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
News Release
Consumer sentiment rebounds in first reading for June: CEI analysis
University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report showed a rebound in its first reading for June, likely due to slower-growing inflation and a calmer-than-expected month…
Blog
The SCRUB Act: Washing away Washington’s regulatory grime
The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, introduced today by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), is a key step …
Blog
Trump executive order puts independent agencies on a leash
President Trump’s new executive order, “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” marks a major shift in regulatory oversight by bringing independent agencies…
Search Posts
Blog
Regulation of the Day 140: Plastic
“Plastics are the future,” a pushy relative told a young Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. Was he giving career advice -- or a warning?…
Blog
BP Supported Obama Stimulus Package, Global Warming Bill, and Corporate Welfare; BP Bankrolled Obama Campaign
Columnist Tim Carney notes that BP, responsible for the massive oil spill, is “a close friend of big government whenever it serves the company’s…
Newsletter
EPA’s Global Warming Plans, Debit Card Fees and Alcohol Energy Drinks
The Senate will vote this week on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to block the EPA’s proposed global warming regulations. California State Senator Jenny Oropeza has introduced…
Blog
Global-Warming Bill Contains Ethanol Subsidies, Which Cause Famine, Hunger, Food Riots, and Political Unrest
People across the world “are being battered by surging food prices that are dragging more people into poverty, fueling political tensions and forcing some to…
Blog
Obama Uses BP Oil Spill to Push Corporate-Welfare-Filled Global Warming Bill That BP Once Lobbied For
Talk about chutzpah. President Obama, the biggest recipient of campaign cash from BP, is using BP’s oil spill to push for a global…
Blog
Today’s the Day
Today is National Donut Day. Ordinarily, this would be just another cute calendar event. But nowadays we’re bombarded by government proposals…
Bastiat Institute
Internet Gambling Regs in Effect…Now
News Release
Institute Calls for Civil Disobedience on National Donut Day
Washington, D.C., June 4, 2010—The Competitive Enterprise Institute today urged Americans to turn National Donut Day into a day of protest against growing government…
Blog
Temperance Smokescreen and HR 5034
Various parties—from distributors to retailers in states where supermarket sales are banned—claim that alcohol regulations safeguard public health and protect children by limiting…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 138: Dwile Flonking
H.L. Mencken defined Puritanism as “The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” He may as well have been talking about regulators.
Blog
BP: A “Serial Environmental Criminal” With Close Ties To The Obama Administration
BP, which is responsible for the terrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has a safety record infinitely worse than other oil companies, which…
Newsletter
Internet Gambling, Carbon Regulations and FDA’s Energy Drink Crackdown
Restrictions on Internet gambling go into effect this week. The Senate will soon vote on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to stop the EPA from regulating carbon…
Bastiat Institute
Internet Gambling Regulations Take Effect June 1st
Today is the day that US credit processing companies must begin complying with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). After…
Blog
Divorce Courts Mistreat America’s Soldiers 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
The Nanny Zone Episode 1
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OJgLJZuwM 285 234]…
News Release
New Rules for Online Gambling Take Force
New restrictions on Internet gambling – which financial companies such as banks and credit unions must officially abide by as of today – will not…
Op-Eds
“Dining On Politics …With No Cigar”
Full Document Available in PDF Take the current trends in government food regulation—menu labeling mandates, soda taxes, product bans—and extend them just…
Blog
Massive Fare Hike in Washington, D.C. Subway System; Public Sacrifices, Overpaid Union Doesn’t
The mismanaged Washington, D.C. Metro system is pushing through huge fare hikes, not only increasing subway and bus fares, but adding a new 20…
Blog
Myths About Green Energy: The Truth Is, It’s Corporate Welfare That Destroys American Jobs
In The Washington Post, Robert Bryce debunks five myths about green energy: it won’t create jobs, won’t help the environment, and won’t make America…
Blog
New York Winemakers Forced to Market Out-of-State
Scott Osborn–proprietor of Fox Run Vineyards located in the Finger Lakes wine region in New York–poured samples of his great wines at the Gainesville,…
Blog
Sudden Acceleration in Media Falsehoods Regarding Toyota
“Now that the dust has begun to settle on Toyota’s recall fiasco, it’s being made clear that the toll on human life was greater than…
IGA Magazine
Etats-Unis: la loi de prohibition qui entre en vigueur le 1er juin devrait, paradoxalement, permettre à Barney Frank de faire vo
Gioco News
Il poker online in Usa tra divieti e speranze di regolamentazione
News Release
Regulators Stage Extreme Refreshment Crackdown
