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
California’s $20 fast food worker minimum wage a regressive tax
California’s new $20 an hour minimum wage for fast food restaurants has turned into a regressive tax on the state’s low-income residents. People who wanted…
Blog
FDA makes lab test power play
The Food and Drug Administration has just released its long anticipated final rule that explicitly asserts its claim of authority to regulate laboratory-developed-tests (LDTs)—tests that are designed, manufactured,…
Blog
Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Search Posts
Blog
“Homer doughnut. Bacon doughnut. Paradise.”
Thus says Morgan Spurlock in The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special. When I first heard that Spurlock, whose most renowned contribution to film is a leftish…
Blog
Flu Watch Jan. 8 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this week
These things just keep getting briefer and briefer. Infections down, deaths down to only 14, states with widespread activity: just one. Updating you on…
Blog
Nobel Prize Winning Economist Says Obama Policies Delaying Economic Recovery
In the Wall Street Journal, Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker and others explain how President Obama’s policies are delaying and retarding the inevitable economic…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 98: Gastrointestinal Drugs
Did you know that the federal government has a Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee?…
Washington Examiner
Happy New Year, Here’s 1,000 Pages of New Rules and Regulations!
Blog
Thinking outside the box on security
The Washington Post editorial, “In the wake of Flight 253, the TSA must get more anti-terrorist tools” makes a short-sighted argument for increasing resources for…
Blog
More Enron-like Behavior by Administration Officials Comes to Light
Earlier, the Washington Post reported on how the Obama administration pressured Freddie Mac not to disclose to investors and the SEC the $30…
Blog
Serial Rapists Roam Free in D.C. as the D.C. Government Shields Ex-Cons from Discrimination
The D.C. government sometimes has more empathy for criminals than for their victims. In December 2007, the D.C. Council voted to…
Blog
Virginia Weighs Discriminatory Mandate on Divorced Parents
Married parents don’t have any legal obligation to pay for their adult children’s college education or living expenses. But a bill just introduced in…
Blog
Positively bad thinking
“Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now,” says George Clooney’s “termination engineer” to just-fired employees in the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 96: Health Warnings on Cell Phones
These warning labels have nothing to do with letting people know that their phones can make them look like jackasses.
Blog
Congress Mulls More Credit Card Restrictions, in Legislation Likely to Backfire on Consumers
Some in Congress want to impose interest rate ceilings on credit cards and restrictions on interchange fees. Australia tried the same thing, and it…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 95: Buying Wine in Ohio
It is illegal to buy more than 288 bottles of wine per year in Ohio.
Blog
Government Uses Takeover of Mortgage Giants to Deliberately Increase Their Massive Losses at Taxpayer Expense
The Wall Street Journal notes that the Obama administration has used the federal government’s bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and…
Blog
“Was Swine Flu a False Pandemic?”
No, that’s not Michael Fumento asking. It’s a pharmaceutical industry blog declaring, “That’s the contention by more than a dozen members of the Parliamentary…
Blog
In Case You Missed it: Lone Voice of Reason at CPSC
In 2008, Congress passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which regulates lead and certain chemicals in toys. Never mind the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 94: Plastic Shopping Bags
Washington, DC’s city government is now requiring stores to charge customers five cents for each plastic bag they use at checkout. There were 84 unsolved…
Washington Examiner
Change We Can Really Believe In
Over the last century, America has lurched down a path toward statism. And Presidents Bush and Obama accelerated the expansion of government power by…
Blog
Terrorism Is Rare
Each time you board a plane, your odds of being a victim of terrorism are about 1 in 10,408,947. Your odds of being struck by…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 30 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing
It’s a holiday so we’ll make this quick. Infections have somehow managed to drop again as have deaths and hospitalizations. Just 15 deaths reported…
Blog
TSA Praises Itself After Year of Security Lapses; Obama Administration Backs TSA Unionization at Public Expense
In a year-end message to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, the agency praised itself for a “very good year” in airline…
Blog
Florida Attorney General Questions Constitutionality of Healthcare Bills in Congress
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is questioning whether it is constitutional to force people to buy health insurance, as the health…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 92: Camping at the Beach
In Oregon, it is illegal to set up a tent at most beaches.
