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
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…
Blog
FDA makes lab test power play
The Food and Drug Administration has just released its long anticipated final rule that explicitly asserts its claim of authority to regulate laboratory-developed-tests (LDTs)—tests that are designed, manufactured,…
Blog
Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Search Posts
NPR
Sports Betting Ruling Could Have Consequences, Especially For College Athletes
National Public Radio cited Michelle Minton on the consequence of betting on college sports where student players are not paid. The amateur athletes are…
SFGate
Trump, Top Car Executives Meet Amid Struggle Over Climate Rules for Automobiles
SFGate cited Myron Ebell on the need for diversification in motor vechicle standards in order to suit the diverse needs of Americans living across the…
Blog
Supreme Court Sports Betting Decision Big Win for Consumers, Federalism
Today’s Supreme Court opinion in Murphy v. NCAA (formerly Christie v. NCAA) is a big win for consumers, states, and the constitutional principle…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in New Jersey Sports Gambling Case: A Win for States, Consumers, and Rule of Law
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey’s right to set its own laws on whether to allow sports gambling – a…
The Hill
High Stakes in Supreme Court Sports Betting Case
In just a few days, the Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision on Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Blog
Senseless Menu Labeling Rules Go into Effect in May
Within days, chain restaurants and grocery stores nationwide will have to comply with a high-cost, low-value Obamacare menu labeling mandate. Failure to comply with the…
Blog
Multi-State Petition against EPA Vehicle Standards Makes Weak Legal Case
California joined by 16 states and the District of Columbia yesterday petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop Environmental Protection Agency administrator…
Blog
Systematic Failures of Chemical Safety Research at Environmental Protection Agency
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” could be the motto of one of the key research programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection…
Blog
Chef Geoff Tracy Fights Virginia’s Happy Hour Ad Ban
Local D.C.-area chef Geoff Tracy is a bacon lover, popular food Instagrammer, and a budding legal activist. This week, aided by his attorneys at the…
Blog
Cracking Down on Automated Vehicles Would Mean More Death and Destruction
Real-life road testing is the best way to continue improving the performance of automated driving systems, thanks in part to the gathering of real-time road…
Blog
Will Government Allow Gene Editing for Cancer Treatment?
The idea of genome editing is no longer a theoretical concept studied only within the confines of labs and scientific research institutions. In August 2017, scientists…
Blog
Liberate Dishwashers from Federal Efficiency Mandates
Thirty-five years ago dishwashers cleaned dishes in about an hour. Sadly, today there are no dishwashers that do so due to federal government regulations. This…
Blog
3 Proposals to Temper the Federal Payday Loan Rule
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule regulating payday loans in October last year, I wrote that this could be the end…
Blog
How States Can Win Big from Legal Sports Betting
Every March, millions of Americans join friends, relatives, and coworkers in “March Madness” betting pools, centered on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball…
News Release
Report: States Should Bet on Sports Gambling Laws that Work
Despite the popularity of March Madness brackets, all sports betting remains illegal in the United States. States that hope to legalize sports betting should start…
Study
Legalizing Sports Betting in the United States
Every March, millions of Americans join friends, relatives, and coworkers in “March Madness” betting pools, centered on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Rein in FDA Overreach as Part of FY18 Spending Bill
Without modernization of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the Deeming Rule will kill tens of thousands of jobs and put many Americans'…
NewsBusters
Is Using Pesticides an Act of Chemical Warfare?
