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Regulators right to approve Capital One/Discover merger
On Friday, federal financial regulators made the right decision in approving the merger of Capital One and Discover. In their joint approvals of the merger,…
Forbes
Trump Reforms Die Without An Abuse-Of-Crisis Prevention Act
Amid frustrations with interventionist elements of the Trump agenda—such as tariffs and revived antitrust zeal—many have nevertheless been encouraged by the renewed…
Citation
Happy Hour May No Longer Be So Happy
The American Spectator cited CEI’s expert tariffs Economists aren’t surprised that the alcohol industry is talking about price hikes. “Tariffs are a tax,” said…
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Wall Street Journal
He’s Still a Player
Many musicians have gotten their start in garages and, in the tech era, so have many entrepreneurs. But Herb Alpert has the rare distinction of…
Wall Street Journal
GOProud going to CPAC — well, sort of
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is sponsoring the panel entitled “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the Coalition, Bringing Tolerance Out of the Closet.” As of…
Wall Street Journal
How Gay Rights Got into CPAC
Two years after GOProud was evicted as a CPAC sponsor, the gay conservative group’s president, Jimmy LaSalvia, has been invited to speak on a “pro-gay…
Wall Street Journal
Finally, the Gays Have Come Back to CPAC
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a D.C.-based libertarian think tank that largely focuses on economic and environmental policy, will hold a CPAC panel featuring two…
Forbes
After The Sequester, Bring On The Blame Game
Should a miracle occur and the pending sequester actually kick in to reduce the growth of federal spending—said slowdown derided as “draconian budget cuts” even…
Forbes
Secrecy surrounds company suing Consumer Product Safety Commission
“The public does not have a right to know everything. Records are sealed for many and various reasons, generally to protect the innocent,” said Fran…
National Post
Frum Wrong About Budget Cuts
David Frum claims modest automatic budget cuts scheduled to go into effect in the U.S.A. in March will somehow harm the economy if they aren’t…
Washington Examiner
Letter to the Editor: Sequestration Cuts Will Increase Long-Term Growth
Re: "Drop in GDP a preview for area," Jan. 31 This article falsely claims that the U.S. economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012…
Financial Times
Letter to the Editor: Companies should never apologise for making products people enjoy
Sir, The key (if unintended) message of Alan Rappeport’s analysis of Coca-Cola’s response to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “anti-obesity” measures is that corporate appeasement…
Forbes
It’s Time For A Transparency-In-Government-Statistics Law
Question: When does a government agency chartered with collecting and disseminating economic data morph into a propaganda ministry? Answer: When it allows unaccountable bureaucrats answerable…
Washington Post
Fred Smith passes the torch at CEI
Most think tanks are earnest places — and then there’s the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “People say, ‘CEI has fun people, but some of them are…
Blog
Adam Smith’s Recommendation To End Illegal Immigration
Restrictions on immigration have created a black market in labor and movement. Currently, the U.S. government issues only 10,000 green cards to workers who lack higher…
Right Side News
Economic Freedom Declines Again; Government Control Is Bad for Your Health
Economic freedom has declined under the Obama administration, and America’s rank has repeatedly fallen on the Index of Economic Freedom and other rankings issued by…
Forbes
Deconstructing Obamanomics: What Is The Real Goal?
As President Barack Obama begins his second term, democratically returned to office by a majority of Americans who seem to buy what he is selling, it…
Blog
James Buchanan, 1919-2013
Economics has lost one of its greats. James Buchanan has passed away at age 93. Born on a Tennessee farm in 1919, he continued working…
Forbes
Clement Moore Revisited: Twas The Night Before Fiscliff
Twas the night before Fiscliff, when all through the House Not a statesman was stirring, not even to grouse. Neither bills nor amendments…
AJC
Tax pledge proves its worth
Grover Norquist’s Tax Pledge isn’t perfect. But it successfully forces lawmakers and taxpayers to address America’s current fiscal path. Opponents of the pledge say it…
Forbes
Can Union Backed Crowdfunding Rescue Hostess From Bankruptcy?
By now you’ve heard at least two opposing versions of the Tale of the Tearful Twinkies. In the first, a great American brand was driven…
The College Fix
Obama’s New College Bailout Will Fuel Skyrocketing Tuition
So argues Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute: We wrote earlier about perverse federal financial aid policies that encourage colleges to jack…
Forbes
Why Grover Norquist’s Tax Pledge Works
Listening to the media these days, it seems Grover Norquist is Public Enemy No. 1. His insistence lawmakers keep their promises to voters—in the form…
Forbes
A Tax Both Ayn Rand And Ralph Nader Could Love
Here is a puzzler worth pondering as Congress scrambles to find enough tax revenue to feed its insatiable appetite for spending. Can you come up…
Forbes
Grover Norquist’s Gnomes Duke It Out With The Tax Fairness Fairy
No one seriously believes that federal spending is going to be brought under control any time soon. Regardless of what deals are cut during the…
Forbes
Regulatory Uncertainty Drives A Fish Farmer To Foreign Waters
Feeding 7 billion people is no small challenge. As it has from time immemorial, high quality protein harvested from the sea plays a major role…
Forbes
A Guide To Talking Politics At The Thanksgiving Table
“And remember, no talking politics. Most of the people there will be liberals and you know how badly they react to opinions different from their…
Foundation for Economic Education
The Enduring Lesson of I, Pencil
As President Obama embarks on his second term, we’ll have to see whether he conjures up the specters of his controversial campaign moments. Recall his…
Forbes
Chronicling The Decline And Fall Of Entitlement Democracy
It’s been a week of sober reflection, accompanied by a self-imposed news fast, during which I’ve struggled to understand the deeper meaning of our recent…
Forbes
American Voters Choose Obama To Lead Us – Down The Road To Ruin
Despite a good look at the bankruptcy of entitlement democracy playing out across the euro zone, Americans have gone to the polls demanding to join…
Forbes
To Finally Abolish Affirmative Action, All Americans Should Check The Minority Box
As the Supreme Court makes another foray into the mess of confusing and contradictory rulings over the constitutionality of race-based college admissions, one has to…
Forbes
Hey Romney, Here’s A Comeback To Obama’s $5 Trillion Tax Cut Canard
Framing a debate is half of winning it—especially when neither facts nor reason are on your side. The Obama campaign’s repeated claims that, if elected…
Forbes
Study blasts federal economic development initiatives
From Brian Pederson’s article in Lehigh Valley Business: A new study blasts the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) and calls for its abolishment,…
Forbes
What Do The War On Cancer And Climate Modeling Have In Common?
The reverential treatment accorded to climate modelers by the media, policymakers, and the public is one of the great mysteries of modern life. But it…
Forbes
Promoting Libertarianism, John Ramsey Plays The Long Game
Ron Paul’s presidential campaign was unique in the history of the libertarian movement, attracting more serious attention than those of any of his libertarian predecessors. Campaigning as…
Study
The Case for Abolishing the Economic Development Administration
EDA investments do little more than shift resources from one area of the country or the economy to another. EDA’s funding should be immediately revoked,…
News Release
New Study Makes Case Against Economic Development Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 18, 2012 — It is the mission of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) “to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting…
Forbes
Polaroid, Kodak, Apple: No One Escapes the Winds of Creative Destruction
Hundreds of companies are born every day. Most don’t survive the Darwinian struggle to attract customers, achieve profitably, and reach adolescence. The fittest claw their…
News Release
I, Pencil
In November 2012, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released I, Pencil: The Movie, an animated short film adapted from the 1958 essay by Leonard E. Read, founder…
Forbes
Moral Hazard: Corrosively Dissolving Democracy From The Inside
“I know the Alt-A mortgages we’ve been shoveling at Fannie Mae are a disaster waiting to happen, but a few more bonus checks like…
Forbes
It’s Futile Rep. Ryan, In Politics Feelings And Emotion Always Trump Simple Math
Well, at least the blue tribe and the red tribe are in violent agreement about something. Both think Mitt Romney made a definitive choice in…
Financial Times
Letter to the Editor: The Most Cosmopolitan of Composers
Sir, Andrew Clark’s appreciation of Frederick Delius and of Sir Thomas Beecham’s Delius recordings is most welcome and perceptive (“…
Real Clear Markets
Markets, Not Mandates, Are the Key to Sustainable Development
What exactly is sustainable development? Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland, speaking at the United Nations' Stockholm Conference in 1972, described it as "development that…
Forbes
As Liberty Fades, Contemplate The Wisdom Of The Olive Tree
It’s easy to despair watching the flame of liberty flicker and die. To accept the sad fact that our Founders’ vision of limited government could…
Daily Mail
America’s Real Choice: Cronyism or Capitalism
America appears to be at war with itself, if the Presidential campaign is anything to go by. The adverts that have saturated the airwaves over…
New York Post
Letter to the Editor: Quota-Free Classes
Kyle Smith misquoted me in his otherwise excellent column, “Political Science” (PostScript, July 15). I never said “courts have ruled that applying Title IX to…
New York Post
Cooperation Is What Markets Are For, Not Governments
When President Obama told a Virginia crowd last week that “if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own,” he was right. His…
America's Future Foundation
Profiles in Liberty: Fred Smith
From Tom Swanson's column for America's Future Foundation: As he prepares to name a successor, Fred Smith has big plans for the…
Forbes
You’re Wrong President Obama, Howard Johnson Built His Business
Over the weekend, President Obama sent a message to all American entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs. The message was, “Nothing special about you!” At a campaign…
Forbes
Obama: Biggest Spender in World History
From Peter Ferarra's article in Forbes: Moreover, as Competitive Enterprise Institute scholar Hans Bader reported in May, “The Democrat Congress [in 2008], confident…
Washington Times
Letter to the Editor: Higher Education Not Always a Necessity
George Leef is right that the “huge cost of college is often a waste” (“Burst the higher education bubble,” Commentary, Wednesday). Some 17 million Americans…
Washington Times
Is China doing capitalism better than the United States?
D.C. anchor Mike Walter interviews Peter Schiff, the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., and Fred Smith, President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute about a…
The American Spectator
Obama v. Job Creation
From Doug Bandow's op-ed in The American Spectator: Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has produced the latest edition of his…
Real Clear Markets
The Lean Forward Campaign: A Recipe for Economic Stagnation
It's hard to miss the MSNBC motto's comfy similarity to President Obama's reelection slogan. Widely mocked since its debut, the "Lean Forward" campaign celebrates the…
Forbes
Lamenting the Lost Legacy of Independence Day
Why do we still celebrate Independence Day? Is it a lingering habit, a mindless bit of nostalgia, a time to indulge in fireworks and barbecues,…
Washington Post
Romney Finally Punches Back on Outsourcing
From Jennifer Rubin's post in The Washington Post's Right Turn: Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute wrote about…
Washington Post
What Liberals Don’t Understand About Government and Our Founding Fathers
Is there anything the government can’t — or shouldn’t — do? For the men who gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to draft…
Real Clear Markets
Newspapers Must Die: Long Live The News
Fear not the future. The long anticipated demise of the conventional newspaper business is a cause for celebration, not anguish. Freed from the shackles of…
Newsbusters
The Horror: NYT’s Timothy Egan Forced to Watch Fox News
From Clay Waters' article on Newsbusters: "Timothy Egan, a liberal reporter turned columnist for the New York Times, was forced to watch Fox…
Forbes
President Obama: The Biggest Government Spender In World History
From Peter Ferrara's column in Forbes: As Hans Bader reported on May 26 for the Washington Examiner, the budget approved and implemented by…
Blog
Remembering Elinor Ostrom
Among the individuals with whom I wish I could have greater opportunities to exchange ideas is Elinor Ostrom. She passed away today, and now I…
Forbes
Paul Ryan at CEI Gala: Want to See How This Movie Ends? Look at Europe
From Francesca Chambers’ post in RedAlertPolitics: It’s not to late to turn around our country and get the American Dream back, said Rep.
Washington Post
Would Don Draper Hate Today’s Corporate Ad Campaigns?
From Suzy Khimm's post in The Washington Post's WonkBlog: If an ad man like Don Draper saw the groveling, apologetic PR coming from…
Washington Post
Paul Ryan Goes Solo for Romney in N.C.
From ABC News’ Veep Beat: RYAN STUMPS FOR ROMNEY IN NORTH CAROLINA: While his state is engaged in a recall election today, Rep.
The American Spectator
A Tsunami of Bad Economics
The broken Krugman fallacy. Japan was hit by a tsunami last year on March 11. That’s not news, but the reaction of some economists sure…
The American Spectator
Higher Education Bubble Update
From Glenn Reynolds’ Instapundit: HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Are We Subsidizing Student Debt Too Generously? “Why am I subsidizing student loans for Harvard…
Financial Times
Letter to the Editor: U.S. Principles at Stake As Government Keeps Growing
Sir, Martin Wolf’s latest column ignores the wisdom of conservative commentator Stan Evans: “The problem with pragmatism is that it doesn’t work!” (“American power needs…
News OK
Letter to the Editor: Companies Have Right to Engage in Political Process
Regarding “Activist shareholders want full disclosure” (Business, May 6): Shareholder proposals calling for greater disclosure regarding “lobbying” sound reasonable until one considers the aim of…
Washington Times
Driving the Market From the Marketplace of Ideas
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recently came under attack from left-wing activists for meeting with representatives of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a nationwide association…
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Federal ‘Stimulus’ Spent $34.5 Million In Michigan For Only 183 Total Jobs
From Anne Schieber's article on Michigan Capitol Confidential: The real problem is that the government is creating these programs in the first place;…
Michigan Capitol Confidential
If I Wanted America to fail: Free Market Agitprop With a Lesson
A powerful YouTube video essay that premiered on Earth Day has since gone viral. I first saw it when it cracked 100,000 views. At last…
Reason
Leftwing Pitchforkers: Kill the Limited Government Monsters!
From Ronald Bailey's article in Reason: In a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal about the relentless Team Blue crusade…
Wall Street Journal
Letter to the Editor: An Attempt to Drive Free-Market Voices From the Field
The attack on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is part of a broader attack by those seeking to drive all market voices from the…
Wall Street Journal
Are We Subsidizing Student Debt Too Generously?
From Jennifer Rubin’s post on The Washington Post‘s Right Turn blog: I went to two critics of the current craze for federal subsidies…
Wall Street Journal
Supply-Side Critics Offer Only Trickle-Down Inflation
Economics is not called the dismal science for nothing. Many professional economists go to great lengths to obscure simple truths inconvenient to their political masters.
Wall Street Journal
President Obama Pledges To Recycle His Campaign Pledges
In a bold move aimed at reviving a renewable energy program struggling to bounce back from a string of bankruptcies (investing in the future isn’t…
Wall Street Journal
How Will Law Grads Repay Their Loans?
From George Leef’s post in National Review: Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute writes here about the high debt levels on average…
Wall Street Journal
Lights Off for Earth Hour? Rightbloggers Leave Lights On, Declare Victory Over So-Called “Environment”
From Roy Edroso’s article in The Village Voice: As we explained last year, Human Achievement Hour was founded in…
Wall Street Journal
Bono Wants to Save the World (But He Needs Your Money to Do It)
Full Document Available in PDF Summary: Through his nonprofit ONE Campaign, the rock star Bono advocates Western aid to help…
Fox News
Let There Be Light: ‘Human Achievement Hour’ to Coincide With Earth Hour
From Fox News: The Competitive Enterprise Institute plans to commemorate Earth Hour 2012 with its "Human Achievement Hour," 60 minutes to…
Fox News
CEI to Host Norquist-Lott Book Party
From Betsy Rothstein’s post on FishbowlDC: The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Christian Josi are hosting a book party and signing tomorrow at CEI…
Blog
Twenty Years without Hayek
F.A. Hayek died twenty years ago today. In his long career—his first book was published in 1929, his last in 1988—he made important contributions to…
Fox News
March 23 Roundup
From Walter Olsen’s post on Overlawyered: Just what European business needs: gender quotas for corporate boards [Bader, CEI]…
Fox News
Bell’s Critical Race Theory Promoted in Public Schools
From Kyle Olson’s post on BigGovernment: A radical organization known as the Pacific Educational Group (PEG) is actively promoting Derrick Bell’s Critical Race…
Fox News
The Real Reasons You Should Shun Goldman Sachs
By now, Greg Smith’s resignation letter heard around the worldwide Web has moved through its arc of infamy-passing from titillating revelation to corporate damage control…
Fox News
Student Loans: America’s Next Debt Bomb
From Glenn Reynolds’ Instapundit: HANS BADER: Student Loans: America’s Next Debt Bomb?…
Fox News
March 13 Roundup: Boom-Era Property Speculators to Get Foreclosure Aid
From Walter Olsen’s post on Overlawyered: “Are Courts Dragging Out the Housing Crisis?” [Mark Calabria, Cato] “Boom-Era Property Speculators to Get Foreclosure…
Fox News
Higher Education Bubble May Explode in Taxpayers’ Faces
From Glenn Reynolds’ Instapundit: HANS BADER: Higher Education Bubble May Explode in Taxpayers’ Faces. May?…
Fox News
Is Your Company Ready to Meet its New Disability Hiring Quota?
Has the economy got you worried about reelection? Looking for clever ways to showcase your bona fides as a promoter of “fairness,” champion of the…
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).
Fox News
Recounting George Washington’s Brilliant Entrepreneurship
February is an important month in the history of American commerce. In this month is the birthday of one of the country’s earliest business innovators…
Fox News
Give Greece a Going Away Present, But Go It Must
The rate at which things are deteriorating in Greece now officially exceeds the rate at which desperate Eurocrats weave new fantasies as they try to…
Fox News
Bennett Hypothesis 2.0
From George Leef’s post on National Review Online: On Minding the Campus today, Peter Wood, Rich Vedder, Hans Bader, Herbert London, and I…
Fox News
Making Sure Corruption Remains “Made in America”
In the annals of American legislation, few laws are as futile in their impact, capricious in their enforcement, and hypocritical in their content as the…
Fox News
Orwellian Doublespeak Dominates Economic Policy
While taking in my morning helping of news and commentary, I was struck by a certain similarity in every article touching on economic policy. It…
Fox News
Why Can’t Mainstream Media Connect the Economic Dots?
Politicians and journalists sure seem to believe that voters have the attention span and reasoning ability of a two-year old. Convinced that we are unable…
Institute of Economic Affairs
Countering the Assault on Capitalism
Full Document Available in PDF Introduction: Capitalism has been the most successful institution in human history yet it…
Institute of Economic Affairs
Daily Scoreboard
Las Vegas Review Journal
Obama, Romney and Taxes
Las Vegas Review Journal
Romney and the Burden of Double Taxation
When Mitt Romney releases his tax returns, as he is expected to do on Tuesday, thousands of green eyeshades will pore over every line. One…
Las Vegas Review Journal
The Ability to Fire People Creates More and Better Jobs
“I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” By speaking the truth, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney committed the cardinal…
Las Vegas Review Journal
Thinking Fast, Slow and Not at All
Reading Daniel Kahneman’s fantastic new book, Thinking Fast and Slow, on the eve of a presidential election can only lead to despair. Yet his careful…
Las Vegas Review Journal
In the Battle of Man Vs. Nature, Give Me Man
Welcoming the new year contemplating the sunset comfortably ensconced on a cliffside balcony high above the manicured banks of the Miami River, it’s hard not…
