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Hawley offers gift to union leaders, not workers
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reportedly has proposed a “pro-worker framework for the 119th Congress” that amounts to a watered down wishlist of items wanted by unions…
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Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for…
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Trump sketches out a battle plan on housing affordability
Housing affordability has become a front burner issue, and President Trump spared no time setting out his plan targeting the government regulations and red…
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A game-changing Trump executive order could nuke regulatory dark matter
In the wake of Donald Trump’s flurry of executive actions—including implementing a regulatory freeze, eradicating Biden’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and staffing,…
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Regulators need to cool off and slow down their rulemakings
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has reintroduced an important bill that would make the administrative rulemaking process fairer for the public. Known as the…
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Trump follows Biden precedent in sacking NLRB general counsel
President Trump’s decision to fire National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is controversial and will likely be…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Paper packaging and de minimis imports
Presidents Biden issued a slew of executive actions on his way out of office. President Trump issued a slew of executive actions on his way into…
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What Trump has already done to advance sound energy policy
President Donald Trump has wasted no time in seeking to undo the harm of President Joe Biden’s energy and environmental policy. Through his presidential…
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Free the Economy podcast: Able Americans with Rachel Barkley
In this week’s episode we cover Trump’s executive orders, the demographics of the 119th Congress, our nation’s narrowing fiscal space,…
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DOGE at a crossroads – An opportunity for real regulatory reform
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began with a promise to revolutionize Washington, bringing a chainsaw to government with sweeping regulatory and budget cuts.
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Cracks in the regulatory freezeout
On the first afternoon of his second term, President Donald Trump signed 46 executive orders. They included welcome tools for restraining the administrative state.
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Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed
This past decade’s net neutrality saga recently received much needed clarity thanks to the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Its decision rules on…
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Trump’s new Schedule F executive order is smarter, but could still backfire
President Trump’s re-instatement of his “Schedule F” executive order, making it easier to fire career federal…
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Trump executive orders target Biden’s regulatory big bang
Joe Biden wrapped up his term with a parting regulatory surge, epitomized by today’s 872-page Federal Register—marking the apex of his aggressive midnight-rule…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Animal herders and delaying REAL ID
President Biden’s final Federal Register week was a busy one. Its 4,199 pages would make for a 209,950-page year if it sustained that pace.
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Caution warranted on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Next week, as soon as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, there will be a sea change in government policy towards cryptocurrency. Through executive orders…
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President Trump should revoke these 7 energy and environment executive orders
On Monday, President Donald Trump will begin his second term. He will be very busy in part because he needs to start undoing President…
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DOGE should investigate Biden’s natural capital accounts
With an incoming Congress and president at the helm, Republicans are taking aim at problematic Biden-era regulations. In concert with the Department of Government…
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Trump picks gig economy fan for DOL’s number 2 spot
President-elect Donald Trump has raised more than a few eyebrows in the world of labor policy when he nominated the…
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Free the Economy podcast: Welfare costs and benefits with Scott Winship
In this week’s episode we cover the Los Angeles wildfires, reforms to high-skilled immigration, new leadership at the Department of…
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Wildfires and the precautionary principle: Why being ‘safe’ isn’t always safer
As wildfires rage across Los Angeles and devastate communities, the issue of wildfire management has never been more important. At the heart of this…
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FTC’s second interim report on PBMs: Don’t hold your breath
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will consider issuing a second interim report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) tomorrow during its January 14 open…
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Safeguarding innovation from bureaucracy: The techno-libertarian pivot
The just-concluded 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlighted the relentless pace of technological innovation—from robotics and AI to rollable laptops and transparent TVs. Yet,…
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What’s contributing to the current California wildfires
In the last few weeks, Southern California has experienced many wildfires including the destructive Palisades and Eaton fires. While we…
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Is Congress even trying? 3,248 new rules vs. 175 laws
In 2024, federal agencies issued 3,248 rules and regulations, while Congress enacted only 175 laws. I refer to the simple ratio—19 rules…
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Free the Economy podcast: Draining the swamp with Jim Bovard
In this week’s episode we cover fake endangered species, Pennsylvania’s climate policy showdown, a robust defense of property rights in…
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Hayek on Facebook’s community notes
Meta is going to stop using professional fact-checkers for Facebook posts. My colleague Jessica Melugin is relieved that Meta is finally publicly…
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Gas stoves are great
The recent approval of a ballot initiative in Washington state to protect natural gas access for consumers has me ruminating on the gas stove issue.
