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EPA Should Consider the Harm of Regulating Greenhouse Gases
Even for the least essential choices we make in our daily lives, such as what we should have for dinner, we consider the pros and…
News Release
Consumer sentiment down nearly 30 percent, tariffs and inflation to blame: CEI analysis
Consumer sentiment is down nearly 30 percent according to an April survey conducted by the University of Michigan. CEI senior economist Ryan Young…
News Release
Producer Price Index fell by 0.5 percent in April, price increases and lower demand likely cause: CEI analysis
The Producer Price Index for April shows the seasonally adjusted final demand fell by 0.5 percent. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says the…
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David Koch (1940-2019), R.I.P.
Friend, philanthropist, inventor, and industrialist David Koch has died at the age of 79. He was a father and husband. Known best for his pro-liberty…
Blog
When Did Conservatives Stop Loving a Free Economy?
National Review contributor and rage-inducing controversialist Kevin Williamson has a new book out, “The Smallest Minority: Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics,” which…
Blog
Sealand, from Pirate Radio to Seasteading
Setting up a sovereign free territory has long been a dream of libertarian mavericks, from the ill-fated Republic of Minerva to the nascent Free Republic…
Blog
Will T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Increase Prices?
Lots of things influence prices and, of course, not all are influenced by the same factors. However, the lawsuit filed by several state attorneys general…
Blog
Antitrust Basics: Corruption and Rent-Seeking
Rent-seeking is economics jargon for chasing after unfair special favors from government. Businesses and individuals have a large menu of rent-seeking options to choose from,…
News Release
Facebook Report on Bias Overlooks Looming Threats of Speech Regulation
Facebook today released an interim report by former U.S. Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) examining claims by some conservatives of political bias on the part of…
Blog
Business Roundtable Restates Obvious: Stakeholders Matter (and Always Have)
There’s a flurry of news coverage this morning about the Business Roundtable releasing a new public statement on “the purpose of a corporation.” Whereas previous…
Blog
VIDEO: Why Beer Sucks in Socialist Countries
The trend of younger voters allegedly becoming more favorable to socialism has alarmed and chagrined many observers recently, from members of the New York Post…
Reason
Democrats Join Trump in Seeking Balance by Policing Speech
Reason cites Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on free speech and Section 230: Removing Section 230 protection from platforms that bureaucrats consider…
News Release
CBS-Viacom Merger Good Sign for Competition in the Multimedia Marketplace
Viacom and CBS today announced a merger that would combine the two entertainment companies into a single entity more able to compete with companies like…
News Release
CEI Experts: Delay on China Tariffs Shows Real Burden Is on Consumers
On news today that the US Trade Representative will delay new tariffs on some consumer items until Dec. 15, as well as exclude some products from tariffs.
Blog
VIDEO: Where the Regulatory State Came From
Our friends at the Pacific Legal Foundation have a funny and insightful explainer video on the historical development of the regulatory state (also known as…
Blog
Limits of ‘Soft Law’ Approach to Tech Regulation
Can the regulation of new technology be voluntary and non-coercive? In a recent op-ed for The Hill, Mercatus Center law and technology analyst Jennifer Huddleston…
The Kevin Miller Show
Kevin Miller 6am 080819
CEI President and CEO Kent Lassman joined the Kevin Miller Show to discuss the state of the economy.
Blog
Response to State Lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint: Mergers Signal Dynamic Markets
The end of the first blog post in this series warned that the real result of a successful lawsuit to block the merger of Sprint…
Blog
VIDEO: Green New Deal’s Bad Science
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new study by CEI President Kent Lassman and Power the Future Executive Director Daniel Turner on the costs of the…
News Release
Banks, Credit Unions Should Not Be Threatened for Doing Business with Cannabis Industry
Cannabis businesses have real trouble securing banking services, due to the fact their product remains illegal under federal law. Today the Senate Banking Committee held…
News Release
Heavy-Handed Regulations Could Deny Consumers the Benefits of New Facebook Cryptocurrency
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing todayfocused on Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, “Libra.” The hearing will consider the cryptocurrency’s impact on consumers, investors and…
Blog
The Middle Class Crisis That Wasn’t
Recently billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad calls for a wealth tax in The New York Times and fellow billionaire Ken Fisher responded in USA Today with a…
Blog
VIDEO: Break up the Antitrust Attack on Big Tech
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation hosted an interesting policy discussion on antitrust this week titled “Breaking Up Big Tech: Making Sense of the Debate.”…
Blog
Who Does More Damage to a Free Economy: Socialists or Cronyists?
Our friend Matt Mitchell of the Mercatus Center has a fascinating new article at Reason on how businesspeople feel about government favors and privileges. It…
Blog
Antitrust Basics: Regulatory Uncertainty
Antitrust laws are not enforced to the letter. They are a matter of regulators’ and judges’ discretion. If they were applied literally, every business transaction…
Blog
CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Rebecca Dunn
The videos and transcripts are in from the the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception. One of the most moving moments of the evening was…
Blog
CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Dave Barry
We here at the Competitive Enterprise Institute were excited when the funny and insightful writer Dave Barry agreed to deliver the keynote address at our 35th Anniversary…
Blog
CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Johan Norberg
It’s been a couple of weeks since the success of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception, and I’m happy to finally be able…
Blog
CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Kent Lassman
All of the media content from the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception last month is now available, including remarks from Master of Ceremonies Katherine Mangu-Ward,…
Blog
CEI Annual Dinner 2019: Katherine Mangu-Ward
We’re still thanking everyone who supported, sponsored, and attended the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th Anniversary Dinner and Reception last month. One of the superstars of the…
Blog
Antitrust Basics: Rule of Reason Standard vs. Consumer Welfare Standard
Regulators have used two different standards to judge antitrust cases over the last century or so: the “rules of reason” standard and the “consumer welfare”…
Blog
Antitrust Basics: Misleading Herfindahl-Hirschman Index
Market concentration is the most common reason for antitrust intervention. If a company has too large a market share, it can abuse that market power…
Blog
More to Like in Zuckerberg’s Aspen Talk Than Not
Yesterday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg touched on some of the most pressing issues facing his company and big tech as…
Blog
If Facebook and Apple are Feuding, How Are they Monopolies?
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal recapped a recent war-of-words between a European Facebook executive, Nick Clegg, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. At issue…
Blog
Antitrust Basics: Relevant Market Fallacy
If a firm is charged with having market power, the question naturally arises: in which market? Does Facebook have a monopoly over social networking, especially…
Blog
A Vision for Freedom: CEI’s 35th Anniversary
At the Competitive Enterprise Institute this week we’re still reflecting on the success of last Thursday’s 35th anniversary dinner and gala, and thanking our friends…
The Hayride
Coalition Calls on Congress to Reject Corporate Welfare, End Ex-Im Bank
The Hayride cites a coalition letter, joined by CEI, opposing the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. President Donald Trump supports filling the board and…
Blog
Search for the Hand: 2019 CEI Dinner Movie
Last night was the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 35th anniversary dinner and gala here in Washington, D.C., and a crowd of several hundred friends and supporters…
Blog
Political Realignment Is Big Problem for Free-Market Supporters
Angela Nagle, an economic nationalist and author of “Kill All Normies,” recently argued on a podcast that, “Conservatives are starting to have these interesting debates…
Blog
Introducing Antitrust Basics
Often, a drips-and-drabs approach to learning an issue over a period of time is as effective as a single intense cram session. To that end,…
Blog
VIDEO: How to Become a Federal Criminal
Have you ever made an unreasonable gesture to a passing horse in a national park? If so, you are already a federal criminal. For the…
Blog
This Summer, Celebrate Lemonade Freedom
There is good news for young entrepreneurs coming out of the Lone Star State, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) recently signed a bill allowing…
Blog
State Officials, Department of Justice Should Green-Light Sprint-T-Mobile Merger
Yesterday’s filing by ten state attorneys general to block the proposed merger of wireless carriers T-Mobile and Sprint is the latest threat to the innovations…
Blog
Does Capitalism Destroy Culture?
Capitalism’s critics claim that the pursuit of profit can become like a black hole, consuming all of our attention and energy at the expense of culture.
Blog
Corporate ‘Power’ Is Limited and Temporary—Government Power Is the Real Threat
An Axios article today examines for-profit companies taking public positions on controversial political issues, carrying the headline “When companies act like governments.” Reporter Erica Pandey…
Fox Business
What Investors Need To Know About SEC’s New Broker Standards
Fox Business cites Senior Fellow John Berlau on new SEC broker standards. “Hopefully, the new rules will protect investors from fraud and deception…
Blog
This Month, Take Pride in Abundance and Opportunities of Capitalism
June is Pride Month, when gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other not-straight people celebrate with a variety of events, including activism, parades, and concerts. As…
News Release
Antitrust Action Will Sacrifice 2 Years of Trump Deregulatory Gains, Harm Consumers
Today, House Democrats launched antitrust investigations into prominent technology companies, including Facebook, Google and potentially others.
Blog
Will Antitrust End Trump’s Deregulatory Push?
Revelations that antitrust enforcers have conspired to divide jurisdiction and initiate antitrust investigations into Google and Apple (the U.S. Department of Justice) and Amazon and…
Blog
Addressing the Gender Pay Gap: Culture, Not Legislation
Gender discrimination is a complex problem with a complex solution.
Blog
VIDEO: Ending Police Harassment of Small Business in India
Our friends at the Atlas Network have an excellent new video out about legal reform in India that is helping small businesspeople stand up to…
Blog
Corporate Virtue in Eye of Beholder
The main impression I’ve gotten from much recent reporting on the ethical behavior and social responsibility of business is that its value depends greatly on…
Blog
VIDEO: What Is the ‘Social Responsibility’ of Business?
Recently I was in the audience for an interesting panel discussion, hosted by the Federalist Society, on corporate social responsibility. Should corporate managers only work…
