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How Ridesharing Platforms Help the Economy
We have been saying for a while that ridesharing platforms like Lyft are different from traditional transportation firms, not just in the technology they use,…
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Appeal Heard on ‘Hot Fuel’ Class Action Settlements
Last month, the Tenth Circuit heard argument in CEI’s appeal of the “Hot Fuel” settlements. This is the case where the plaintiffs sued most major…
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Labor and Employment Reforms for the Next Congress
In the arena of labor and employment policy, the next Congress has its hands full in reversing eight years of red-tape that unduly burdens the…
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Court Strikes Down Another Unlawful Labor Rule
On December 12, 2016, the federal Northern District Court of Texas put the final nail in the coffin of the Department of Labor’s misguided persuader…
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Five Ways CFPB Regulations Harm the Middle Class
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was set up in 2010 to “make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as…
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Ratios, Not People: The Wrong Approach to Inequality
Thomas Piketty, the best-selling author of Capital in the 21st Century, has a new paper on economic inequality with coauthors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Political Disasters in Science and Economics
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Marc Edwards and Dan Liljenquist recount politically induced disasters from the perversion of science to the pension crisis.
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Congress, Trump Administration Must Prioritize Air Traffic Control Reform
Earlier this year, an effort to usher in badly needed air traffic control reform spearheaded by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster died…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2016 Federal Register will likely top 90,000 pages next week for the first time ever.
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Trump Picks Scott Pruitt to Head EPA
Yesterday, President-elect Donald Trump picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The nomination is significant in several ways.
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Challenging Class Action Law’s ‘Professional Objectors’
Earlier this week the Center for Class Action Fairness filed a motion to intervene and seek disgorgement from for-profit “professional objectors” in the case of…
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A Pro-Growth Agenda for the 115th Congress
At CEI, we believe a clear agenda is necessary to move America toward economic growth, prosperity, and liberty for individuals to chart their own paths…
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EPA Rushes to Lock in Obama Administration Fuel Economy Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency last Wednesday released its proposed Mid-Term Evaluation (MET) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model year (MY) 2022-2025 passenger vehicles.
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How Should the President-elect Uphold the Rule of Law?
Under the Obama administration, executive branch departments and independent agencies issued numerous regulations and guidance documents that should be withdrawn or reversed through rulemaking.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
As the Federal Register climbed above 87,000 pages for the first time in its 81-year history, agencies issued new rules ranging from landfills to movie…
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RealClear Radio Hour: Western and Soviet Politics
In this episode, historian Andrew Roberts and Russian émigré Alexander Markovsky compare Western and Soviet politics.
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FDA’s Sodium Plan Would Continue Four Decades of Failed Policy
Hypertension, which is chronically elevated blood pressure, effects about 70 million Americans, putting them at an increased risk for developing heart disease or having a…
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Treasury Nominee Mnuchin Promising on Volcker Rule and Fannie and Freddie
Steven Mnuchin would bring to the Treasury Department valuable experience managing entrepreneurial ventures and company turnarounds. He has expressed some encouraging sentiments on housing policy…
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Obama Overtime Rule Would Have Wreaked Havoc Starting Today
Today, the Obama Department of Labor’s new overtime regulation was scheduled to go into effect. Thousands of businesses, universities, nonprofits, and local and state governments…
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Drain the Swamp: Sunset the Renewable Fuel Standard
“Draining the swamp” includes abolishing the RFS.
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O’Hare Airport Strikes: Will Anybody Notice?
If 500 workers are absent for several hours and it hardly affects a thing at the airport, then how essential are they?…
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Future Cyber Mondays Could Take a Hit from Proposed Internet Tax
Adobe Digital Insights predicts that Cyber Monday’s sales will surpass last year’s sales by 11.5%, for a total of $3 billion this year.
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Federal Biofuel Programs Headed for Failure
Today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.
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The Future of Work
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Fidel Castro, Longtime Dictator of Cuba, Dies
The longtime dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro, died Friday at the age of 90.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Cancer Care, Chaos, and Climate
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Drs. Debra Patt and Kerry Emanuel discuss the politics of cancer care, chaos theory, and climate science.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Thanksgiving week was a busy one, with new regulations ranging from potatoes to royalties.
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Reflecting on the Obamacare Disaster and Chief Justice Roberts
on their vows to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), now is a good time to examine “what might have been” in light…
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Court Blocks Overtime Rule
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez learned a harsh lesson this month. Public servants at federal agencies cannot allow their political preferences to guide their regulatory agenda.
