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Washington’s War against the Incandescent Light Bulb Is Back
The Trump administration called a truce in the regulatory war against the incandescent light bulb by declining to target them with additional efficiency standards, but…
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Some Good News on Forest Management
After a grueling deliberative process, the Senate passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Tuesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has threatened to…
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New Inflation Numbers: Still High, Still Fixable
July’s inflation numbers are out. The annualized Consumer Price Index came in at 5.4 percent, compared to a 2 percent target. The month-to-month increase…
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CEI Continues Fight for Cryptocurrency Freedom
Because the Senate failed to adopt the bipartisan Wyden-Lummis-Toomey amendment even after it was watered down, the infrastructure package’s cryptocurrency tax reporting provisions could destroy,…
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Observations Concerning the Newest IPCC Report
View Full Document as PDF The case made for catastrophic climate change in the new “Sixth Assessment Report” by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental…
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CEI’s John Berlau Testifies at House Hearing on Solutions for the Unbanked
On Wednesday, July 21, CEI Senior Fellow John Berlau testified before the House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions on how…
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Why Government Infrastructure Spending Crowds Out Private Investment and Innovation
Those proclaiming of the Senate infrastructure bill that none of the spending is needed are correct. In embracing this gigantic spending bill, Republicans have helped preclude the…
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Not A Policy Paper, Just A Thought
Years ago, pastor Lon Solomon of the D.C.-based McLean Bible Church popularized a series of radio ads entitled, “Not a Sermon, Just a Thought,”…
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Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule Still a Mistake
On Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new rule from Nasdaq that will require firms listed on that exchange to comply…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Nearly 1 million jobs were created in July, while Congress put the finishing touches on an infrastructure bill that will add about $250 billion…
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Better Forest Management Needs a New Approach
The rampant wildfires in the west continue to exacerbate and conditions are likely to get worse before they get better. More than 4 percent…
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Senate Should Pass the Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Cryptocurrency Amendment
The Senate must adopt the bipartisan Wyden-Lummis-Toomey amendment to ensure that the infrastructure package’s cryptocurrency tax reporting provisions do not destroy, rather than help build,…
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For CDC to Repair Its Reputation, It Must Get Out of Housing (and Politics)
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was once considered one of the most trusted public health institutions in the world, but its handling…
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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Shows Much of What’s Wrong with Congress
Although it now looks unlikely, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D_NY) wants the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, popularly known as the bipartisan infrastructure bill,…
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CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Extension Another Example of Ends-Justify-the-Means Policy
The Constitution requires all of Congress and the president to swear to uphold the Constitution. Yet, too often today, public officials of both parties ignore…
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Weil Is a Poor Choice to Lead Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division
Lawmakers should reject President Biden’s choice to serve as administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, a major federal law enforcement…
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Civilian Climate Corps Would Expand Government When We Can Least Afford It
My first post in this series reviewed the history—and basic economics—of government works programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). My second…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Second quarter GDP grew at a 6.5 percent annualized pace, although COVID’s delta variant, inflation, and massive deficit spending could dampen growth going forward.
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Has Bitcoin/Crypto Failed as Money?
“[I]t’s not that [cryptocurrencies] didn’t aspire to be a payment mechanism; it’s that they’ve completely failed to become one except for people who desire anonymity…
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Climate Risk Disclosure: SEC’s Next Modest Proposal
An article in the Wall Street Journal this week reports as breaking news something that has been obvious for months: The Securities and Exchange…
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Tobacco Control’s Latest Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
If you want to make something irresistible to teenagers, portray it as a forbidden fruit. That is what has happened in the U.S. with e-cigarettes.
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Do We All Deserve a Share of the World’s Natural Resources?
