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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…
Blog
Let’s put the next SpaceX in our 401(k)s before its launch onto public markets
As Artemis II achieved liftoff for the first moon voyage in more than 50 years, space news also rocked the investment world with the breaking…
News Release
Statement of Support for the Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act
The Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act (UMATA) represents a timely and necessary modernization of federal oversight. Nearly three decades ago, the original and overwhelmingly…
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News Release
The Two Faces of Big Labor
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Study
The Employee Free Choice Act Is Anything But
A Comparison of Labor Organizing Today vs. under EFCA…
Newsletter
Obama’s Debt, Wall Street Bonuses and the Economy vs. the Environment
A new congressional report estimates that President Obama’s spending proposals will produce over $9 trillion in debt. Debate continues over the plan to tax some…
News Release
CEI Statement on Latest Geithner Bailout Plan
CEI Comments on Latest Geithner Bailout Plan…
Citation
The Breaking up of Money-Pit Behemoths if Necessary
Citation
Herbert Obama: Obama’s protectionism and tax increases compared to Herbert Hoover’s
Newsletter
Celebrating Human Achievement, Taxing AIG Bonuses and Cap and Trade in the Senate
Environmental activists encourage cities to celebrate “Earth Hour” by turning off lights for an hour on March 28th. The House of Representatives approves a 90%…
Citation
Secret Ballots for Me, But Not for Thee
Citation
Card Check Undermines Free Choice
Newsletter
Mandating Efficiency, Infighting at SEIU and Privacy Mavens Try to Shut Down Google
Congress considers new regulations on energy efficiency for home appliances. One of the nation’s largest unions faces dissention in its ranks. The Electronic Privacy Information…
Newsletter
Beach House Bailout, Voting Rights and Trade War with Mexico
Congress to likely consider a controversial plan for taxpayers to subsidize disaster insurance in risk-prone states. Attorney General Eric Holder keeps quiet about the recent…
Newsletter
Turning Down Stimulus Dollars, Legal Malpractice and a “Socialist” President
A group of governors turn down federal stimulus funding for their states, citing the strings attached by Congress. The Supreme Court rules that drug maker…
Op-Eds
Obama and Dodd Hypocritical on AIG Bonuses
In response to public outrage, Obama is belatedly criticizing the millions of dollars in bonuses that AIG, which is being bailed by taxpayers…
Op-Eds
Obama and Dodd Hypocritical on AIG Bonuses
In response to public outrage, Obama is belatedly criticizing the millions of dollars in bonuses that AIG, which is being bailed by taxpayers…
Newsletter
Liar Loans, Rising Sea Levels and Gambling Online
Democrats in Congress quarrel over new bankruptcy rules for homeowners. Newspaper headlines claim that sea levels are rising twice as fast as before. Finance Committee…
Op-Eds
Take the pressure off
Even before counting President Obama’s ambitious “stimulus” agenda, spending by the U.S. government – the largest on planet Earth – is now…
Cafe Hayek
Regulatory Burdens
Cafe Hayek
Bailouts for Liars, Illegal Aliens and Unjust Bonuses
The inept managers of the insurance giant AIG, which is being bailed out by taxpayers at a cost of over $170 billion, are using…
Newsletter
Obama’s Greenhouse Gas Plan, Accounting Rules for Economic Recovery and Science v. Politics
The Obama administration plans to dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on the economic…
Newsletter
More Newspaper Layoffs, Card Check Filibuster and Obama’s Failing Grade in Economics
The print news industry takes another hit as The McClatchy Company, the nation’s third largest newspaper publisher, announces plans to layoff 1,600 fulltime employees. Sen.
Newsletter
Stocks Rise, Fossil Felonies and Reforming Online Gambling
Stock values make their biggest one-day gains since last November. Congress considers a land management bill that could punish paleontologists and rock collectors with arrest…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity Turf War, Strongarm Union Tactics and a Beer Battle in Colorado
President Obama’s chief of cybersecurity quits, citing overbearing control by the Department of Defense’s National Security Agency. Prominent Democrats come out against changes…
Cafe Hayek
Card Check Could Also Mean Wage and Price Controls
Newsletter
A Fundamentally Weak Economy, Alternative Energy Mandates and Where Soros is Putting His Money
The White House budget director describes the U.S. economy as “fundamentally…weak.” Maryland’s governor proposes legislation to require greater use of alternative energy sources.
