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Regulation of the Day: The Size of Your Carry-On Bags
The Securing Cabin Baggage Act wouldn't add to security, wouldn't make flying more convenient, and may well be the result of rent-seeking.
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Regulation of the Day: The Price of Shrimp
The ITA has been upset for some time that a Thai shrimp exporter is selling shrimp cheaply; hungry consumers have had no complaints.
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Regulation of the Day: Saving the Children from Durable Products
How much safer will this rule make our children? How much more expensive will the affected goods be? How many people actually bother to send…
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Regulation of the Day: Cap and Trade
The Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill that passed the House last week contains 397 new regulations.
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Regulation of the Day: School Buses
Because of overwhelmingly negative comments, DOT has decided not to go forward with a proposed change to federal school bus policy (isn’t education supposed to…
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Regulation of the Day: Solid Waste
When an agency screws up really badly, political leaders will sometimes change the agency's name. The EPA’s Office of Solid Waste is now called the…
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Regulation of the Day: Rice Inspection Certificates
Our rice is in crisis. Inspection certificates currently contain some data in the grade line section that better belongs in the results section. Fortunately, the…
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Taxes without Borders
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Regulation of the Day: The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
The State Department has renewed its membership in the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. This will cost taxpayers more than $2 million in annual membership dues.
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Regulation of the Day: Parole Rules for Federal Prisoners
Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from the Department of Justice ($26 billion 2009 budget, 112,000 employees). Parole rules for DC offenders and…
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Regulation of the Day: Clean Air in Columbus, OH
Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from the EPA. One would think that regulators, seeing heartening results, would pat themselves on the back…
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Regulation of the Day: Saving the Children
On June 26, the National Commission on Children and Disasters is having a meeting. They will be talking about another meeting from the day before.
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Danson in the Dark
Actor and noted intellectual Ted Danson has a piece on CNN.com entitled "World's Biggest Fish Are Dying." To his credit, it is not about whales.
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Regulation of the Day: Drawbridge Schedules in Sturgeon Bay, WI
Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from the Department of Homeland Security (208,000 employees, $52 billion 2009 budget).
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Regulation of the Day: Taxpayer-Funded Advertising for Mushrooms
This is the first installment of an occasional series that shines a little light on what the regulatory state is up to. Today’s Regulation of…
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Twenty Years since Tiananmen Square
China is a very different place than it was twenty years ago. It was on this day in 1989 that one anonymous, brave soul halted…
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The Cost of Cybersecurity in Context
During his remarks, President Obama noted that "cyber crime has cost Americans more than $8 billion." He continued, "My presidency has so far cost Americans…
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Lamb Roast: Mankind’s Doom
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Fulfilling Prophecies
CBO estimated today that unemployment will top out at around 10.5% before it recovers. Congress is doing its part to make CBO’s dire prophecy a…
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Happy 203rd Birthday, John Stuart Mill
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Another Postage Hike on Monday
Postage rates will go up on Monday. Thanks to the forever stamp, most of us won’t have to bother with those infernal 2-cent stamps this…
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Congress to Tackle College Football
Having solved all of America's other problems, Congress is turning its attention to how college football's national championship is decided.
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Advice for Conservatives
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Fed Policies Contradict Each Other
Low-inflation monetary policy and low-unemployment monetary policy contradict each other. The results speak for themselves.
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The Economics of Pirate Deterrence
How can we stop pirate attacks? By applying the law of demand. If something becomes more costly, people consume less of it. How to do…
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Washington Logic
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GM CEO to Resign
The President seems to think that GM is not fit to run itself. Given recent events, he may well be right. But how on earth…
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Soft Toilet Paper: Mankind’s Doom?
The NRDC's Allen Hershkowitz says that "People just don't understand that softness equals ecological destruction." I had to chuckle after reading that last sentence (it…
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Why Good Men Don’t Become President Anymore
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CEI in Time Magazine
Our CEI colleague Drew Tidwell and I fired off a letter to Time Magazine recently; one of their columnists fell for the old broken window…