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CEI in Wonderland: The 2017 CEI Dinner Movie
This year, inspired by Lewis Carroll's famous characters, our theme was “Through the Looking Glass: Washington Gets Curiouser and Curiouser.”…
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Roundup of Recent D.C. Telecom Events
Recent events aimed at restoring Internet freedom.
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How Flying Dog Brewery Fought Government Censors and Won
Jim Caruso, CEO of Flying Dog Brewery, sits down with Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie to discuss the brewing business, marketplace diversity, evolving consumer taste, and…
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Learn Liberty on Capitalism and Liberation
Learn Liberty’s recent video, featuring historian Thaddeus Russell, highlights how capitalism created an environment where women were increasingly free to make their own decisions and…
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Reason TV Interviews Ajit Pai on the Future of the Internet
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Big Changes to Banking and Finance Regulation on the Horizon
Major reform of banking and finance regulation could be coming soon to Washington, D.C.
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Darcy’s Story: The Need for Donor Privacy Protections
When the government forces nonprofit groups to disclose their supporters to the public, they threaten the free speech and free association rights of those involved.
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How Payday Lenders & Check Cashers Help the Poor
Our friends at Reason TV have another fascinating video out on the ethics and politics of short-term financial services like payday lending and check cashing.
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Freethink Media on the Folly of the Overpopulation Panic
Freethink Media takes a look back on the overpopulation debate of the 1960s and 1970s, and work of one exceptional human being.
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Reason TV on the Future of Public Broadcasting
Public broadcasting should embrace the podcast and Netflix revolution for delivering content.
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A Blueprint for Reforming the Federal Government
This is a big week for reform of the federal government: yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order on reorganizing the executive branch, and this…
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On Tour with U.S. Chamber’s ‘Let’s Grow’ Campaign
While the policy landscape is far from perfect, we have the best opportunity in a long time to clear the field for growth and prosperity…
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Making the Case for a Free Market in Space
For commercialized space (and alas, for other sectors) we need a regulatory heatshield, a HOT Act (“Hands Off Technology”).
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Legalized Sports Betting a Sane Response to March Madness
Congress should combat fraud, blackmail, and organized crime with legalized sports betting.
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A Congressional Review Act ‘Game-Changer’ Steps into the Spotlight
A new interpretation of the Congressional Review Act would allow Congress to quickly repeal federal regulations from as far back as the mid-1990s.
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White House Bets on Regulatory Reform to Kickstart Job Growth
This afternoon President Trump signed a new executive order titled “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda” with the goal of spurring economic growth and job creation.
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McCloskey on Free Trade: Who Is it Good For?
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Policy Background on Trump’s Joint-Session Address to Congress
Here are five areas where the administration has the opportunity to implement valuable and much-needed reforms for the American people.
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“I, Whiskey” Screens at the Oxford Film Festival
Richard Morrison and Amanda France recently presented the CEI film "I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit" at the Oxford Film Festival.
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Unite for Privacy and the First Amendment
Join the fight for free speech by visiting People United for Privacy on their website or on Facebook.
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Celebrate Hans Rosling’s Fact-Based Optimism about Our World
Fans of free markets and limited government were often especially disposed admire Hans Rosling, given his relentless debunking of scare stories that are often used…
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Free the Fishermen: Cause of Action Defends Small Business at Sea
Cause of Action is defending New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel, and others like him, from extraordinarily expensive government regulations.
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The Super Bowl: Not Just for Football Fans
The Super Bowl is perennially one of the most-watched TV events around the world, so it’s no surprise that millions of people find reasons to…
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Susette Kelo Eminent Domain Battle Hits Big Screen in ‘Little Pink House’
The film Little Pink House, a dramatization of Connecticut homeowner Susette Kelo’s fight against eminent domain abuse, had its world premiere last night at the…
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Harry Potter and the City Council Chambers
The MacIver Institute documents the temptation of local governments to spend taxpayer money on “economic development” projects and tourist events.
