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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In the news last week, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) got a new name (USMCA) that nobody will use, and President Trump…
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Twelve States Ask Court to Dismiss Climate Lawsuit against Big Oil
A dozen states led by Indiana this week filed an amicus brief asking the federal district court in Seattle, Washington to dismiss a climate…
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Booker and Holt Caricature Science Transparency Rule at Senate Hearing
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule to strengthen the transparency…
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Free Trade Is Good for Both Havana and East Atlanta
Our musical friend Remy has a new video out this week for ReasonTV that puts a pop spin on trade policy and comparative advantage.
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New Study Reminds Regulators to Keep Focus on Consumer Welfare in Antitrust
Yesterday the good folks at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) held an important and timely event on the future of antitrust policy. The splotlight…
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Coal Plant Developers Still Building, Investing Despite Paris Agreement
“Since the Paris Climate Agreement was negotiated in December 2015, the world’s installed coal-fired capacity grew by 92,000 MW—an increase equal to the combined operating…
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Unfounded Accusations Regarding Bees and Glyphosate
Recent accusations that a popular weed killer harms honeybees have become headline news in a wide range of sources including CBS News, The…
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New NAFTA Could Have Been Much Worse
The new USMC (United States-Mexico-Canada) trade agreement isn’t very different from the old NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and that’s a good thing. Given…
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U.S. Justice Department Challenges California Net Neutrality Rules
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a busy week in the political world, from the bitter Supreme Court controversy to President Trump’s UN speech, to tariffs on $260…
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Five Western States Will Vote on Energy Questions on November Ballots
Five western states have initiatives or referendums on energy issues. They include increasing renewable energy mandates, instituting a carbon tax, restricting oil and gas production,…
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Trump Auto Rule: Washington Post’s Non-Shocking Non-Discovery
Today in the Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis, and Chris Mooney bash the Trump Administration’s SAFE Vehicles Rule, a proposal to freeze…
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VIDEO: ‘Gov’ Is Back and He’s Here to Help
Our creative friends at the Independent Institute in California are back with an entertaining new video series that pokes fun at some of the…
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Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Trade?
A common argument for free trade is that fewer trade barriers mean more trade. That argument is mostly true—there are a lot of deals people…
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A New Front in the Trade War: Overseas Private Investment
Tariffs get most of the press in today’s trade debate, and for good reason. Tariff rates under Trump have roughly doubled in less than two…
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National Labor Relations Board Responds to Democrats’ Invented Ethics Concerns
On September 17, Sen. Warren sent a letter to the NLRB warning that it must “fully comply with federal ethics regulations during reconsideration” of whether…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Hurricane Florence, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegation, and a ten percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods dominated the news. Meanwhile,…
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Tariffs and Opportunity Costs
Today’s unsubtle trade debate largely ignores a subtle, but vitally important concept: opportunity costs. Direct harms from tariffs are easy enough to point out. Steel…
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‘Energy Independence’ Hawks Caricature Trump Auto Rule
Securing America’s Energy Future (SAFE), a pro-regulatory “energy independence” advocacy group, this week released “The Military Cost of Defending Global Oil Supplies.” The report…
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Making a Living with Free Speech
Free speech protections in the United States are pretty far reaching, including protections for commercial free speech and occupational free speech. If you…
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‘Traders of the Lost Ark’ in the News
The excellent recent study on trade policy by my colleagues Iain Murray and Ryan Young, “Traders of the Lost Ark: Rediscovering a Moral and…
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Congress Should Stay out of Sports Betting Regulation
For the first time in twenty-five years, Americans can legally wager on the outcome of sporting events outside of Nevada. Thanks to a Supreme…
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Free-Market Groups Urge Congress to Eliminate, Not Expand, Electric Vehicle Tax Credits
In a joint letter released this week, thirty free market groups urged House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) to oppose “any effort to expand…
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Trade Goings-On: U.S.-UK Draft Agreement, New Book, and Peter Navarro’s Conversion
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is not the only group making a principled case for free trade. The UK-based Initiative for Free Trade, headed…
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5 Steps to Buy Influence in a Governor’s Office
Last week, the Competitive Entrerprise Institute released a major new study by Senior Fellow Christopher C. Horner, “Government for Rent: How Special Interests Finance Governors to…
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Common Myths and Facts about Trade
There are a lot of confusions on both sides of the trade debate. A short CEI WebMemo, published today, seeks to clear up three…
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New Federal Labor Directive Holds Unions Accountable to Workers
