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
Citation
Disputing the Need For State Insurance Regulation
Blog
Baptist-Bootlegger Alliance on Tobacco
In today’s Washington Examiner, Tim Carney has an excellent column on how the bill to place tobacco under FDA regulation would reduce competition in…
Citation
H.R. 875, Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009
Blog
Rise of the Luddites
When it comes to things such as environmental policy, the Progressives have been rather successful at promoting their world view. They realized that it would…
Blog
Salt of the earth
Many people believe that salt is bad for your health, but John Tierney’s column today in the New York Times points out the body…
Op-Eds
Now banned on campus: bottled water
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Blog
Markets Rally on Hopes of Regulatory Relief
The stock market has gone up by 280 points so far today, fueled by FASB’s vote to relax rigid mark-to-market accounting rules,…
Newsletter
Absurd Product Bans, Global Warming Legislation and Unsafe Organic Farming
Industry observers look to California to take the lead in ending the ban on online gambling. Reps. Henry Waxman and Ed Markey introduce sweeping new…
Blog
Virginia Postrel on Her Own Brush with Cost-Effective Drug Research
One letter writer argues that Herceptin was a poor example because "Multiple cost-effectiveness analyses have shown that, despite its high cost, Herceptin is both effective…
Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans, 2009
Eli Lehrer's Annual Review of Regulatory Absurdity…
Blog
Organic Pesticides Fail EU Safety Review
Ask people who buy organic food what they like about it, and chances are, most will say "they're grown without pesticides." That's not actually true.
Blog
With or Without You
The Obama administration's ouster of GM CEO Rick Wagoner won't solve the auto giant's problems. It does, however, show the power that government now wields…
Blog
Torture Caused Bogus Orange Alerts
Many of those bogus orange alerts that inconvenienced and alarmed travelers since 9/11 had an unsavory source: torture. The Bush Administration, with the tacit…
Op-Eds
‘Battlestar’ Rules: In the Wasteland of TV Drama, An Intergalactic Tour de Force.
Untitled Document When it premiered to high ratings in 1978, the producers of Battlestar Galactica promised their show would bring feature-film standards to…
Blog
Feds Make Freddie Mac Even Worse, Ripping Off Taxpayers
After federal regulators took over failing mortgage giant Freddie Mac, they didn’t stop its risky lending practices. Instead, they ramped up its risk-taking, making it…
Blog
Losing talent in these perilous times
We’re beginning to see the talent exodus from TARP-funded financial institutions. Yesterday in an op-ed Jake DeSantis of AIG-Financial Products wrote his “resignation letter”…
Blog
Post-Modern Food Fetish
There’s very little that’s romantic about keeping a big backyard garden, and less still about the actual practice of producing meaningful amounts of food. But,…
Blog
Obama for global financial governance?
With the G-20 meeting looming in the midst of a worldwide recession, President Barack Obama sent an essay published today in about 30 newspapers…
Blog
Fishing for Rationality in the Beauty Salon
Thinking of getting one of those cool new “fish pedicures”? Well, you’d better act fast. 14 states have already banned the process. But a member…
Blog
AIG Lies; Bonuses for Fannie & Freddie; Fed Explodes Money Supply, Risks Stagflation
It’s not just AIG, being bailed out for $170 billion, that’s using taxpayer money to give fat bonuses to its employees. The same thing is…
Newsletter
Liar Loans, Rising Sea Levels and Gambling Online
Democrats in Congress quarrel over new bankruptcy rules for homeowners. Newspaper headlines claim that sea levels are rising twice as fast as before. Finance Committee…
Blog
An Explosion of Litigation
Already burdened by $8 trillion in new federal spending commitments and the likelihood of higher taxes to pay for bailouts,…
Blog
Economists Give Obama Failing Grade; New Bailouts Demanded As Obama Breaks Promises
Obama gets a failing grade from economists. “U.S. President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to…
Newsletter
Stocks Rise, Fossil Felonies and Reforming Online Gambling
Stock values make their biggest one-day gains since last November. Congress considers a land management bill that could punish paleontologists and rock collectors with arrest…
Blog
Stimulus Subsidizes Corruption, Waste, Racism
The $800 billion stimulus package signed by Obama not only will make the economy shrink over the long-run, it will pay $88.6 million…
Newsletter
Cybersecurity Turf War, Strongarm Union Tactics and a Beer Battle in Colorado
President Obama’s chief of cybersecurity quits, citing overbearing control by the Department of Defense’s National Security Agency. Prominent Democrats come out against changes…
Blog
CO Liquor Stores & Craft Brewers Against Consumers?
After running into the owners of a Colorado Brewery this weekend, I stumbled on a battle going on in the state between, as the…
Punditry by the Pint
Beer Wars
Overlawyered
What have they done with the old Rose and Crown?
Overlawyered
What Have They Done With the Old Rose and Crown
Blog
$8 Trillion in Bailouts; Undeserving Rich Benefit
Federal bailouts and related spending proposed by the Obama Administration now total 8 trillion dollars, according to the American Institute for Economic Research.
Blog
Schadenfreude “Two-Fer”
The New York Times reported this week that the Peanut Corporation of America plants in Texas and Georgia that were shipping salmonella contaminated peanut products…
Blog
Yes, “Botch” is the right word.
Alex is right. “This IS one of these questions about what to do in the real world, where first-best solutions just aren’t politically possible†(emphasis…
Blog
Did the Supreme Court “Botch” Wyeth v. Levine?
I was initially going to post this as a comment to Greg Conko’s recent post arguing against the Court’s recent decision in Wyeth…
Blog
Imagine There’s No Agency
Washington spends and regulates, and it’s hard to make it stop doing either. Government agencies and programs attract constituencies that want to keep them around,…
Newsletter
Beer Taxes, the Beige Book and Drug Safety Before the Supreme Court
Oregon becomes one of the states seeking to raise new revenue by increasing taxes on beer. The Federal Reserve releases its…
Blog
Business + Gov. Leeching = Job loss
As I blogged about earlier many states…
Newsletter
FDA’s Death Toll, Online Gambling and Dangerous Treaties
The Food and Drug Administration restricts production of an approved drug to treat a degenerative and often fatal muscle disorder. Online gambling operators await action…
Blog
Will the “food police” be nationalized?
In this bizarre Washington world, it can’t possibly be true, but it is: a top staffer at the lobbying organization often pejoratively referred…
Blog
Alarmism Has Consequences
In a magnificent display of self-delusion, the green movement is holding a demonstration at the Capitol’s power plant today to protest the continued use of…
Newsletter
Toilet Papers Wars, New Powers for the EPA and Bottled Water Hypocrisy
Environmental groups attack the use of soft, comfortable toilet paper. President Obama proposes a 34% increase in the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. Cities…
Casino Affiliate Programs
U.S. Research Body Underlines Legality of Online Gambling
Gambling Moments
Online Gambling In The US: LEGAL
USA Online Casinos
The Legality of US Online Gambling
Blog
SOTU watch: Farm programs
Ten words in the SOTU address last night could presage some modest reform of wasteful agricultural programs: “. . .end direct payments to large…
Rational Review
The Legality of Online Gambling
Blog
Zero-Based Governing and Improving the State of the Union
Removing burdensome regulations on small business hasn’t figured much into the economic recovery program thus far. Too bad. Alternatives to “spendulus” and the “Bailout to…
Rational Review
Poker as a game of skill
Blog
A Gamer Win For Parenting
If you’ve followed my posts here at OpenMarket.org or at my personal site, you’re well aware of the fact that I…
Blog
Nationalizing the cars and bikes of rock collectors — Pending Omnibus land bill’s forfeiture provision has broad reach
At the same time there has been so much talk of government nationalization of troubled big banks, a bill quickly snaking through Congress would allow…
Blog
The Auto Bailout We Need
The automakers have come back for more taxpayer money, which is exactly what we warned would happen when the first bailout was granted…
Blog
UBS agrees to deal with the devil
I revoke my previous apology to the Swiss, and reiterate my previous disapproval. As evidenced by the…
Study
The Truth About Online Gambling
Michelle Minton explores why government shouldn't treat gambling as if we lived in the Old West.
