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
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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”…
Blog
No free lunch: Price controls won’t make groceries more affordable
When Americans go to the grocery store, they expect to find food and drinks. Lately, many are encountering something else: sticker shock. According to…
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Liquor store privatization on tap in WA
In Washington state’s November election ballot will have a very interesting twist: dueling initiatives to privatize the state-run liquor stores: Washington Privatize State Liquor Stores…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 143: Your Bedtime
In Japan, your bedtime is official government business.
Blog
New Federal Interference With Oil-Spill Clean-Up: Feds Stop Louisiana From Dredging Needed to Create Protective Sand Berms
A TV station in New Orleans reports that “the federal government is shutting down the dredging that was being done to create protective sand…
Blog
Stimulus Package to Cost $75 Billion More Than Predicted; Plus, Government-Employee Bailout Sought
The stimulus package is going to cost at least $75 billion more than the $787 billion the Obama administration claimed, according to the Congressional…
Blog
Judge Blocks Gulf Drilling Ban, Citing Deception by Obama Administration; Obama Continues to Delay Gulf Clean-Up
A federal judge has just blocked the Obama administration from imposing a blanket ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Blog
Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Antiterror Law; More Clues About Elena Kagan
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was instrumental in getting President Clinton to veto a ban on partial-birth abortion. She also lumped…
Blog
Obama Administration Blocks Clean-Up of Oil Spill by Louisiana and Foreign Allies By Imposing Red Tape
The Obama Administration recently used red tape to force Louisiana to stop using 16 barges that were cleaning up the Gulf…
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Orcs on Wall Street and the Chimera of Green Jobs
Congress continues to discuss a plan that would legalize online gambling in all fifty states. The government is on the prowl…
Blog
Friday Regulation Roundup
Arizona spends $1,250,000 to save 250 squirrels, plus more.
Blog
America’s Failed Domestic Ethanol Policy
I had a piece in yesterday’s Washington Times critiquing U.S. ethanol policy. My main points: Price subsidies are generally bad–they encourage overconsumption and distort…
Blog
Obama Uses Oil Spill to Push Failed Energy Policies
In his speech last night, President Obama used the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to push his failed energy policies, such…
Blog
Choosing individual liberty is no gamble.
On June 1st the Oregonian published an opinion piece by the editorial staff, titled “Legalization would be a gamble, too” The basis for the…
Blog
Cell Phone Cancer Scare Refuses to Die
Some people are scared that cell phones cause brain tumors. There are enough of these bedwetters that San Francisco just passed a new law requiring…
Blog
Financial “Reform” Bill Engages in Racial Engineering, While Ignoring Corrupt Mortgage Giants
Congress and the Obama administration refused to do anything about the corrupt government-sponsored mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, even though administration…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 142: Ladies’ Night
Ladies’ night bar specials are illegal in Minnesota. They are unfair gender discrimination, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
Blog
My article: “Purveying Pig Flu Panic at the Post”
“Panic is what we want,” Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum wrote last May of swine flu. “Panic is good,” she said, also labeling the disease…
Blog
Obama Blocked Clean Up of BP Oil Spill by Friendly Countries; International Assistance Blocked by Regulations Obama Had The Authority To Waive
Crucial offers to help clean up BP’s oil spill “have come from Belgian, Dutch, and Norwegian firms that . . . possess some of the…
Blog
Obama Wants Taxpayers to Cough Up $50 Billion To Bail Out Public-Employee Unions
President Obama now wants Congress to spend $50 billion to keep state governments from laying off government employees. In essence, this is a bailout…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 141: Mandatory Fire Sprinklers
Politicians love it when housing prices go up. That's why Cumberland, Maryland is mulling requiring all new homes to install fire sprinkler systems. Cost: $3,000-$9,000…
Blog
Obama Fires Inspector General Who Uncovered Fraud, and Honors Defrauder Instead
Earlier, President Obama fired the inspector general for the AmeriCorps program after he uncovered fraud by Obama crony Kevin Johnson. (Johnson did not…
Blog
AIG Bailout Had “Poisonous” Effect, Bailout Oversight Panel Says
“American International Group Inc.’s bailout had a ‘poisonous’ effect on the U.S. financial system because it demonstrated the government would protect Wall Street firms from…
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
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