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
21 cents worth of stupid in the Department of Energy’s latest stove proposal
The good news is that the Biden Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest proposed efficiency regulation for residential stoves is considerably less damaging to consumers…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: food hazards and powerline permits
Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in his hush money case. Apparently nothing else of note happened all week, since that was the only…
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…
Search Posts
Washington Examiner
Nanotechnology: Innovation vs. Corporate Welfare
For the sake of consumers, nanotech firms should compete in the marketplace, not in Washington. Otherwise a vibrant, dynamic, and innovative sector risks…
Washington Examiner
Labeling Won’t Make Bottled Water Safer
Government mandate labeling won't make the water safer, and it won't educate consumers on the risks. However, new bottled water labeling regulations will increase…
Newsletter
Regulating online drug ads, Google Book settlement, bottled water to the rescue
Yahoo being scrutinized online pharmaceutical ads. Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon sign on to oppose the Google Book settlement.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 37: Lemonade Stands
It is illegal for children to sell lemonade in New York City without a permit.
Blog
FDA Regulation of Internet Drug Advertising
Today, CEI filed comments on a draft FDA guidance document advising prescription drug manufacturers on how to comply with regulations requiring the presentation of risk…
Blog
“ObamaCare Is All About Rationing” and Tax Increases, Obama Adviser Says
“ObamaCare is all about rationing,” says one of Obama’s own advisers, Martin Feldstein. Feldstein earlier noted that Obama’s health-care plan would…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 34: Diabetic Truckers
It is a violation of federal regulations to “operate a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce” if you have insulin-treated diabetes.
Blog
OSHA Nominee Is Anti-Gun Ideologue and Junk Science Peddler
Obama has nominated David Michaels, an anti-gun activist, to head the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a powerful agency that regulates real…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 32: Migratory Birds
If you’re planning on hunting migratory birds this year, be sure to read all 14 subparts and 61 sections in Title 50 of the Code…
Newsletter
Banking Privacy, Media Bias and Sports Betting
Federal officials reach a bank privacy agreement with Swiss bank UBS. The death of news anchor Walter Cronkite sparks debate over the ideal of journalistic…
Blog
Fact Checkers: Obama Is Lying About Health Care
USA Today caught Obama telling three fibs about health care, such as falsely claiming that “under the reform we’re proposing, if you like your…
Blog
More alternatives to Obamacare
Lots of commonsense suggestions to rein in health care costs that won’t bankrupt the country in John Mackey’s op-ed in the Wall…
Blog
UBS-IRS deal — U.S. Constitutional liberties, privacy rights at risk after Obama bullies the Swiss
Lawyers for the U.S. government and the Swiss bank UBS AG have announced that they have reached a deal…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 30: Labeling Mustard
If your company makes mustard bottles that are reusable as beer mugs, you are specifically required to put a country-of-origin label on your product.
News Release
CEI Calls Foul on NCAA Attempt to Block Sports Betting
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today criticized a federal law that is being used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and major sports leagues to restrict…
Fox News
Obama Science Czar Considered Forced Abortions
Blog
We’re All Children Now
I propose the following rule: “Think of the children” rhetoric shall be reserved for those situations in which the author is not, in…
Blog
Krugman: Town Hall mobsters are probably racists and “birthers”
“The Town Hall Mob.” That’s the title of Paul Krugman’s opinion piece in the New York Times today – and it’s a doozy. In…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 28: Urine Trouble Now
Want to work for HHS? You’ll have to comply with approximately 32,463 words worth of regulations in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing…
Fox News
The Odium of Sodium
Blog
Regulation of the Day 27: Beekeeping in South Dakota
Beekeeping in South Dakota is illegal without a license.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 26: Fortune Telling in Maryland
You need a license to tell fortunes in Annapolis, Maryland.
