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School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump back…
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SAFE DATA Act a Risk for Consumers
Republican members of the Senate Commerce Committee recently introduced the SAFE DATA Act. While the bill includes much needed federal preemption of state privacy laws,…
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Brother, Can You Spare Two Weeks?
Last year, California passed AB5, which was intended to go after rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. The law requires “gig economy” companies to classify all…
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Regulatory Waiver Clears the Sky for Private Partnership, Innovation, and Competition
Three months have passed since the Federal Aviation Administration granted a special waiver to the drone delivery company Zipline International. Early last week, Walmart announced…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Scientists may have found potential chemical evidence of life on Venus—phosphine gas, which in Venusian conditions may well have been produced by anaerobic (non-oxygen-using)…
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Government Is Asking if We Want Faster and More Effective Appliances. Say Yes!
For more than 50 years, Americans have used washing machines to clean their clothes and dryers to dry them. Manufacturers built highly effective products that…
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Fuel Economy: DOJ Defends One National Program Rule
The Department of Justice (DOJ) last week filed its initial reply brief in Union of Concerned Scientists v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a case…
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Appointment of Climate Realist David Legates at NOAA Sparks Protest by Representatives Grijalva and Huffman
Two Democratic leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee are demanding that the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explain why it hired a “climate…
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Trade News: WTO Rules China Tariffs Violate Rules, Aluminum Tariffs Dropped, No Trade Deal with EU
Usually policy-related news slows down near elections; nobody wants to rock the boat. This has not been the case with trade policy. Three important stories…
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Trump’s Drug Price Controls are a Lousy Deal for Patients
Prescription drug prices are popular targets for lawmakers—especially in an election year. Still, it came as quite a surprise when President Trump issued an…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a four-day work week due to Labor Day. There were massive fires along the West coast, and Congress declined to pass a $500…
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Don’t Panic Over Ad Tech
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an antitrust hearing on September 15 to examine Google’s 90 percent market share in online advertising. Senators who would…
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Senate Reaches Bipartisan Deal to Raise Air Conditioner Costs
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee just agreed to a measure that would raise the cost of air conditioning…
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Do We Want Corporations to Be Society’s Moral Referees?
The New York Times is observing the 50th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s famous article “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits”…
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Socialism, Nationalism, and Political Control: Iain Murray on The Remnant
My colleague Iain Murray had a fascinating conversation this week with The Remnant’s Jonah Goldberg about his excellent new book, The Socialist Temptation.
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Executive Order 13,891 Sub-Regulatory Guidance Document Portal Tops 70,000 Entries
Congress makes laws. Agencies make rules, but they also issue guidance documents in heretofore unknown quantity. The year 2019 brought Executive Order 13891 (“Promoting the…
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Good Vibes for Sale: The Business of Cultural Innovation
The current issue of Harvard Business Review has a fascinating article by former business school professor and brand consultant Douglas Holt. He advises…
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ESG Mission Creep Could Lead to Serious Legal, Market Risks for Companies
An increasing number of U.S. corporations are signaling their commitment to corporate social responsibility by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into their operations…
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FDA Rules on E-cigarette Makers Go into Effect Today, to the Detriment of Public Health
The world was simpler in 2009 when Congress enacted a law that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco. Back…
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FCC Chairman Pai Proposes More Spectrum for 5G
Yesterday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced that at the agency’s upcoming September meeting, the FCC will vote on two proposals…
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No Market Failure, No New Regulations
The U.S. Senate is about to consider federally regulating transportation network companies (TNCs) for the first time. But proof of market failure should always be…
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Good Vibes for Sale: The Business of Cultural Innovation
The current issue of Harvard Business Review has a fascinating article by former business school professor and brand consultant Douglas Holt. He advises companies looking to innovate successfully…
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Thirteen Years and Counting: Idaho Case Illustrates How Regulatory Enforcement Can Go Awry
In 2007, Mike and Chantell Sackett broke ground on a lot near scenic Priest Lake, Idaho, where they planned to build their dream home. It…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As Labor Day marked the unofficial end of summer, the unemployment rate went back down to 8.4 percent, and Attorney General Barr announced that the…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
COVID-19 deaths passed 200,000 in the United States, and are roughly 1 million worldwide. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing sparked a fresh Supreme…
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CDC’s Eviction Moratorium is Unlawful, Unconstitutional
On Friday, September 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an emergency order imposing a nationwide moratorium on certain residential evictions…
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Headline: School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump back…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