Blog
Swine flu also unexceptional in contagiousness
With a massive amount of data indicating swine flu is vastly milder than seasonal flu, a new study in the New England Journal of…
Blog
No, yet again, cell phones do not cause cancer
If you’re getting a headache from spending to much time on your cell phone, it’s probably from yakking too much. But it’s not from brain…
Blog
For the Birds
An environmental group is suing to cancel an upcoming AC/DC concert in Austria because they think loud music poses a threat to birds.
Blog
Is ObamaCare’s “Individual Mandate” Unconstitutional?
The health care bills backed by the President require that individuals buy health insurance if it is not provided by their employer. Is that unconstitutional?…
Washington Examiner
No Government in the Bedroom
Three cheers for the judge in Los Angeles who dismissed the petition to mandate condom use in adult films. While the spread of sexually…
Blog
Terrorist Charged After Trying to Blow Up Plane; Government Undermines Airline and Railroad Security
An alleged terrorist from Nigeria has been charged with plotting to blow up an airliner. He carried explosives onto a plane…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 24 – The U.S. Epidemic is Over
The Big Scare of 2009 is over, folks. The U.S. swine flu epidemic has ended. “The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I)…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 88: College Football’s Playoff System
On the other hand, legislators do less harm when they spend their time on college football rather than, say, health care.
Blog
An unhappy ending for CA’s adult film industry?
One reason people enjoy pornography (apart from the obvious benefit) is that it allows them to fantasize about activities in which they cannot or do…
Blog
Climategate and consensus nonsense
Cato’s Pat Michaels, one of the scientists attacked in the Climategate emails, has an excellent editorial in the Wall Street Journal today with examples…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 87: The Volume of TV Commercials
The House passed the Commercial Loudness Act on Wednesday. If it becomes law, the FCC would control the volume level of television commercials.
Blog
Hype is More Dangerous than Chemicals in the Water
Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working hard to hype drinking water risks as they ask Congress to expand their authority under…
Blog
The Big Business of Illegal Gambling
Tonight at 9pm CNBC will investigate the horrors of illegal gambling . It will doubtlessly delve into the shady underground economy of gambling, where…
Blog
What Nanny Doesn’t Want You to Know
Nanny state regulators got it all wrong back in 1977 when the feds placed a warning label on the sugar substitute saccharine. They said it…
Newsletter
Immigration, Smoking Bans and Sarbanes-Oxley
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduces comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The Colorado Supreme Court upholds a ban on smoking in stage performances. The battle over the…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 85: Peddlers
It is illegal to be a peddler in Wisconsin without a license. One of the requirements is five years of residency in Wisconsin. Because clearly,…
Blog
It’s Curtains on Free Speech in Colorado
Maybe the air is a little too thin out in Colorado and the supreme court justices aren’t getting enough oxygen to their brains. Perhaps that…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 84: The Size of Holes in Swiss Cheese
Talk about attention to detail. The federal government regulates the size of hole in Swiss cheese.
Blog
Washington Post Back to Pushing Avian Flu Panic
Remember avian flu? Until swine flu came along, that’s what was going to wipe out mankind.
Overlawyered
Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Ban of Smoking on Stage
Blog
Regulation of the Day 82: Veterinarians
Did you know that the federal government is in the veterinary accreditation business? It’s true.
Overlawyered
Brass banned in childrens’ toys
Blog
Regulation of the Day 81: Porn
A proposed rule in California would reclassify adult film actors as being subject to certain employment regulations. The unintended consequences are potentially fatal.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 80: Falconry
The Code of Federal Regulations contains 12,834 words worth of rules concerning falconry, of all things.
Blog
File this under “Shocked, shocked!”
“Experts predict flu pandemic could be mildest on record” declares the Washington Post headline. Unless, that is, you use the old definition of pandemic…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 79: Auctioneers in Alabama
It is illegal to conduct an auction without a license in Alabama. Violators can be punished with fines of up to $500. Applicants must pay…
Overlawyered
FDA Raw Oyster Ban
Blog
“WHO Should Just Give Up on the Flu Scare,” my National Post piece
The folks who dubbed the swine flu piglet a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO), just won’t let up. “It is too early to say…
Blog
Flu Watch Dec. 4 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing this Week
The epidemic has plunged so far that it’s on the borderline of no longer being one. An epidemic, that is. It’s right on the…
Blog
What about a “second wave” of swine flu?