Blog
Chuck Schumer: “We’ve Got to Stand Still”
High-frequency stock trading — the markets where sophisticated algorithms running on bleeding edge hardware trade assets using information only fractions of a second old —…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 25: Cattle with Scabies
If you own cattle and they are at risk of catching scabies, you may want to read up on the pertinent federal regulations. There are…
Blog
Frivolous Lawsuit Against Denny’s Over Salty Food
Denny's has never claimed that it serves only health-food, and nutrition facts about its food are available on its web site. But that hasn't…
Blog
FDA to Smokers: Drop Dead
The FDA is now moving towards banning a smoking alternative that could save many lives. Every year, millions of smokers like my wife try…
Fox News
Possible FDA Ban on E-Cigarettes is Wrong Move
The FDA is now moving towards banning a smoking alternative that could save many lives. Every year, millions of smokers like my wife try…
Fox News
Possible FDA Ban on E-Cigarettes is Wrong Move
The FDA is now moving towards banning a smoking alternative that could save many lives. Every year, millions of smokers like my wife try…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 24: The Width of Ladders
It is illegal for a portable metal ladder to have steps narrower than 12 inches.
Blog
Bonus pay bill: CBO predicts huge costs to private sector, broad swaths of employees affected
After the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated the enormous costs of an all-encompassing health care scheme with a bloated public option, members of Congress…
Blog
Penn and Teller on Organics
The irreverent and hilarious comedians Penn and Teller have produced another episode of their television show Bullshit about organic foods. Friends of CEI, Ron Bailey…
Blog
Food Safety Bills Moving Through Congress
With all out attention diverted to the government's attempted takeover of the half of US health care that isn't already nationalized, the attempted destruction of…
Blog
The Challenge of Network Industries
“Network” industries such as electricity, air transport, telecommunication, freight rail, and internet services face a challenge with their competing flow and grid components. Flows are…
Blog
In Defense of Average Cost Pricing
Many industries in the modern economy are ridiculed for the financing strategies they employ. Only marginal cost pricing is defended as a legitimate practice. Yet…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 23: Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is both dumb and dangerous. But making it a crime won’t make people stop doing it. It will merely make more people…
Blog
Food Police Attack Denny’s Over Salt
It seems that the food police at the unconscionably named Center for Science in the Public Interest are at it again. Last week, CSPI filed…
Blog
Best Way to Curb Irrational Exurberance?
Zachary Goldfarb, a Washington Post staff writer, discusses (p. A10, “SEC Moves to Limit Short Sales of Stocks”) this SEC proposal – sympathetically. The article…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 22: Rhinestones
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, after much deliberation, has banned crystal rhinestones from children's products, despite no evidence of harm.
Blog
Regulation of the Day 21: Potato Research and Promotion
The Agricultural Marketing Service has a potato research and marketing plan, pursuant to the Potato Research and Marketing Act.
Blog
Getting the Health Care You Pay For
There was a good front page article in yesterday's Washington Post on the history of advances in medical science and technology. The conclusion: Although the…
Blog
Our Colleague Julie Called it “Subprime Healthcare”
I think that about sums it up.
Blog
Leave it to the Experts
Send your used light bulbs to Washington! They're the experts. They'll know what to do.
Blog
Obama Health-Care Plan Destroys Cheap Health-Care Options, Raises Taxes, Breaks Promises
In 2008, Obama promised not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. But he is now breaking that promise by…
Blog
Democrats Inconsistent on Senior Death Discount
White House health care policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel has explicitly endorsed adopting not only comparative-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in the health care realm, but also…
Fox News
Congressional Hype About Bottled Water
The news is depressing these days as people fear losing their homes or jobs and worry about family members deployed in military operations overseas.
Blog
If you like FEMA, you’ll love federal health care, says Jindal
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal providing a succinct critique of the Democrats’ health care plan and offering…
Blog
“Libertarian paternalism”?
In Sunstein's latest book Nudge. . . he makes the case that people often make bad decisions, and a slight "nudge" can set things right…
Blog
“Farming” for dollars in the EU
Most of us knew that the European Union’s system of farm subsidies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) gives out huge amounts to farmers in the…
Blog
E. coli Happens
This story in the San Francisco Chronicle just shows the insanity of the conventional wisdom these days advanced by greens and anti-corporate farmers. They…
Blog
Rep. McClintock and “California’s Meltdown”
CEI and the Pacific Research Institute recently co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on “California’s Meltdown” – the unprecedented combination of flawed economic, energy…
Blog
Conko letter in FT: “Nationalising healthcare flaws”
In today’s Financial Times, CEI Senior Fellow Gregory Conko responds to Clive Crook’s…
News Release
CEI Injects Suppressed EPA Global Warming Report into White House Science Proceeding
CEI Injects Suppressed EPA Global Warming Report into White House Science Proceeding Requests OSTP to Do More Honest Job…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: The Color of Stitches
The federal government regulates which colors may be used in surgical stitches.