Punditry by the Pint
Beer Wars
Overlawyered
What have they done with the old Rose and Crown?
Overlawyered
More of Justice Ginsburg’s Political Activism
Newsletter
$75 Billion for Bad Mortgages, Card Check in Congress and Lowering Global Warming Expectations
The White House unveils the details of its $75 billion mortgage “rescue” spending package. Democrats in Congress push for changes in labor organizing rules. President…
Overlawyered
Speak out against ‘fishing expedition’
Sir, Kudos to former ambassador Faith Whittlesey for her valid points about the Obama administration exerting “raw Goliath power” and breaching a bilateral tax agreement…
Newsletter
Beer Taxes, the Beige Book and Drug Safety Before the Supreme Court
Oregon becomes one of the states seeking to raise new revenue by increasing taxes on beer. The Federal Reserve releases its…
Newsletter
Genachowski for FCC, Obama Meets with Gordon Brown and the Threat of a Carbon Tax
President Obama nominates technology advisor Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits the White House to discuss international…
News Release
Obama Foreclosure Plan Hurts Middle-Class Investors, Retirees
Contact: Cord Blomquist 202-615-0600 Obama Foreclosure Plan Hurts Middle-Class Investors, Retirees Washington, D.C. , March…
Overlawyered
A Tax to Weaken America
President Obama said last Thursday that he would not cut spending “on investments that will make America stronger.” He really meant that…
Overlawyered
AIG Price Tag: $1,400 Per Taxpayer Family
Overlawyered
Mr. President, End this Farm Subsidy Boondoggle
Before taking office, President Barack Obama pledged to cut government waste: “We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs…
Overlawyered
It’s Time to Consider the Cost of Regulation
As President Obama took the podium Tuesday night, all minds were fixed on the economy. As expected, the President addressed the economy first, front…
Business Week
The Appointment of Cass Sunstein as OIRA Chief
CNN
The Appointment of Cass Sunstein as OIRA Chief
CNN discusses Obama's pick for the head of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs with Iain Murray. The gate was very friendly to business…
Newsletter
Obama’s Housing Plan, Privacy on Facebook and Fairness Doctrine 2.0
President Obama announces a $75 billion mortgage “rescue” plan. Changes to the terms of service on Facebook raise a ruckus among privacy activists. The White…
CNN
The Auto Bailout We Need
GM and Chrysler have come back for more taxpayer money, which is exactly what everybody warned would happen when the first bailout was granted…
Study
The Truth About Online Gambling
Michelle Minton explores why government shouldn't treat gambling as if we lived in the Old West.
Study
Poker as a Game of Skill
Full document available in pdf It’s two minutes before the cards are…
Newsletter
Bottled Water Wars, Stimulus Disaster and Offshore Oil
Activists urge local governments to enact policies opposing the sale of bottled water. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops dramatically as President Obama signs a…
News Release
Statement on Obama Foreclosure Avoidance Plan
Statement on Obama Foreclosure Avoidance Plan by John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs The new $75 billion foreclosure avoidance…
Newsletter
Stimulus Signing, Washington the Entrepreneur and California Emissions
President Obama prepares to sign the $787 billion federal stimulus package into law. Americans across the country celebrate the birthday of George Washington. The Environmental…
CNN
Don’t Let Judges Tear Up Mortgage Contracts
The nation faces a foreclosure crisis of historic proportions, and there is an understandable desire on the part of the federal government to “do something”…
CNN
When Mexicans Have More Rights than U.S.
