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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Coronavirus continued to spread, the Democratic presidential field significantly narrowed, and the former head of the UAW was charged with embezzlement. Meanwhile, agencies issued new…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The coronavirus outbreak began to infect financial markets as well as people, with stock markets having their worst week since at least 2008. The number…
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The Minimum Wage Tax Increase
By far the most common criticism of minimum wages is that they cost jobs.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
During the four-day week, Lawrence Tesler passed away. The underappreciated inventor created the cut, copy, and paste functions on computers. The Hair Club for Men…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Spring Training began for all 30 Major League Baseball teams, bringing joy across the nation. Meanwhile, agencies issued new final regulations ranging from grains ounce…
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The Spectrum Case against AB5
California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) is intended to classify more independent contractors as formal employees. The goal is for workers to get higher wages and…
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Antitrust Enforcement in 4-D
Competition is an ongoing discovery process. The reason firms exist is not to enable or restrict competition. It is to reduce transaction costs. There is…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The impeachment trial ended the way everyone expected, the State of the Union address happened, and the coronavirus outbreak intensified. Agencies issued new final regulations…
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House to Vote on PRO Act This Week
The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The legislation would essentially nullifies 28…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The impeachment trial continued, Brexit happened, President Trump signed the USMCA trade agreement, and the 2020 Federal Register topped 5,000 pages. Agencies issued new final…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register had a four-day week due to Martin Luther King Day, but agencies still found time to issue new final regulations ranging from…
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How Antitrust Intervention Backfires
Antitrust policy interventions into the market rarely work as intended.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In a busy week, President Trump signed Phase One of a trade agreement with China on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Senate ratified the USMCA trade…
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Senate Passes USMCA, Sets Bad Precedent for Future Agreements with China, UK, EU
The USMCA trade agreement passed the Senate today. USMCA is valuable damage control. Three years of unpredictable tariff increases, threats of increases, and diplomatic tensions…
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Phase One Trade Agreement with China: Tariff Stability, at the Cost of Managed Trade
Phase One of a trade deal with China has enormous value as damage control against further tariffs, but it comes at a cost. The Trump…
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Minimum Wages Rise Across the Country
Twenty four states rang in 2020 with minimum wage increases. Most of the increases are modest, so the tradeoffs will be, too. But there was…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The new year started off with a literal bang, though as of this writing the worst Iran scenario seems to have been avoided. The Senate…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Happy New Year, everyone. We’re doing a slightly different format this week, on account of the new year starting mid-week. With just two days’ worth…
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How Much Federal Regulation Was There in 2019?
Happy New Year, everyone. Now that 2019 is in the books, we have some data on how much new regulation hit the books. Note that…
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Best Books of 2019: In Defense of Openness
Most policy proposals for fighting poverty are zero-sum. The best way to help the poor, the argument goes, is to take from the rich. Van…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Federal workers got a three-day week as a Christmas present this year. Agencies still put out 323 notices, 50 proposed regulations, and 1,342 Federal Register…
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Best Books of 2019: Big Business by Tyler Cowen
Cowen argues that most people underestimate the amount of good that big businesses do. They make possible affordable communications, books, culture and art (and the…
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Best Books of 2019: Humanomics by Vernon Smith and Bart Wilson
Smith and Wilson combine insights from their experimental economics research with insights about human character from Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations" and especially his 1759 book "The Theory…
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Best Books of 2019: Expert Failure by Roger Koppl
Koppl uses the role of experts to explain the difference between approaching social problems from the top down versus from the bottom up. Koppl defines an…
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Best Books of 2019: Legal Systems Very Different from Ours
Many years ago at a Mont Pelerin Society conference in Reykjavik, I saw David Friedman give a talk on Icelandic law during the Free State…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress finished the year with a bang. In a two day span the House impeached the president and passed the USMCA trade agreement. Both chambers…
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Best Books of 2019: The Narrow Corridor
Predatory governments with high corruption, that don’t respect political and economic freedoms, are extractive. Countries with these sorts of institutions tend to be both poor…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Britain held a major election, and the U.S. House of Representatives is set to impeach President Trump. At the same time, Trump is poised for…
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Phase One of a China-U.S. Trade Agreement and the Ratchet Effect
As of Friday, December 13th, the U.S. and Chinese governments have agreed in principle to phase one of a trade agreement. The Chinese government will…
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Competitive Enterprise Institute Opposes USMCA Trade Agreement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today announced its opposition to the USMCA trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada because the updated agreement…