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Judge Strikes Down Trump Executive Orders on Federal Employment
In a lengthy decision, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia effectively struck down a package of…
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Ditch Antitrust Regulation in Favor of Competing Bigness
The Federal Trade Commission (born in 1914, fathered by Woodrow Wilson) is hosting a series of hearings and discussions on “Competition and Consumer Protection…
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Australian Government Calls for Interchange Fee Ban
One would expect that years of failing policy would force policymakers to reconsider the wisdom of their actions. But not for the Australian Productivity Commission,…
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Brexit Britain Provides Opportunity for New Style of U.S. Trade Agreement
Despite its reliance on raising tariff barriers as a weapon in trade negotiation, the U.S. will soon have the opportunity to negotiate a new free…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Lawyers are having a field day in Washington, and not just in cases involving associates of a certain member of the executive branch. Over at…
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EPA Proposes Rule To Replace ‘Clean Power’ Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency on August 21st released its proposed rule to replace the “Clean Power” Plan (CPP). The rule, which is called the …
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Growing Human Organs for Fun and Profit
Our friends at Freethink Media have an excellent new video out about medical innovation—in this case, how a new company is developing…
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Reform Federal Process for Environmental Permits
The Trump administration has initiated several steps to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including resource extraction and infrastructure. In particular, it has focused…
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Trade Made Renaissance Art Possible
Trade and specialization make all kinds of life-enriching innovations possible. In fact, Italian Renaissance art was one of them, a gift that continues to inspire…
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Senate Should Pass on Joan Claybrook’s Advice and Pass AV START Act
Why are self-styled safety advocates opposing the first legislative step that could help usher in the greatest automotive safety improvements in history? This is a…
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Confirm Kraninger, Rein in Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Today, the Senate Banking Committee will likely vote to send the nomination of Kathleen Kraninger for director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to…
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‘Infant Industry’ Argument Does Not Justify Trade Barriers
Most startups fail. The conventional wisdom is that about 90 percent of businesses fail within five years of their founding. For companies making new types…
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Reform Endangered Species Act to Contain Costs
The Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed in 1973, has had several decades to accumulate a record of costs and benefits. Despite bureaucrats and activists…
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Republicans Must Take Back Control of National Labor Relations Board
Since Republicans reclaimed the majority at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Democrats and unions have been conducting an obstruction campaign against the Board by…
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Claim that 99% of Species Are Saved by ESA Not Supported by Data
An urgent fundraising appeal from The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) “Global Policy Lead[er]” warns of congressional and administration efforts to change—and from the perspective of many—improve…
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California Supreme Court Rules Interest Rates May Be ‘Unconscionable’
Last Monday, the California Supreme Court ruled that interest rates on loans over $2,500 could be deemed ‘unconscionable’ even if usury laws permit them. In…
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Weed Killer Hype Lacks Scientific Support
The latest Environmental Working Group (EWG) “study” sounds an alarm regarding the chemical known as glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the…
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Federal Regulatory Cost Disclosure Reports Latest Ever
Why does it need to be such a headache to get timely reports on the costs and benefits of federal regulation? Government spends and it regulates.