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Reports of American manufacturing’s death are greatly exaggerated
In an op-ed being syndicated by InsideSources, I take on one of the most persistent myths in politics: that American manufacturing is in…
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Congress needs to undo Biden’s sweeping attack on offshore drilling
Today, President Joe Biden announced that he is blocking more than 625 million acres of US ocean from future offshore drilling. The two…
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Another last-minute Biden appliance regulation – this time tankless water heaters
At this point, it is easier to name the major home appliances that have not been hit with bad regulations from the Biden administration…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Seat belts and eagle possession
This week’s roundup will be a little different than usual. Since the new year began mid-week, and I already published a breakdown of 2024’s year-end…
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Biden’s regulatory landscape: A year-end analysis
As we ring in 2025, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden administration. We take our traditional year-end look at it here. The…
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2024 Regulation roundup
All the major regulatory numbers for 2024’s new regulations are now in the books. Here are the highlights, followed by a little analysis and a preview…
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Charting a glide path to overturn Biden regulations in the 119th Congress
As the 119th Congress and incoming Trump administration prepare to govern, one key weapon in their arsenal will be the Congressional Review Act (CRA)…
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Electric grid reliability at elevated risk, new report warns
The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment Tuesday. This report examines the challenges the power grid will face over…
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New England relies on oil to keep the Christmas lights on
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Free the Economy podcast: Changes in financial regulation and ESG with Hester Peirce
In this week’s episode we cover how Americans feel about their jobs, the minerals we’ll need to build the future, and…
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Department of Education bails out of student loan bailout
For the second time in the past month, the Biden administration withdrew a proposed rule that CEI had opposed. The Department of Education…
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CFPB Unfairly Targets Zelle
As part of a last-gasp effort by the Biden administration to punish legal businesses it disapproves of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Marine ingredients and tips
The reconciliation bill process was more chaotic than usual. There were more than 100 new regulations this week, and more than 800 agency notices.
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Meta takes a unique approach to nuclear-powered data centers
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is soliciting bids from nuclear developers to deliver between one and four Gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by…
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New Jersey should rethink its nuclear power ban
Right now, the state of New Jersey has a significant amount of offshore wind power planned for the near future. As part of its…
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Time to downsize presidential power
Over at InsideSources, I have a syndicated column arguing that the presidency has grown too powerful. The best parting gift President Biden could…
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Free the Economy podcast: Mortgage market analysis with Mark Calabria
In this week’s episode we cover weaponization of financial regulation, the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and a spirited defense of ultra-processed foods.
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Google case just the beginning of CFPB fintech power grab
There has been a bullseye on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ever since tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen called the agency…
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Biden’s Fall 2024 Unified Agenda of regulations: The numbers, trends, and what’s next
The Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) dropped the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions this past…
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Nice dock. Big shame if you modernized it, Trump warns ports
President Trump has signaled that if East Coast dockworkers go on strike, he will back them instead of the ports. This increases the odds…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Natural grass marketing and arms trafficker registration fees
The 2024 Federal Register surpassed 100,000 pages for the first time ever, and the number of new regulations on the year passed 3,000. Agencies issued new regulations…
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Congress shouldn’t rely on incomplete FTC PBM study
Lawmakers are making a last-minute push to regulate the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during the lame duck session. However, it would be…
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Proposed student loan bailout rule makes no sense
As the Federal Register approached its previous record of 95,894 pages in a year (set in 2016), the Biden administration devoted a few…
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Free the Economy podcast: Tax and budget showdown 2025 with Erica York
In this week’s episode we cover new climate disclosure rules for public companies, the case against price controls on credit card…
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Schumer moves to lock in place Democrat-majority labor board
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is attempting to ensure that the Democrats retain control of the National Labor Relations Board,…
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Can Trump’s DOGE team outmaneuver regulatory dark matter?
As Donald Trump prepares for a second term, his administration inherits a far more expansive regulatory state than it did in 2017. As…
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DOL heeds CEI’s advice on apprenticeship rule
Rather like its chief, the Biden administration has moments of lucidity. When that occurs, it is entitled to a measure of praise. Praise, and…
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CEI submits comments on latest Biden administration dishwasher proposal
The Biden administration’s efforts targeting gas stoves received a lot of attention in 2023 and sparked an angry public backlash, but many other…
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John Deere is the FTC’s latest corporate boogeyman
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating John Deere’s repair offerings for over three years now, as revealed in a filing made…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Lime emissions and stabilizing the Western Balkans
The 2024 Federal Register set a new all-time record page count on December 3. It surpassed 2016’s record of 95,894 pages with nearly a month to spare. Syria’s…
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Kerry’s statements reflect the moral failings of climate extremism
Last week, John Kerry told a Harvard audience how he thinks we need to address climate change: “We need to get people…
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Free the Economy podcast: The value of work with David Bahnsen
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US businesses brace for a triple climate disclosure burden
Thousands of US companies—both public and private—are bracing for an expensive wave of climate disclosure mandates. If regulators in the US and abroad have…
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Biden breaks Federal Register record
Joe Biden’s administration has set a new Federal Register record with 96,088 pages as of December 3, 2024, surpassing the Obama administration’s 95,894 pages…
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Free the Economy podcast: Big tech, antitrust, and the courts with Patrick Hedger
In this week’s episode we cover the DOGE effort to reform government spending, review survey results about US transportation choices,…
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CEI has warned about debanking for 20+ Years – We were right
Over the last week, millions of Americans were exposed to the idea that their government has been encouraging banks to withdraw financial services from…
