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A federal gas tax holiday won’t do much to ease the pain at the pump
The best policy ideas for making gasoline more affordable – faster permitting for domestic drilling and pipeline construction alongside fewer regulations targeting refineries or dictating…
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Deputizing banks for citizenship verification could halt America’s financial greatness
A few weeks after he was confirmed as Treasury secretary last year, Scott Bessent delivered a message to the American Bankers Association that regulatory relief…
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The compound interest of innovation: Wi-Fi and the power of unlicensed spectrum
Investors understand the power of compound interest. Over time, small gains accumulate into exponential growth. Innovation often works the same way. One breakthrough creates the…
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The week in regulations: Fluid milk options and battleship safety zones
The Court of International Trade struck down President Trump’s Section 122 tariffs. The labor force shrank by 92,000 people over the last year. Agencies issued…
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Free the Economy podcast: Highway robbery with David Ditch
In this week’s episode we cover how to make the moral case for capitalism, affordable housing via regulatory reform, and tracking…
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A smoother path through security: Improving the TSA short of privatization
With Congress finally passing a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill last week, the immediate crisis that left airport security strained is behind us. However,…
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Affordable manufactured housing versus unaffordable climate regulations
The Biden administration had a field day piling on one costly climate-related regulation after another, not knowing – or caring – that affordability would emerge…
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Deregulation by the numbers: One-third into 2026 — a rulebook rewrite?
At the close of the first third of the year, a spring 2026 Unified Agenda formally outlining agency priorities has yet to appear. In fact,…
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Highway robbery in plain sight and how to fix the Highway Trust Fund
Established to provide a dedicated, user-financed stream for highway investment, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was once a model of fiscal alignment between revenue…
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The Little Red Hen goes digital: No data centers, no internet
The politics of data centers increasingly resemble the fable of The Little Red Hen. Everyone wants the bread — AI, cloud computing, streaming, financial…
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From Ma Bell to FaceTime: Why the next Telecom Act must embrace innovation over regulation
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Telecom Act), a landmark law that Congress is considering updating. Lawmakers should…
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The week in regulations: Marine terminal fires and marijuana rescheduling
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors when Kevin Warsh takes over.
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CEI leads coalition supporting OCC preemption of Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
CEI today sent a letter to Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, cosigned by 22 other free market groups, supporting his office’s efforts…
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Free the Economy podcast: The business of Federalism with Derek Kreifels
In this week’s episode we cover childcare in the 50 states, how to fix rising healthcare costs, the new Institute for…
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The limits of balance sheet runoff at the Fed
At his confirmation hearing last week, Kevin Warsh called for a smaller Federal Reserve balance sheet. This statement revives debate over how the Fed…
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Don’t hinder biosimilar development
In its most recent legislative session, the Florida legislature considered precluding pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from holding an investment interest in biosimilar manufacturing. That…
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HUD and CFPB help housing by restoring free speech
Thanks to the commendable actions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), April has been a…
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The party is over for Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Of all the Trump administration cabinet officials who have exited early and unceremoniously, Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer can arguably be…
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A quantitative easing hangover has the Fed in a balance sheet trap
As Kevin Warsh undergoes the Fed Chair confirmation process, debate has returned to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and how it should be managed going…
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Spirit Airlines shows mergers may prevent bankruptcies and bailouts
In 2024, Spirit Airlines, financially troubled since the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, sought a lifeline through a merger with JetBlue Airways. Although neither Spirit nor…
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The week in regulations: Pipeline safety and NFL Draft security
Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh had his confirmation hearing, and President Trump dropped his criminal investigation into Jerome Powell. The government is poised to…
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The unseen costs of banning PBM-owned pharmacies in Tennessee
Tennessee lawmakers recently passed the FAIR Rx Act, which would bar companies from owning pharmacies while also operating a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and…
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Free the Economy podcast: Revisiting Earth Day with Todd Myers
In this week’s episode we cover the dwindling number of US public companies (via Todd Zywicki of George Mason University), a pro-consumer…
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Quantitative easing and the Fed’s free lunch problem
As Kevin Warsh undergoes his confirmation process for Fed Chair, one of the most consequential yet least straightforward issues in modern monetary policy is returning…
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The GUARD Act dis-GUARDs the First Amendment and competition
When looking at Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) GUARD Act (S. 3062 – Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act), the puns write themselves.
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The Fast and the Spurious: Teamster allies push Faster Labor Contracts Act
Union allies in Congress are trying to force the House to vote on legislation called the Faster Labor Contracts Act. The legislation would amend…
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Forward guidance is not a crystal ball: A case for rules-based monetary policy
Throughout history, the urge to predict the future has been hard to resist. The Federal Reserve is not immune to such temptation. In recent years,…
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An easy win possible on affordability for California regulators
Whether “affordability” is a serious policy prescription or just a campaign buzzword remains to be seen, but California’s Public Utilities Commission has a golden opportunity…
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The week in regulations: Drone settlements and gambling losses
The 2026 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. President Trump got into a feud with the Pope. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from mail standards to…
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The quartz tariff case and why tariffs cause net job loss
Last year, domestic quartz surface product manufacturers filed a petition with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking relief from quartz imports. The ITC…