COVID-19 deaths passed 200,000 in the United States, and are roughly 1 million worldwide. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing sparked a fresh Supreme…
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Liberal Institutions and the Material and Moral Progress of Humanity
Let me start by once again thanking CEI for the incredible honor of being the 2020 recipient of the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award. I…
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School’s Out Forever? Teachers Unions Flex Muscle on Reopening Policies
What determines whether your child school is open this fall? Apparently, the strength of the teachers local union. That was what analysts found using data…
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California’s AB5 Holding Back Recovery Nationally
There was some modest good news in the Labor Department’s report today on unemployment benefits, the falling numbers indicating that people are finding work despite…
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Demise of ESG Investing Overstated
The Department of Labor’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in pension fund investments has received a…
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Don’t Let Feds Become Investing’s Sheriff of Nottingham
Investing company Robinhood and its signature smartphone app have taken off in popularity in the last several months. According to Bloomberg, Robinhood has “catapulted ahead…
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INFORM Me When It’s Over
Among other depressing developments, 2020 saw the introduction of the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (INFORM) in both houses…
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All Levels of Government Need a Top-to-Bottom Review of Transportation Policy
Evidence is mounting that mass transit played a major role in spreading COVID-19. According to analytics firm TrendMacro, the only factor “that seems to make…
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Retro Review: William H. McNeill – Plagues and Peoples (1976)
William McNeill was one of the 20th century’s leading big-picture world historians. Interconnectedness is a major theme of his work. Plagues and Peoples applies McNeill’s…
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Should Parents Have to Choose between Keeping Federal Benefits or Keeping their Kids Safe from COVID-19?
Should parents have to choose between keeping federal benefits to cope with COVID-19 or keeping their children at home if the local school isn’t doing…
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Retro Reviews: Azar Gat with Alexander Yakobson – Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism (2013)
Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism is the rare book that makes the reader see the world differently, permanently.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The last week saw another political convention, another police shooting, and two hurricanes. There was at least one major positive story, though. Polio has finally…
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This Labor Day, Let’s Celebrate Individual Worker Rights
Labor Day 2020 is definitely an ironic moment: The federal government is having a holiday to celebrate working Americans at a time when record numbers…
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Anti-Nicotine Zealots Only Care about Science When it Says What They Want
Opponents of nicotine vapor products like to claim the scientific high ground. For years, they have asserted there isn’t enough evidence on the long-term risks…
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The Washington Post Plays Fast and Loose in Coverage of CFPB performance During Pandemic
In a recent piece, Washington Post Opinions Contributor Helaine Olen slammed CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger for doing too little to protect consumers during the COVID-19…
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Are Scandinavian Countries Socialist?
Are modern Scandinavian countries actually socialist? This question must be asked because it is a common rhetorical device of “democratic socialist” politicians to wave away…
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Demise of ESG Investing Overstated
The Department of Labor’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in pension fund investments has received a lot of…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The spring 2020 Unified Agenda was published on August 17. Due four months ago, it collects every rulemaking agency’s plans for upcoming regulations. The number…
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Conservative Carbon Tax: Bad Politics, Bad Policy
A recent article in National Review suggests conservative politicians would be smart to advocate a carbon tax, enabling them to show they care about the…
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A Discussion on Saving Bluebirds through Private Conservation, and a Tribute to Andy Thompson
The following interview of CEI Senior Fellow R.J. Smith was inspired with the encouragement of former CEI staff member Andy Thompson, who passed away recently.
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App-less in Sacramento? Uber and Lyft Allowed to Postpone California Departure
On August 20, an appeals court in California allowed Uber and Lyft to halt their plans to flee the Golden State rather than comply with…
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California’s Rolling Blackouts Cast Further Doubt on Electric Vehicles’ Future
However, California’s rolling blackouts underscore the difficulties that a massive scaling up of electric vehicles would entail. The problem is that EVs don’t really reduce…
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CFPB Shouldn’t Burden Debt Settlement with Regulations that Could Harm Consumers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published a report that explores the use and proliferation of debt settlement. While its findings identify some important trends…
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The Year of the Weeniecane May Be Ending
Every prediction for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season—and there are many of them—has been forecasting above normal activity, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic dvice-presidential candidate, a massive storm swept through the Midwest, and Congress is out of session until September. The…
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Can You Have Worker Representatives without Unions? Uber Hopes So
Rideshare company Uber is trying to find a way to allow its drivers to collectively express any grievances or concerns they have without having those…
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The Socialist Temptation: Why Don’t People Remember the Horrors of Socialism?
