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Biden’s budget: A continued attack on reliable energy and freedom
President Joe Biden’s FY 2025 budget request of $7.3 trillion is exactly what Americans should have expected: increased spending and taxes. A budget…
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New student loan proposal is regressive, politicized, and won’t stop rising prices
President Biden this week unveiled a new student debt relief proposal. It would cancel student debt for up to 153,000 people who incurred $12,000…
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Red tape? More like chains, thanks to deficit spending and subsidies
Federal subsidies and grants are infamous for having strings attached. That’s nothing new, but those strings are increasingly chains. Businesses are being seduced into corporate…
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131,000 Jobs Lost in July; Obama Aide Abandons Ship; Economists Criticize Obama; More Bailouts
“Non-farm job losses hit 131,000 in July,” on top of a loss of 97,000 jobs in May and June. Another Obama economic advisor is…
Blog
Obama subsidizes Ford after blocking its access to credit
At the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business, President Ronald Reagan offered these famous remarks about politicians’ views on business in the 1970s. Reagan…
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Obama Pushes More Bailouts; Nobel Laureate Criticizes Obama Policies
Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith criticizes the Obama Administration’s stimulus package and skyrocketing deficit spending, saying that deficit-financed stimulus is “the problem, not the…
Blog
Left-Wing Politician Faces Ethics Charges for Improperly Using Influence to Aid Bank
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is facing ethics charges after she improperly used her influence to get special favors from regulators, and costly taxpayer bailouts,…
Citation
Obama Administration Made Illegal Race-Based Decisions When Closing GM and Chrysler Dealerships
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Automakers Face Potentially Massive Race-Discrimination Class-Action Lawsuit Thanks to Obama Administration
“Decisions on which car dealerships to close as part of the auto industry bailout — closures the Obama administration forced on General Motors and Chrysler…
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Hopes for Federal Property Insurance Expansion: Gone with the Wind
Insurance industry members are wiping there collective brow after a bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives before a vote.
Blog
New Jersey’s Not-So-Palatial Xanadu
The retail and entertainment development formerly known as Xanadu Meadowlands—recently renamed The Meadowlands—has been plagued with problems since the planning stage. The East…
Blog
President Obama Signs Dodd-Frank Financial “Reform” Bill: 2315 Pages of Special-Interest Payoffs
President Obama today signed into law the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” bill, the “most sweeping overhaul of U.S. financial market regulations since the Great Depression.”…
Op-Eds
Have We Really Been Stimulated
The Lansing State Journal reported last week that the federal stimulus has been working. The White House projects the spending act created or saved between…
Blog
Senate Passes Financial “Reform” That Leaves Corrupt Bailout Recipients Unreformed, While Harming the Public
Yesterday, the Senate passed a so-called financial reform bill by a vote of 60-to-38, making it all but certain to become law. The bill…
Blog
Earthquake Hits Washington, D.C. Area; Politicians Seek to Expand Bailouts and Subsidize Earthquake Insurance
A mild earthquake hit the Washington, D.C. area this morning at around 5 a.m. It broke a jar of grapefruit marmalade that fell…
Blog
Dodd-Frank is not “financial reform,” it’s more Big Government lunacy
The 2,315 page Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill should not be called “financial reform.” Instead, it should be called what for what it is: pages and…
Blog
Bank Failures Rise; Banks Shuttered at a Faster Rate in 2010 Than in 2008 and 2009; Financial “Reform” Adds to Banks’ Woes
“This past Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shuttered another four US banks,” notes Neil Hrab in the Washington Examiner. “That makes 90…
Newsletter
A Beer Stimulus, Comcast Merger Questions and Urban Beekeeping
A proposed “Beer Stimulus Bill” would reduce the federal excise tax that small brewers must pay. Yesterday lawmakers conducted a field hearing questioning “Who Benefits?”…
Blog
Stimulus Package to Cost $75 Billion More Than Predicted; Plus, Government-Employee Bailout Sought
The stimulus package is going to cost at least $75 billion more than the $787 billion the Obama administration claimed, according to the Congressional…
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Orcs on Wall Street and the Chimera of Green Jobs
Congress continues to discuss a plan that would legalize online gambling in all fifty states. The government is on the prowl…