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel’s office issued a directive that provides clarification for when field offices should pursue charges “against unions…
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Health and Human Services Secretary Should Halt Grants to UN Cancer Agency
Yesterday, Congress passed an appropriations bill that kept funding intact for the United Nations body known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer…
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Elizabeth Warren Imagines Another Ethics Concern at National Labor Relations Board
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is attempting to undermine another case before the National Labor Relations Board. In a transparent political stunt, the senator is pushing…
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VIDEO: Self-Driving Cars Will Make Traveling Safer and More Efficient
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is releasing a new video today on automated vehicles (a/k/a self-driving cars) and how they could make our roads dramatically safer. They…
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How to Bypass Voters and Push a Climate Change Agenda in 5 Steps
At the end of last month, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a dramatic new study by Senior Fellow Christopher C. Horner, “Law Enforcement for…
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To Promote Highway Safety and Innovation, Senate Must Pass AV START Act
It has now been over a year since the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan SELF DRIVE Act by voice vote. Its companion bill,…
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New China Tariffs Coming Soon
Less than a week after signing a bill to reduce some tariffs, the administration is moving to raise others. As soon as today, the…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a slow week for substantive news, aside from President Trump’s surprise signing of the Miscellaneous Tariff Act, which reduces tariffs on about 1,700…
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CEI Seeks Communications between National Labor Relations Board and Senate Committee
A political campaign to obstruct the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from properly administering the National Labor Relations Act is in full…
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Three States Join California in Raising Air Conditioning, Refrigeration Costs
Maryland, New York, and Connecticut are following California’s lead in proposing restrictions on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the class of refrigerants widely used…
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California’s Gov. Brown Issues Carbon Neutrality Order, Signs Renewable Energy Bill
California Governor Jerry Brown (D) on September 10th issued Executive Order B-55-18 establishing a statewide goal to “achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, and…
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The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: What’s Changed?
Ten years ago, the United States plunged into a financial crisis that would bring the world economy to the brink of collapse. The housing bubble…
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President Trump Signs Miscellaneous Tariff Act
In a surprise move, President Trump signed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act into law on Thursday. The bill will reduce tariffs on roughly 1,700 goods…
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Zoning Laws Are Holding Back America’s Cities
The options we have for housing are determined, in part, by the houses and apartment buildings that developers choose to build. But what they are…
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The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: Restrictions on Housing Supply Makes Matters Worse
The broader financial crisis of 2007-2008 was the result of the U.S residential housing market collapse. That housing collapse itself was a consequence of an…
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Ninth Circuit Opens Pandora’s Box in Oregon Fuel Standards Case
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld Oregon’s Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS), dismissing a lawsuit filed by U.S. refiners, truckers,…
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The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: Fannie and Freddie Fueled the Subprime Mortgage Bubble
If anything symbolizes the American dream, it is homeownership—an asset that is viewed as part of a route from poverty and exclusion to independence and…
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Free Trade Challenges: Tariffs, Concentrated Benefits, and Diffused Costs
Tariffs hurt more people than they help. So why do those outnumbered few keep winning so many political victories at the majority’s expense? The answer…
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The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: A Legacy of Racist Government Housing Policy
A decade ago this Saturday, the world shook as Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, filed for bankruptcy. Representing one of…
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Government for Rent: Exposing Climate Politics in Governors’ Offices
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute has released my colleague Chris Horner’s new study on how special interests have been buying influence in governors’ offices, “…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
After a short Labor Day breather, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings and White House intrigue made for a lively four-day week. Meanwhile, agencies issued…
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Bangkok Climate Talks Make Little Progress on ‘Roadmap’ for Paris Climate Treaty
International climate negotiators meeting in Bangkok, Thailand this week have apparently made little progress on agreeing to a “roadmap” or “rule book” for implementing…
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Energy Dominance: Department of Interior Breaks Previous Records for Oil and Gas Lease Sales
“In a testament to the Trump Administration's America First Energy Plan, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) third-quarter oil and gas lease sale in New…
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You Can Hear More Clearly in a Free State
I just learned about a fascinating legal case going on down in Florida over regulations on hearing aids. Our friends at the Pacific Legal…