Blog
Conko to Surgeon General pick: “Focus on Private Initiative, Not Government Controls”
CEI Senior Fellow, Gregory Conko, talks about the nomination of Surgeon General to be, Regina M. Benjamin.
Fox News
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it can somehow…
Blog
Fishy Politics May Harm US Consumers
The various US attempts to hobble the Vietnamese farmed-catfish industry is no less underhanded. And, in order to prevent a trade war with Vietnam, it…
Blog
Growing Young Statists
Gene Healy’s column in Examiner today chronicles the alarming statism and collectivism of today’s youth and tomorrow’s voters. The generation born from the…
Fox News
Overregulation on Tap
Dana Milbank’s July 9 Washington Sketch ["A Congressman With a Thirst for Truth"] on hearings on bottled water highlighted the absurdity of Washington policymaking.
Blog
Government health care monopoly–not in consumers’ interests
Regina Herzlinger, chair of Harvard Business School, in National Review takes on health care and the Obama Administration’s arguments that a government-run plan…
Blog
Leading trade lawyer: real problems with carbon tariffs
Leading trade lawyer Gary Horlick testified yesterday on carbon tariffs before the Senate Finance Committee. As the Senate prepares an energy suppression/global warming bill,…
Newsletter
Microsoft in Europe, GM Foods and the Political Crisis in Honduras
Microsoft and European Union officials hold talks over computer industry competition. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Val Giddings releases a blueprint for reforming the…
Blog
Igniting Agricultural Innovation
"Biotechnology applied to agriculture has enormous potential to enhance our ability to develop seeds for improved crops and for enhanced livestock to enable us to…
Blog
Blight Hits East Coast, Capitalism Saves the Day
There are many reasons for free-market advocates to be unhappy about current affairs. With numerous pieces of legislation being proposed to put shackles on our…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: The Size of Your Carry-On Bags
The Securing Cabin Baggage Act wouldn't add to security, wouldn't make flying more convenient, and may well be the result of rent-seeking.
Blog
DC Independence Day Tea Party: My Perspective
This weekend I was able to glean a different perspective when they asked me to deliver one of the speeches at the DC Independence Day…
Blog
More Risky, Low-Income Loans: Obama Asks Congress to Create a Harmful Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Banks will now be pressured to make even more risky, low-income loans. Obama has sent to Congress his proposal to create a politically-correct Consumer…
Blog
“If you like public housing, you will love public health care”
Best line this week — should be a slogan for health care debate: “If you like public housing, you will love public health care.” Read…
Blog
Obama’s Call for Light Bulb Regulation Not a New or Bright Idea
Eager to sustain his regulatory whirlwind, President Obama is now calling for efficiency standards for household and business lighting. As if the climate-themed…
Newsletter
Waxman-Markey in the Senate, Tobacco Regulation and Big Labor’s Payday
The Waxman-Markey climate bill passes the House of Representatives. President Obama signs a new law expanding federal regulation of tobacco products. The Waxman-Markey climate bill…
Blog
Companies to China: Don’t profit-block us bro
An article in this morning’s wall street journal commends a coalition of business associations and councils that sent a letter to China’s Premier…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: Rice Inspection Certificates
Our rice is in crisis. Inspection certificates currently contain some data in the grade line section that better belongs in the results section. Fortunately, the…
Blog
Hearings Open on Coercive and Counterproductively Costly Health Care Bill
Congressional Democrats are pushing hard to complete their health care bill before next week’s recess, but their hopes for a quick passage and the…
Blog
FDA Tobacco Regulation May Harm Public Health By Blocking Healthy Alternatives
FDA regulation may actually undermine public health by making it harder to market to smokers other tobacco products, like snus, that are not as lethal…
Fox News
Obama Signs “Deceptive” FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill
Yesterday, Obama signed into law a deceptive FDA “tobacco regulation” bill that will undermine public health in the long run by protecting cigarette manufacturers…
Blog
E-Cigarette Smokers Could Be Left Out in the Cold
The “smokes” may be different, but the Food and Drug Administration’s ever-vigilant watch to keep us safe from ourselves in its quest to quantify…
Blog
Senators Act on Clean Water Restoration Act
Yesterday, in a mere one hour and seventeen minutes, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sailed through S. 787—the Clean Water Restoration Act…
Blog
Clean Water Hoax
Sen. Barbara Boxer and company are going to bring the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) up for full committee mark-up and vote in their Thursday…
Blog
Obama Seeks to Mandate More Risky, Low-Income Loans by Banks, in New Financial Rules
The President has just announced proposals for a major overhaul of the financial system. The proposals would force banks to make even…
Blog
HHS Secretary: Health Insurance Industry Needs Competition… With Government
In an AP interview on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called for competition in the health insurance market. No, not between…
Blog
Tourism Bill to Be Combined With Anti-Civil-Liberties Hate Crimes Bill
If you were a tourist, would you like to come to a country where you could be tried twice for the same crime — even…
Blog
Obama’s Speech to AMA on Healthcare Misses the Point
In a speech before the American Medical Association on Monday, June 15, President Obama pitched his plan for heathcare reform. The main thrust of the…
Newsletter
GM’s Bankruptcy, Barney Frank on CNBC and Internet Poker Persecution
The bankruptcy of General Motors is expected to proceed quickly in the wake of Chrysler’s reorganization. House Finance Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) storms off…
Fox News
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it…
Examiner
The Federal Government is Wrong About Online Gambling
Examiner
The Federal Government Is Wrong About Online Gambling
Blog
Senate Passes FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill; Obama Will Sign It
The Senate has just passed the FDA tobacco regulation bill by a 79-to-17 vote. The bill now goes to President Obama, who has…
Examiner
Senate Passes Bill to Give FDA Tobacco Regulation
The Senate has just passed the FDA tobacco regulation bill by a 79-to-17 vote. The bill now goes to President Obama, who has said…
Examiner
Suit Over Raunchy Radio Programs To Be Reheard in Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide
Can you sue your employer because your co-workers listen to raunchy radio programs? A federal appeals court is reconsidering its 2008 ruling…
Blog
FDA Poised to Regulate Tobacco, Which May Backfire
Congress is about to enact a bill to subject tobacco to FDA regulation. Mark Berlind notes one anomalous feature of the bill: it…
Blog
Eleventh Circuit Grants Rehearing in Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Which Gutted Statutory Limits on Sexual Harassment Claims
Can you sue your employer because your co-workers listen to raunchy radio programs? A federal appeals court is reconsidering its 2008 ruling…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: Saving the Children
On June 26, the National Commission on Children and Disasters is having a meeting. They will be talking about another meeting from the day before.
News Release
Feds Crack Down on Internet Poker
Just when it seemed that those in power had begun to think about Internet poker in a positive light, the Department of Justice throws us…
Blog
Schumer and Cantwell’s deceptive advertising on shareholder “rights.”
If deceptive labeling of bills in Congess were punishable by regulatory agencies, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) would be paying a hefty…
Blog
Bankruptcy judge should put breaks on “Government Motors”
President Obama and his auto task force should respect the role of the bankruptcy court and recognize that its role is not to rubber stamp…
Blog
Stimulus Package Shrinks Economy, Destroys Private Sector Jobs
Most of the $800 billion stimulus package has yet to be spent, but it’s already harming the economy, both by triggering trade wars that have…
Blog
Against Freedom, Against Art, Against Reality
The crusade against film depictions of tobacco smoking is once again gaining momentum. The American Medical Association Alliance, in coalition with several other well-funded special…
Blog
Anti-GMO Zealots vs. Starving Zimbabweans
In Zimbabwe, the most food aid-dependent country in the world, officials and self-styled “consumer activists” have begun raiding shops suspected of selling genetically-modified food,…
Examiner
Someone Has to Pay the Piper
As the cliché goes, the piper must be paid. And when the government decides that some folks are paying the piper too much,…
Blog
Divorce Courts Harass Our Troops and Small Businesses
Memorial Day is an opportunity to thank our troops, and open our eyes to the disgraceful way they are treated by divorce courts. The bias…
Blog
Profiles in Hypocrisy: Gov. Arnold Pushes Violent Game Ban
California legislators, along with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, are still trying to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. Now, they’re taking their…