Blog
Congress Destroys Free Checking Accounts by Blocking Overdraft Fees for the Irresponsible
Banks can afford to offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance, to responsible people, only because they can charge overdraft fees to irresponsible people. …
Op-Eds
Bad Idea: Congress Blocks Checking Overdraft Fees
Banks can afford to offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance, to responsible people, only because they can charge overdraft fees to irresponsible…
Blog
Financial “Reform” Bill Engages in Racial Engineering, While Ignoring Corrupt Mortgage Giants
Congress and the Obama administration refused to do anything about the corrupt government-sponsored mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, even though administration…
Blog
FL property insurance: turning a blind eye is not reform
While deregulation is always a good thing, we shouldn’t be fooled into believing that the recent news that Florida’s office of insurance regulation has…
Blog
Obama Wants Taxpayers to Cough Up $50 Billion To Bail Out Public-Employee Unions
President Obama now wants Congress to spend $50 billion to keep state governments from laying off government employees. In essence, this is a bailout…
Blog
AIG Bailout Had “Poisonous” Effect, Bailout Oversight Panel Says
“American International Group Inc.’s bailout had a ‘poisonous’ effect on the U.S. financial system because it demonstrated the government would protect Wall Street firms from…
Blog
BP Supported Obama Stimulus Package, Global Warming Bill, and Corporate Welfare; BP Bankrolled Obama Campaign
Columnist Tim Carney notes that BP, responsible for the massive oil spill, is “a close friend of big government whenever it serves the company’s…
Op-Eds
BP’s Disturbingly Close Ties to Obama Administration
Columnist Tim Carney notes that BP, responsible for the massive oil spill, is “a close friend of big government whenever it serves the company’s…
Blog
Government-Funded Journalism is More Dangerous Than Corporate-Funded Journalism
The following is part of a conversation I had with a journalist friend (who shall remain unnamed) on the future of the journalism industry, and…
Blog
Media Give Disgraced Politician Eliot Spitzer a Soapbox to Lecture the Public
Eliot Spitzer, who was forced out as Governor of New York after paying prostitutes tens of thousands of dollars and then violating federal finance laws…
Blog
Obama Administration Pushes More Bailouts at Taxpayer Expense; America to Bail Out Corrupt Union Pension Funds
The Obama administration and its congressional allies are now pushing for billions more in bailouts for mismanaged union pension funds, and teachers unions. The union…
Op-Eds
Obama’s Next Bailout Beneficiaries: Corrupt Union Pension Funds
The Obama administration and its congressional allies are now pushing for billions more in bailouts for mismanaged union pension funds, and teachers unions.
Citation
Senate Considers Union Pension Bailout
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More Bailouts for Corrupt Mortgage Giants: “More Aid Expected for Fannie, Freddie”
The bailouts are getting even bigger, for the most undeserving recipients. “More Aid Expected for Fannie, Freddie,” reports The Washington Post. The Obama administration…
Blog
Corrupt Mortgage Giants Escape Reform: “Obama Administration Says Fannie, Freddie Reform ‘Too Hard'”
There won’t be any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-sponsored mortgage giants that even Obama administration officials admit were at…
Newsletter
Global Warming Research, Financial Regulation and Transportation Projects
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is investigating the state-funded global warming research of a former University of Virginia professor to see if he defrauded taxpayers;…
Blog
CEI Statement on Senate Passage of Restoring American Financial Stability Act
The “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” that passed Congress last night with 39 senators voting “nay,” will hurt Main Street investors and entrepreneurs, and worsen…
Blog
Senate Passes Financial “Reform” Bill, 59-39; Will Wipe Out Jobs and Increase Credit Card Costs
The Senate has just passed a 1,500 page financial “reform” bill that deliberately leaves unreformed the corrupt mortgage giants that spawned the financial crisis–while…
Newsletter
Immigration Reform, SCOTUS and “Market Fundamentalism”
The New York Times reports that younger people are more likely to favor liberalized immigration policy than the baby boomer generation. The Supreme Court’s decision…
Blog
Preempting State Pension Bailouts
Congress has long used its control of the federal government’s purse strings as a club with which to force states to change laws that fall…
Blog
Bailout Supporters Lose Elections in Germany and Utah; Obama Administration Presses Ahead With More Bailouts
Senator Robert Bennett lost reelection in Utah’s Republican primary amidst anger over his vote for the $700 billion bank bailout known as TARP.
