Blog
Today’s Links: March 6, 2012
Blog
Corporate Welfare for Farmers
In a recent blog post, I describe the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) Beef Promotion and Research "checkoff" program as corporate welfare. The agency’s Public…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: A Cure for Every Virus
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory has created a treatment for viral infections that could effectively treat all…
Blog
European Union Pushes Discriminatory Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards
The European Union (EU) could not keep member states like Greece from cheating on EU budget rules, resulting in Greece's fiscal collapse and the current…
Blog
Today’s Links: March 5, 2012
Blog
Pension Funds are For-Profit
Openmarket.org California’s Constitution clearly states the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) singular motive is to make profits. I point this out in “Mixing Pensions…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Robot Learns to Sculpt
Blog
Pension Funds are For-Profit
California’s Constitution clearly states the California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS) singular motive is to make profits. I point this out in “Mixing Pensions with…
Blog
Trey Kovacs: Mixing pensions with politics
Labor Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs Featured in The Orange County Register Who here is better to run a business? In 2011, Apple recorded a net…
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Just another week in the world of regulation:…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Heart Gel Repairs Damage
Surviving a heart attack is not the end of the story for most people: for many survivors, tissue in the heart is damaged due to…
Blog
Obama Administration Seeks Quotas Based on Disability, Race, and Perhaps Sexual Orientation
The Obama administration is pushing quotas in the workplace and higher education, seeking to force businesses that have federal contracts to hire at least…
Blog
Breitbart the Fusionist Thinker: How the Activist and Tactician Promoted a Key Piece of Conservative Philosophy
Blog
Today’s Links: March 2, 2012
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 1, 2012: A Highway Bill Everyone Can Hate
Land-Use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner explains why almost nobody is happy with how this year's highway bill is turning out.
Blog
Human Achievement Hour 2012: March 31, 8:30pm
It’s that time once again to show your support for human achievement by not participating in the World Wildlife Fund’s Dark Ages Hour, where…
Blog
Obamacare: Anyone Have a Plan B?
In just a few week the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the legal challenges to the administration's controversial health-care overhaul, especially the constitutionality of the so-called "individual mandate" that requires every American to purchase government-approved insurance. The…
Blog
A New Wall of Separation: End Corporate Welfare
In his famous letter to the Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson declared the Constitution erected a “wall of separation between church and state.” The Father of…
Blog
Today’s Links: March 1, 2012
Blog
UAW: Building taxpayer burdens
By Trey Kovacs and F. Vincent Vernuccio, The Washington Times President Obama and United Auto Workers(UAW) President Bob King are touting the “achievement” of the auto…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 29, 2012
Blog
Think of the Children
Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers’ Union, has alleged that Rahm Emanuel privately told her that “25 percent of the students in this…
Blog
CSR: Business’s Shampoo?
To the Editor, Financial Times: Gillian Tett notes the vogue among CEOs for “corporate social responsibility” (When Making Shampoo Becomes a Service to Society).
Blog
Today’s Links: February 28, 2012
Blog
Mazie Slater misquotes a case
In Dewey v. Volkswagen, the parties negotiated and the district court approved a settlement that violates Supreme Court and Third Circuit precedent, which makes…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 27, 2012
National: A Sioux tribe in South Dakota has filed a landmark suit against national beer makers for knowingly contributing the tribe's alcohol…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 27, 2012
Blog
CEI Weekly: Happy Presidents Day!
Blog
How Worrisome is the Race to the Bottom Argument?
Blog
CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
It may have been a short work week, but it was still a busy one in the world of regulation. Here are the highlights:…
Blog
America Now Has Bigger Welfare State Than Canada, Italy, Denmark, and Austria
America now has a bigger welfare state than most countries, effectively doling out more welfare than Canada, Denmark, Austria, and Italy. As the New York…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 24, 2012
Blog
The Demographics of Politics
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 23, 2012: Global Warming and Mass Movements
In 1841, the Scottish writer Charles Mackay observed, " the cup of life is not bitter enough to our palate, and we distill superfluous poison…
Blog
Airline Carbon Taxes: The EU vs. the World
On Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives from 23 nations gathered in Moscow to discuss their response to the European Union’s mandatory airline carbon taxes. CEI’s Fran…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 212: Locating Your Newsstand
New York City requires newsstands to be located at least 9 feet, 6 inches away from buildings. Marilyn Louie's newsstand has sat in the same…
Blog
Workers Deserve the Right to Remain Silent
Openmarket.org The California Legislature is considering a “Public Employee Bill of Rights” that (among other things) would restrict the state’s ability to hire outside contractors…
Blog
Workers Deserve the Right to Remain Silent
The California Legislature is considering a “Public Employee Bill of Rights” that (among other things) would restrict the state’s ability to hire outside contractors and…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 22, 2012
Blog
Constitutions and Democracies
It is the height of hubris to claim that one knows how to build a democracy from scratch. But there are a few common themes…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 211: The Color of Buildings
Officials in Calcutta, India definitely have a favorite color: sky blue.