Mr. Fumento, I read your articles religiously. You recently attacked swine flu as hysterical overreaction. Is it really? You talk about a bell curve…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 77: Banning Toys in Happy Meals
Roberto Zabrido, a government official in Spain, is “adamant that the Happy Meal and its ilk pose a risk.” The solution? Legislation!…
NH Insider
Taxpayers Face $20 Million Cost to Enforce Bad Law
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Heath Care in the Senate and the Victims of Cap and Trade
Controversial online gambling regulations get delayed until mid-2010. Senators prepare for a long and possibly bitter debate over major health care legislation. The Leader of…
Mortgage Magazine
Banks, Credit Companies Get Brief Reprieve From Crushing Federal Regulation Of Internet Gambling
News Release
Banks, Credit Companies Get Brief Reprieve From Crushing Federal Regulation of Internet Gambling
Banks, Credit Companies Get Brief Reprieve From Crushing Federal Regulation of Internet Gambling Taxpayers Face $20 Million Cost to Enforce…
Blog
Injustice Delayed
Tomorrow, December 1st marks the day when banks and other credit processing companies would have had to be in full compliance with Unlawful Internet Gambling…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 76: Generic Medication for Farm Animals
If you put chlortetracycline powder in your farm animals’ drinking water to prevent disease, please be aware that a new federal rule now allows you…
Blog
“Would ObamaCare Reduce Innovation?”: Health Care Bill Would Cause Preventable Deaths
“Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?” That’s the question posed by health care expert Michael Cannon. His answer is yes: “President Obama’s…
Blog
How Capitalism and Property Rights Saved the Pilgrims From Starving
Law professor llya Somin notes a “lesson of the original Thanksgiving: that the Pilgrims nearly starved to death because…
Blog
The Economics of Black Friday
Non-price costs such as crowds and long lines should be factored into your shopping habits. Otherwise you just might be getting ripped off.
Blog
Nanny State to the Poor: No Soup for You!
As reported in the American Council and Science and Health‘s daily email, “Morning,” nanny state regulations in New York mean that there is less…
Blog
Moderates Criticize Health Care Bill As It Advances in Senate; Experts Gave Bill A “Failing Grade”
On Saturday, the Senate voted 60-to-39, along party lines, to press towards passage of a massive health care bill, by blocking a…
Blog
Illegal Immigration: Make it Legal
The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby wrote a wonderful column yesterday that highlights the inconsistent stance of many conservatives when it comes to immigration.
Blog
Healthcare Bill Advances in Senate, Despite Receiving Failing Grade from Health Experts; Democrats Block Filibuster in Party-Line Vote
The healthcare bill is on the verge of passing the Senate, despite the fact that it has received a failing grade from healthcare experts like…
Blog
Flu Report Nov. 21 and my piece on the epidemic peak in NRO.
“Swine flu has killed 540 kids, sickened 22 million Americans,” screamed USA Today’s page 1 headline, sub-headed “CDC: Cases, Deaths are Unprecedented.” “Swine flu cases…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 75: Food Containers
The Code of Federal Regulations contains 28 sections on food containers. Metal, glass, plastic, flexible, rigid – if you can put food in it, there…
Blog
“I Can’t See the Objection”
The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind are seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop…
Blog
Gun Control Laws Empower Pirates and Terrorists!
As John Lott has so effectively demonstrated time and time again, widespread citizen gun possession is an effective way of increasing public safety.
Blog
Reid Health Care Bill Adds New Tax Increases, Costs Twice As Much As Promised
The health care “reform” bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid adds new tax increases, and costs twice as much as its…
Blog
Not sure what DDT does to birds, but I know how it helps people
There’s been much in the news lately about the brown pelican being delisted as an endangered species since its recovery from the effects of…
Blog
Harvard Medical School Dean Gives ObamaCare a “Failing Grade”
"In discussions with dozens of health-care leaders and economists, I find near unanimity of opinion that the final legislation that will emerge from Congress will…
Blog
Senate Committee Rubberstamps Left-Wing Ideologue to Head Powerful OSHA Agency Despite His Anti-Gun and Pro-Junk-Science Views
David Michaels, a left-wing ideologue who supports junk science and seeks to restrict gun possession, has been approved by the Senate Health Committee…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 74: Grass Length in Jupiter, Florida
Residents whose lawns are taller than eight inches risk $250 per day fines. The city council voted last night on raising the fines to $1,000…
Blog
Oyster Ban Update: Partial Victory!
