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Climate Blame Game
In “Reformed Climate Deniers Don’t Deserve Redemption,” author Dave Leviton argues that Republican pollster Frank Luntz had no business testifying before the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee…
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Leaked White House Executive Order on ‘Censorship’ Violates Two Basic Constitutional Tenets
Earlier this week it was reported that the Trump administration was drafting an executive order to combat perceived “censorship” of conservatives on online platforms such…
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Underfunded Public Pensions Put Future Taxpayers on the Hook
One of the most well-known and enduring lessons of public choice economics is the dynamic of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs. Well-organized groups have both…
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VIDEO: Where the Regulatory State Came From
Our friends at the Pacific Legal Foundation have a funny and insightful explainer video on the historical development of the regulatory state (also known as…
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Limits of ‘Soft Law’ Approach to Tech Regulation
Can the regulation of new technology be voluntary and non-coercive? In a recent op-ed for The Hill, Mercatus Center law and technology analyst Jennifer Huddleston…
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Evils of ‘Craving Engineering’
America is a decidedly liberal (in the sense of being tolerant) nation comprised of people with different—often competing—worldviews. As a culture, we value the ability to…
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The Millionaires and Billionaires of Environmental Politics
There’s a story that’s told in newspapers, on news networks, and in the buzzing of Twitter. In this story, there’s a clear good guy, a…
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Nipping at Big Tech’s Heels: Competition in Social Media
There has much bemoaning and hand-wringing by members of Congress on the alleged dangers of social media.
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Response to State Lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint: Mergers Signal Dynamic Markets
The end of the first blog post in this series warned that the real result of a successful lawsuit to block the merger of Sprint…
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Guidance Documents of the Week: Agriculture, Housing, Management
Guidance documents are statements of policy issued by your favorite alphabet soup of agencies, which more often than not translate into law, despite rarely going…
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Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Except Those with Eating Disorders)
The goal of the government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to provide simple advice that promotes nutritional health, but for millions of Americans it may do…
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State Lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint Counterproductive for Consumers
State attorneys general from fourteen states and the District of Columbia have sued to block the merger of mobile phone and Internet service providers T-Mobile…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In a pre-recess Parthian shot, the Senate passed a massive new spending bill that would increase federal spending by $320 billion over two years and…
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Advocacy Journalism Gears up to Promote UN Climate Conference
The Columbia Journalism Review reported on July 26th that more than 60 news organizations have signed up to devote “one week of focused coverage” to the international…
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Judge Rejects Climate Suit to Establish ‘Right to Wilderness’
Oregon District Court Judge Michael McShane on July 31st rejected a petition by two nonprofit groups—Animal Legal Defense Fund and Seeding Sovereignty—and six individuals who allege the…
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Climate Change Gets 21 Minutes in Five-Hour Presidential Debate
CNN hosted the 2nd Democratic presidential candidates’ debate this week on two consecutive nights (July 30th and 31st). Twenty of the 24 Democratic candidates participated, with 10…
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Senate Highway Bill with First-Ever Climate Title Unanimously Clears Committee
On July 30th, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) passed S. 2302, America's Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019. The vote was 22-0.
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VIDEO: Green New Deal’s Bad Science
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new study by CEI President Kent Lassman and Power the Future Executive Director Daniel Turner on the costs of the…
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Environmental Red Tape Could Roadblock Green New Deal
The Green New Deal reads like a progressive’s letter to Santa, a wish list that is, by the admission of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) chief of staff,…
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Department of Justice Creates Frankenstein Imitation of Market Competition
The Department of Justice’s long-awaited merger approval for T-Mobile and Sprint is good news for consumers on balance, but the conditions required for the agency’s blessing are…
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Is White House ‘Guidance on Compliance with the Congressional Review Act’ Restraining Agency Rulemaking?