Blog
Today’s Links: February 21, 2012
Blog
Blaming the Drink Is Loko
It’s a tragic story: a 13-year-old boy falls out of a moving car because he is drunk and opens the door to throw up.
Blog
Apple Magsafe class action settlement objection
We’ve objected to the Apple Magsafe class action settlement, which was recently criticized by AtlanticWire. Details at Point of Law.
Blog
Severe Shortage of Skilled Factory Workers As Government Encourages Students to Pursue White-Collar Jobs
The government has encouraged people who once would have become skilled and valuable factory workers to instead go to college and work in white-collar jobs, contributing…
Blog
Taxmageddon Comes Just After the Election
On December 31, shortly after the November election, tax rates will rise across the board in what congressional aides call "Taxmageddon," notes The Washington Post. Not…
Blog
The STOCK Act: A Response to Professor Bainbridge
Professor Stephen Bainbridge recently responded to a National Review Online article by my colleagues John Berlau and David Bier in which they argue…
Blog
Government-Funded Job Training “Might Not Work”: Washington Post
Even a liberal Washington Post writer admits that taxpayer-subsidized job training “might not work,” despite its popularity with politicians, and President Obama’s desire to spend billions more…
Blog
Is the Obama Administration Trying to Expand Federal Collective Bargaining?
An Obama-created board within the federal Office of Personnel Management's recently approved "an outline of a report due to President Obama in May on personnel issues…
Blog
The Economist: Too Much Regulation
Sounds like writers for ?The Economist? have been reading some of CEI's regulatory research. From this week's magazine:…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 17, 2012
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 16, 2012: Washington’s Prescription Drug Shortage
Patients are suffering from a nationwide shortage of more than 260 different prescription drugs, many of them for different types of cancer. Senior Fellow Greg…
Blog
Connecticut Government Focuses on Non-Union Worker Collective Bargaining “Options”
Yesterday, the next step toward Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy completing his scheme to force unionize personal care attendants took place. CTNewsJunkie.com reported: The four-member…
Blog
I Can Succeed, But You Can’t: The Left’s Message to Waitresses
One of the left’s favorite mantras is that government regulations and special interest groups provide the only ways that workers can get ahead. This notion…
Blog
High Unemployment Masked by Exploding Disability Claims that Lead to Permanently-Higher Government Spending
The official unemployment rate is going down, but that's partly because many long-term unemployed people went onto Social Security Disability, citing ailments such as depression. …
Blog
Today’s Links: February 16, 2012
Blog
California Considers “Public Employee Bill of Rights”
Openmarket.org The California State Assembly is considering sweeping legislation aimed at protecting the “rights” of state employees. According to its sponsor, Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento),…
Blog
California Considers “Public Employee Bill of Rights”
The California State Assembly is considering sweeping legislation aimed at protecting the “rights” of state employees. According to its sponsor, Assemblyman Roger Dickinson…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 210: Transgendered Air Travelers
Canada is cracking down on the latest terrorist threat to innocent people everywhere: transgendered people. If their appearance doesn't match their ID's listed gender, they're…
Blog
Congress Seems Intent on Making Drug Shortages Worse
Now that the problem of prescription drug shortages has begun to affect children, members of Congress want to be seen as…
Blog
Regulation, Jobs, and Creating Wealth
Lobbying, politicking, and special favors are part and parcel of the regulatory process. The result is that many regulation-created jobs are not created on the…
Blog
Lame Duck Sen. Herb Kohl Continues Quixotic Battle Against Rail Carriers in Senate Highway Bill
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), who will not be seeking reelection this November, decided that he would make one last-ditch attempt to get his awful piece…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 15, 2012
Blog
Maryland Weighs Discriminatory College Child Support Mandate
Married parents have no obligation to support their adult children, much less pay for their college education. But many Maryland legislators would like to force divorced…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 14, 2012
Blog
Misconceptions about the Obama Administration’s Contraception Mandate for Religious Employers
There are a number of misconceptions about the Obama administration’s recent rule requiring employers’ health insurance policies (including those of religious schools and hospitals) to…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 209: Playing on the Beach
A recent Los Angeles County ordinance made it illegal to throw balls and even Frisbees on the city’s beaches.