In early July I wrote an op-ed for Inside Sources, which was subsequently picked up by several newspapers, on why the United States should…
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Big Tech Critic Jonathan Kanter Nominated to Lead Justice Department Antitrust Division
President Biden’s announcement to nominate long-time Big Tech adversary Jonathan Kanter to lead the Department of Justice Antitrust Division follows on the heels of…
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Wisdom on the Interest-Rate Price Control Folly from John Stuart Mill to Thomas Sowell
Today, the Senate held a hearing entitled, “Protecting Americans from Debt Traps by Extending the Military’s 36% Interest Rate Cap to Everyone.” But the…
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The Meaningless Symbolism of Raising the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
The Biden administration is planning to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour, but there is much less to this than…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Olympic games began in Tokyo, after being delayed a year due to COVID-19. Congress is working its way through a $3.5 trillion spending bill…
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A Civilian Climate Corps Cannot Address a Climate Emergency
In my previous post, I explained that high-profile political figures, including President Biden, are currently pushing for the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps…
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Carbon Tariffs Would Hurt Consumers, Slow Recovery
Over in the Washington Examiner, I take a look at the carbon tariff proposal that will likely be in the $3.5 trillion spending bill…
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War on Natural Gas—End User Edition
No matter that it is clean-burning, domestically plentiful, and affordable, natural gas is demonized by the Biden administration as a fossil fuel and for that…
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The Flawed Arguments for a Civilian Climate Corps
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933, he was faced with a massive economic crisis. To combat it, he embarked on a plan…
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With PRO Act, Congress Readies National Version of California’s AB5 Fiasco
California’s AB5 law, which was meant to prevent worker misclassification, faced a popular backlash when it disrupted the livelihoods of freelancers and gig…
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Private Forest Management Can Help Prevent Wildfires
When California Governor Gavin Newsom took office in 2019 he vowed to commit a stronger strategy to combat the wildfires ravaging California, declaring their approach…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
CEI announced that renowned development economist William Easterly will receive its 2021 Julian Simon Award at a two-day event in Washington, D.C., on…
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Do We Need a Clean Electricity Standard and CO2 Border Tax to Avert Catastrophe?
Climate ambition is busting out all over in the nation’s capital. The $3.5 trillion budget blueprint approved by Democratic leaders this week includes a…
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Green Protectionism on the Rise?
The $3.5 trillion budget proposal that the Democratic leadership in Congress is putting together will reportedly include the world’s first carbon tariffs, which are…
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Does DOL Nominee David Weil Believe in Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
David Weil, a Brandeis University professor and President Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division seems to believes that protecting…
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An Unprecedented FTC Appointment
In June, President Biden broke precedent when he appointed Lina Khan as the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It has been…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
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Enshrining Cronyism
If you like your cronyism, you can keep it. For that matter, if you like your income inequality, you can keep that too. Highly reminiscent…
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Biden Is Right to Call for Rolling Back Occupational Licensing and Non-Compete Agreements
President Biden’s executive order today calling for occupational licensing and employment non-compete agreements to be rolled back is a good idea that could benefit…
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CEI Files Comments on EPA’s Reconsideration of Trump Auto Rule
On Tuesday, July 6, CEI submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reconsideration of Part One of the Trump administration’s Safer Affordable…
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Relevant Markets, A Dozen Keystrokes, and the Google Play Store Antitrust Lawsuit
Yesterday, after markets closed, 36 state attorneys general announced another antitrust lawsuit against Google. This complaint centers around Google’s Play Store, in which it…
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A Sustained Recovery Needs a Deregulatory Stimulus
Over in The Hill, Wayne Crews and I argue that more deficit spending won’t help the COVID recovery. Regulatory reform is more powerful stimulus…
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Free Market Organizations Oppose Costly EPA Air Conditioner Regulations
With temperatures in Washington D.C. topping 90 degrees in recent days and with most of the summer yet to go, it is hard to imagine…
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SEC Discovery Tactics Belie Lofty Pronouncements in Ripple Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gotten away with questionable investigation and litigation methods for years. The Commission’s Enforcement Division tactics are so well…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The CEI community mourned the loss of Steve Horwitz, a principled classical liberal, a fine economist, and an even finer person. We’ll miss you, Steve.
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How the Unemployment Rate Rose While the Economy Added Jobs
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) seemingly contradictory report Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate had risen marginally to 5.9 percent, up 1/10th of a…
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End Useless Vaccination of the Immune
Six months ago, as the first vaccines were becoming available, I wrote, “Why Are We Vaccinating People Who Have Recovered From COVID-19?” Now that…
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The 2021 Edition of Ten Thousand Commandments Is Out Now
How much does regulation cost? It’s hard to tell, due to a lack of transparency. The government is legally required to tell the public how…
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Missouri Employers Must Jazz Up wages to Avoid St. Louis Blues
Employers are struggling to fill jobs in Missouri and that’s a good thing. It means wages and benefits in the state will rise and workers…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Negotiators reached a deal on a bipartisan infrastructure bill, at least for now. There were also marathon committee markup sessions for five antitrust bills. Meanwhile,…
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China Ratifies Kigali Amendment, At America’s Expense
On June 17, China ratified the Kigali Amendment, the United Nations treaty provision that restricts future production of a widely used class of refrigerants…
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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…