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Some Frequently Asked Questions about Socialism
During my virtual “tour” for the release of my book, The Socialist Temptation, certain questions came up regularly. I have already set out my…
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The Relevant Market Fallacy and Facebook’s Antitrust Cases
Facebook was hit by two separate antitrust complaints this week. One is from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the other is from a…
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Facebook Antitrust Suits Disregard Consumer Welfare
Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorneys general announced antitrust suits against Facebook, asserting the social media company’s acquisitions of…
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COVID-19 Vaccine Shows that the World Needs More Refrigeration and Less Anti-Refrigeration Climate Policy
Refrigeration has had a substantial positive impact on public health in the U.S. and other developed nations where it is in widespread use. Increased market…
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A Big-Picture View of the Antitrust Debate
In this month’s issue of Reason magazine, I have a feature-length article on the bipartisan push to revive antitrust enforcement. If you don’t have…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The midnight regulatory rush is on, with one of the year’s highest weekly page counts last week. The 2020 Federal Register is on pace for…
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Hyping the Whirlwind
A new Nature paper on hurricane decay rates that was published on November 11 by Lin Li and Pinaki Chakroborty (hereafter, LC20) is receiving a…
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Labor Department Job Report Shows Improvement but Challenges Ahead
The Labor Department’s Friday report that 245,000 jobs were added in November confirms that, while an economic recovery is still underway, its momentum is…
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Walter Williams, 1936-2020
Walter Williams passed away this week at age 84. He was the rare economist to succeed as both an academic and a popular communicator.
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America Really Is Revolutionary
Several scholars I respect, including Daniel Hannan in his 2013 book Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World, have argued that…
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Biden Team Expected to Take Hatchet to Pension Protection Rule
The Department of Labor, under the leadership of Secretary Eugene Scalia, implemented an important (though widely misunderstood) rule this year, regarding how federally regulated pension…
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Biden’s OMB Pick, Neera Tanden, Once Warned Democrats against a $15 Minimum Wage
Joe Biden’s choice of Neera Tanden, president of the liberal Center for American Progress, to be the next director of the Office of Management and…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Thanksgiving was rather different than most years, and not in a good way. Hopefully, with viable vaccines on the way, it will be back to…
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A Cold Winter for Santa in Sunland, California
Department store Santa Claus Patrick Turnbull has hoisted children onto his lap and listened to their Christmas wishes for two decades in Sunland, California, but…
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Retro Review: The Communist Manifesto (1848)
The manifesto of the Communist party, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847 and first published the next year, has a legendary pair…
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John Kerry, a Tall Climate Envoy
President-elect Joe Biden announced on Monday that he would appoint John Kerry as his administration’s “special presidential climate envoy.” The title is misleading: Kerry will…
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Is General Motors’ Shift to More Electric Vehicles Good for the Environment?
General Motors recently announced a major push toward electric vehicles (EVs), pledging $27 billion in investment by 2025 and promising to have 30 EV…
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Consumers Pay the Price for Mass Torts Driven By Junk Science
The Center for Truth in Science has released an excellent report on mass torts and how unscrupulous lawyers use them to extort large…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Thanksgiving will be a little different this year. With the recent news about promising COVID-19 vaccines, next year’s turkey celebration should be closer to normal.
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Millennials, Gen Z Optimistic about Hard Work Leading to Prosperity
The Walton Family Foundation released an interesting survey recently that found that Generation Z (ages 13–23) and Millennial (ages 24–39) Americans are more optimistic…
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Biden to Focus on Public Sector Unions First?
All indications are that the Biden administration will be the most pro-labor one since at least Harry Truman’s. Biden has promised to defer to labor…
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Judge Rules in Favor of Retroactive Unapportioned Tax
In 2006, Charles and Kathleen Moore invested in a business aimed at providing affordable equipment to small-scale Indian farmers. No dividends have been returned to…
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Montreal Protocol Continues Process of Morphing Into A Climate Treaty
The 32nd Meeting of the Parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) will be held from…
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Can New York’s Hotel Industry Survive the Latest Union Victory?
Numerous New York City hotel owners are struggling to stay alive and their workers’ union isn’t exactly making it easy for them. In fact, there…
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Americans have Grown more Centrist, So Should the Parties
This last election was not normal. Record voter turnout, different voting procedures, and polarizing candidates makes comparing this cycle to any other difficult. But looking…
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On Online Speech, Sasse Stands Alone
There was an almost total lack of skepticism of expanding government regulation of online content moderation at yesterday’s Senate hearing with the CEOs of…
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Carbon Pricing Would Make Electricity Markets Less Efficient
On Monday (November 16, 2020), I submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its proposed policy statement encouraging regional trading…
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COVID-19 Vaccine Development Is Testament to the Market’s Ability to Develop Life-Saving New Products
The announcement by drug maker Moderna that preliminary data from its still ongoing trial shows its COVID-19 vaccine is 95 percent effective is extremely encouraging.
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Welcome to the New CEI.org
At the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we are constantly thinking of ways to more effectively expand the boundaries of freedom. With that goal in mind,…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2020 election is finally, mercifully, over. Barring a surprise in the Georgia Senate runoffs, we will continue to have divided government. This arrangement typically…