Why are people still attracted to socialism when its history is plain for all to see? One reason is that those who proclaimed the dawn…
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How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears, Part II
In a previous post, CEI's Michelle Minton described how, through the use of statistical hocus pocus, anti-vaping interest have exported vape panic around the world.
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Tragedy of Young Investor Shouldn’t Be Exploited to Harm Freedoms
The recent death of Alexander Kearns, the 20-year-old day trader who took his own life, has sparked a conversation about the business practices of an increasingly important…
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Solutions to Locust Plague Are the Same as for COVID: Freedom and Technology
As nations around the world have struggled to address COVID-19, desert locusts have wreaked havoc in Africa this year. For months, billions of these pests…
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Department of Energy Proposes More Water and Less Government Intrusion in Showers
The Department of Energy has proposed a rule loosening existing the federal requirements and allowing more water from showers. This is good news for those…
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Can 15 States Be Wrong? Yes, When They Want More Federal Appliance Regulations!
Fifteen states have threatened to sue the Trump administration unless the Department of Energy sets new energy efficiency standards for 25 appliances. Almost every point…
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America’s “Unconstitutional Slop” Predates Trump’s Executive Actions on Pandemic Economic Relief
The logic of the administrative state dictates the expansion of itself in response to any crisis. Executive actions play a game rigged against limited government.
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Trump Adopts one of Barack Obama’s Better Ideas: The Payroll Tax Cut
Trump’s decision to Institute a payroll tax holiday via an executive order over the weekend is a good idea even if its effectiveness as an…
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New CEI Video: Eliminating Never Needed Regulations to Help with Recovery
In a new CEI video, Kent Lassman talks about three things agencies can do rein in regulations that are hindering the COVID-19 response and making…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
August’s 2020 disaster list so far includes a massive warehouse explosion in Beirut that killed more than 100 people and Hurricane Isaias. In positive news,…
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CEI Submits Comment Letter in Support of EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis Rule
The comment period closed this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s benefit-cost analysis (BCA) rulemaking. Under the proposal, all economically significant Clean Air Act regulations…
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Cautious Optimism on July Jobs Numbers: Prudence, Resilience Will Aid Recovery
In July, 1.8 million new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate dropped to 10.2 percent. That is a welcome follow-up to the second quarter’s…
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Canadian Aluminum Tariff Increase is #NeverNeeded, Should Be Repealed Instead
President Trump on Thursday announced he will reimpose 10 percent aluminum tariffs against Canada. Originally enacted in 2018 on national security grounds, the tax was…
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Californians: Educate Your Children at Your Own Risk
Activist Carl DeMaio caused a stir this week by holding a press conference in which he declared that hiring tutors could be could result in…
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Voodoo Economics—Congress pushes for COVID-19 relief for the deceased
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When Spending Is Regulation: The Grand Unification Theory of Government Growth
Alongside helplessness in the face of a looming $27 trillion debt, debating administrative state policy hasn’t been much help in forestalling federal government growth.