Study
Poker as a Game of Skill
Full document available in pdf It’s two minutes before the cards are…
Newsletter
Bottled Water Wars, Stimulus Disaster and Offshore Oil
Activists urge local governments to enact policies opposing the sale of bottled water. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops dramatically as President Obama signs a…
Blog
Null Government
Well, the Spendulus/Stimulus will be signed into law within minutes. We’ll soon learn that even this Leviathan-In-A-Box is only the beginning of the Age…
Study
Bottled Water and the Overflowing Nanny State
In her study Angela Logomasini's analyzes how misinformation about bottled water erodes consumer freedom…
Blog
What would it mean to have no “environmental footprint”?
Maybe to have no life. As this article over at the Ayn Rand Institute points out, the more “eco-friendly” you try to live, the…
Blog
“Spendulus” conference report has passed the House
But thought you might be interested in one congressman’s last-minute appeal to sanity. You, dear reader, are a person things are done to.
Blog
Wyeth v. Levine: Policy Arguments Regarding Preemption
The Wyeth v. Levine case presents a narrow set of facts in which the Food and Drug Administration had, for many years, known about the…
Blog
Preemption in Wyeth v. Levine: Broader Implications
The legal arguments of the parties, and the incremental approach typical of the Supreme Court, strongly suggest that the Court will issue a narrow legal…
Blog
Uber-Attorney Bert Rein to Guest Blog on Federal Preemption Case
Back in November, I wrote about the pending Supreme Court case Wyeth v. Levine, the decision in which will have a huge impact on the…
Blog
The Birthday of an Entrepreneur
February is an important month in the history of American commerce. In a few days will be the birthday of one of the country’s earliest…
Blog
What unlimited government means to you.
Ran across this excerpt from a Wall Street Journal piece that I thought I’d pass along. And this was before the Anti-Stimulus added…
Newsletter
Stimulus Upon Us, Lethal Wildfires Down Under and Satellite Radio Takes a Hit
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress reach a deal to spend $789 billion in taxpayer money on “economic stimulus.” The death toll from wildfires in…
Blog
USDA Pushing EPA for More Ethanol in Gasoline
On Tuesday (Feb. 10), USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack urged EPA to increase the quantity of ethanol blended into gasoline from the current amount–10% ethanol per…
Blog
Environmental Policies Kill – Again!
One of the main themes of my book, The Really Inconvenient Truths, is that misguided environmental policies often lead to humanitarian and environmental disaster.
Blog
Geithner’s “bad bank” is a big bad idea: fix bad mark-to-market accounting instead
The Obama’s administration $1 trillion plus bank bailout plan — on top of the $800 billion stimulus that just passed the Senate — will explode…
Blog
Book-Banning, 21st Century Style
Remember the fuss when it was revealed that Sarah Palin had enquired about removing books from her town library? It would have been so much…
Blog
Dickie Scruggs Back in Court
But, alas, not as a litigator – the role that made him rich and famous – but as a defendant. According to Legal Newsline,…
Blog
Amid Recession, Congress Forces Thrift Stores to Close
According to statements from the National Association of Retail & Thrift Shops and the National Association of Manufacturers, a law designed to protect kids…
Blog
Tilting at Food Safety Windmills
Unfortunately, as long as the world's food production system continues to be highly decentralized and fragmented, there will continue to be foodborne illness outbreaks like…
Blog
Why “doing nothing” is something really big: Stopping the Anti-Stimulus
Robert Higgs, he of the famous “ratchet effect” theory of government growth (up but never down in answer to a crisis), has…
News Release
Tobacco Settlement Challenge to Be Argued in Court
A lawsuit challenging the 46-state tobacco “Master Settlement Agreement” (MSA) will be argued today in federal district court in Shreveport, Louisiana, amid fresh reports of states misspending settlement…
Blog
SEC penalty policy change could harm innocent investors
In one of her first actions as SEC chairman, Mary Schapiro announced today that she was getting rid of a policy that required SEC officials…
Blog
Smoke On in California?
A liberty loving person could almost applaud the proposed roll-back of anti-smoking legislation in, of all places, California. The city of Long Beach,…
Blog
Obama’s New Appliance Efficiency Mandates, Consumers Better Run For Cover
President Obama today announced that he is pressuring the Department of Energy (DoE) to speed up some long-delayed efficiency standards for appliances. His move…
Blog
Springsteen clashes with Obama advisor on Wal-Mart
In between playing at the Lincoln Memorial for Barack Obama’s inaugural concert and performing the half-time show last night at the Super Bowl, Bruce Springsteen…
Blog
English Arch-Druid wants to limit you to two children
Two children should be limit, says this British green “guru.” What makes him a guru? Saying outrageous things that others should do, but not…
Newsletter
A Plea for Bottled Water, Stimulus to Nowhere and Al Gore’s Venus Envy
Emergency officials in Kentucky put out the call for volunteers and donations of bottled water. Republicans leaders doubt that the federal stimulus spending bill will…
Newsletter
Green Stimulus, Bottled Water and Big Labor Infighting
Congress sets aside billions in the economic stimulus package for environmentally oriented energy and infrastructure projects. The New York Times’ “Freakonomics” column debunks the argument…
News Release
What’s Stupid About Bottled Water?
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Blog
Smoke for Me, But Not for Thee
Bars and restaurants here in Washington, D.C. have operated under a smoking ban for a little over two years now. As many bar owners…
Blog
Green Pork
In addition to tens of billions of dollars in the House stimulus bill for infrastructure and other projects to create jobs, there are also funding…
Blog
Stimulus to Hunger
Great. Now USDA head Tom Vilsack is saying the US ethanol industry needs to be protected in the borrow-and-spend bill, and beyond:…
Blog
Land of Liberty? No Longer in Belmont, California
I’ll confess that I’ve quietly applauded the spread of no smoking establishments. I don’t believe the government should ban smoking in restaurants, bars, and airplanes, but I’ve enjoyed…
Blog
Krugman is Wrong – Again!
Boy, that wacky Paul Krugman. The newly-crowned Nobel laureate (they should be allowed to wear a laurel wreath everywhere they go, so we’d know of…
News Release
CEI Unveils Agenda for Congress
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2009—With the incoming Obama administration and the opening of the new Congress, the House and Senate are…
Blog
Consumer Product Safety Law Backfires, Killing Thousands of Jobs
A consumer-product safety law recently passed by Congress will drive up the price of children’s clothes and toys and put thousands of small toymakers…
Blog
Waste Not, Want Not … Or Else!
The British government is looking after its people, in a motherly sort of way. It plans to send government officials door-to-door to tell people not to…
Blog
Milton Friedman counters Kennedy inaugural–and Obama’s
Before President Barack Obama gave his inaugural address, it had been reported that he was heavily studying John F. Kennedy’s speech at…
Blog
The Daddy Knows Best Inaugural Address
Fatal conceit alert! Here’s the text of the Inaugural Address, with some comments from your humble servant. For everywhere we look, there is work…
Rational Review
Americans Tell Obama to Legalize Online Poker
The Player
Americans Tell Obama to Legalize Online Poker
Blog
Regulate First, Think Never?
Twitter can be very useful. Walter Olson of Overlawyered.com sent out a tweet this morning about an Amazon list of toys that…
Blog
RIP Patrick McGoohan, No. 6
Patrick McGoohan, star of the most brilliantly obscure TV series of all time, The Prisoner, has died at the age of 80. Growing up…
Blog
Nannychusetts Fights Obesity
The paternalists continue on the march. But don’t worry, it’s for our own good! Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby writes: THE WORTHIES who govern…
Blog
Amazing How Many People in Europe are Sick
Europe has a very generous social welfare system--basically, just say you aren't feeling quite right, and you get paid. Surprise, surprise ... people take advantage…
Blog
Massive in Massachusetts
The people of Massachusetts, who until now have been entirely clueless about the fat content of any food, will finally be set free from their…
Blog
Nationalized Health Care: Growing the Nanny State
Advocates of the Nanny State have long been with us. What was Prohibition but an early manifestation of government treating everyone as children to protect…