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Celebrate National Employee Freedom Week 2018
Every worker should be able to decide whether union membership is right for them. And workers who do not want union representation should be able…
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World Trade: The Special Case of China
While free trade with all nations is the avowed goal of both free traders (as we outline in our paper, Traders of the Lost Ark)…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a slow news week on the policy front, though quite busy on the drama/soap opera front. The House was in recess, and while…
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Science Reporters Get it Wrong: Moderate Alcohol Consumption Isn’t Dangerous
Joel Achenbach, a science and politics reporter, once asked why “many reasonable people doubt science.” He should look at his own reporting on alcohol…
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Elizabeth Warren’s Hypocrisy on Financial Regulation: Part 1
As far as politicians’ transgressions go, I usually don’t get that riled up about hypocrisy. In the course of voting on and debating so many…
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Hernando de Soto: How To Make the Third World Richer than the First
Our good friend Nick Gillespie interviews Peruvian economist and property rights activist Hernando de Soto about the future of prosperity in the developing world, and…
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Protectionism Keeps People Poor
Why do people trade with each other at all? Because it makes them better off. As Iain Murray’s and my paper “Traders of the…
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The Roundup on Monsanto’s Roundup: Six Facts You Should Know
Yesterday, I addressed why last week’s court order calling for a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos was both dangerous and wrongheaded. Today, we look…
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National Labor Relations Board Recusal Ruse Continues
Since a Republican majority was installed at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), labor unions and Democrats in Congress have lobbed baseless conflict of…
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Six Things You Should Know about the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
Last week was a bad one for farmers. Two legal decisions were released that promise to undermine access to valuable agrochemicals that farmers need to…
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Rediscovering a Moral and Economic Case for Free Trade
In our new paper, “Traders of the Lost Ark,” my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleagues and I attempt to articulate a strong moral and economic…
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Escape from New York: Minimum Wage is Killing and Chasing Away Small Businesses
Big government is crushing small business owners around the nation, punishing decades of hard work and job creation. Too few people speak up as the…
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End Union Medicaid Dues Skim
Every Medicaid dollar is statutorily required to directly fund care for the elderly or disabled. This requirement is known as the “direct payment requirement.” Congress,…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new final regulations for the year passed the 2,000 mark, with new rules ranging from cell walls to harpoon fishing.
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IPCC Overestimates Climate Sensitivity: Study
A new study by climate scientists Judith Curry and Nic Lewis, published in the August 2018 edition of Journal of Climate, estimates median values…
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Securities and Exchange Commission Drops Probe of ExxonMobil over Climate Risk
The Wall Street Journal reported late last Friday that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulators have “decided against trying to penalize the energy giant over its…
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Department of Energy Proposes ending Obama-era Rules on Incandescent Light Bulbs
Energy and Environment News reported Wednesday that the Trump Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing back against two last-minute Obama regulations that would expand…
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Looking Back at the Success of ‘Free Enterprise Fund’
In the last decade there has been a kind of separation of powers renaissance in the courts. Previously, separation-of-powers cases were rare and usually occurred…
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Trump Revision of Obama-era Fuel Economy Rules Is No Climate Disaster
In a recent article in Energy and Environment News, several prominent climate scientists bash the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the Obama administration’s…
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Protect Home Healthcare Providers: End Dues Skimming
Our friends at the State Policy Network have produced a compelling new video about the plight of men and women who have been forced…
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New York City Continues War on Affordable Consumer Travel
Yesterday, the New York City Council voted to impose a one-year cap on the number of ride-hailing vehicles able to operate in the city.
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Setback in Missouri Won’t Stop Worker Freedom Momentum
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to beat his chest on Big Labor’s victory in striking down…
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Securities and Exchange Commission Bests Labor Department ‘Fiduciary Rule,’ But Still Adds Red Tape
In March, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals killed the Obama administration’s “fiduciary rule,” a prime example of the “bureaucrats know best” type of…
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Four Reasons the Endangered Species Act Desperately Needs Reform
The Department of Interior recently announced proposed revisions to enforcement of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These revisions are designed to lessen the regulatory…
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Real Sin for Social Media Companies Not ‘Censorship,’ but Getting into Bed with Government
Social media outlets have been filled with commentary this week about the decisions by Apple, Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify to remove content created by…
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Right to Work Is Right for Missouri
Private-sector workers in states without right to work laws can still be forced to pay fees to a union they vehemently disagree with, even…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big regulatory news is a proposed loosening of fuel economy standards for cars. This will likely improve safety; lighter cars don’t hold up…
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Carbon Taxers in Full Retreat in Canada
New Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on August 2nd his government was filing suit in Ontario’s Court of Appeal challenging the Canadian federal government’s…
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Massachusetts Passes Scaled-Down Green Energy Bill
A massive green energy and climate bill passed by the Massachusetts Senate was scaled back considerably in negotiations with the House before being passed…
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Mileage Rule for New Cars Everything Free Marketers Hoped
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 2nd proposed to revise Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and…
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New Jobs Numbers Suggest There’s More Work to Do on Free-Market Reform
At an unemployment rate of 3.9%, it should be expected that job growth will slow. Employers around the country are reporting that they are unable…
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Federal Charters May Remove Interest Rate Uncertainty for Fintech Firms
The July 31 policy statement by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announcing that it will now grant “special purpose national…