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Learn Liberty Asks: Are Millennials Actually Lazy?
Jared Meyer, discusses his book "Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America’s Young" with Learn Liberty’s Evan Swarztrauber.
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Struggling Fishermen Sue over Cost of Harvest Monitoring
It can be difficult to make one’s living off of the land – or the sea – these days. Federal and state regulations on natural resource…
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Where Have All the Startups Gone? New Research from eBay and EIG
Recently eBay’s public policy team here in Washington, D.C. presented a fascinating program on economic growth and new business start-ups.
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“I, Whiskey” on the Festival Circuit
This weekend the producers of the CEI film "I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit" will be in Roswell, Georgia for the Southern Shorts Film Festival and Awards Presentation…
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Free Market Coalition Supports Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator
Today more than 20 organizations, in a public letter to members of the Senate, urged confirmation of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the next…
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Iain Murray Addresses Political Fragmentation in the EU
This afternoon our friends at the Heritage Foundation hosted a fascinating discussion of European politics with CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray.
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Chamber of Commerce CEO Lays Out 2017 Agenda
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue gave his annual “State of American Business Address” to a packed hall at the Chamber’s H…
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Regulatory Accountability Act Poised to Bring Dramatic Improvement to Government Rulemaking
If signed into law by the next president, the Regulatory Accountability Act will have a dramatically positive effect on jobs, productivity, innovation, and overall economic…
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Join the ‘I, Whiskey’ International Watch Party
After a successful Virtual Watch Party campaign focused on fans in the United States, we’ve now launched an International Watch Party for our friends around…
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Learn Liberty’s Lessons from Star Wars
Learn what Star Wars can teach us about limited government and moral responsibility.
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House Moves on Regulatory Reform, More Votes Coming
Yesterday afternoon the House of Representatives passed the Midnight Rule Relief Act, which would allow Congress to repeal multiple executive branch rules with a single…
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Best of the Blog 2016
Certain topics were especially popular with readers in 2016.
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Libertarianism.org Video Contest Winners
2016 Libertarianism.org Video Contest Winners…
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The Libertarian Holiday Gift Guide
Cheers to the brilliant production team at Reason TV, who have provided some welcome comedy this holiday season with their new video, “The Libertarian Holiday…
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The Future of Free Trade under a Trump Administration
My colleague Iain Murray has an excellent analysis today in Brexit Central of how a future international trade deal between the United States and a…
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5 Great Books on Politics and Public Policy from 2016
AÂ lot of interesting books on politics, economics, and public policy were published over the last twelve months. It can be difficult, though, finding the gems…
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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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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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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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New Study Explores the Morality and Virtues of Capitalism
Fred Smith's new study on the morality of capitalism discusses how we think about corporations as economic actors.
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Early Reviews Are in for “I, Whiskey”
The long wait is over – CEI has released the full version of the new film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit online.
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The Film That Came before “I, Whiskey”
Next Wednesday, October 12th, CEI will release the new short film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit.
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Join the National “I, Whiskey” Watch Party
Please join us and other friends nationwide on October 19th for a viewing of the new short film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit.
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Economics Made the World Great – and Can Make It Even Better
This week our friends at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University hosted their Annual Dinner here in Washington, D.C., and it was an elegant…
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New Drug Price Proposal Light on Competition, Heavy on Bureaucracy
Last Friday, Hillary Clinton announced a new plan to “respond to unjustified price hikes” on certain pharmaceutical drugs.
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Reaction to CEI’s Lawsuit against New York Attorney General Schneiderman
Yesterday CEI filed a lawsuit against New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman for refusing to disclose the legal agreements his office made with other state…
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Celebrating Two Great Economists: Bruce Yandle and Julian Simon
I’d like to second my colleague Fred’s birthday wishes for the distinguished economist Bruce Yandle of Clemson University.
