The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes the proper role for government is to provide consumers with accurate, unbiased guidance that informs consumer choice. But, whether it is the substances we prefer, how we entertain ourselves, what dietary habits we maintain, or how we pursue personal health, consumers ought to have the right to make decisions for themselves.
Consumer Freedom Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
The market has spoken: Consumers define the relevant video market
Washington loves drama, and recent debates over video industry consolidation have delivered plenty – billions of dollars at stake, congressional theatrics, and political posturing. But…
Study
The Environment, the Law, Markets, and the Path Forward
Introduction The Pharos Foundation at Jesus College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, invited me to speak at an on-campus forum in May.
Blog
Red tape, green bribes: Deregulation as an anti-corruption strategy
Corruption in politics is often thought of in narrower terms, such as bribes, kickbacks, or high-profile scandals with millions of dollars of fraud. However, political…
Search Posts
News Release
FDA Salt Initiative Leaves Bitter Aftertaste
Washington, D.C., April 20 – Statement of Daniel Compton, Policy Analyst, on the Food and Drug Administration’s plans to impose legal restrictions on the…
Blog
Hate mail from an M.D. regarding my AOL News piece, “Did WHO Knowingly Hype Swine Flu?”
Dear Mr. Fumento: Well, if you wish to destroy the credibility of the WHO, publishing a few more articles like the most recent one…
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…
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…
Blog
Justice Stevens Retires; Left-Wing Law Professor Nominated to Federal Appeals Court
Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the Supreme Court’s liberal bloc, is retiring. His most famous ruling is probably the 5-to-4 Kelo decision, which…
Blog
Online gambling opponents play the Abramoff card
Gambling as an activity for fun has been around since the dawn of human civilzation. When man first discovered fire, there were probably cavemen…
Blog
USDA may increase sugar quotas
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture may increase the import quotas for sugar to address a tightening supply…
Blog
Green Thumbs and GMOs
A friend just recommended this op-ed published in the Boston Globe on Sunday. The title and subtitle say it all: "Green Thumbs: Genetically engineered crops…
Op-Eds
Short-Sighted Ban Endangers Food Supply
This week, the Senate may vote on an amendment to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that could undermine the integrity of the U.S.
Blog
Toyota’s “questionable, evasive, and deceptive legal tactics”
“Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn…
Newsletter
Pub Restrictions, Tax Freedom Day and Turmoil in Kyrgyzstan
UK regulators are punishing pub owners for promoting happy hour specials and drinking games. April 9th is Tax Freedom Day, statistically the day Americans have…
Blog
Friday Regulation Roundup
It is illegal in Kentucky for anyone under 18 to play pool without photo ID and written parental consent.
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…
Blog
Rent Seekers Keep it Phony
Why does industry sometimes (all too often) support government regulation? You would think they would prize their freedom. But think again. Many businesses are willing…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 132: Fire Sprinklers
Cries for tax simplification grow every year. How does Congress respond? By introducing legislation to "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic…
Blog
U.S. avoids Brazil’s retaliatory tariffs — for now
With Brazil poised to retaliate against the U.S. for its cotton subsidies that were deemed unfair by the World Trade Organization, the two countries…
Blog
States Expand Gambling as Feds Attack It
Last week the Tax Foundation called attention to state initiatives to expand the lottery system. To cover lost revenues from the recession many states…
Blog
The BPA Myth – continued
I have an article today on both NRO and NPR about the environmental establishment’s continued war on science as it relates to the…
Op-Eds
The BPA Myth
On Thursday, April 1, Time published a list of the “ten most common household toxins,” focused on plastics. It claimed, “Chemicals in plastics and…
Blog
Nanny State Prevails on Maryland Wine Laws
Legislators in Maryland have disappointed the state’s wine lovers yet again by failing to pass a bill that would have allowed residents to receive wine…
Blog
D.C. area poll shows, once again, OTHER Americans are crummy drivers
Why are people killed in Toyotas? Because a huge number of Americans are killed by motor vehicles of all types and Toyota has been the…
Blog
CDC dumping swine flu vaccine – after media dumped the truth
What do you get from a phony flu scare? Among other things, lots of worthless vaccine. “Despite months of dire warnings and millions in taxpayer…
Blog
Car buyers rejecting “Toyota Terror” accusations
“Terror on the Roads: Runaway Toyotas,” was the title of an entry on a prominent Brazilian blog March 31. But today Toyota Motor Sales…
Blog
Menthol cigarettes aren’t cool to the FDA
In what could be one of its most paternalistic moves, the Food and Drug Administration is considering banning menthol in cigarettes – not because…
Blog
Coming Soon: The Auto Purchase Mandate
As threatened, the new CAFE standards have arrived, with the EPA muscling in on territory reserved by statute to the Transportation Department. As Marlo Lewis…
Blog
Regulatory Problem, Regulatory Solution?