Blog
Durbin’s Walgreens Corporate Welfare Amendment
Give Dick Durbin some credit for his chutzpah. It’s not every lawmaker who, in proposing an amendment to a financial reform bill ostensibly aimed at…
Op-Eds
Dems Block Reform of Corrupt Mortgage Giants
In a party-line, 56-to-43 vote Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-backed mortgage giants…
Blog
CEI’s FTC Complaint Against GM: A Response to Walter Olson
Over at Cato@Liberty, Walter Olson criticizes CEI’s filing of an FTC complaint against General Motors regarding a recent television advertisement by the…
Blog
Democrats Block Reform of Corrupt Mortgage Giants; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Will Receive Billions More in Bailouts for Government-Sponsored Enterprises
In a party-line, 56-to-43 vote yesterday, Senate Democrats blocked any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-backed mortgage giants that…
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, FCC’s “Future of Media” Project and Another Fannie Mae Bailout
Sen. Lindsey Graham withdraws his support for climate legislation co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman. The Federal Communications Commission is launching a “Future…
Blog
Mortgage Giant Seeks Another $8.4 Billion in Bailouts, After Obama Lifts $400 Billion Limit on Bailouts for Government-Sponsored Enterprises
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae is seeking another $8.4 billion in federal bailout money, after the Obama administration earlier lifted a $400 billion limit…
News Release
The First Amendment Doesn’t Need a Bailout
Washington, D.C., May 10, 2010—In recently-submitted regulatory comments, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urged the Federal Communications Commission to take a stand against government interference…
Op-Eds
GM Deliberately Tried to Deceive Americans (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to criticize General Motors for falsely claiming in a recent TV ad campaign to have “repaid”—“in full”—what it received from…
Blog
Taxpayers to Put Up Billions More for Bailouts of Greece and Corrupt Mortgage Giant
Government-sponsored mortgage giant Freddie Mac is demanding another $10.6 billion in bailouts, which the Obama administration is expected to give it. Obama’s so-called…
Blog
More GM Bailout Lies: Ally (GMAC) Bank’s Deceptions
General Motors’ false advertising that it has paid back its bailout money “in full” has prompted harsh criticism. Yesterday, Competitive Enterprise Institute Attorneys Hans Bader…
Newsletter
GM’s Misleading Bailout Claims, Swine Flu and Financial “Reform” Legislation
General Motors boasts that it has repaid its government loans in full, despite having used other bailout funds to repay the initial loans. The government…
Blog
General Motors Accused of Fraud Over Misleading Claim That It Paid Back Taxpayers; CEI Files FTC Complaint
The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a complaint today against General Motors with the Federal Trade Commission, over…
Comment
CEI’s FTC Complaint Against General Motors Over Bailout ad
Full Document Available in PDF CEI today accused GM of deceptively advertising that it had repaid its government bailout. In a formal complaint…
Op-Eds
GM’s Tricky Payback
President Obama’s tax-cheat treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is trumpeting the fact that General Motors has paid back a small fraction of what taxpayers…
Op-Eds
“Financial Deform: So-Called U.S. bank Reform Does Little But Hurt Taxpayers”
The CEO of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street firm the SEC has accused of fraud, has endorsed the so-called financial “reform” bill…
Citation
GM Named in Deceptive Advertising Complaint Filed with FTC
Citation
Punish GM’s False Advertising
News Release
General Motors Deceptive Advertising Challenged by Watchdog Group in FTC Filing
Washington, D.C., May 4, 2010 –The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that General Motors misleadingly…
Blog
Bogus Financial “Reform” Bill Regulates Internet, Does Nothing About Corrupt Government-Sponsored Mortgage Giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The so-called financial “reform” bill backed by President Obama gives federal bureaucrats new powers over the Internet, while doing nothing about the corrupt government-backed…
Citation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – be careful what you wish for
Op-Eds
General Motors Still Losing Billions (Letter to the Editor)
The Washington Times was right to criticize the Obama administration for its misleading hype about General Motors repaying $6.7 billion of the $50…
Blog
Goldman Sachs Endorses Trojan-Horse Financial “Reform” Bill; Bill Has Payoffs for Special Interests
The CEO of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street firm accused of fraud by the SEC, has endorsed…
Op-Eds
Enough with SEC Porn; What about Obama’s Financial Lies?