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The Cinematic Legacy of CEI Studios
Over the years we’ve hosted a lot of policy and social events in our current office, but we’ve also written and filmed some creative videos…
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One Last Look Back Before We Move
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A Disappointing Bipartisan Agreement on Banking Regulation
Last night at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gave a speech covering a number of controversial campaign issues, focusing in particular on…
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The Next President Should Learn from Reagan’s Legacy on Government Reform
My colleague Wayne Crews has a fascinating policy brief out this week, “Channeling Reagan by Executive Order: How the Next President Can Begin Rolling Back…
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Politics and Economics Collide with Pokémon Go
It seems strange to think it’s been barely a week since PokĂ©mon Go became the dominant pop culture phenomenon of the summer. Publications better known…
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Food Safety Experts Critical of GMO Labeling Bill
In an open letter released today, several food safety experts warned of the problems with a new Senate bill that would regulate the labeling of…
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Will the Sharing Economy Give Us Greater Economic Mobility?
Last night the R Street Institute sponsored a fascinating policy panel here in Washington, D.C., “Boost or Barrier? Upward mobility in the on-demand economy.”…
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Coming Soon: International Mayors for Inconvenient Travel
While we wait to see whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign legislation targeting home-share listings in New York, the governmental response to the sharing economy’s…
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New York Legislature Piles on Fines for Home-Share Listings
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is currently reviewing legislation recently passed by the state’s Senate and Assembly that would establish new penalties for advertising one’s…
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Building on the Optimism of “Uber-Positive” Attitudes
There’s a new resource for understanding the state of play between politics and developments in the sharing economy, the pleasantly slim volume by the Manhattan…
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Defending the Right to Donor Privacy
The campaign to safeguard the right to privacy for charitable donors is moving one step closer to reality. Last Friday was the deadline for members…
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What’s Right with Business Schools?
Jane Shaw of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy has a compelling new commentary out this week on the state of business schools.
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Muggles for Free Speech
J. K. Rowling made international headlines this week by defending free speech in an address to the PEN Literary Gala in New York. She…
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Business Leaders Mount the Barricades
This has been a good week for capitalist backbone. As Kim Strassel discusses in the Wall Street Journal today, we’ve seen two high profile…
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CEOs Confront Anti-Capitalist Rhetoric
Another CEO of a big American company has spoken up about the charge that he and his employees are “destroying the moral fabric” of…
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Ed Snider: Farewell to a Business Legend
Today is a sad day for fans of capitalism and Philadelphia sports alike. Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and sports industry legend Ed Snider passed away over…
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Is GE a Capitalist Good Guy or a Corporate Bad Guy?
General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt has an interesting op-ed today in the Washington Post, hitting back against charges that his company is “destroying…
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Building a Better Society with a Better Mousetrap
Last night, the Smithsonian American Art Museum here in Washington hosted a fascinating book event featuring a presentation by Alan Rothschild, co-author of…
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Shady Marketing Claims for “Green” Cleaning Products
Serena Ng of The Wall Street Journal reports today on the murky world of marketing for “green” and “natural” household products. Ads for these…
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Small Scale Entrepreneurs Are Nothing New
The rise of the sharing economy and related trends, by which individuals are exercising more control over their work schedules and income flow, garners a…
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Advancing Capitalism at the New Intellectual Forum
Yesterday, my colleague Fred Smith and I co-hosted the New Intellectual Forum, an exciting event that brought business leaders and free market intellectuals together for…
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New Poll Numbers Paint a Fascinating “Portrait of America”
During a presidential campaign, pollsters ride high. Despite perennial criticism, “horse race”–style campaign reporting nevertheless keeps political junkies glued to Twitter, awaiting the latest…
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David Bowie, Financial Wizard
With the announcement today of the death of David Bowie, tributes from fellow artists and his millions of fans are pouring in. While it may…
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Scrooge Was the Ultimate Job Creator
In a 2013 essay for Forbes that is quickly becoming a Christmas classic, my colleague Fred Smith took a fresh look at the character of…
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Deflate Drug Prices by Reforming the FDA
This Wednesday, the Senate Select Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on “sudden price spikes” among certain off-patent drugs. The most widely publicized of these…
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Anti-Capitalism on Campus
Prof. Brad Thompson of Clemson University writes this week in Minding the Campus on the impact of corporate donations to institutions of higher education. In particular, he describes…
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Calling All Public Choice Scholars
Earlier this month the Cato Institute generously hosted a small roundtable discussion of CEI’s recent study “Virtuous Capitalism: Why there Is Less Corruption in…
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What Does the World Think of Capitalism?
