The Open Market Blog

• By: Hans Bader
• 04/16/2010

Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the Supreme Court’s liberal bloc, is retiring.  His most famous ruling is probably the 5-to-4 Kelo decision, which…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Michelle Minton
• 04/16/2010

Gambling as an activity for fun has been around since the dawn of human civilzation. When man first discovered fire, there were probably cavemen…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/16/2010

Tax Freedom Day was April 9. But when you factor in the cost of regulation, it turns out we work nearly half the year just…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/15/2010

Federal regulations cost as much as the income tax plus another quarter-trillion -- $1.24 trillion in all. Read all about it in the freshly-released 2010…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Fran Smith
• 04/14/2010

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture may increase the import quotas for sugar to address a tightening supply…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 04/13/2010

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern plans to retire as head of the union that he helped to transform into the most…

Labor and Employment

• By: Gregory Conko
• 04/13/2010

A friend just recommended this op-ed published in the Boston Globe on Sunday. The title and subtitle say it all: "Green Thumbs: Genetically engineered crops…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 04/13/2010

With the passage of ObamaCare, we’ve taken another giant step towards Europeanizing America. Tragically, our history shows a steady trend in that direction, with government…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Michael Fumento
• 04/12/2010

“Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/09/2010

It is illegal in Kentucky for anyone under 18 to play pool without photo ID and written parental consent.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/09/2010

Today, April 9, is Tax Freedom Day. According to the Tax Foundation, that's how long you have to work just to pay off your taxes.

Regulatory Reform

• By: John Berlau
• 04/09/2010

It is good that the commission, after several months, is finally visiting the role of Government-Sponsored Enterprises, but the setup of today’s hearing is still…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 04/08/2010

Why does industry sometimes (all too often) support government regulation? You would think they would prize their freedom. But think again. Many businesses are willing…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/08/2010

A new ordinance in San Luis Obispo, California makes it illegal to feed ducks.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/07/2010

Cries for tax simplification grow every year. How does Congress respond? By introducing legislation to "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Fran Smith
• 04/07/2010

With Brazil poised to retaliate against the U.S. for its cotton subsidies that were deemed unfair by the World Trade Organization, the two countries…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Geoffrey Michener
• 04/07/2010

International trade lawyer and free trade blogger-libertarian, Scott Lincicome, outlines the ups and downs of President Obama’s stance on trade in yesterday’s Daily Caller.

Trade and International

• By: Brian McGraw
• 04/07/2010

Last week the Tax Foundation called attention to state initiatives to expand the lottery system. To cover lost revenues from the recession many states…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Iain Murray
• 04/07/2010

I have an article today on both NRO and NPR about the environmental establishment’s continued war on science as it relates to the…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 04/05/2010

Jeffrey Miron comments on state officials’ claim that increasing the use of unpaid (or barely paid) interns might run afoul of minimum wage laws.

Labor and Employment

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 04/05/2010

As the federal government continues to expand at an ever-growing pace, the Old Dominion is doing things differently. As The Richmond Times-Dispatch explains,…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/05/2010

March 31 was Cesar Chavez Day. Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated in California for some time. But this year, for the first time, it…

Labor and Employment

• By: Geoffrey Michener
• 04/05/2010

Cato Institute’s Dan Ikenson had a timely opinion piece in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. He deconstructs the popular argument that China’s “undervalued” currency is a…

Trade and International

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 04/05/2010

Legislators in Maryland have disappointed the state’s wine lovers yet again by failing to pass a bill that would have allowed residents to receive wine…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 04/05/2010

In today’s Washington Examiner, David Freddoso outlines the close correlation between state government debt and public sector unions. As he notes, “the states with…

Labor and Employment

• By: Michael Fumento
• 04/04/2010

Why are people killed in Toyotas? Because a huge number of Americans are killed by motor vehicles of all types and Toyota has been the…

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 04/02/2010

Some of the stranger governmental goings-on I dug up over the week.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Michael Fumento
• 04/02/2010

What do you get from a phony flu scare? Among other things, lots of worthless vaccine. “Despite months of dire warnings and millions in taxpayer…

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Michael Fumento
• 04/01/2010

“Terror on the Roads: Runaway Toyotas,” was the title of an entry on a prominent Brazilian blog March 31. But today Toyota Motor Sales…

Consumer Freedom