There are plenty of problems with the financial “reform” bill, but the media aren’t interested in that. They’re much more interested in revelations that…
Blog
“Economists: The Stimulus Didn’t Help”
“The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government’s stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with…
Blog
Porn More Interesting to Media Than Flaws of Financial ‘Reform’ Bill; Obama Is “Lying His Face Off”
There are plenty of problems with the financial “reform” bill, but the media aren’t interested in that. They’re much more interested in revelations that senior…
Blog
Center-Right Coalition Letter Opposes Toxic Provisions in Dodd Bill
Below is a letter sent today to the Senate that was signed by several prominent groups in the Center-Right Coalition expressing “grave concerns about the…
Blog
Obama Uses Phony Rhetoric About Financial ‘Reform’ to Push Bill That Enriches Special Interests and Perpetuates Bailouts
President Obama has collected millions from Wall Street special interests, his administration is chock full of Wall…
Blog
General Motors Repays Tiny Portion of Taxpayers’ $50 Billion Bailout; Obama Backers Bash Critics of Bailout
President Obama’s tax-cheat treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is trumpeting the fact that General Motors has paid back…
Op-Eds
Examiner Right to Oppose Unending Bank Bailouts (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to oppose the Trojan horse financial “reform” bill that would enrich Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street firm that makes big…
Blog
Trojan Horse Financial “Reform” Bill Enriches Goldman Sachs, Rips Off Taxpayers
The Obama administration and Congressional leaders are pushing a trojan-horse financial “reform” bill that would enrich the wealthy and powerful investment bank Goldman Sachs, which…
Blog
Big Labor Pension Strategy: United States of Argentina?
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern made a big splash last week, when he announced his retirement from leading what is arguably America’s…
Newsletter
Stevens’ Legal Legacy, Goldman Sachs and Internet Gambling
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring. The SEC is charging Goldman Sachs with securities fraud. Opponents of internet gambling are circulating a memo…
Op-Eds
The Obama-Dodd-Frank-Everthing’s-A-Bank-Bill
Liberal pundit Michael Kinsley once defined a political gaffe as an instance of a politician accidentally telling the truth. House Financial Services Committee Chairman…
Blog
Obama-Dodd financial bill would further enrich Goldman Sachs
Today, the SEC charged giant investment bank Goldman Sachs with more than $1 billion worth of securities fraud for its dealings in the subprime mortgage…
AOL News
The Huge, Hidden Tax You Pay for Government
Taxpayers rushing to fill out and file their form 1040 today may think their obligation to the federal government is complete. But it's really just…
Newsletter
Liquor Licensing, Off-label Drugs and Fannie & Freddie
A new proposal in New York to set up a “medallion” system of liquor-licensing will serve as a compromise between wine retailers and grocery store…
Blog
Fannie and Freddie finally called to Crisis Commission
It is good that the commission, after several months, is finally visiting the role of Government-Sponsored Enterprises, but the setup of today’s hearing is still…
AOL News
Fannie, Freddie Finally the Focus of Crisis Commission
The congressionally chartered Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, after several months, finally is visiting the role of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…
Newsletter
Big Labor, Stimulus Money, and the Census
Washingtonian magazine interviews union president Andy Stern. The Mercatus Center publishes a study on how the $800 billion stimulus package was distributed. Daily Kos reports…
Blog
Ensuring Freedom and Responsibility on the Paths to the Future
Bailouts can be fatal for innovation as the creativity of the market is held down to “bureaucracy speed.” Is this wise?…
Newsletter
Mortgage Bailout, The Medicine Cabinet Tax and Human Achievement Hour
The Obama administration is expanding the mortgage-bailout program. The new health care bill proscribes the use of Flexible Spending Accounts for over-the-counter drugs. USA Today…
Newsletter
Jobs, Health Care, and Synthetic Trees
The Senate passes an $18 billion jobs bill. The Associated Press reports that health premiums will go up under health care reform. The Competitive Enterprise…
American Spectator
Will the Jobs Bill Create Any Jobs?