A dying patient in the UK's NHS made the news after nurses refused to bring him a glass of water, despite his repeated begging. Had…
Blog
“How a pit bull is like a Prius,” my Philly Inquirer article today
What could pit bulls possibly have in common with Toyotas? Pit bulls, after all, tend to be smaller and furrier. And whatever you do, never…
Blog
Republicans Will Lose Many Seats in Congress Due to Right-Wing Paranoia About the Census
Republicans will lose many seats in Congress due to right-wing paranoia about the census and refusal to fill out Census forms, gloats the liberal…
Blog
Barack Obama and Liberal “Good” vs. Freedom
There's a great op-ed by Shelby Steele in today's Wall Street Journal, called "Barack the Good". In it, Steele argues that "today's liberalism is focused…
Blog
“Are some reporters lying in their Toyota coverage?” my Canadian Free Press article
I’ve shown clearly that reporters are acting with reckless disregard for the truth in the Toyota sudden acceleration feeding frenzy since my Los Angeles…
Blog
Gaia’s creator in The Guardian — science scandals, skeptics, and “a more authoritarian world”
In a lengthy interview in The Guardian yesterday, James Lovelock, scientist and inventor, prominent global warming advocate, and originator of the Gaia theory,…
Blog
On the Hill: Anti-Consumer Wine Shipping Regulations
You may have missed this news item, but recently the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy held hearings on alcohol regulation and the…
Blog
Gene Patents Ruled Invalid
In a pretty remarkable move, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday held that genes can not be patented…
Blog
Millions of Seniors to be Dumped from Health Plans Due to New Health Care Law
Two million seniors are expected to be dumped onto Medicare from company prescription medication plans, thanks to a poorly-vetted provision of…
Blog
The things I endure to get a story!
If you think I was tough for embedding in Iraq’s meanest city a year after having my guts blown out in another part of…
Blog
“Why Do Toyotas Hate the Elderly? my article in Forbes Online
It was the Camry in a car wash nightmare. With her two grandchildren in the car, Doris Dresner went through the wash in Columbia, Mo.,…
Blog
“How Media Took Us For A Ride In A Prius,” my IBD piece
For three days, James Sikes held America’s highest honor: victim. The nation had been transfixed by his almost half-hour-long 94-mph horror ride in his runaway…
Blog
Attorney Generals Challenge ObamaCare; New Health Care Law Increases State Budget Deficits, Imposes Marriage Penalties
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and a dozen other attorneys general have filed lawsuits challenging the new health care law signed…
New York Times
Calorie Data to Be Posted at Most Chains
Blog
Health Care- Fix middle-class “medicine cabinet tax” in reconciliation
“They won’t be so opposed to it once they see what’s in it.” That’s the rationalization House leaders have given skittish Democrats to get them…
Blog
Health Care Crisis About to Get a Whole Lot Worse
In just a few hours, the House of Representatives will vote on the $940 billion Senate health care bill, followed by a reconciliation package of…
Blog
Media falsely claiming CHP report backs Toyota Prius hoaxer’s claim
Over a week after I exposed the “Toyota Hybrid Horror Hoax” at Forbes. com, the press (as opposed to some TV networks, talk radio,…
Blog
New Taxes on Investors in Obamacare, and Massive Marriage Penalties, Too
The new tax on investors in the health care bill has been increased from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent, but only a few media…
Blog
Health Care Bill Would Vastly Expand IRS Power; CBO Ordered to Base Cost Estimate on False Assumptions
“House health care bill dangerously expands IRS power,” say a tax law professor and GOP leaders. The Washington Examiner says that “16,500 more…
Blog
Breaking the 3-Tier Bureaucracy
This week, Fermentation blogger Tom Wark rightly laments the three tier system that states use to regulate alcohol commerce. He notes: “the three-tier…
Blog
Governors Criticize Health Care Bill for Increasing Unemployment and State Budget Deficits; Tax Increases and Medicare Cuts in Bill Rise
Governors are now criticizing the health care bill backed by the Obama administration, saying it will cause health care costs and state deficits to…
Blog
Is There No Adult Supervision at the Campaign for Liberty?