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Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy,…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Milk marketing and sport fishing
It was a shortened week on account of Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from fed cattle to general service lamps. On to the data: • Agencies issued 57 final…
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Circuit Courts split over the SEC’s regulatory treatment of proxy advisors
The Fifth and Sixth Circuits are currently split over the legality of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Proxy Advisory Rule. Depending on…
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Republicans shouldn’t do anything lame in the lame duck
Next year is looking good for Republicans at the federal level. Control of the House, Senate, and the White House is a recipe for…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Pear handling and airport construction
CEI founder Fred Smith passed away at age 83. Few people were as effective as Fred in pushing back against regulatory excesses, and nobody did…
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Thank you, Fred Smith
When I was fresh out of college, I attended a large classical liberal conference. After one day’s sessions wrapped up, I had dinner at…
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At minimum, keep the de minimis import exemption
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has just issued its recommendations for China policy. One of them is to eliminate the de…
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Concerning transmission provisions in the Energy Permitting Reform Act
As Congress enters its lame duck period, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso…
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Free the Economy podcast: Political drinking with Jarrett Dieterle
In this week’s episode we cover student loans, revenue from tariffs, democracy in Hong Kong, and the impact of…
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Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer is not qualified to be Labor Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) for the position of…
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From cuts to costs: Why federal paperwork keeps piling up
The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of the 2023 Information Collection Budget (ICB) paints a troubling picture of not just of growing…
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Biden overtime rule overruled
A Texas court last week threw out the Biden’s administration’s attempt to rewrite the rules for overtime. The court said that the Department of…
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Swamp things: Why DOGE moving Beltway agencies to states isn’t deregulation
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), expected to be established by president-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, aims to slash…
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NLRB moves to silence employers during union drives
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the independent federal agency that oversees union activity, ruled Wednesday in a case involving…
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Tariffs are lousy revenue generators
President-elect Donald Trump has proposed cutting income taxes and raising tariffs to replace some of the revenue. Economists of all political stripes have…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Mergers and mail
The 2024 Federal Register topped 90,000 pages and is now the second-longest ever, dating back to 1936, with more than a month still to…
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The ‘Carbon’ Futures Trading Commission vows to decarbonize futures trading
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently approved one of its most controversial guidance document to date. Under this new policy, the CFTC…
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Republicans should wait for real permitting reform in the new Congress
The 2024 election has dramatically shifted the political landscape, with Republicans securing control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. As Washington…
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Free the Economy podcast: Debt and taxes with Jack Salmon
In this week’s episode we cover the death of ESG investing, next moves on regulatory reform, Wall Street enthusiasm for…
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A blueprint for digital censorship in the US?
Internal documents from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), as revealed by digital censorship journalist Matt Taibbi, showed that the group’s…
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Consumers benefit from access to Buy Now, Pay Later options
In a rapidly evolving retail landscape, with more and more commerce moving online, there has been a rise of financial technology (or fintech) tools.
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New CEI video: The case for big and small business in America
Some questions don’t have a correct answer. For example: What is the right size for a business? A new CEI video and…
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Congressional lessons learned: Prioritize private risk capital investment
There is always a temptation for Congress to act during a lame duck session to show it is hard at work doing good for…
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No more taxpayer dollars for environmental treaties until UN ends China’s developing country status
Most environmental treaties are a bad deal for the American people, and some are made worse by the fact that the United Nations (UN)…
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Biden’s regulatory report is in, but key costs remain in the shadows
The election is over and among much else, federal regulations are emerging front and center for the incoming administration. While the federal debt…
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Biden’s 2024 Federal Register page count already second highest ever
We’ve not closed the Book of Regulation for 2024, Biden’s final calendar year in office, but we can mark a milestone nonetheless. The…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Cable pricing and outer space arms trafficking
Donald Trump won a second term. The change in power might mean a second regulatory midnight rush between now and the inauguration. An initial…
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Free the Economy podcast: Nuclear renaissance with Nick Loris
In this week’s episode we cover a new vision for the Securities and Exchange Commission, affordable housing in Hong Kong, and…
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Voters okay higher minimum wages, balk at more radical ideas
The ironic thing about Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ rhetoric is that it overlaps to a degree with old-school Democratic populism. This can…
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New nuclear deals are good for technology and the power grid
Headlines over the last month have cropped up about technology companies signing various deals with companies in the nuclear power space. First Constellation Energy…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Human subjects and food paper
Republicans called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” as a voter outreach tactic. Democrats got upset that a newspaper that generally supports Democrats didn’t…
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Free the Economy podcast: Understanding the national debt with Thomas Savidge
In this week’s episode we cover whether Americans feel better off than they were four years ago, why we have more…
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A 2024 CEI HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: A new inventory unmasking federal agency guidance documents
In my new Halloween-themed article at Forbes, I explore the eerie expanse of federal agency guidance documents. We have to try to have…
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The next president may face a ‘January Surprise’: Port strikes
The next president might face a test right as they are being inaugurated: a renewal of the International Longshoremen Association’s (ILA) strike against east…
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The origins and lessons of the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the 1980s
Moral panics are just one of those things that free societies seem to go through on a regular basis. The “satanic panic” was the…
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The FCC’s curious curiosity about broadband data caps
With less than three months remaining in the current administration, the FCC has released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on broadband data caps.