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a $17.6 billion spending bill. It needs only President Obama's signature to become law. The hope is that the new…
Blog
Barron’s on the Dire State of Public Employee Pensions
The current issue of Barron’s highlights the crushing burden that employee pensions are putting on state and local governments around the nation. The situation…
American Spectator
Dodd’s Main Street Punishment Bill
With the focus this week on health care’s “home stretch” and concerns about government limiting the ability of ordinary Americans to make choices about…
Blog
Dodd bill punishes Main Street entrepreneurs, rewards Fannie and other high rollers
With the focus this week on health care’s “home stretch” and concerns about government limiting the ability of ordinary Americans to make choices about medical…
Blog
Obama Runs Up Largest Budget Deficit in American History; Monthly Deficit Alone Exceeds Entire Annual Deficit for 2007 Under Bush
“The Obama Administration has run up the largest budget deficit in American history in February of 2010, a whopping total of $220.9 Billion in just…
American Spectator
Real Competition Among Health Plans
The flash point of last year’s health care debate was the public option. The proposal, which calls for a government-created health insurer to compete…
American Spectator
Real Competition Among Health Plans
American Spectator
Obama Runs Up Largest Budget Deficit in U.S. History
“The Obama Administration has run up the largest budget deficit in American history in February of 2010, a whopping total of $220.9…
American Spectator
Obama Wants to Tax Good Banks, Protect Bad Ones
The Obama administration wants to increase taxes on productive banks that are self-supporting, while exempting the mortgage giants and other companies that got massive…
Blog
FDIC Threatens Public Pensions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is trying to get public pension funds to help prop up failed banks by buying into them, reports…
Blog
Obama Administration Rewards Corrupt Mortgage Giants, Punishes Productive Private Banks, Fleeces Taxpayers and Responsible Credit Cardholders
The Obama administration wants to increase taxes on productive banks that are self-supporting, while exempting the mortgage giants and other companies that got massive taxpayer…
Blog
The government’s conflict of interest in the Toyota witch hunt
You don’t need to look for ulterior motives in the government attacks on Toyota, which include not just the current congressional hearings but such things…
Newsletter
Credit Cards, Organized Labor, and the Stimulus Anniversary
New credit card regulations go into effect this week. The Washington Post has a front-page story on the difficulty of…
Blog
Credit CARD Act penalizes thrift and entrepreneurship; interchange fee controls would compound harm to consumers
Today, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 goes into effect. While the law, passed last May, is being hailed as…
Blog
Myths about Labor Myths
Sunday’s Washington Post features a supposed myth-debunking piece about organized labor that is so misleading that it’s hard to know where to begin driving…
Newsletter
Desk-Doodling, Broadband, and the Stimulus Anniversary
A twelve-year-old girl in Forest Hills, New York is arrested for doodling on her school desk. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announces he wants faster broadband…
Blog
CEI at CPAC this week!
CEI is co-sponsoring the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC, which is expecting to draw a crowd of some 9,000 -10,000 people…
Blog
Increase small biz lending not gov spending
President Obama seems to genuinely want to help people and improve the economy. However, he also seems to genuinely believe that the best and most…
Newsletter
The Lessons of the Meltdown, Attacking the Tea Parties and Texting Safety
Former Wall Street Journal editor George Melloan takes on the recent economic meltdown in a new book. A new online campaign aims to fight the…
Blog
Better than Nothing or another Feint?
Seeking to recast himself as a fiscal conservative, Obama is projected to propose a freeze on discretionary spending – NPR, NEA, “green” jobs, “disaster” relief,…