Blog
Global Biotech Crop Acreage Up, Plus Clayton Yeutter on the Miracle of American Agriculture
Global planting of biotech crops grew 8 percent last year, to a record high of 395 million total acres, according to…
Blog
Government Thwarts Cancer Cures and Production of Life-Saving Drugs
The federal government thwarted a promising cancer treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski on trial twice, saying “it did…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 13, 2012
Blog
Rising Voter Apathy
Blog
$26 Billion Mortgage Settlement Rips Off Investors to Trim Banks’ Massive Costs of Bailing Out Deadbeat Borrowers
The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday is bad news for “bond investors including pension funds, according to Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Scott Simon,”…
Blog
The STOCK Act’s Muzzle and How to Fix it in Conference (Update)
My colleagues David Bier and Ryan Radia contributed to this post. Per the scenario in a previous post, it’s April 2012. You are a…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 10, 2012
Blog
Principles of Law: Simplicity is Beautiful
Countries across the world have turned to democracy in recent decades. There are still a few monarchies here and there, and plenty of dictatorships. Cuba…
Blog
Time to Pay Your Neighbor’s Mortgage, Again
The Justice Department, state attorneys general, and the biggest banks have reached an agreement to provide at least $26 billion to delinquent mortgage borrowers and…
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 9, 2012: The Immigration Tariff
Alex Nowrasteh proposes scrapping the complex and unfair immigration system and replacing it with a tariff. This is a much more humane approach to immigration,…
Blog
Massive Anti-Bullying Law and Bullying Initiatives Were Based on Misleading Publicity
"It launched a hundred 'anti-bullying' initiatives at all levels of government, but much of what you think you know about" the Tyler Clementi case "is…
Blog
Good News/Bad News On Human Spaceflight Regulation
In a bill passed last week authorizing the Federal Aviation Administration for another year, the moratorium on regulation of the safety of spaceflight participants, in…
Blog
Even Liberal Reporters Sour on Stimulus-Funded California Rail Boondoggle
Even reporters at the famously-liberal Los Angeles Times have soured on California’s $100 billion-plus rail boondoggle, whose cost will far outstrip whatever the state will…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 8, 2012
Blog
Today’s Links: February 7, 2012
Blog
Liberal Tax Fantasies Punctured
Some liberals have the unrealistic fantasy that by increasing taxes on the top one percent of the population, the government can finance a radically…
Blog
Utah Doubles Down on Gambling Prohibition
It’s not news that regulators in Utah are often uncomfortable allowing residents to make their own decisions about how, when, or if they engage…
Blog
Yes, Pensions Did Help Push American Airlines into Bankruptcy
I generally hold John Tamny’s analysis of economic matters in high regard, so I was surprised to find his take on the American Airlines bankruptcy…
Blog
Liberal Justices Complain About American Law Being Too Protective of Civil Liberties and Colorblindness
Recently retired Justice John Paul Stevens, who became the leader of the Supreme Court's liberal bloc in his later years on the Court, complained recently…
Blog
Today’s Links: February 6, 2012
Blog
The STOCK Act’s Muzzle — How “Insider Trading” Bill Could Shut Down Grassroots Communication
It’s April 2012. You are a conscientious congressional staffer who still takes seriously the need to be a steward of taxpayers’ money. (Yes, I know…
Blog
Retaliation Charges Pose Growing Threat to Free Speech
Keeping quiet can seal your fate if you are a professor facing a campus kangaroo court after being wrongly accused of racial or sexual “harassment" based on your…
Blog
U.S. v. Jones and the Future of Privacy
Last week, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in United States v. Jones. The Court held unanimously that because D.C. police entered a…
Blog
More Criticism for Obama State of the Union Proposal on Schools
Syndicated columnist Steve Chapman is criticizing President Obama's proposal in the State of the Union address to require students to attend high school…
Blog
CEI Weekly: CEI Labor Project Inspires Reform in Oklahoma
Blog
Today’s Links: February 3, 2012
Blog
Sixth Circuit brief in Pampers Dry Max class action
Details at Point of Law. Fortunately, Procter & Gamble is not my client, as they will be exceedingly unimpressed that we mortifyingly spelled their…
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 2, 2012: The FDA’s Latest Power Grab
Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton breaks down the FDA's behind-the-scenes push to regulate dietary supplements nearly as strictly as prescription drugs.
Blog
Facebook Filing Blasts Obama-Bush Overregulation of Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank
In his letter to prospective shareholders in the middle of the 201-page "Form S-1" that Facebook filed yesterday afternoon to launch its much-anticipated initial…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 208: Re-Booking Flights
A new Department of Transportation regulation limiting re-booking fees caused one airline to add a $2 "Department of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee" on every ticket…
Blog
Nine Years Of Space Policy Disaster
On the ninth anniversary of the loss of the Columbia space shuttle, I have some thoughts on what’s happened since, over at PJMedia: The problem…
Blog
Oklahoma Moves to Keep Big Labor in Check
Openmarket.org Oklahoma taxpayers might be able to breathe a little bit easier this year thanks to two important pieces of legislation making their way through…
Blog
12 More Law Schools Sued for Defrauding Their Students; Many More Class-Action Lawsuits Expected
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that a team of eight law firms have just “sued a dozen more law schools across the country,…