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Regulation of the Day 180: Braiding Hair
Businesses often use regulations as a cudgel to bludgeon their competitors. Occupational licensing is one of the most-abused types of regulation.
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Delaying Dodd-Frank’s Durbin Price Controls Would Save Retailers From Themselves
Today is the day, as a bipartisan amendment comes to the Senate floor delaying draconian price controls on debit card transaction fees from Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment, that the Senate has an…
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Morning Media Summary
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The Last Nail in the Coffin for the Fairness Doctrine?
In response to calls by lawmakers for the Fairness Doctrine and related measures to be permanently removed from the Federal Register, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski…
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Why Cross-Examination Rights Matter in Campus Sexual Harassment Cases under Title IX
As part of its broader attack on safeguards against false accusations, the federal Education Department is urging colleges to strip students and faculty of…
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Failures of Auto Bailouts Hidden by Deceptive Accounting and Bogus Jobs Figures
Mounting evidence shows that the auto bailouts weren't worth it. They have been far more costly, and less successful, than claimed, as even liberal…
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Morning Media Summary
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BitCoins: Four Objections
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Liberal Economist Peter Diamond Withdraws from Contention for Federal Reserve
MIT’s Peter Diamond has withdrawn his nomination to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. I earlier explained how Diamond’s nomination by…
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Wisconsin Proposal Hurts Craft Beer, Protects Big Brewers
In the battle between international brewing giants SABMiller and ABInBev, Wisconsin craft brewers could bear the heaviest burden. On May 31, the state legislature’s Joint…
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Regulation of the Day 179: Giving Food to Homeless People
Last Wednesday, three people were arrested in Orlando for giving food to homeless people.
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E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Organic Farming … Again
Although it’s not 100 percent certain at this time, German health officials are becoming increasingly certain that the recent E. coli…
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Even Liberal Washington Post Casts Doubt on Auto Bailouts
"Only 16 percent of executives in the auto industry" support the Chrysler bailout, according to the Washington Post’s editorial today. I think the bailout…
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BitCoins: All Buzz, No Substance
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Regulation of the Day 178: Helping Tornado Victims
Mike Haege, a tree-trimmer in Hastings, Minnesota, was threatened with jail and fined $275 for helping clear damaged trees from tornado victims' yards.
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California Social Networking Bill In Its Death Throes
In Sacramento, California, a bill that would regulate social networking is reportedly on its death bed after failing by five votes last week. The online…
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Obama’s Chrysler Fiat — Missing Jobs Under the Hood
“So far the auto industry’s added 113,000 jobs over the past two years.” So proclaimed President Obama in a speech at the Chrysler/Fiat plant in…
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President Obama’s Speech Perpetuates Bailout Payback Myth
In his speech just completed at a Toledo, Ohio Chrysler plant, President Obama continued the government PR work on behalf of bailed out auto…
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Regulation Roundup
Tennessee makes it illegal to use someone else's Netflix password, plus more.
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NFL, Players in Court Today
Today is a crucial day in the ongoing labor dispute between the NFL and the supposedly disbanded players’ union, the NFLPA as they return to…
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Planning to Disaster: San Diego and California’s Sustainable Communities Strategies
The San Diego metro area has been institutionalizing its boring reputation by undertaking in recent years what is arguably the most aggressive regional planning effort…
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CEI FOIA Request Reveals Relationship Between Treasury Department and GM
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How Free Is America?
Pajamas Media Americans are accustomed to thinking of themselves as the freest people on Earth. Except that according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2011 Index of…
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Official Time: Union Activity on the Taxpayers’ Dime
Government Executive summarizes the Office of Personnel Management’s report on the use of official time, whereby unionized federal employees carry out union business…
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A Culture of Deceit
Last month Governor John Lynch issued a statement explaining his veto of HB 474 to make New Hampshire a right-to-work state. His explanation included:…
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An Alaskan Mining Project: One Example of How Environmental Regulations are Strangling the U.S. Economy
Rick Manning of Americans for Limited Government notes here that one of the reasons the American economy is stuck in neutral is that investors…
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Morning Media Summary
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Top 3 Myths about Immigration
According to Ben Powell, the three most common immigration myths are that immigrants are a drag on the economy, they steal our jobs, and that…
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Report: Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) Bridge Will Lose $4.5 Billion Over 20 Years
Via Peter Samuel of TOLLROADSnews, a new report from Conway MacKenzie estimates the proposed Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge would lose in…
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Briefing in Cobell v. Salazar Indian trust class action
Details at Point of Law.
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Morning Media Summary
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CEI Podcast for May 31, 2011: FDA Rescinds Approval of Breast Cancer Drug
Conko believes this battle boils down to one question: who decides which treatments patients can use? Will it be the FDA, or doctors and patients?…
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Liberalize High-Skilled Immigration
Over at the Daily Caller, Alex Nowrasteh and I tell the story of Jeffrey Lin. He is a Ph.D student at CalTech who holds three…
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California High-Speed Rail All Strung Out on Stimulus on the Outskirts of Town
Emily Washington of Market Urbanism highlights this Los Angeles Times article on the latest — depending on your outlook: hilarious or pathetic —…
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Fiscal Conservatives Must Turn Policy Debate to General
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New York City Health Officials: No Fun for Adults
Last year we watched as the FDA used its regulatory might to institute a de-facto ban on alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko, Joose,…
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Morning Media Summary
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Yet More Proof that the Supreme Court is Not Pro-Business
The Supreme Court has ruled against the Chamber of Commerce's challenge to an Arizona law punishing businesses that hire illegal aliens by taking away…
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Regulation Roundup
Some of the zanier happenings in the world of regulation:…
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Morning Media Summary
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Shedding Light on Light Bulbs — Don’t Count on the NYT
In its “Home and Garden” section yesterday, The New York Times did it again: in what should have been a straight-forward puff piece about…
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Barney Frank Used Influence with Fannie Mae, the Failed Mortgage Giant Bailed Out by Taxpayers
Former House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) tenaciously opposed efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage…
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CEI Podcast for May 26, 2011: President Obama Proposes Deregulation
Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar, announced today that the administration intends to repeal regulations from 30 different agencies. CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain…
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Sen. Hatch Questions Illogic of Holding Three Trade Agreements Hostage to TAA
Consideration of the three pending trade pacts -- with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea -- presents a conundrum. The administration is saying that these Free…
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Obama’s Regulatory Reform: The Costs of Benefits
My colleagues commented above on the Cass Sunstein lecture at the American Enterprise Institute called "Regulatory Look-Back: A First Look," about agency's supposed eagerness to…
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Activist Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law — For Now
Government employee unions and their allies have tried just about everything to stop the efforts by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republicans in the legislature…
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Avastin and Breast Cancer: The Median is Not the Message
The New York Times ran an op-ed yesterday by oncologist Frederick Tucker urging the Food and Drug Administration to stand by…
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Lots of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the Stimulus, Which Will Cost $43 Billion More Than Expected
The Congressional Budget Office says the stimulus package will cost $43 billion more than estimated. The stimulus package is full of waste, fraud, and…
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Somin on the Judicial Reaction to Kelo
George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin posted online the other day his paper on the judicial reaction to the Supreme Court’s infamous…
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Deregulatory Baby Steps
In a welcome move, the White House announced this morning that a review of regulations by government departments had found 30 (count 'em) regulations…