Blog
How the Bank Holding Company Act helped shape modern banking consolidation
Back in the 1950s, Congress feared a future in which a small number of powerful banking organizations would dominate the financial sector.
Blog
A smoother path through security: Improving the TSA short of privatization
With Congress finally passing a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill last week, the immediate crisis that left airport security strained is behind us.
Blog
Highway robbery in plain sight and how to fix the Highway Trust Fund
Established to provide a dedicated, user-financed stream for highway investment, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was once a model of fiscal alignment between…
Blog
The limits of balance sheet runoff at the Fed
At his confirmation hearing last week, Kevin Warsh called for a smaller Federal Reserve balance sheet. This statement revives debate over how the…
Blog
A quantitative easing hangover has the Fed in a balance sheet trap
As Kevin Warsh undergoes the Fed Chair confirmation process, debate has returned to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and how it should be managed…
Blog
Quantitative easing and the Fed’s free lunch problem
As Kevin Warsh undergoes his confirmation process for Fed Chair, one of the most consequential yet least straightforward issues in modern monetary policy is…
Blog
Forward guidance is not a crystal ball: A case for rules-based monetary policy
Throughout history, the urge to predict the future has been hard to resist. The Federal Reserve is not immune to such temptation. In recent…
Blog
The quartz tariff case and why tariffs cause net job loss
Last year, domestic quartz surface product manufacturers filed a petition with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking relief from quartz imports. The…
Blog
From lifeline to lifestyle: How quantitative easing became the Fed’s default setting
The nomination of Kevin Warsh has renewed scrutiny of the Federal Reserve’s expanding role in the economy. One of the most consequential shifts in…
Blog
Dual mandate, dual headache: Why the Fed should focus on price stability
With Kevin Warsh set to appear before the Senate for his Fed confirmation hearing, the question of his monetary priorities is taking center stage.
Blog
Questions Kevin Warsh needs to answer if he is to become the next Fed Chair
A new CEI paper out today by John Berlau, Ryan Young, and myself offers some questions that Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh…
Blog
FAR too restrictive: Time to repeal floor area ratio limits
In cities across the world, fights over housing affordability come down to a simple question: how much can be built on a single lot?…
Blog
Privatize a little, fix a little: Why Trump’s TSA contracting plan is not meaningful privatization
If this latest Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown has confirmed anything, it is how deeply structural the drawbacks of the Transportation Security…
Blog
When solar tax incentives overheated, the residential solar market became scorched
Residential solar has long been sold as a win-win for consumers and the environment. It was marketed as an affordable way for homeowners to…
Blog
Quartz tariffs are looming and your kitchen could pay the price
Earlier this week, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that increased quartz imports are injuring the domestic quartz industry. The petitioners, the…
Blog
From airport security lines to the Danger Zone: TSA delays and public safety
The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) staffing shortfall is creating more than long lines. It may already be putting travelers’ lives at risk. Since the…
Blog
License to misfire: The new CDL rule backfires on safety and prices
The American economy runs on trucks. From groceries to medical supplies to construction materials, nearly everything travels by road at some point. In the…
Blog
End minimum parking requirements and let the housing market drive
It may sound counterintuitive, but some significant housing policy is tucked away in the parking sections of local zoning codes. A minimum parking requirement…
Blog
The Jones Act: High seas, higher costs than necessary
As the war with Iran intensifies, the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil flows, has seen dramatic disruptions that…
Blog
Shutdown woes show why it is time to privatize the TSA
Imagine arriving at the airport for a long-anticipated vacation, only to face a line longer than an airport runway. The excitement quickly gives way…
Blog
Mandates before proven safety: How the Railway Safety Act ignores rail safety
The Washington Post’s recent piece on the Railway Safety Act underscores an essential point: safety legislation must be grounded in evidence, not fear…
Blog
No free lunch: Price controls won’t make groceries more affordable
When Americans go to the grocery store, they expect to find food and drinks. Lately, many are encountering something else: sticker shock. According to…
Blog
The Railway Safety Act would derail progress one provision at a time
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment spilled hazardous chemicals and prompted a massive, controlled burn that sent…
Blog
Minimum lot sizes, maximum costs
When Americans think about the housing affordability debate, they tend to picture cranes, lumber prices, or mortgage interest rates. It is certainly important to…
Blog
Trump’s State of the Union: A closer look at the claims
Last night, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address filled with optimism, applause lines, and bold claims about the country’s direction.
Blog
Red tape, green bribes: Deregulation as an anti-corruption strategy
Corruption in politics is often thought of in narrower terms, such as bribes, kickbacks, or high-profile scandals with millions of dollars of fraud. However,…
Blog
Cut the steel, cut the cost: Why Congress is right to scrap the chassis mandate
If buying a home in the US feels more expensive, that is not merely your imagination. A Harvard University study found that national single-family…
Blog
Congress should short-circuit the nation’s electric vehicle charging program
Congress recently finalized the fiscal year 2026 budget to end the partial government shutdown while spending billions of taxpayer dollars along the way. One…
Blog
Congress keeps propping government-backed deposit insurance up, risk keeps rising
On Sunday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 marked its 20th anniversary. This Act consolidated the Bank Insurance Fund and the…
Blog
Full steam ahead: How 50 years of deregulation revitalized US freight rail
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, better known as the 4R Act. For…