Washington, D.C., May 27, 2010—The Food and Drug Administration’s attempts to crack down on makers of alcoholic beverages with added caffeine are unwarranted and rely…
Blog
Obama Justice Department Sued Over Stonewalling and Cover-Up in Black Panther Case
Judicial Watch is suing the Obama administration over its stonewalling in the Black-Panther voter intimidation case, where the administration has flouted the Freedom of…
Blog
Congress Expected to Vote Soon on Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy Restricting Gay Soldiers
“Separate votes” are expected “in the House and Senate later this week on legislation repealing the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ restriction on gays serving…
Blog
More Bailouts for Corrupt Mortgage Giants: “More Aid Expected for Fannie, Freddie”
The bailouts are getting even bigger, for the most undeserving recipients. “More Aid Expected for Fannie, Freddie,” reports The Washington Post. The Obama administration…
Poker Leaders
Poker online aux USA : l’ouverture du marché plutôt que l’UIGEA
Poker Stars
Les Etats-Unis pourraient légaliser certains jeux d’argent sur Internet
Blog
Liquor Licensing Overhaul Brewing in NJ
Democratic Senator James Beach introduced a set of bills earlier this month that, if passed by the New Jersey state senate, will make it…
Blog
In Letter and Spirit: Equal Treatment Under the Law
A Washington Post blog pointed out last week that the State of Virginia is looking into privatizing its liquor stores. My recent pieces comparing…
Blog
Corrupt Mortgage Giants Escape Reform: “Obama Administration Says Fannie, Freddie Reform ‘Too Hard'”
There won’t be any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-sponsored mortgage giants that even Obama administration officials admit were at…
Blog
Stimulus Package Increases Trade Deficit: Replaces U.S. Jobs with Foreign “Green Jobs”
The $800 billion stimulus package is shipping American jobs overseas. More than 79 percent of “green jobs” funding under the stimulus package went to…
Blog
CEI Statement on Senate Passage of Restoring American Financial Stability Act
The “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” that passed Congress last night with 39 senators voting “nay,” will hurt Main Street investors and entrepreneurs, and worsen…
Blog
“No More Crying ’Spanish Flu’,” my article in Forbes
What’s that? Your throat feels sore? You’re sniffling and sneezing? Bit achy? IT’S THE RETURN OF THE SPANISH FLU! Okay, that’s satire–but not by much.
Blog
Senate Passes Financial “Reform” Bill, 59-39; Will Wipe Out Jobs and Increase Credit Card Costs
The Senate has just passed a 1,500 page financial “reform” bill that deliberately leaves unreformed the corrupt mortgage giants that spawned the financial crisis–while…
Blog
Justice Department Lawyer Resigns Due to Politicization of Justice Department; Obama Administration Defies Civil Rights Commission
A career Justice Department lawyer has resigned after the Obama administration defied a subpoena from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Commission is…
Blog
Kagan Shirked Duty to Defend Federal Laws Protecting Crime Victims
Federal law authorizes life sentences without parole for particularly heinous violent crimes committed by 16 and 17-year olds. But Solicitor General Elena Kagan was…
Blog
Legal Elites Chip Away at Protections Against Violent Crime
On Monday, the Supreme Court, citing “international opinion,” outlawed life imprisonment without parole for juveniles who commit rape, torture, and other non-homicide crimes. Earlier,…
Newsletter
EPA’s Carbon Regulations, Internet Gambling and Reviving Rail
The Senate prepares to vote on Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon emissions. The House’s Ways and Means…
Make Poker Legal
Congress May Roll Dice and Legalize Internet Gambling
NH Insider
Congress May Roll Dice and Legalize Internet Gambling
CNET
Congress May Roll Dice and Legalize Internet Gambling
CNET
Monday’s SCOTUS Decision Sickening
The Supreme Court has just held that violent juveniles cannot be given a life sentence without the opportunity for parole, unless they succeed in…
News Release
House Eyes Internet Gambling Reform
As the House Ways and Means Committee prepares for a hearing Wednesday on potential revenue from regulated Internet gambling, analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Supreme Court Overturns Life Sentences Without Parole for Violent Juveniles, Citing “International Opinion”
The Supreme Court has just held that violent juveniles cannot be given a life sentence without the opportunity for parole, unless they succeed in killing…
Blog
Growing Battle on Anti-Consumer Wine Reguations
Today, the New York Post ran my article on regulations against wine sales in grocery stores. Unfortunately, New York’s silly regulations are just…
Newsletter
Energy Legislation, Facebook Privacy and Wine Regulations
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) unveil their long-delayed energy bill. Executives at Facebook hold a high-level meeting to…
CNET
New York Needs to Relax on Wine
New York liquor retailers oppose Gov. Pater son’s proposal to let supermarkets sell wine — but it would be a clear winner for everyone…
Blog
Democrats Block Reform of Corrupt Mortgage Giants; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Will Receive Billions More in Bailouts for Government-Sponsored Enterprises
In a party-line, 56-to-43 vote yesterday, Senate Democrats blocked any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-backed mortgage giants that…