The Legatum Institute in the U.K. has an important new international poll out about public attitudes towards capitalism and the business world. They hired YouGov to…
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Sell a Kidney, Save a Life
Last week I blogged about the idea that some things should not be part of a market economy, and highlighted one rather silly example of…
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Onions Have No Futures
Lots of people object to markets in certain commodities. Kidneys, archeological relics, adoption rights, and a host of more prosaic items have been deemed by…
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Learn Liberty Schools Us on Beer Regulation
As they have done so often in the past, our friends at Learn Liberty have come up with a great new video series illustrating…
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Ed Snider: A Sports CEO Talks Leadership and Success
This week the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business was host to an excellent event on business leadership, featuring Comcast-Spectacor CEO and…
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Betting on the Future: 25 Years Later
Today is the 25th anniversary of the famous bet between economist Julian Simon and biologist Paul Ehrlich over the price of five metals: chromium, copper,…
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Free Enterprise: Sometimes We Forget
When we find ourselves debating specific issues having to do with economics and business, we often forget how overwhelming the evidence is for the superiority…
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Celebrating a Great Editor: Max Borders and The Freeman
Yesterday the Foundation for Economic Education’s “Anything Peaceful” blog carried the news that editor Max Borders was leaving his position directing content for FEE.org and FEE’s…
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Corporate Ads Need to Sell Ideas, Too
Tim Montgomerie, a columnist for The Times of London and founder of ConservativeHome, writes in CapX this week about the visit of Pope Francis to the U.S. Reviewing…
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Executive Wisdom from Down Under
Yesterday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted Andrew Mackenzie of Australian natural resources giant BHP Billiton here in D.C. as part of their CEO Leadership…
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Rebuilding Liberty with Charles Murray
My colleague Fred Smith has a new review up, this time of Charles Murray’s most recent book By the People: Rebuilding Liberty without Permission. Murray argues that…
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A First Look at Markets without Limits
Georgetown University professors Jason Brennan and Pete Jaworski (left) have a new book out with a fascinating premise: anything that it is morally permissible…
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The Government Makes a Terrible Boyfriend
He’s from the government, and he’s here to help. That’s the comic premise of this summer’s best YouTube video series, “Love Gov,” from the…
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Why Thieves Hate Free Markets
Don Boudreaux over at CafĂ© Hayek has just given a 2015 boost to a smart 2012 video from Learn Liberty on social cooperation in…
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Bastiat Society Rallies Business Leaders Together
My venerable colleague Fred Smith and I just returned from the Hoosier State, where we were honored to be guests of the Indianapolis chapter of the …
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Reports of Capitalism’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
British journalist Paul Mason has famously declared that capitalism is dying, and he is in no sniffling state of mourning about it. In advance…
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The Persistent Truth of Income Mobility
There’s a lot being written these days about income (and wealth) inequality, and how a free market economy allegedly exacerbates the divide between the rich and…
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What Cartoons Can Teach Us about Capitalism
The Freeman has an excellent article by FEE advisory board member Robert Anthony Peters on economic lessons in popular culture—in this case focusing on the wealthiest…
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Do Conservatives Really Care about the Poor?
American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks has a new book out this week, The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous…
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The SEC Sinks Its Claws Deeper into Executive Pay Packages
Once upon a time critics of corporate America complained that executive salaries were too high, and too often disconnected from the performance of the firm.
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Join the “I, Whiskey” Team
The Competitive Enterprise Institute's newest film project, I, Whiskey: The Spirit of the Market, is currently in production, and you can help make it…