The Obama Administration and its nominee for Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, are seeking to all but eliminate the secret ballot in union elections, a…
Newsletter
Stimulus Upon Us, Lethal Wildfires Down Under and Satellite Radio Takes a Hit
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress reach a deal to spend $789 billion in taxpayer money on “economic stimulus.” The death toll from wildfires in…
CNN
Property insurance reform in Florida
Florida Real Estate Journal
Property insurance reform in Florida
TMC Net
There Being Little Chance of OFC Opponents Being Swayed by ‘New-and-Improved’ Bill
TMC Net
Critics Hitting U.S. Insurance Regulator Bill Proposal
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Critics Hitting U.S. Insurance Regulator Bill Proposal
Op-Eds
Don’t Punish the Shareholders, Too
In justifying a change of policy on negotiating corporate penalties, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, stressed the…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Mexico’s Supreme Court and the Superiority of Secret Ballots
Newsletter
Senate Stimulus, Geithner’s Banking Plan and a Florida Insurance Bailout
The Senate passes an $838 billion economic stimulus package. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announces a new plan to revitalize troubled U.S. banks. Florida officials look…
Study
Let Credit Unions Lend More
Eli Lehrer makes the case for expanding credit union business lending, which would unlock otherwise idle capital and thereby help create jobs.
News Release
Public Interest Groups Unite to Oppose Stimulus
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Iain Murray will join representatives from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), the National Taxpayers Union and several other…
Newsletter
Stocks Drop, Thrift Stores Threatened and Spending Tobacco Money
Stock values drop as investors await the passage of an economic stimulus bill and the new rules and restrictions that it will come with. New…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
News Release
Florida Doesn’t Deserve a Federal Bailout, Think Tank Says
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News Release
Senate Approves Stimulus, Steps off Economic Cliff
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Newsletter
Stimulus Showdown, New SEC Rules and Obama’s Labor Pains
Aides on Capitol Hill prepare for negotiations between House and Senate versions of the economic stimulus bill. New Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Schapiro…
News Release
SEC Decision on Corporate Penalties Could Harm Investors
SEC Decision on Corporate Penalties Could Harm Investors Watchdog Group Urges Chairman Schapiro to Reconsider…
Letters
Oppose the Federal Stimulus Bill
We the undersigned public interest organizations, representing millions of members and supporters nationwide, hereby call upon you to reject the $819 billion spending bill that…
Newsletter
Stimulus Trade Wars, Smart Grids and Bank Nationalization
Lawmakers propose applying a “buy American” restriction to projects funded by the economic stimulus package. Energy companies lobby for subsidies for a national “smart” electrical…
Op-Eds
Eli Lehrer: “The U.S. government has no business taking over banks.”
Nationalize U.S. Banks: In light of the financial crisis, the U.S. should nationalize banks, taking over the most troubled ones. Pro: The…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Obama’s Top Economic Adviser Conceding ‘Considerable Uncertainty’ About Stimulus Jobs Claims
News Release
Opposition Builds to Senate Stimulus Bill
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Letters
No Midnight Rulemaking
Full Document Avalible in PDF Chairman Steve Cohen 1004 Longworth House Office Building Washington DC 20515 February 3, 2009 Dear Chairman Cohen:…
Newsletter
Stimulus Transparency, Springsteen on Wal-Mart and the Mirage of Green-Collar Jobs
Developers launch StimulusWatch.org to keep track of the hundreds of billions of dollars Congress is planning to spend to stimulate the economy. Bruce Springsteen grabs…
Newsletter
A Plea for Bottled Water, Stimulus to Nowhere and Al Gore’s Venus Envy
Emergency officials in Kentucky put out the call for volunteers and donations of bottled water. Republicans leaders doubt that the federal stimulus spending bill will…
Newsletter
Green Stimulus, Bottled Water and Big Labor Infighting
Congress sets aside billions in the economic stimulus package for environmentally oriented energy and infrastructure projects. The New York Times’ “Freakonomics” column debunks the argument…
Newsletter
Economists Disagree on the Stimulus, Gore Self-Serving Testimony and the Trouble with TARP
Two-hundred economists dispute President Obama’s claim that there is “no disagreement” about the need to expand government spending to jumpstart the economy. Former Vice President…
Newsletter
Stimulus to Nowhere, Banning Cell Phone Cameras and More Money for Ethanol
Republicans on Capitol Hill attack the $825 billion economic stimulus bill championed by President Obama. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) introduces legislation to ban silent cell…
