on January 7, 2021 and that…
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House Hearing Spells out Extent of Proposed Subsidies for Electric Vehicles
Democrats in the House of Representatives really want Americans to ditch their gasoline-powered cars and trucks for electric vehicles (EVs). A May 5 hearing…
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Biden Administration Says Lets Keep the Rules for Contract Work Vague and Confusing
In a move that surprised no one, the Biden administration announced today it was officially rolling back the Trump administration’s rule under the…
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New Study: Defusing the ESG Threat to Shareholder Rights
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my new study on theories of enlightened investing, Environmental, Social, and Governance Theory: Defusing a Major Threat to…
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Universal Basic Income and the Custodial Administrative State
The American Families Plan (EFP), touted both before and during President Biden’s address to Congress, is still a work in progress, with…
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Biden’s Carried Interest Tax Would Force All Partnerships to Carry Big Burden
“The Biden administration and its allies excel at leveraging crises to expand government,” observes my CEI colleague Wayne Crews on the Biden “infrastructure” plan.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The economy bounced back in a big way, according to numbers released on Thursday. Things are not quite back where they were, but the trend…
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Is the Biden Administration Socialist?
One of the points I make in The Socialist Temptation is that today’s “democratic socialists” don’t really know what they mean by socialism. Nor…
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Is Biden Planning New Payroll Taxes?
President Biden will reportedly use address to Congress tonight to tout his American Families Plan, a major part of which is paid family leave.
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CDC Says It Is Safe for Vaccinated People to Unmask Outdoors
After much anticipation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finally relaxed its guidelines on mask wearing—people who have been vaccinated need…
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CEI Submits Comments on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Consideration of Greenhouse Gases in Natural Gas Facility Permitting
CEI submitted comments yesterday addressing seven questions posed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on how the Commission should consider environmental impacts…
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A Menthol Cigarette Ban Would Perpetuate the Racist War on Drugs
In April the White House announced an apparently historic shift in the U.S. War on Drugs—away from strict prohibition to an approach emphasizing harm…
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Don’t Fear Crypto Dip; Fear Regulations that Will Harm America’s Cryptocurrency Lead
After a massive runup for the past few months, the cryptocurrency market experienced a slight dip over the past week and a half. This dip…
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Democrats’ Drug Price Control Bill Is a Prescription for Disaster
Last Thursday, House Democrats reintroduced a bill from the last Congress, which they claim will protect Medicare from excessive prescription drug prices. Sadly, it…
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Expect Search for Corporate Virtue to Get Increasingly Expensive
Last week I wrote about a video from the Financial Times that was meant to explain environmental social, and governance (ESG) investing. Despite…
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Biden’s Leaders Climate Summit: China 2, U. S. 0
I was only able to watch part of the Biden administration’s global Leaders Climate Summit, but expect there will be opportunities for repeated viewings…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big news of the week was the guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Senate Republicans continued their longtime strategy of bargaining with…
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Don’t Believe the Hype: ESG Investing Advice Hides Serious Flaws
In a recent video for the “Moral Money” section of the Financial Times, reporter Brooke Fox took on the question “What does ESG-friendly really…
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Which Way Forward on Energy and the Environment
This Earth Day, we are likely to once again hear the too-common predictions of climate catastrophe and calls for ambitious—and costly—policies to address the problem.
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John Kerry, an Unlikely Truth-Teller?
John Kerry, America’s special presidential envoy for climate, will be on the world stage during the Biden administration’s online global Leaders Summit on Climate.
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EPA Inspector General Releases Report on Trump Auto Rule Process Concerns
The Washington Post today reviews a report released yesterday by the Inspector General (IG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding claims that…
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Runaway Spending and Regulation Call for an Abuse-of-Crisis Prevention Act
The escalation of spending and regulation in the face of economic shock—by means of “resets,” “New New Deals,” “new social contracts,” and “Build…
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Will China Play the U.S. on Climate?
President Biden’s 40-nation “virtual climate summit” is scheduled to begin on Earth Day, April 22. Even at this late date, it’s not clear that…
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Minimal Environmental Benefits in the Infrastructure Plan’s Spending Spree on Electric Vehicles
As discussed in a previous post, the $174 billion for electric vehicles (EVs) in the Biden administration’s recently proposed $2.3 trillion dollar infrastructure…
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The One Place Progressives Want the Vote Suppressed: Union Elections
Big business has a new weapon to use against organized labor: mailboxes. That is what the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) claims is…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress played a round of good idea-bad idea last week. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) introduced a bill for a regulatory budget, similar to the…
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Can Money Buy Love When It Comes to Electric Vehicles? The Biden Administration Wants to Try with Its Infrastructure Package
There is a long history of Washington declaring gasoline-powered cars a thing of the past and subsidizing alternatives to replace them. It has never worked,…
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DOL On Independent Contractor Rule: We Were Wrong but We Cannot Explain Why
The Biden administration put the Department of Labor (DOL) in the awkward position of having to withdraw its new rule regarding when workers…
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Can Biden End the Current War on Drugs without Starting a New One?
This president is not your Grandad’s Joe Biden. At least, that seems to be the message of a new White House plan on the…
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Maybe Workers Just Aren’t That into You, Unions
Labor unions are second only to Donald Trump when it comes to crying foul over election outcomes they don’t like. The National Labor Relations Board…
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LBRY Cryptocurrency Prosecution Shows SEC’s Misplaced Priorities
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), without authorization from Congress or from formal rulemaking, continues its punitive push against blockchain-based companies that sell native tokens…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen floated the idea of a global minimum corporate tax and Amazon workers in Alabama voted against unionizing. The Biden…
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The UK Should Beware of Future Restrictions against UK-EU Data Flows
The British government must beware of future challenges to the United Kingdom’s ability to transfer data to and from the European Economic Area (EEA) due…
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Americans Ambivalent about Billionaire Influence, Reject Left-Wing Hostility
New polling, recently written up at Reason, shows that the American public isn’t nearly as hostile to capitalism, and the leaders of big…
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New CEI Paper Revisits Viral Exchange on Payday Loan Rates by Katie Porter and Kathy Kraninger.
It’s not every day an exchange about a technical measurement for loans goes viral on social media. During a 2019 House Committee on Financial…
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Who Pays Corporate Taxes?
Congress is considering increasing the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent to help pay for the big infrastructure bill it is currently…
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The London Stock Exchange Needs Dual-Class Ownership to Compete with New York and Amsterdam
Notwithstanding London’s status as a global financial center, the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) inflexible listing rules constrain the city’s ability to attract high-growth tech…