Featured Posts
News Release
Inflation increased 0.1 percent in May, less severe than previous months: CEI analysis
Today, the Consumer Price Index report for May showed inflation increased across all sectors by 0.1 percent, compared to 0.2 percent in April. CEI…
Blog
Trump’s newborn nest egg accounts
In the face of recurring economic shocks—we’ve suffered 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 in the 21st century alone—the reflex to throw hundreds of…
Blog
The broken window fallacy: America doesn’t know what it pays for
If a kid breaks a shopkeeper’s window and a glazier fixes it, is the economy better off? It has created work for the glazier, so…
Search Posts
Forbes
Like DOGE, Virginia Is Leading The Way On Government Efficiency
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is one of the most high-profile experiments in Trump’s second administration. With billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk at the helm,…
The Daily Economy
DOGE Gets Serious in Its War on the Administrative State
I have argued for over a decade that America has a fourth, largely unaccountable branch of government in the administrative state. My 2012 book, Stealing…
Blog
My State of the Union message: Restore separation of powers
President Trump is giving a speech on March 4 to a joint session of Congress. In a syndicated column for Inside Sources, I argue…
Blog
Don’t let a government shutdown stop mergers
With a March 14 deadline looming, the US is heading towards another government shutdown. Congressional Democrats seem willing to let funding lapse unless they…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Alabama does DOGE with Stephanie Smith
In this week’s episode we discuss poverty in Illinois, J.D. Vance on AI in Paris, the future of the Jones Act and…
DC Journal
Point: Pare Back Presidential Power
President Trump is poised to address a joint session of Congress on March 4, the first-year equivalent of the annual State of the Union address.
Forbes
Signs Of A Renewed Regulatory Reform Push From DOGE
Over the last half year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has undergone an unexpected journey. What began as an idea envisioned by Elon Musk—and…
Letters
CEI joins the Black Rock Group to support Make America Competitive Again.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune, On behalf of the Competitiveness Coalition, we write today to urge you and your colleagues to support President…
News Release
House poised to debate rescinding Biden EPA methane tax rule
Today, the House is expected to debate a resolution of disapproval that would rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane tax rule,…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter to Congress on Tankless Water Heaters
Dear 119th Congress: The Biden administration gave us many bad appliance regulations, but worst of all may have been its last-minute crackdown on gas-fired instantaneous…
The Daily Economy
Bud Light Returns to Merit, Profit After ESG Backlash Cost Billions
Most Americans have heard about Bud Light’s controversial marketing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April 2023 from the ensuing boycott against the brand, which tanked…
News Release
Trump administration appoints free market champion Mark Calabria to OMB post: CEI statement
The Trump administration has appointed free market advocate Mark Calabria as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Associate Director for Treasury, Housing, and Commerce. CEI’s…
News Release
Constitutional challenge over spending power should be limited to executive powers – CEI analysis
Following his inauguration, President Donald Trump has made it known he intends to reduce federal spending. But a 1974 law called the Impoundment Control Act…
The Daily Signal
5 Big Controversies Facing the Fed’s ‘Consumer Watchdog’ Agency as DOGE Eyes Its End
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the governments legal authority It will likely take an act of Congress to completely shut it down,…
The Daily Signal
The Sneaky Way Government Unions Rake in Taxpayer Money, and How Congress Can Fight It in Reconciliation
The Daily Signal quoted CEI’s expert on budget reconciliation To drive the point home, Stern noted, “Your tax dollars quite literally go to pay for…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: pillar coral and mailing cremains
President Trump blamed Ukraine for its invasion by Russia and called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. He also issued an executive order with potential to…
The Washington Free Beacon
Biden Environmental Justice Adviser Received Millions in Taxpayer Funds After Personally Applying For EPA Grant
The Washington Free Beacon cited CEI’s expert on Biden administration’s environmental justice initiatives. Daren Bakst, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy…
News Release
CEI applauds Sen. Ernst’s (R-IA) SCRUB Act
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which would task President…
Blog
CEI to Supreme Court: Please don’t let executive branch set tax rates
Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to recognize that only Congress has the authority to write the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Pivot or Die with Gary Shapiro
In this week’s episode we discuss corporate DEI mandates, financial surveillance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, medical fraud among Alzheimer’s…
Blog
Sovereign wealth funds: Should governments invest in private businesses?
President Trump recently signed an executive order to study creating a sovereign wealth fund for the US government. If the proposal comes to pass,…
Blog
Trio of agencies scrap their climate disclosure mandate, SEC should take note
Prior to Inauguration Day 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Service Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) collectively withdrew a…
WSJ Opinion
Tariffs Matter More Than Don Luskin Thinks
Donald Luskin argues that tariffs are “inherently small tax hikes because tariffs only apply to, at most, a base of $3.257 trillion—the total value of goods…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Reconsideration of Nippon Purchase of US Steel
Dear Mr. President: We respectfully ask you to reconsider the corrupt and flawed decision of your predecessor, President Joe Biden, to reject the purchase of…
Letters
CEI scholars join economist letter urging Congress, Trump to reject trade tariffs
Today, we write this letter in a similar spirit of unity. While the professional economists who have signed today’s letter differ on many issues, we…
News Release
Fed maintains rates in first interest rate decision of the new year: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has announced that in the interest of fighting inflation, it will not cut rates at this time. CEI senior economist…
The Independent Institute
Wind and Solar Tax Credits are Destroying the Grid
Rising power demand is revealing the fatal flaw in the increasing penetration of wind and solar on the grid. It’s time to admit that enough…
Forbes
A Banger Trump Executive Order Abolishing Regulatory Dark Matter
“[A] loathsome night-spawned flood of organic corruption more devastatingly hideous than the blackest conjurations of mortal madness and morbidity. Seething, stewing, surging, bubbling like serpents’…
Las Vegas Review-Journal
EDITORIAL: Trump sets ambitious regulatory agenda
Las Vegas Review-Journal cites CEI’s expert on rules and regulations Indeed, the Competitive Enterprise Institute reports that the number of pages in the Federal…
E&E News
Trump’s regs freeze trips up Biden’s green rules
E&E News cited CEI’s expert on regulation Wayne Crews, a fellow in regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, said…
News Release
Acting FDIC chairman to re-focus regulators on core mission, away from political causes
The acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Travis Hill, today declared his list of priorities and reforms aimed at promoting a safe,…
Washington Examiner
Biden leaves Trump with 263 new regulations in final month
Washington examiner cited CEI’s expert on regulations at the end of Biden’s term Clyde Wayne Crews, the regulations watchdog for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, declared…
Marginal Revolution
Travis Fisher on electricity privatization
Marginal Revolution Cited CEI’s expert on electric utilities We aren’t necessarily trying to revolutionize the existing grid or change the way a typical residential…
Op-Eds
Affordable Housing – How Donald Trump Could Accomplish More Than Jimmy Carter
The passing of Jimmy Carter sparked much praise for his post-presidency good deeds, particularly his decades of volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity building homes…
Broadband Breakfast
Think Tank Analysts Outline Pro-Growth Broadband Reforms
Broadband Breakfast WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 — Analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are urging Congress to enact broad telecommunications reforms as outlined in…
Forbes
Biden’s Regulatory Big Bang: A Parting Gift Trump Is Set To Return
Just as the incoming Trump administration promised to repeal “foolish” and “radical” Biden executive actions—and issue so many executive orders on day one…
National Review
Time to End the ESG Shakedown
When the debate over environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and regulation started heating up around five years ago, most commenters had to describe what it…
Op-Eds
Point: The Electoral College Protects Minority Views and Discourages Fraud
The Framers of the U.S. Constitution designed a unique system to choose our president in 1787: the Electoral College. More than two centuries later, it…
The Daily Caller
EXCLUSIVE: Texas Republicans Attempt To Nix Biden’s Massive Last-Minute Offshore Drilling Ban
The Daily Caller quoted CEI’s expert on legislation to the offshore drilling ban. Trump has promised to scrap the Biden action himself upon taking office…
News Release
FTC lawsuit against John Deere will break more than it fixes: CEI analysis
The Federal Trade Commission today filed a lawsuit accusing John Deere, the tractor company, of forcing farmers to use authorized dealers for equipment repairs. CEI…
News Release
Inflation increases in December, signals a tough fight against higher prices remains: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for the last month of 2024 shows a higher-than-usual inflation increase of 0.4 percent, indicating the Fed’s decision to…
News Release
CEI Releases Pro-Growth Regulatory Reform Agenda for the 119th Congress
This year will see a new political trifecta take power in Washington D.C., presenting a historic opportunity to dismantle the corrosive federal bureaucracy that has…
Forbes
Practical Policy Options To Address Wildfire Risk
As wildfires rage across Los Angeles, shrouding neighborhoods in smoke and threatening homes and lives, the urgency of addressing wildfire risks has never been clearer.
Washington Examiner
Unelected ‘swamp’ takes control, imposes 19 rules for every law passed
The Washington Examiner quoted CEI’s expert on the amount of laws passed in the Federal Register “While many laws address routine matters like post office…
News Release
Economy adds 256,000 jobs in December, uncertainty remains with upcoming tariff policies: CEI analysis
The job numbers released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show 256,000 jobs were added to the economy in the last month of…
Forbes
The 2025 Unconstitutionality Index: Exposing Congress’s Abdication Of Power
One of the themes of the incoming Trump administration is that federal administrative agencies, rather than the elected Congress, write most laws. This contradicts the…
Op-Eds
American Manufacturing Does Well Without Washington
The purported decline and fall of American manufacturing is a bipartisan obsession. Despite all their differences, Republican and Democratic politicians favor similar policies to restore…
The Daily Economy
Debunking the Three Best Arguments for Tariffs
With President Trump’s return to office after the Biden interregnum, we can be sure of one thing: tariffs are going to be a major part…
Forbes
Biden’s Offshore Drilling Ban Sets Stage For Showdown With Trump
President Joe Biden took a shot at the incoming Trump administration this week by issuing a sweeping ban on new oil and gas leasing across…
News Release
Biden’s last-minute oil drilling ban should be undone by Congress
Just days before the end of his administration, President Biden on January 6 announced a ban on new drilling and further oil and natural…
