The primary focus of the Competitive Enterprise Institute since its founding in 1984 has been to promote deregulation. Government regulation of the economy blocks innovation and wealth creation. It also encourages damaging behavior such as rent-seeking and cronyism. Finally, it crowds out more effective forms of regulation such as market discipline.
The beneficial effects of deregulation were plain in the airline and freight rail industries. Deregulation begun in the Carter administration led to more flights at lower cost and to better rail infrastructure and much lower shipping costs. Yet, since the 1990s, successive administrations of different political stripes have piled on regulations, burdening the economy needlessly. We chart this problem every year in our Ten Thousand Commandments report.
The power of regulators now raises constitutional concerns. Regulators are often unaccountable, and their insulation from the checks and balances of the constitutional system suggests that they may in effect form a fourth branch of government. The use of guidance documents to avoid rulemaking procedures, for instance, can amount to government by decree. Deregulation is therefore essential to restore good constitutional order.
CEI advocates for both overall regulatory reform – changing the ways in which rules are made to make them more transparent and easier to remove – and for specific regulatory changes. Recent successes include recognition of our concerns in Executive Orders promoting deregulation and curtailing the use of guidance, and in the reflection of our comments in rules promulgated by agencies such as the Department of Labor and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Deregulation Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Allies
Antitrust and the Federal Trade Commission in 2023
Excerpt from Mark Jamison’s piece, Antitrust and the Federal Trade Commission in 2023 in the Washington Examiner. “Generally, Republicans have a limited appetite for…
Study
Terrible Tech Bills from the 117th Congress
Congress is considering an onslaught of legislation targeting the largest tech platforms in the U.S., addressing topics such as mobile apps, advertising, merger review,…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big news is that the Food and Drug Administration is poised to follow several other countries’ lead in approving one or more coronavirus vaccines.
Studies
Toward a US-Swiss Trade Agreement
This paper examines the benefits and challenges of a potential free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Switzerland. Such an agreement would do…
Don’t Depower Crypto
Introduction In President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget blueprint,1 the president proposed a new tax aimed at the electricity use caused by cryptocurrency mining. Known…
Ten Thousand Commandments 2023
View Full Report Here Ten Thousand Commandments is the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual survey of the size, scope, and cost of federal regulations, and…
Blog
Classifying regulations is now more confusing thanks to Biden administration
Joe Biden’s Modernizing Regulatory Review executive order (E.O. 14094) raised the threshold for a “significant regulatory action” from $100 million to $200 million in…
This week in ridiculous regulations: Space innovation and mariner credentials
The House passed a bill to ban TikTok that could easily be repurposed for other companies. It now moves to the Senate. Agencies issued new…
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…
News
Inflation numbers more nuanced than they seem: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index numbers released today for February 2024 shows inflation increased to 0.4 percent, up from 0.3 percent in January. CEI senior…
NLRB Should Let Stand District Court Ruling On Joint Employer Rulemaking
Just days before the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule was set to go into effect, a federal judge in Texas struck down…
CEI Congratulates Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak on confirmation as FTC commissioners
The United States Senate confirmed Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak to terms as commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by voice vote. Holyoak was an…
Op-Eds
Op-Eds
Cutting Corners and Nickel-and-Diming Customers
In macroeconomics, the “circular flow of income” refers to the continuous flow of money between producers and consumers in the economy. Producers provide goods and…
Forbes
The Quiet Threat To Science Posed By ‘Indigenous Knowledge’
“Indigenous knowledge” is in the spotlight thanks to President Biden, who issued an executive order within days of taking office, aimed at ushering…
Forbes
The GAO Weighs In On Regulatory Reform Options For Congress
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) December 2023 Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal Counsel ought not be overlooked by Congress,…
Staff & Scholars
Kent Lassman
President and CEO
- Capitalism
- Deregulation
- Innovation
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International
Dan Greenberg
General Counsel
- CEI Litigation
- Legal Studies
- Property Rights
Devin Watkins
Attorney
- CEI Litigation
- Government Transparency
- Legal Studies
David S. McFadden
Attorney
- Legal
- Legal Studies
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
James Broughel
Senior Fellow
- Deregulation
- Energy and Environment
- Innovation