My colleagues brought to my attention this grossly misinformed, misleading, and error-laden essay on the Campaign for Liberty’s website. The main thrust of the piece…
Blog
Some U.K. government ads on global warming too scary
“Is global warming the new apocalypse?” asks The Times of London in an article focusing on children’s fears about global warming in the context…
Blog
Remember the “cancer cluster” that made Erin Brockovich famous? (And rich?)
Erin Brockovich became “America’s Sweetheart” because “she brought a corporation to its knees.” As the story goes, the energy company PG&E was storing chromium 6,…
Blog
My NYPost piece on “sudden acceleration” as an American phenomenon
“No other country in the world has comparable problems with cars accelerating on their own,” observes one of Germany’s top magazines, Der Spiegel — yet…
Blog
Even Associated Press Says “Beware” of Obama’s Health Care Overhaul; Retired Judge Calls Health Care Tactic Unconstitutional
Even the Associated Press admits that President Obama is not telling the truth about his health care plan and how it would affect health…
Blog
Be Careful What You Wish For…
For many years, the climate alarmist movement pushed the development of corn ethanol as the “fuel of the future” on the grounds that it would…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 127: Landscaping
Angelina and Quan Ha, of Orange, CA, ditched their water-hungry grass lawn in 2008 to save money and water. The city promptly sued them.
Blog
Washington Post spreading more misinformation on Prius hoax
The media are still resisting admitting that James Sikes’s Wild Ride was just another Balloon Boy Hoax, in which they played a vital role. Thus…
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
Regulation of the Day 126: Cheese-Rolling Races
Cheese-rolling races have been held at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, UK since the 1800s. Until this year, that is. Health and safety regulators shut down…
Blog
Increase sugar imports and reduce prices
Today the front page of the Wall Street Journal published an article (subscription required) focusing on the current fight to increase the amount of…
Newsletter
ObamaCare, Alcohol Taxes, and Insurance Companies
David Brooks, who supported Obama in 2008, talks about the hidden costs of health care. Maryland legislators want to raise the tax on alcohol. Supporters…
Blog
ObamaCare’s Enormous Cost Is Hidden by Dishonest Gimmicks, Says New York Times Columnist Who Supported Obama in 2008
New York Times columnist David Brooks, like other columnists at that staunchly liberal newspaper, supported Obama in the 2008 election. But even he can…
Blog
Fumento scheduled for Today Show Monday AM on Prius Hoax
No guarantees! Starts at 7AM EST. Regarding my Forbes expose on the Prius Balloon Boy, James Sikes.
Blog
$3,000,000,000,000 in Tax Increases in President Obama’s Budget
The president’s proposed budget raises taxes by three trillion dollars over the next ten years, notes Washington fiscal analyst…
Blog
Video from my Prius hoax appearance with Neil Cavuto
I was on Neil Cavuto’s show on Fox Business for five minutes yesterday regarding the Toyota Prius hoax. Personally I refuse to look at…
Blog
“Toyota Hybrid Hoax,” my piece in Forbes Online
Yes, you suspected it all along. Now I’ve proved it. Mr. Sikes’s wild ride was a fabrication. The only reason his accelerator was stuck…
Blog
MD Proposed Alcohol Tax Hikes Upward of 1,000 Percent
Despite their seeming love of big government, Maryland lawmakers have done one thing worthy of praise: they have has kept state alcohol taxes relatively low.
Newsletter
Salt, Chanel, and Cap-and-Trade
Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz introduces legislation to ban all salt-use in New York restaurants. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld shows his “global warming-themed” fall-winter line for…
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…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 125: Salt
Assemblyman Ortiz has introduced legislation that would “make it illegal for restaurants to use salt in the preparation of food. Period.” A $1,000 fine would…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Beam me up, Scotty?
Today’s achievement doesn’t quite put us on the final frontier, but the successful transmission of atoms via teleportation by scientists at the University of Maryland…
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
Regulation of the Day 124: Kissing Your Girlfriend Good-Bye
How do we know the terrorists are winning? When a man kissing his girlfriend good-bye at Newark Liberty International Airport results in the evacuation of…
Blog
What does the public realize about the Toyota hybrid hysteria that the media are missing?
On YouTube you can view a news report regarding the Prius alleged runaway hysteria incident, complete with an excerpt from the 911 call James…
Blog
“Toyota Hysteria,” my LA Times piece today
As I write in today’s Los Angeles Times, the imagery of Toyotas running amok like something out of a Stephen King novel is simply…
Blog
Toyota stuck accelerator highway horror? Or highway hoax?
