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
Quartz tariffs are looming and your kitchen could pay the price
Earlier this week, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that increased quartz imports are injuring the domestic quartz industry. The petitioners, the Quartz…
Blog
Illiberalism: The bipartisan tradition
After experiencing the horrors of World War I and fearing a second World War could be imminent, Ludwig von Mises wrote Liberalism: The Classical…
Blog
The Senate housing bill’s road to socialism
In the last week of February, I expressed hope that members of Congress would “embrace free-market proposals to advance opportunities in the housing sector”…
Search Posts
Blog
The week in ridiculous regulations: Oklahoma emissions and Big Creek crayfish
GDP grew by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Cable news hosts Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were both fired. Meanwhile, agencies…
Blog
Texas v. EPA could save the day for cars that go vroom
The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed its reply brief for private petitioners in State of Texas et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.
Blog
Competitive Enterprise Institute Leads Coalition Comment Opposing Department of Energy Stove Regulation
On April 17, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 30 free-market organizations filed a comment with the Department of Energy (DOE) critical of its proposed…
Comment
CEI Comments to Department of Energy on Proposed Stove Regulation
INTRODUCTION The undersigned free market and consumer organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations, which are often…
Fox News
Biden admin receives backlash from nearly two dozen groups for move cracking down on gas stoves
Fox News cites CEI’s comments to the DOE on gas stoves: Led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the groups …
Fox News
5 ways Biden is still coming for your gas stove
Who knew President Joe Biden hated gas stoves so much? Not only does he have multiple federal agencies targeting them, but he is also going…
Blog
New CEI Paper Outlines Problems with “Right to Repair” Legislation
At least 20 states have filed or refiled “right to repair” legislation since the start of the new year. Two states passed right to…
E&E News
DOE Rule May Block 50% Of Current Gas Stove Models
“This proposed rule comes with a somewhat controversial background regarding another agency. I think it’s still very, very concerning for natural…
Comment
CEI Comments on the Proposed Regulation on Digital Discrimination of Access
Introduction. On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of…
Fox News
DeSantis’s Florida beats Newsom’s California, again. Here’s the comparison
The COVID-19 pandemic elicited unprecedented government interventions into American life. Yet, the stringency and duration of government measures varied considerably across the U.S. …
Washington Examiner
Republicans can use the debt ceiling fight to better prepare Americans for the next economic crisis
On the outside chance that House Republicans are able to wrangle President Joe Biden into cutting federal spending to set a new debt…
Regulatory Transparency Project
AUDIO: Explainer Episode 48 – The FDA & the Practice of Medicine: Possible Regulation of Off-Label Prescriptions
Senior Fellow Joel Zinberg joins the Regulatory Transparency Project to discuss possibly regulation of off-label prescriptions: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations…
Real Clear Energy
Joe Biden’s Opposition to Natural Gas Hits Home
There’s no doubt that the Biden Administration is fully on board with the climate activist community’s war on the natural gas industry. From slow walking…
The Dispatch
Of Course Your House Is Killing You
There’s nothing as bad for you as living well. Here’s a nice memory: My wife and I are in Aspen, sitting by a fire that…
Op-Eds
Restrictions on Natural-Gas Stoves Are Climate Policy by Another Name
It has been heartening to see the strong backlash to the recent announcement that the Biden administration’s Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was considering restrictions and…
Blog
New Whole-of-Government Initiative on Junk Fees Comes with Unintended Consequences
Today the Biden administration announced a new whole-of-government initiative on junk fees from airlines and other industries. The news comes on the same day…
City Journal
Needs More Salt
One year ago, the Food and Drug Administration issued Guidance for Industry, a document setting out goals to reduce sodium content—generally found…
News Release
CEI Supports Sullivan-Lee Amendment to Eliminate Unfair Advantages Given to China in Kigali Treaty
The Competitive Enterprise Institute strongly supports the Sullivan/Lee Amendment that would eliminate the unfair advantages given to China under the Kigali Amendment, but still opposes…
The Daily Caller
A Little-Known UN Treaty Is A Raw Deal For America And The Senate Can’t Wait To Pass It
It’s the worst United Nations treaty that you’ve never heard of, and the Senate is on the verge of ratifying it. The Kigali Amendment is bad…
Blog
FTC Hearing on Vaping Case Shows Antitrust at its Worst
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public hearing about a seemingly resolved antitrust case about the vaping market. In 2018,…
Blog
Paternalistic FTC Rule Would Stifle Consumer Choice in Auto Market
As if American drivers didn’t face enough headwinds with high gas prices, supply chain constraints, and state rules that may force them out of…
Inside Sources
How Sandbox Programs Can Help Promote Innovation and Consumer Welfare
Technological innovation is spurring startups and financial companies to make consumer transactions more accessible, faster and more affordable. Around the world, leading financial centers seek…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Opposing Credit Card Competition Act
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, oppose the inaccurately named Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 (S. 4674). The bill is…
The Hill
Isolating China through decoupling would be a mistake
What should be the goal of America’s trade policy with China? The simple answer would be mutually beneficial exchange of goods, services and payments. However,…
News Release
CEI Amicus Brief Supports States Challenging Biden Administration Appliance Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON—The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last week, supporting Louisiana and a group…
Legal Brief
CEI Files Brief of Amici Curiae in Louisiana v. Department of Energy
In Louisiana v. Department of Energy, CEI attorneys argued that the Department of Energy’s rescission of a rule prescribing an energy conservation standard for a…
Redlands Daily Facts
The FDA’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths
Redlands Daily Facts cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes. As Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Redlands Daily Facts
The FDA’s policies would boost the black market and smoking-related deaths
Redlands Daily Facts cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol flavored cigarettes: As Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Michelle Minton…
KCMO Radio Program
Radio Program: KCMO Talk Radio
CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton talks to KCMO about e-cigarettes. Listen to the full interview here.