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Reasons to be Thankful: The CFPB is Accountable
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O’Hare Workers to Strike for $15 Minimum Wage
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Myron Ebell: Promoting sound policy for real environmental improvement
My love of nature began with a deep appreciation for the magnificent landscapes of the intermountain West. Growing up on a cattle ranch in eastern…
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Clean Power Plan Is Dead
David Bookbinder, formerly chief climate counsel for the Sierra Club and now a consultant with the Niskanen Center, is one of the sharpest policy experts…
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What Regulators Want Off Your Thanksgiving Table
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Coalition Submits Comments on Federal Automated Vehicles Policy
Today, CEI was joined by R Street Institute and TechFreedom in comments submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the recently released…
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RealClear Radio Hour: Free Trade and Trade Finance
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Another Court Ruling Confirms IRS Illegally Targeted Tea Party and Conservative Groups
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
On November 17, the 2016 Federal Register set an all-time record page count—an impressive feat for a document that has been published continuously since 1936.
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Courts Reject Department of Labor Decrees
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Counteracting the Midnight Rush of Regulations
Now that the White House will officially be switching parties, the outgoing Obama administration will likely pass as much of its regulatory agenda as quickly…
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Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 115th Congress
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Obama’s 2016 Federal Register Just Topped Highest Page Count of All Time
Well that didn’t him take long. President Barack Obama’s Federal Register, the daily depository of rules and regulations, added 572 pages today, and stands at…
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The New Congress Should Repeal All Energy Efficiency Mandates
As part of its new agenda for January, Congress should repeal every energy-efficiency mandate on the books, ranging from Corporate Average Fuel Economy…
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Which of Obama’s Midnight Regulations Will Get Rolled Back?
Yesterday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and every Republican House Committee Chairman sent a one-paragraph letter to all executive agencies cautioning them “against finalizing…
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Federal Register Tops 80,000 Pages, 3rd Highest Ever Count
Today’s Federal Register added 572 pages, and stands at 80,562 pages for 2016.
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Congress Should Use REINS Act to Reform Regulation
CEI released a new report today about the REINS Act, which would require Congress to vote on all new executive branch regulations costing more than…
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Supreme Court Can Save America by Taking a Gamble on Sports Betting
America is a betting nation, and last Tuesday we elected something of a wild card to be our next Commander in Chief.
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Report: Nationwide Grading of Government Union Laws
At the federal level, the two primary labor and employment statutes—National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, have remained relatively untouched for decades.
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Three Climate Policy Executive Orders the President-Elect Should Repeal
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to “cancel immediately” all of President Obama’s “illegal and overreaching executive orders,” and he strongly opposes Obama’s climate agenda.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Veterans Day Special
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Veterans Day made it a short work week, but agencies still filled more than 1,300 Federal Register pages with rules ranging from trailer tires to…
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Federal Register Hits 4th Highest Ever Count, Will Top 80,000 Pages Tuesday
Yesterday the Federal Register hit its fifth-highest count of 79,380 pages.
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The Great Infrastructure Myth
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to boost infrastructure investment by $1 trillion because there is supposedly an “infrastructure crisis.”…
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Free Market Opportunities for the Trump Administration
This election has given us one more demonstration that knowledge is dispersed and “trusting the experts” to know the future is foolish. The unexpected success…
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Federal Register Hits 5th Highest Ever Count, Days from All-Time High
We’ve documented here throughout November that the Federal Register is steamrolling through 2016, Obama’s final year.
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Worker Freedom Wins Big on Election Night
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register continued its record pace last week, with Friday’s edition alone having 1,177 pages.
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Obamacare Policies Are Costly and Unpopular
Obamacare policies are unpopular, and people often dump them months later.
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RealClear Radio Hour: The Nanny State Down Under and the Robot Revolution
In this week’s episode, Topher Field discusses lifestyle regulation madness Down Under and Katherine Mangu-Ward ushers in the robot revolution.
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Paris Climate Treaty Goes into Force, COP-22 Starts in Marrakesh
The Paris Climate Treaty went into force, or as the Associated Press story put it “became international law,” on 4th November. Ninety-seven countries accounting for approximately…
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Is EPA’s Clean Power Plan “Transformative”?
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Federal Register Adds 1,177 Pages, Hits 7th Highest Ever Count
We noted here on November 1 that the Federal Register is on a roll, hitting 76,270 pages, the 8th highest level ever.
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The UK Uber Ruling and Two-Sided Markets
One of the things that the UK Employment Tribunal’s recent ruling (that people who use the Uber platform should be employees of the company)…
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Permitting Government Employee Strikes is Bad Policy
On Tuesday, the Transportation Workers Union Local 234 (TWU) union bosses ordered nearly 5,000 public employees who work for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)…
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Obamacare Punishes Hard Work
It’s perverse to drive up the costs of someone’s health insurance—and then punish them for working two jobs to pay for that health insurance. But…
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Fight Zika with Smarter Pesticide Rules
Last month, Congressional lawmakers set aside partisan disagreements and agreed to dole out $1.1 billion to combat the spread of the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus.
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National Sandwich Day Sharpens Hunger for Subway Class Action Decision
It’s a good day to get a deal on a sandwich. It’s also a good day to take note of the case we’ve got pending,…
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The Real Victim in the Dakota Access Pipeline Controversy Is the Company behind the Project
The real victims in the controversy over the Dakota Access Pipeline is Dakota Access Services, the company behind the 3.7 billion project that would move…
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Audience Reactions to “I, Whiskey”
Since releasing the new film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit last month, we’ve had an excellent response from people around the country.