At a time of trillion dollar runaway peacetime deficits, big-spenders can take smug comfort knowing that regulation is even less disciplined, especially where ostensibly sub-regulatory…
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If You Vape (Illicit Street Drugs), It May Kill You (Duh)
Over the last four weeks, eight Wisconsin teenagers have been hospitalized with severe lung damage. The news that vaping caused these illnesses has swept across…
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CEI Leads Coalition in Support of Bipartisan Passenger Facility Charge Reform
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sent a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership supporting the bipartisan H.R. 3791, Investing in America: Rebuilding…
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Greater Financial Transparency Could Prevent Next Union Scandal
Earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation served indictments to several high level United Auto Workers (UAW) officials, some of who have already pleaded…
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Guidance Documents of the Week: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Friends
Guidance documents are statements of policy issued by your favorite alphabet soup of agencies, which more often than not translate into law, despite rarely going…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress has adjourned for its August recess, so the republic is safe for another month. Rulemaking agencies are still on the job, however, and published…
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Major Automakers Cave to California on Trump Auto Rule
The Washington Post reported on July 25th that Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW North America have “struck a deal with California to produce fleets that are more…
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House Democrats Announce Alternative to Green New Deal
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced on July 23rd the start of a sweeping effort to legislate a 100 percent…
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VIDEO: Financial Services for Everyone
Our friends at the Cato Institute recently hosted an excellent discussion on financial opportunity and inclusion titled “How Credit Is Reaching Underserved Communities,” featuring an…
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Uniform Law Commission Can Improve Uniform Automated Operation of Vehicles Act
After two years of work, last week the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) published its model state legislation on automated vehicles. By and large, ULC’s Uniform…
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Long Wait for Worker Freedom Finally Ends for Airline, Rail Employees
It is a banner day for employee choice. For the first time, airline and railroad workers have a direct path to remove an unwanted union.
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Growth Slows as Tariffs Bite
Economic growth slowed in the second quarter of 2019, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It remained above 2% thanks to a combination of…
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Allowing Markets and Technology to Prevent Traffic Collisions
Modern transportation is hugely beneficial in American society, but it carries the potential for significant, and sometimes fatal, risks. The average American is expected to…
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Post Heat Wave Reflections
The recent heat wave was a hot one. Naturally, progressive commentary “linked” it to climate change. The linkage almost seems tautological. How could rising global…
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House Passes ‘Raise the Wage’ Act
The Raise the Wage Act, which passed the House on Thursday, would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. The bill now moves…
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Guidance Documents of the Week: Consumer Product Safety Commission Revisited
Guidance documents are statements of policy issued by your favorite alphabet soup of agencies, which more often than not translate into law, despite rarely going…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Washington, D.C.’s flash flood was followed up by a heat wave; this week could bring even worse during Congress’ final week in session before the…
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What Should the Government Do?
What Should the Government Do? In that question lies most disagreements about politics. What can governments do, and just because they can, should they? …
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‘Raise the Wage Act’ Would Reduce Family Incomes, Increases Unemployment
Democrats view raising the minimum wage as a way to show they are are better for working-class Americans than Republicans. But no matter how high government…
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CEI Releases ‘Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning, 2019 Edition’
CEI has released my fourth annual report on state barriers to vehicle platooning, “Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning: A Guide for State Legislators, 2019 Edition” (read the 2018…
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Bogus E-cigarette Panic Literally Killing People
Is this a story from The Onion? It’s a question we often ask ourselves these days when we encounter stories online that seem too ridiculous…
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The Middle Class Crisis That Wasn’t
Recently billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad calls for a wealth tax in The New York Times and fellow billionaire Ken Fisher responded in USA Today with a…
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Guidance Documents of the Week: Consumer Product Safety Commission
Guidance documents are statements of policy issued by your favorite alphabet soup of agencies, which more often than not translate into law, despite rarely going…
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Trying the Apolitical Diet
Most people consider selfishness to be a negative quality. When it comes to choosing the diet that promotes our own individual health and well-being, however,…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Washington, D.C. was hit by a flash flood, but agencies were still able to publish new regulations ranging from electric program procedures to Fort Ord…
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VIDEO: Break up the Antitrust Attack on Big Tech
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation hosted an interesting policy discussion on antitrust this week titled “Breaking Up Big Tech: Making Sense of the Debate.”…
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Department of Energy Grants Petition To Speed Up Dishwashers
The Department of Energy (DOE) on July 2nd announced the first step in reversing energy efficiency standard that resulted in dishwashers taking hours to clean…
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President Trump Promotes Administration’s Environmental Accomplishments
On July 8th President Trump gave a speech on his administration’s environmental accomplishments. I was lucky to be one of a couple hundred people invited to…
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Priorities for New Leadership at Department of Labor
There is a new sheriff in town at the Department of Labor. After Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned today from his post, President Trump announced…
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Climate Risk Disclosure Proposal Would Destroy, Not Protect, Shareholder Value
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Wednesday introduced legislation (S. 2075) to require publicly-traded companies to disclose climate-related risks to the Securities and Exchange Commission.