Blog
The FTC vs. the Right to a Fair Trial
The Food and Drug Administration recently proposed capping the nicotine in cigarettes, which will encourage many smokers to smoke more to get the same nicotine…
Comment
CEI Comments on FDA Proposed Menthol Standard
Center for Tobacco U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993 Re: Tobacco Product Standard for Menthol in Cigarettes Docket…
Washington Examiner
FDA’s Juul ban part of deadly war on nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
Blog
FDA’s Juul Ban Part of Deadly War on Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
News Release
FDA Juul Ban Bad for Public Health: CEI Comment
The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of ordering Juul Labs Inc. to remove its e-cigarettes from the U.S. market, according to a…
Richmond City Daily Journal
Baby formula shortage should spur new thinking about regulations
But I’ve also observed enough government regulation to know that the rules might be unnecessary. State authorities expressed their willingness to…
NJ Star-Ledger
Donald Trump makes a corny argument for the 2024 nomination
The New Jersey Star-Ledger cites CEI Senior Fellow Ben Liberman on ethanol mandates: Virtually every free-market thinker in every free-market…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: National Cannabis Policy Summit
CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton participated in the National Cannabis Policy Summit Watch the full video at C-SPAN here.
The Hill
Congress can prevent an over-regulated US digital economy. Here’s how
Last month, Connecticut became the fifth state to pass a comprehensive consumer data privacy law. As more states appear poised to …
Issues & Insights
Militarizing The Baby Formula Crisis Is Infantile
A military cargo plane lands filled with vitally needed baby formula to be greeted by a top government official. A relief flight to…
Blog
Banning Menthol Cigarettes Will Do Nothing to Promote Racial Justice
Public support for the War on Drugs has never been lower, due in no small part to increased awareness about the devastation drug criminalization…
Newsy
Government Combats Baby Formula Shortage With ‘Operation Fly Formula’
Newsy cites CEI Senior Fellow Ryan Young on regulating the formula shortage: Experts say the FDA’s requirements are cumbersome and counterproductive…
Blog
Baby Formula and Regulatory Failure
A lot of people are blaming free markets for the baby formula shortage. As the economist Jagdish Bhagwati might say, the problem with this is…
The Washington Examiner
What Elon Musk gets wrong about Apple App Store fees
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has some in the throes of ecstasy and others fearing a social media apocalypse. But, whatever happens, it’s good news that the…
Vapor Voice
Unnatural Response
Vapor Voice cites CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on nontobacco nicotine regulation: Michelle Minton, writing for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, states that given the…
Letters
36 Organizations Sign Coalition Letter Condemning Menthol Prohibition Proposal
We, the undersigned 36 organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the United States, strongly urge you to reject any proposed ban on menthol…
Blog
CEI Joins Coalition Urging FDA Not to Ban Synthetic Nicotine
This week CEI joined a coalition of groups urging Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf not to prohibit synthetic nicotine (read the…
Blog
Why Cannabis Banking Liberalization Would Indeed Increase U.S. Competitiveness
As war continues in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, interest by policy makers and the media has spiked in competitiveness bills passed separately…
Blog
FDA’s Dysfunctional Regulation of E-cigs Created the Synthetic Nicotine Problem
Winston Churchill once said that “If you destroy a free market you create a black market” and nowhere is the validity of that statement…
Los Angles Daily News
Menthol Ban a Bad, Harmful Idea
Los Angeles Daily News cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on why e-cigarettes offer smokers a better alternative: “While some smokers might quit…
The Washington Times
Researchers Warn Trendy CBD Gummies Can Cause Failed Drug Tests
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on popular consumer gummies and vaporizers: Michelle Minton, a senior fellow at the libertarian…