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The “Voluntary” Component of EPA’s Clean Power Plan Makes It Even More Unlawful
Today I filed a comment letter on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule titled “Clean Energy Incentive Program Design Details.” The comment period closes today…
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New Credit Union Deregulation Helps Consumers and Entrepreneurs
In my Forbes column last week, I wrote about how America’s credit unions faced massive new regulatory burdens from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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A Federal Register Growth Spurt, Third Day of Record-Breaking Streak
The Federal Register is on a roll. On Friday, it hit 75,314 pages, the 10th highest level of all time, even though more than two…
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Uber and the Market Price
I have an article today up at the Foundation for Economic Education that looks at the UK’s employment tribunal ruling that Uber drivers are employees…
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Dog Bites Man: Nature Magazine Endorses Hillary
“Hillary Clinton will make a fine U.S. president.” So declares the title of a recent lead editorial in Nature magazine.
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A Monster Federal Register This Halloween
Today, the 2016 Federal Register stands at 75, 670 pages, the 9th highest “yearly” count of all time—but it’s only Halloween.
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5 Scariest Halloween Regulations
Regulatory dark matter is a Washington boogeyman. In 2015, there were 39 regulations for every one law passed by Congress. That’s a lot of rules…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
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RealClear Radio Hour: Internet Sales Tax Shakedown and Legal Graft
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Jessica Melugin and Trevor Burrus discuss freedom from bureaucracy online and political corruption.
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Obamacare Increases Premiums, Reduces Employment
Health care insurance premiums will increase significantly next year as a result of the Affordable Care Act, and many consumers will be left with access…
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Finding the Perfect Quote for “I, Whiskey”
How would the film end? I, Pencil began with a memorable quotation. We would end I, Whiskey with a provocative one. Give the audience something…
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Learning Lessons from Reed’s ‘Real Heroes’
About a dozen years ago, I developed a habit of asking the same question when I interviewed someone for a job. Typically, about two-thirds of…
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Congress: Do the Economy a Favor, Defund Harmful Labor Regulations
Research from the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that the aggregate costs of labor regulations imposed just this year by the Obama administration’s Department of…
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ACLU Blasts Federal Bank Regulators for Unconstitutional Power Grab
Unaccountable agencies unsurprisingly behave in an unaccountable manner. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was recently found by a Federal court to be so unaccountable…
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CEI-Led Coalition Urges Congress to Defend Railroad Deregulation
Today, a coalition of free market groups led by CEI sent letters to Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders urging them…
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Meet the Stars of “I, Whiskey”
CEI’s new film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit is about freedom and innovation, but also about making human connections in the marketplace.
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Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Settlement Prioritizes Attorneys’ Interests Over Harmed Consumers
Today the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement in the Volkswagen Clean Diesel MDL that puts the interests of…
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Maine’s Proposed Minimum Wage Increase Has Tradeoffs
Maine is one of several states with a minimum wage increase on the election ballot this year, along with several cities and other smaller jurisdictions.
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Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane Sentenced to Prison
ABC’s Channel 27 reports that “Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been sentenced to 10 to 23 months in prison for leaking grand jury…
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Dueling Narratives on the AT&T-Time Warner “Mega Merger”
This weekend AT&T and Time Warner announced a merger deal and it didn't take long for critics on the left to begin making concerned statements…
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RealClear Radio Hour: The Spirit of 1776 and the Reality of War
In this episode, West Point Professor, Dr. Robert McDonald discusses Thomas Jefferson’s legacy and renowned collector and founder of the Museum of World War II,…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new federal regulations passed the 3,000 mark last week, and the Federal Register continues its record pace.
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Federal Judge Rules That EPA Must Account for Job Losses of Its Regulations
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Negotiators in Kigali Agree To Turn Montreal Protocol into a Climate Treaty
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The Vintage Blue Truck and the Human Spirit
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Self-Driving Car Developers Blast Dangerous Draft California Regulations
Today, the California Department of Motor Vehicles held a public workshop on its latest draft deployment regulations for autonomous vehicles.
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Unfunded Public Pension Obligations Grow to $5.6 Trillion
State public pension plans are underfunded by nearly $5.6 trillion nationwide, according to a new American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) study.
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Communications Union Holds Sham Trial against Verizon Workers
In April, the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union ordered 36,000 Verizon employees to strike. Despite the fact that Verizon offered a fair deal in…
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Three Ways the Next President Can Help America Out
At this moment, it’s likely the presidential candidates are busy preparing for the third and final debate tonight.
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How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 13: Establish ‘Office of No’
Implement a “Do Not Regulate” Office to Clarify Economic Liberalization Alternatives to, and Explicit Exit Strategies from, Command and Control Rules.
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Global Warming Concerns ‘Not a Blank Check’ for Clean Power Plan
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last week released a 320-page transcript of the September 27th oral argument on EPA’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards…