The Open Market Blog

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/30/2011

Massage parlors are illegal in well-named Horneytown, North Carolina, plus more.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/29/2011

In this morning's CEI Podcast, my colleague John Berlau predicted that the new price cap on debit card swipe fees would lead to the end…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/29/2011

Every time you use your debit card, the merchant has to pay a fee to the company that issued your card, usually about 1 percent…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/23/2011

In Seattle, Washington, the maximum length allowed for concealed weapons is 6 feet, plus more.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/22/2011

E-Verify is a program that checks the immigration status of new hires. The House is expected to vote on legislation that would make E-Verify mandatory…

Labor and Employment

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/21/2011

Threats to freedoms even as trivial as planking should not be taken lying down.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/20/2011

This year's Federal Register is on pace to be 80,190 pages long. That's an average of 220 pages of fresh proposed rules, final rules, notices,…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/16/2011

Flirting is illegal in Haddon, New Jersey, plus more.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/09/2011

Here’s another batch of regulatory bloopers: In Little Rock, Arkansas, it is illegal to honk your horn at a restaurant after 9:00 pm. It has…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/06/2011

I’ve argued for a long time that stimulus bills are poorly named; it implies that they stimulate the economy. “Spending bill” is a non-loaded term…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/02/2011

Burping in church is illegal in Nevada unless it's accidental, plus more.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/01/2011

The Department of Justice sued this week to stop the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger. Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia thinks this is a mistake.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 09/01/2011

If international trade barriers create wealth, why stop there? Every state should have its own trade barriers against every other state.

Trade and International

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/31/2011

The philosopher Yogi Berra once said that “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Let’s apply his lesson to the proposed $39 billion…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/31/2011

This bill will result in a lot of unhappy nights at home for frustrated parents – and a lot less income for sitters who have…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/29/2011

A few months ago, the FCC said it would hand down a decision on whether to allow AT&T and T-Mobile to merge within 180 days.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/26/2011

Some of the stranger rules I've dug recently:…

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/23/2011

The repeals will become official upon publication in the Federal Register.

Regulatory Reform

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/19/2011

Tomorrow, parents and children across the country will set up lemonade stands in their neighborhoods. And they’re going to do it without getting licensed, inspected,…

Consumer Freedom

• By: Ryan Young
• 08/19/2011

In Delaware, it is a felony to wear a disguise while committing a felony, plus more.

Regulatory Reform