“On the very day Toyota was making a high-profile defense of its cars, one of them was speeding out of control,” according to CBS…
Blog
An even sweeter deal for United States Sugar
Big Sugar, in the guise of United States Sugar, is featured in a New York Times investigative article today that exposes the…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of Health Care Reform: “Obamacare Is A Budgetary Disaster”
The health care bills backed by President Obama will cost $2.3 trillion, not the $900 billion Obama claims, and will be a “…
Blog
It’s not just “Big” “Fat” “Rich” “Foreign-owned Toyota” that’s suffering
Toyota owners, every time there’s a new sensationalist headline or a congressman spouts more demagoguery regarding your make of car, the value drops. Last…
Blog
Psychology behind denying driver error with sudden acceleration
I just came across this from a November article in the Los Angeles Times. Richard Schmidt, a former UCLA psychology professor and now an…
Blog
Obama’s Policies Will Increase National Debt by $9.7 trillion, Says Congressional Budget Office
“President Obama’s policies would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said Friday. . .The 10-year…
Blog
Can a “runaway Toyota” be stopped with the brakes?
There have been many driver claims that they tried using the brakes but it couldn’t override the engine at the full throttle into which alleged…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 123: Donating Blood
If you’re gay, you can’t donate blood. It’s illegal. Rather than screening donors for sexual preference, they should be screened for blood-borne diseases. Straight people…
Newsletter
The Fed, Homeschooling, and Sport Gambling
After many congressional attempts to limit the power of the Federal Reserve, some senators are now moving to give more power to the Fed. A…
Blog
The “Toyota Defense” to manslaughter
This was inevitable. CNN reports that one Koua Fong Lee, serving an eight-year prison term for killing three people when his 1996 Toyota smashed…
Blog
Toyota’s sudden acceleration problem suddenly accelerates again
Yes, I know I wrote a blog with a similar title but this is new. I previously noted that in December the National Highway…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: January – February 2010
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the January-February 2010 issue: …
Blog
Regulation of the Day 120: Fish Tanks in Barbershops
In Tenneessee, it is illegal for barbershops to have fish tanks. That could change as soon as today, though.
New York Times
Contrasting Concurrences of Clarence Thomas: Deploying Originalism and Paternalism in Commercial and Student Speech Cases
Blog
Ralph Nader’s shocking solution to the Toyota “problem”
The answer to the problem of Toyotas running amok, says Ralph Nader in a Los Angeles Times op-ed today? Choose one response: 1. More…
Blog
Disturbing parallels between the Toyota hysteria and the Audi 5000 debacle
Toyota stands accused of 34 sudden acceleration incidents over the last 10 years that are “linked to” or “associated” with fatalities, a figure that in…
Blog
The Internet as medical diagnostic tool scores again!
I was having extreme itching in my toes that I’ve never experienced before. I reconstructed the circumstances under which it arose, plugged them in, and…
Blog
In-Flight Wi-Fi: Security Threat?
An article in this month's Infotech & Telecom News on a TSA proposal to ban in-flight wi-fi quotes me at length. Here's what I had…
Blog
Conning the can makers regarding bisphenol A
A Washington Post A1 article, “Alternatives to BPA containers not easy for U.S. foodmakers to find,” makes the case very nicely. The plastic hardening…
Heartland
TSA Rules Threaten In-Flight Technology Use
Blog
Regulation of the Day 117: Hot Dogs
The AAP says hot dogs are a choking hazard for children. According to the data, Little Timmy is literally more likely to be struck by…
Blog
Dangerous Green Hysteria May Impact Food Safety
According to a story in today’s Washington Post, food and packaging companies are having a difficult time trying to find and employ alternatives to…
Opposing Views
Are Hot Dogs Really at “High Risk” of Killing Kids?
Hot dogs are delicious. Especially if you don’t think too hard about what they’re made of. Kids love them. So do adults. With baseball’s spring…
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
Regulation of the Day 116: Doodling on Desks
Alexa Gonzalez, 12, was arrested and put in handcuffs for writing "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" on her…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 115: Pancake Races
The secret to winning is to cross the finish line before your opponents do. That usually means running. The problem is that sometimes, running violates…
Blog
One cheer for Obama on nuclear energy
Obama has done something right concerning nuclear energy; credit where credit’s due. But he also did something very wrong, which we’ll get to. The president…
Blog
Reason Prevails in Oregon
Oregon Senators this week have voted down regulations that could have led consumers to less safe, glass baby bottles. Three Democrats in the…