News Release
Senate Testimony Masks a Personal Financial Agenda
Al Gore, Corporate Lobbyist?…
Newsletter
A New Agenda for Congress, Geithner Confirmed and New Rules for Car Makers
Democrats debate how far to go in compromising with Republicans in order to pass major legislation. The Senate confirms Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary by…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
President Obama, You Can’t Stifle This Dissent
News Release
Statement on Senate Vote to Confirm Timothy F. Geithner
Contact: Cord Blomquist, 202-331-2282 John Berlau, 202-415-3192 Washington , D.C. , January 26, 2009—It looks as if Timothy F. Geithner…
News Release
CEI Unveils Agenda for Congress
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2009—With the incoming Obama administration and the opening of the new Congress, the House and Senate are…
Newsletter
$1 Million Federal Jobs, Green Energy and Union Dues
Public interest groups launch a campaign to encourage citizens to read Congress’ proposed $850 billion stimulus bill. Representatives of renewable energy companies acquire enhanced influence…
Newsletter
Full Stop on New Regulations, Infrastructure Confusion and the Problem with ‘Priming the Pump ‘
President Obama orders a halt to implementation of all pending federal regulations. President Obama calls for increased spending on roads, bridges and electrical grids. President…
News Release
European Antitrust Officials Target Microsoft over Internet Explorer
The European Commission may order Microsoft to strip Internet Explorer (IE) from certain versions of Windows, according to a preliminary ruling against Microsoft…
Newsletter
EPA Confirmation Hearings, Obama’s Stimulus and Ken Salazar for Interior
Lisa Jackson responds to questions during her confirmation hearing to become the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency. President-elect Obama proposes a massive economic…
Newsletter
Geithner’s Tax Trouble, Paycheck Protection and Obama’s Science Advisor
Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner comes under fire for past irregularities with his income taxes. The House of Representatives approves the misleadingly-named “Paycheck Fairness Act.” NASA…
Letters
Requesting a TARP Disapproval Resolution
Full Document Available in PDF United States Congress Washington, DC 20515 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf…
Newsletter
The FCC and Media Ownership, Ford’s Auto Bailout and Vilsack for Agriculture
President-elect Obama’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission favors stronger diversity and “media ownership” regulations. Poor sales figures may push the Ford Motor Company…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Geithner’s Nomination
Property and Casualty Insurance News
Why Geithner Is A Bad Choice
Property and Casualty Insurance News
The Embattled Geithner’s Nomination
News Release
Statement on Treasury Secretary Nominee Timothy Geithner’s Failure to Pay Self-Employment Taxes
Treasury Secretary Nominee Timothy Geithner's failure to pay four years’ worth of self-employment taxes for Social Security and Medicare is absolutely astonishing. And as more…
Newsletter
Steven Chu for Energy Secretary, Financial Scandal in New Mexico and Shaun Donovan for HUD
Dr. Steven Chu, nominated to be the next Secretary of Energy, prepares for confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate. The financial scandal that started with…
Op-Eds
Bailout Big Three By Cutting Red Tape
Why are we spending $17 billion of taxpayers’ money propping up two Detroit automakers (notably not Ford Motor Co.)? What the auto companies really…
Property and Casualty Insurance News
The Benefits of Deregulation in the Railroad Industry
Newsletter
Union Scandal in California, Alternative Energy Promises and Short-Selling on Wall Street
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) finalizes a controversial merger of its California locals into one state-wide “superlocal”. President-Elect Obama promises to double the nation’s…
CNS News
Economists Say Bush ‘Chucked’ Free Market Principles Long Before Financial Crisis
CNS News discusses President George W. Bush's move away from free market principles. However, Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute told CNSNews.com that…
Time Magazine
Broken Windows, Broken Logic
Kinsley's latest missive in time falls prey to one of the oldest traps in economics–Frédéric Bastiat's broken-window fallacy. Just as a broken window creates work…
Cafe Hayek
Tranquilizing the Stimulators
Daily Iowegian
The Hidden Costs of Government Regulation
Newsletter
Coleman v. Franken, Drug War TV and $8 Trillion Worth of Stimulus
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) announces a legal challenge to an election ruling favoring his rival Al Franken. ABC premieres the primetime drama “Homeland Security USA,”…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Richard Morrison
Senior Fellow
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform