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Big business is a myth
Many policy discussions, from antitrust to telecom policy, focus on how large businesses should be. Almost no one asks the big questions. Why are businesses…
Blog
Declaration of Independence: Ringbolt of America’s freedom
Frederick Douglass called the Declaration of Independence the ringbolt to the chain of our national destiny. He argued that its principles are our saving principles.
News Release
June added 147,000 jobs to economy, increase in discouraged workers: CEI analysis
The jobs report for June showed an increase of 147,000 jobs in the economy, exceeding economists’ expectations. An increase in discouraged workers and a…
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Harris’s rent control support clashes with even progressive economists
As one of his last policy initiatives before officially dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden unveiled a housing plan that included…
Blog
Top-down economic ‘moonshot’ incompatible with bottom-up ideals
In her book Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, economist Mariana Mazzucato proposes rebranding the United States’s economy. An advocate behind Biden’s Build…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Dead malls and retail nostalgia with Sal Amadeo
In this week’s episode we cover state-level regulatory reform, the opinions of Latino voters, Biden’s tax on stock buybacks, and another…
Op-Eds
Tariffs Don’t Protect Jobs
Many Americans, including it seems the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the Republican Party, worry that trade costs jobs. This helps to explain why…
Review-Journal
Yes, you do have the right to a jury trial
The Constitution says you have the right to a jury trial. At least in its in-house court, the Securities and Exchange Commission argued against that…
Blog
Book review: The War on Prices by Ryan Bourne
I have reached a stage in my career where younger colleagues sometimes ask me for advice. There are a few evergreen pieces of advice I…
Blog
Kansas REINS Act overrides governor’s veto
Advocates for government accountability recently scored a big win with the passage of House Bill 2648 in Kansas. The Regulations from the Executive In…
Blog
How major rules are surging under the Biden administration
We’ve taken a look at the total numbers of significant regulations issued this year in the Biden administration as well as at the subsets…
The Washington Examiner
The Inflation Reduction Act’s buyback tax restrains public company growth
The Biden administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress imposed a new tax on corporate stock buybacks as part of the …
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
In this week’s episode we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme Court’s…
Blog
California’s Newsom grants exception to state law so restaurants can cope with other state law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation over the weekend that exempted restaurants in the Golden State from…
Blog
Can moderators ask debate questions that don’t presume a progressive policy agenda?
Numerous policy issues are shaping this year’s first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the entire campaign atmosphere. These include…
News Release
Report: SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Spams Investors, Arms Climate Alarmists
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report on the controversial Securities and Exchange Commission climate disclosure rule, examining its legal and economic…
Study
Climate Disclosure Spam
Introduction “Despite cost-saving changes from the proposed rule, the final rule will prove expensive for public companies and their shareholders who will be paying for…
Blog
Biden-era unfunded and funded mandates alike are co-opting state and local priorities
Policymakers are increasingly aware of the federal red tape burden on small businesses, but they should also recognize its emergent implications for state and…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Rejecting Proposals to Manipulate Interchange Fees
Dear Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Americans for Tax Reform, and the undersigned organizations, write to you today to voice our opposition to…
Blog
SEC’s Orwellian surveillance system faces its greatest challenge yet
The Eleventh Circuit Court will soon decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by proposing the first market-wide surveillance…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Enlightened capitalism with Siri Terjesen
In this week’s episode we cover regulatory burdens on small businesses, common-sense solutions to poverty, a legal challenge to the TikTok…
Blog
Three years of Chair Lina Khan’s unhinged FTC
Lina Khan’s appointment to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was meant to bring about significant change and a new direction for the independent agency. Before…
Blog
Yes, make tipping tax-free
Republican candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to make tips tax-free is a good idea, and not just because it will be a…
Blog
Regulations hit small businesses and low-income households hardest
There are about 33.3 million small businesses in the United States, comprising 99.9 percent of all American businesses. About half of all employees work for…
Blog
Three cheers for House efforts to defund climate-related foreign aid
House Republicans should be applauded for introducing an FY 2025 State Department appropriations bill that blocks climate change-related foreign aid. Specifically, the bill wouldn’t…
Blog
The federal government’s shift toward controlling small business
Recent proclamations by the Biden administration have revealed a worrying shift in the federal government’s attitude toward America’s small businesses. In a new column…
Blog
When emergency declarations become the emergency
Crises and economic shocks have a history of abuse. Few are aware that there are 31 declared and ongoing national emergencies, with some active…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Capitalism and the historians with Phil Magness
In this week’s episode we cover the prospect of Inflation Reduction Act 2.0, rising consumer confidence, the perils of stress bragging,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Giving for a cause with Peter Lipsett
In this week’s episode we cover attitudes toward social media companies, the guerilla war over ESG investing, YIMBY housing reforms in…
Daily Caller
‘Money Has To Come From Somewhere’: New York Winning Big From Biden’s Domestic Agenda Despite Poor Business Climate
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in Daily Caller on government subsidies: “Subsidies make taxpayers worse off because that subsidy money has to come from…
Blog
Has ESG gone guerrilla warfare?