The ban, due to take effect in 2011, has not been repealed outright. But, in response to public outcry, it has been delayed.
Blog
Stimulus Package Creates Imaginary Jobs, Destroys Jobs in the Real World
President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package creates imaginary jobs, while destroying ones in the real world. Billions from the stimulus…
Blog
“How ACORN Destroyed the Housing Market”
Federal affordable-housing mandates were a major factor in the mortgage crisis, fueling the housing bubble and the subsequent collapse of the housing and…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 73: Snow Globes as Terrorist Threat
Yes, larger snow globes probably violate the TSA’s three-ounce limit for liquids. But they are not bombs. They are, in fact, snow globes.
Blog
Health-Care “Reform” Bills Increase Costs, Endanger Access for Millions, Federal Experts Say
The healthcare “reform” bill backed by Obama “would reduce senior care,” and “could jeopardize access to care for millions,” report healthcare…
Blog
Nanny State Beer
Nanny state regulators in the United Kingdom have been up in arms about a beer–Tokyo released by BrewDog— that dares to contain just…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 72: Brass Toys, Killer of Children
Toymakers presumably choose brass because it is cheap, durable, and better than alternative materials. Now they will have to turn to those second-best materials despite…
Blog
Yes, I will be posting about the new CDC swine flu estimates
At a glance, though, the estimates look okay it’s the spin and the lack of perspective that I have trouble with. And while the media…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 71: Waistlines
In Japan, it is illegal for men to have a waist larger than 33.5 inches. The limit for women is 35.4 inches. Those in violation…
Blog
Don’t go “lite,” shrink the state, says Smith
CEI’s president Fred Smith is featured today in a video interview with InstaPundit’s Glenn Reynolds – now appearing on Reason’s blog. Fred talks about…
Blog
Insurance Industry Stung By Health Care Deal
The CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal whining that a weak individual purchase mandate is…
Blog
Get more doctors — get rid of H-1B visa cap
CEI’s champion of letter-writing, Alex Nowrasteh, has a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal today advocating removing the cap on H-1B…
Blog
Cell Phones, Cancer, and Certainty
Every dollar and every hour of researchers' time spent on lessening cancer risks from cell phones is money and time not spent curing heart disease,…
Blog
Baucus wants border measures in climate bill
Uh-oh. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) is raising the stakes on a U.S. climate bill by endorsing the idea of some sort of tariff on…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 70: Combustible Dust
OSHA has published a proposed rule to regulate one of the greatest threats to mankind: combustible dust.
Cigar Magazine
Congress, Tobacco, And a President Who Lights Up
It’s called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act but, outside of its title, the word “family” appears nowhere in the bill. It was…
Blog
House Passes Massive Health Care Bill
Just before midnight on Saturday, the House of Representatives passed a massive, 2000-page health care “reform” bill by a 220 to 215 vote. The bill,…
Blog
Flu Watch Nov. 7 – What Swine Flu Isn’t Doing This Week
Well, what swine flu isn’t doing this week is apparently less than what it wasn’t doing last week. In other words, it appears to have…
Blog
Soldier Kills 13 in Mass Shooting at Fort Hood: Political Correctness and Gun Control Cited by Critics
A Muslim solder, Nidal Hasan, shot dead 13 people at Fort Hood yesterday. Hasan had earlier exhibited extremist, anti-American propensities, including applauding terrorist…
Blog
Virginia May Privatize ABC Stores; It’s about Time
In a time when the federal government’s involvement in the economy appears to only grow, it’s encouraging to see at least one industry where the trend…
Forbes
Sued for Success
Computer chip maker Intel is back in court. On Wednesday, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 69: Owning More than Three Cats
A new local ordinance in Dudley, Massachusetts makes it illegal to more than three cats without a license. Coaseian bargaining might be a better solution…
Blog
Obama One Year Later — A Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises. The broken promises…
Blog
Swine flu “survivor” speaks out on media hysteria
From a letter to the editor of the Washington Post: It is ridiculous that The Post has dedicated so much of the A section…