The Open Market Blog

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/25/2010

School bake sales are basically banned in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s Department of Education worry that they contribute to child obesity.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/24/2010

An article in this month's Infotech & Telecom News on a TSA proposal to ban in-flight wi-fi quotes me at length. Here's what I had…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/24/2010

In Los Angeles, it is illegal to own a dog without a license. Packs of wild, unlicensed dogs roam the streets at night. People are…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/23/2010

The AAP says hot dogs are a choking hazard for children. According to the data, Little Timmy is literally more likely to be struck by…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/19/2010

Alexa Gonzalez, 12, was arrested and put in handcuffs for writing "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" on her…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/18/2010

The secret to winning is to cross the finish line before your opponents do. That usually means running. The problem is that sometimes, running violates…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/11/2010

Department of Health inspectors seized, slashed open and poured bleach over thousands of dollars of local peaches, pears, raspberry and plum purees owned by pastry…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/09/2010

As of May 1, American Airlines will charge $8 to customers who want to use a blanket and pillow. Why don't they just include the…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/09/2010

Two students at James Madison University in Virginia were charged with felonies for throwing snowballs at a snowplow and an unmarked police car.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/08/2010

There is great wisdom in Mark Twain’s famous adage: “No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the congress is in session.”…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/08/2010

The federal government is loosening its restrictions on importing pork rinds from Brazil.

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/06/2010

It is illegal for grocery stores to sell wine in the state of New York. Only liquor stores are allowed to sell the stuff.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/04/2010

In 2002, Robert Fidler built his family a house that resembles a castle. It is his dream home. Authorities want to require him to demolish…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/03/2010

A Los Angeles couple recently paid an artist to paint a mural on the wall in front of their house. The city is threatening the…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 02/02/2010

Fear is a terrorist's only effective weapon. There are so few of them, and their attacks are so rare, that fear is all they have.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/29/2010

It's a good idea to be in control of your car when you're driving. This good idea is also law in most places. But sometimes…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/27/2010

Welcome to CEI's live-blog of the 2010 State of the Union address.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/27/2010

Some homeowners' associations ban clotheslines. For people who would like to use clotheslines and aren't allowed to, this presents a problem. Now regulators want to…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/26/2010

John Delacey of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, received a court summons for keeping a car in his driveway and not driving it.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/25/2010

Haggis is the national dish of Scotland. It has also been banned in the United States since 1989. Fortunately, the ban may soon be reversed.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/22/2010

Two states have regulations for when stores can say their products are on sale.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/22/2010

CEI released a comprehensive report card this week on the Obama administration's first year in office. My contribution is below; read the full report card…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/21/2010

The White House is expected to propose today a maximum allowable size for banks.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/20/2010

[A]ny child who has a meal in day care or is in care for more than four hours will be required to brush their teeth,…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/13/2010

$40 million and change plus some antitrust troubles is a really small price to pay for a legal guarantee of vastly increased business, forever.

Consumer Well-Being

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/12/2010

New York City is seeking to regulate how much salt is in peoples' food. Enforcement will prove difficult; most food that New Yorkers eat comes…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/08/2010

Did you know that the federal government has a Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee?…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/07/2010

Today is the fourth working day of the new year. The Federal Register has already exceeded 1,000 pages.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/06/2010

These warning labels have nothing to do with letting people know that their phones can make them look like jackasses.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/05/2010

It is illegal to buy more than 288 bottles of wine per year in Ohio.

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/04/2010

Washington, DC’s city government is now requiring stores to charge customers five cents for each plastic bag they use at checkout. There were 84 unsolved…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/02/2010

The CCARD Act is, completely unintentionally, a wealth transfer from poor people to richer people. Congress is actively hurting the very people it intended to…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 01/02/2010

Each time you board a plane, your odds of being a victim of terrorism are about 1 in 10,408,947. Your odds of being struck by…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 12/31/2009

In Oregon, it is illegal to set up a tent at most beaches.

Consumer Freedom