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#NeverNeed Regulations and the Coronavirus
What is the appropriate public policy response to COVID-19 crisis? In a new short video, Kent Lassman makes the case for lifting government barriers that…
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Administration Rewrites Congress’ Paycheck Protection Program Loan Requirements
The Trump administration is rewriting the rules on the Paycheck Protection Program, saying that the stipulation that the program’s business loans must be used to…
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Anti-Corporate Author: Get Over Your Vanity and Just Read “Impeccable” New York Times
Are you struggling to stay informed in an Internet landscape full of conflicting sources and analysis? Good news—a New York Times bestselling author (and former…
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Fedcoin and FedNow are Dangerous and Unnecessary Expansions of Federal Reserve Power
To counter the financial damage from America’s national lockdown, the Federal Reserve has taken unprecedented stepsy. Most of these moves received grudging acceptance even from…
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Green Activists Make Highly Dubious Claims about CPSC Nominee Nancy Beck
Left-of-center activists are opposing toxicologist Nancy Beck's nomination to head up the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They suggest that since she once worked for the…
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Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Anti-Drug Warriors’ Crocodile Tears
There is a lot to say about the heinous killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and no shortage of opinions being offered. Many have…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Friday’s 13.3 percent unemployment rate announcement was actually good news, and says much about the more than 600 regulations waived so far at various levels…
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EPA Proposes Rule to Increase Consistency and Transparency of Benefit-Cost Analysis
The Environmental Protection Agency on June 4 released a proposed rule to increase the “consistency and transparency” of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) in Clean Air Act (CAA)…
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White House Reaction to Job Numbers: Reopen Economy but Keep Tax Dollars Ready
The White House’s thinking appears to be that the economy is recovering just by letting people get back to work. Therefore, we should wait and…
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Trump Executive Order to Expedite Project Approvals
President Trump on June 4 issued an Executive Order intended to expedite the federal approval process for major infrastructure projects. “Economic Recovery from the COVID-19…
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Value of Employee Benefits in Eye of Beholder
Advocates of “social responsibility” and environmental, social, and governance standards for companies have little interest in their proposed requirements being voluntary, despite frequent protestations to…
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Unexpectedly Positive Jobs Report Is a Testament to American Ingenuity
The unexpectedly good news of Friday’s jobs report that 2.5 million jobs were added in the last month is a rather inspiring testament to American…
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Pandemics, #NeverNeeded Regulations, and Ten Thousand Commandments
At Inside Sources, Wayne Crews and Ryan Young have an op-ed summarizing the main findings of Wayne’s new 2020 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments, plus…
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“Social Responsibility” Expectations for Business Pivot from Voluntary to Mandatory
The Financial Times reported that many companies have cut dividends to shareholders because they are struggling with the current economic downturn. But even after we’ve…
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Time to Permanently Sunset Waived #NeverNeeded Regulations
Many regulations have proven especially harmful during the COVID-19 crisis. But many of those waivers are temporary. Those temporary waivers should be made permanent. One…
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Navient Files for Summary Judgement in Meritless CFPB Case
On May 19, student loan servicer Navient filed for summary judgement on a CFPB lawsuit started over three years ago. In the filing, Navient urged…
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Green Activists’ Unwarranted Attacks on CPSC Nominee Nancy Beck
Left-of-center environmental activists are at it again, maligning the reputation of one of President Trump’s nominees—with little regard for the truth. One of their latest…
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How Many Unions Are Still Charging Dues to Unemployed Workers?
How many unions are still charging dues to their unemployed members during the COVID-19 outbreak? While unions have been aggressively presenting themselves as the workers’…
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My Answer to J.K. Rowling on What Cryptocurrency Is
To paraphrase a famous financial services commercial from the 1970s and 1980s, when J.K. Rowling asks, people answer. When the famed author of the Harry…
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DOL IG says “at least” $26 billion of CARES Act funds being wasted, most to fraud
At least $26 billion taxpayer dollars are going to be wasted through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) ACT, with “a large portion…
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EPA Finalizes Rule Limiting State Abuses of Clean Water Act to Block Fossil Energy Projects
On June 1, the EPA issued a final rule clarifying that the Clean Water Act cannot be used by states to block energy projects based…
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EPA Removes One Hurdle to Alaska’s Pebble Mine, but Others Remain
On May 28, the EPA notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it will not challenge its ongoing review of the Pebble Mine in…
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Six Ways the Trump Administration Has Reduced Regulation
Apart from sector-specific executive orders and directives to federal agencies, there are six prominent ways the Trump administration has streamlined regulation that were covered in…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
CEI released the 2020 edition of Wayne Crews’s annual Ten Thousand Commandments report, which gives a big-picture view of the federal regulatory state. Regulatory agencies…
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California Lawmakers Mull Tax on Jobs
California’s lawmakers are nothing if not innovative. They keep coming up with new ways to help the state’s unemployment rate, currently 15.5 percent, nearly a…
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COP-26: U.N Climate Conference Delayed until November 2021
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change announced on May 29 that its 26th Conference of the Parties, originally scheduled for November 9-19, 2020, has been rescheduled for November…
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There Is No Such Thing as “Safe”
Iain Murray has a great essay up at Law & Liberty today on why some groups of Americans are perceiving quarantine policies so differently from…
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IRS Relaxes Requirements for Renewable Energy Tax Credits—Coronavirus Edition
On May 27, the IRS issued a notice expanding the tax relief for renewable energy developers seeking to qualify for tax credits. Ironically, this announcement…
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Executive Order on Social Media Threatens Property Rights and Free Speech
Today’s Executive Order on Section 230 liability protections for online platforms violates the First Amendment and property rights of social media companies, contradicts the most…
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House Democrats Drop Deregulatory Push over Union Opposition
The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday to modestly reform $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program, scrapping the much broader reform of the PPP program the…