There has been much discussion recently over declining institutional support for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing theory. Many indications suggest that US shareholders…
Blog
Want higher air fares? Overregulate credit cards
This morning, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Transportation are holding a joint hearing “investigating” airline and credit card reward programs.
Blog
Biden’s veto of joint employer rule CRA a blow to small businesses
President Biden’s veto Friday of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) bill rolling back the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) “joint employer”…
Blog
Subsidy-free capitalism may require a constitutional amendment
Automobiles, electrification, ample consumer goods and mass marketing, a construction boom, and access to credit helped fuel the Roaring Twenties of a century ago.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Frontier economics with Kendall Cotton
In this week’s episode we cover the diamond jubilee of the Philadelphia Society, the cost of government regulation in the UK, the…
Blog
Small banks targeted as FDIC cracks down on technology partnerships
Earlier this week, Politico’s “Morning Money” column reported an astonishing finding that almost certainly points to politicization in enforcement by federal bank regulators. The…
Blog
US move to ban TikTok a troubling signal for our great experiment in self-determination
As a part of a foreign aid funding package, the Senate passed a bill mandating TikTok’s divestiture from Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. Biden…
Blog
FTC approves ban on noncompete agreements, sets up potential court battle
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to ban the vast majority of noncompete agreements in employment contracts during a special open commission meeting this…
Blog
New UK report recommends ‘rules about rules’ for regulation
In a new report, the Center for Policy Studies in the UK surveys that nation’s regulatory landscape – and doesn’t like what it sees.
Blog
FTC tightens grip over its in-house judges
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) possesses one of the most conflicted administrative law court (ALC) systems. The agency recently began hiring new administrative…
Blog
Seattle’s new minimum wage rule undermining delivery drivers
A new Seattle minimum wage law meant to boost the incomes of app-based delivery drivers has instead backfired, resulting in less work for drivers. Some…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Heroes of Progress with Alexander Hammond
In this week’s episode we discuss venture capitalists fighting red tape, challenges to electric vehicle adoption, Americans sleeping on the job,…
Blog
The eventual federal regulatory budget has bipartisan roots
With apologies to Margaret Thatcher, I’ll often joke that when the federal government runs out of other people’s money, it keeps spending anyway. The Congressional…
Blog
‘Fast Track’ series looks at states’ permit progress: First up, Pennsylvania
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is pleased to announce the release of a new policy paper series called “Fast Track.” The series, overseen by CEI senior…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Extremely online with Brad Polumbo
In this week’s episode we cover how honeybees came back from colony collapse disorder, why you shouldn’t believe the government’s nutrition advice,…
Blog
More credit card competition? Not really
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is worried about a lack of competition in payment card networks, so he’s planning to force the issue. His Credit…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Gig work with Liya Palagashvili
In this week’s episode we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new…
Forbes
Libertarian Victory: You Mean We Can Shut Down Government Without Even Passing A Law?
It is happening again. Congress will enact another bloated, pork-laden and largely unread omnibus spending bill to complete formal appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year…
News Release
Fifth Circuit hits pause on the SEC climate disclosure rule: CEI analysis
A controversial climate disclosure rule put forward by the Securities and Exchange Commission has been stopped by a federal appeals court. On Friday, March 15,…
Blog
Right to repair will not save households over $300 a year
You may have heard that so-called “right to repair” laws will provide big savings to consumers. Last week, Forbes published an article claiming that…
Forbes
How The Biden Administration’s ‘Junk Fee’ Policies Will Hurt Consumers
In his State of the Union address last week, President Joe Biden touted his policies against “junk fees,” vowing to save Americans billions…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defending election integrity with Walter Olson
In this week’s episode we cover the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial new rule on climate change, federal science policy and indigenous…
Blog
One great moment in the budget battles: GOP’s ‘Policy Statement on Deregulation’
Today marks the release of the White House’s $7.3 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, even as policymakers continue their wrangling over the…