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Donald Trump Jr.’s Opposition to the Pebble Mine Shouldn’t Matter
Well-connected sportsmen, often Republicans, have been known to side with environmental obstructionists on occasion. When they learn that one of their isolated hunting or fishing…
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An Executive Order 13,891 Guidance Document Portal Update: Another Lap to Go
President Donald Trump’s October 9, 2019 Executive Order 13,891 (E.O. 13,891) and a subsequent White House Office of Management directive to amplify and clarify it…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
What a week. COVID-19 deaths passed 150,000. Second-quarter GDP declined 9.5 percent from a year ago and 7 percent from the previous quarter. In more uplifting…
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NEPA Reform Gives More Power to the People, Less to Environmental Lawyers
The Trump administration’s recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would reduce the years of red tape and litigation that frequently blocks job-creating energy…
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2020 Second Quarter GDP Decline Is Worst in U.S. History—But Not 32.9 Percent
The good news is that the second quarter’s GDP numbers aren’t nearly as scary as the more dramatic headlines are saying. The economy has not…
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A Fond Farewell to a Dear Friend
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R.I.P. Herman Cain (1945-2020)
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Observations from the Tech Antitrust Hearing
This post collects some observations from yesterday’s lengthy House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law hearings with the chief executives of Amazon,…
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Cheers to Department of Labor for Protecting Retiree Investments
At the end of last month the Department of Labor published a new notice of proposed rulemaking on the investment choices that private pension fund…
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Tech Antitrust Hearing as Political Theater
Large, innovative tech companies have been invaluable during the COVID-19 crisis, helping to ease the burden of millions of Americans and businesses under quarantine. But…
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The Socialist Temptation: Socialism and American Values
The way to reach people is by making sure a policy accorded with their values. In his new book, The Socialist Temptation, Iain Murray argues…
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If You Can’t Convince Them, Confuse Them: California Political Establishment Doubles Down on AB5
Progressives are fond of saying that authority never gives up power easily. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is demonstrating that by rewriting the ballot language…
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Trump’s Drug Price Control Orders Are Bound to Backfire
At a White House gathering last Friday, President Trump announced four new executive orders intended to restrict the ways pharmaceutical companies set the price of…
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A Memorial Note About Christopher L. Culp (April 7, 1969 – June 30, 2020)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 4 million last week. Congress returned to session after its July 4 break and is putting together…
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Reversing Opening Comes at a Price
This is one of those things that is kind of obvious but needs to be pointed out anyway: Reversing opening your state’s economy due to…
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Electronic Union Elections: A Permanent “Temporary” Solution?
Some lawmakers and their union allies want to use the COVID-19 crisis to institute a radical change to union elections allow them to be held…
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Antitrust Tech Hearing Unlikely to Prove Useful
Monday’s upcoming House Antitrust Subcommittee hearing featuring CEOs from Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple may turn out to have very little to do with antitrust.
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New #NeverNeeded Paper: Price Gouging
Massive shortages happened almost instantly when it became clear that the coronavirus would require a nationwide lockdown. Both Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and an Amazon…
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Environmental Protection Agency Finalizes Reforms to Its Environmental Appeals Board
The Trump administration has placed a priority on streamlining the delays and red tape holding back many private sector projects. The EPA's final rule making…
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EPA Proposes First Ever CO2 Standards for Commercial Aircraft
The EPA today proposed first-ever greenhouse gas emission standards for certain new commercial airplanes, including all large passenger jets. The proposed standards, which phase in…
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EPA Proposes First-Ever Aircraft Greenhouse Gas Limits
Today, the EPA proposed the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aircraft engines. Although it is unusual for the Trump administration to push…
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CEI Opposes Federal Government Coercing a State into Assisting with Federal Law Enforcement
Last Friday, CEI took a stand for federalism and separation of powers through an amicus brief. These constitutional principles are critical to the constitutionally limited…
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How Narrowly Are We Going to Define Markets for Tech Antitrust?
One of the key points of contention in any antitrust analysis is defining the scope of the market in question. Ignoring existing competitors by narrowing…
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How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears
The international health profession is rightly focused on the SARS-CoV-2 virus threat at the moment. Meanwhile, another multinational threat has insidiously spread: Alarmism about nicotine…
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Dodd-Frank Still Harmful After a Decade, But Modest Deregulation Has Helped
Dodd-Frank has caused harmful and sometimes disastrous effects for consumers, investors, entrepreneurs, and Main Street financial institutions such as community banks and credit unions. The…
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Deregulate to Stimulate: #NeverNeeded Regulations Are Harming Health and Economy
The Code of Federal Regulations contains more than 1.1 million regulatory restrictions. State and local governments have additional rules. Some of those rules have a…
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How to Spot a #NeverNeeded Regulation
Regulatory reform is one of the most important weapons there is for fighting COVID-19 and for aiding the economic recovery after the worst passes. Where…
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Trump Administration Celebrates Red Tape Reduction, Promising More
The White House hosted a midsummer celebration on the South Lawn of the Trump administration’s reforms and reductions of unneeded “job killing regulations” and red…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
After another busy week for agencies, the 2020 Federal Register is on pace to be 79,121 pages. None of those pages include the Spring 2020…
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Wealthy Millennials Not So Concerned with “Socially Responsible” Investing
In the last few years advocates of corporate social responsibility theory have been assuring everyone who would listen that a new day is dawning for…