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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.
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Anti-Plastic Crusade Proves Deadly
News reports this week described the tragic death of a British woman, who died last November while using a metal straw. Apparently, Elena Struthers-Gardner, a…
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Who Does More Damage to a Free Economy: Socialists or Cronyists?
Our friend Matt Mitchell of the Mercatus Center has a fascinating new article at Reason on how businesspeople feel about government favors and privileges. It…
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Antitrust Basics: Regulatory Uncertainty
Antitrust laws are not enforced to the letter. They are a matter of regulators’ and judges’ discretion. If they were applied literally, every business transaction…
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Defiance of Congress Melts Federal Reserve Credibility
In advance of his testimony yesterday before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was the subject of a front-page story in The…
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Surface Transportation Board Delays Consideration of Regulatory Reform Petition
Yesterday, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) published a decision on a March 2019 rulemaking petition from the Association from American Railroads (AAR). The AAR petition…
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CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Rebecca Dunn
The videos and transcripts are in from the the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception. One of the most moving moments of the evening was…
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CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Dave Barry
We here at the Competitive Enterprise Institute were excited when the funny and insightful writer Dave Barry agreed to deliver the keynote address at our 35th Anniversary…
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CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Johan Norberg
It’s been a couple of weeks since the success of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception, and I’m happy to finally be able…
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CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Kent Lassman
All of the media content from the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception last month is now available, including remarks from Master of Ceremonies Katherine Mangu-Ward,…
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CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Katherine Mangu-Ward
We’re still thanking everyone who supported, sponsored, and attended the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception last month. One of the superstars of the…
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Most of Federal Government Action Would Survive Even Strict ‘Gundy’ Analysis
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gundy v. United States “suggests that the way our government works will be substantially changed towards greater democratic involvement,”…
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Free Trade Needs Louder Cheerleaders
There’s a new RealClear Opinion Research poll out, and it shows a disappointing lack of support for free markets and trade. RealClear found that only…
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Affordable Clean Energy Rule Improves Obama-era Policy, Still Contains Fatal Flaw
The Federal Register yesterday published the Environmental Protection Agency’s final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, along with the agency’s response to public comments on the…
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Guidance Documents of the Week: Social Security Administration and Treasury
Guidance documents are statements of policy issued by your favorite alphabet soup agencies, which more often than not translate into law, despite rarely going through…
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Antitrust Basics: Rule of Reason Standard vs. Consumer Welfare Standard
Regulators have used two different standards to judge antitrust cases over the last century or so: the “rules of reason” standard and the “consumer welfare”…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a four-day week for the federal government as the nation celebrated Independence Day. Meanwhile, agencies published new regulations ranging from the Paper and…
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CIRCLE of Misinformation Spread by Environmental Health Centers
This is the second in a series of posts regarding the Trump administration’s plan to cut Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants to children’s environmental health…
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Climate Policies, Not Climate Change, Are Bigger Threat to World’s Poor
The most recent United Nations climate report, this one from the Human Rights Council, is titled “Climate Change and Poverty” and asserts that “climate change…