A substance that “belongs to a class of chemicals developed as a nerve gas made by Nazi Germany is now found in food, air…
The Washington Free Beacon
Partisan Fights Over Science Funding Likely to Reemerge on Capitol Hill
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the International Agency for Research on Cancer with Angela Logomasini. A long-simmering partisan feud over the role of science…
News Release
CEI Praises House Plan to Fix Obamacare Menu Labeling Mandate
House Republicans are expected to vote tomorrow, February 6, on a bipartisan bill to scale back the most onerous provisions of the Obamacare menu labeling…
InsideSources
In the Sports-Subsidy Game, Taxpayers Always Lose
Few events unite our diverse country and bring people together like sports. No matter where we are from, which team we root for, or even…
Blog
States: Protect Taxpayers and Reject Sports Gambling Rent-Seekers
For the last 25 years, the states have lost out on millions in tax revenue they could have collected from sports betting, thanks to a…
Blog
California’s Cancerous Coffee Nonsense
If you have ever visited California, you have probably encountered the warning labels that appear on everything from seaweed to soft drinks, informing you…
Time
Inside Scott Pruitt’s Mission to Remake the EPA
Time Magazine quotes Myron Ebell on Scott Pruitt’s opportunity to battle overregulation within the EPA. Bonnie Wirtz was tending to her Minnesota farm one…
Blog
Burger King Video Inadvertently Highlights Absurdity of Net Neutrality Claims
A new corporate video from Burger King ostensibly supports net neutrality regulations, but actually demonstrates exactly why such rules are unnecessary.
NBC News
Cigarette Company Philip Morris Tries to Sell Idea of ‘Safer’ Tobacco
NBC News covers smoking alternatives. When Philip Morris International took out an ad campaign in Britain claiming it wanted to “give up” smoking, American…
The American Spectator
Pennsylvania’s Entry Into Online Gaming May Kill Federal Ban Effort
The American Spectator covers Pennsylvania’s online gambling law and how it could affect the federal ban effort. The impending implementation of Pennsylvania online gaming…
Blog
7 Reasons to Oppose the Federal Payday Loan Rule
Congress should use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small dollar loan rule.
Blog
Did the Food Pyramid Make Us Fat?
If the government is going to spend our tax money on lecturing us on what we’re supposed to be eating, we can ask that their…
Blog
Congress Must Help Modernize Outdated Auto Safety Regulations
Congress should encourage safety regulators to more rapidly adopt modern standards developed by private professional organizations. …
Blog
Federalist Society Documents ‘American Spirit’ of U.S. Distilling
The Federalist Society has produced an excellent new short film out about the history of alcohol regulation.
News Release
Trump Marijuana Policy Undermines Citizens’ Rights
United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era policy curtailing federal enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that have already legalized it...
Fox News
‘Junk Science’? Studies Behind Obama Regulations Under Fire
Fox News discusses junk science with Angela Logomasini. … Pruitt recently reversed the 2015 ban on the insecticide chlorpyrifos for agricultural use,…
Blog
Is There a Drone under Your Tree? Here’s the Current Status of Federal Regulation
No longer just the stuff of modern warfare, small drone aircraft are increasingly used in real estate, agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue, to…
HuffPost
Nanny State Activists Spread Holiday Fear about Toy Safety
Rather than spreading holiday cheer, nanny state activists apparently prefer to spread fear about toy safety. Indeed, activists are using the holiday season as a…
The Washington Times
Supreme Court Questions Federal Law Banning State-Sponsored Sports Betting
The Washington Times discusses the Supreme Court’s hearing of oral arguments in Christie v. NCAA with Michelle Minton. The Supreme Court on Monday appeared skeptical of a…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Urging Feds to Stand Down on States’ Medical Marijuana Decisions
View Full Document as PDF Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Leader Pelosi, and Leader Schumer: On behalf of the thousands of Americans…
Blog
Supreme Court Gambles with State Sovereignty
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that pits New Jersey against both the nation’s largest sports leagues and the…
Blog
Court Orders Coinbase to Turn over Cryptocurrency User Data to IRS
Congress should revisit the law to protect privacy and due process in IRS investigations.
Blog
Overturn CFPB’s Payday Loan Rule to Protect Vulnerable Consumers
Members of Congress must demonstrate the courage to stand up for consumers and against the rogue agency.
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting BEST Act
Dear Members of Congress: Federal regulations have a significant impact on consumer freedom, public health and safety, and the budgets of all Americans. The goal…
The Huffington Post
Neurotoxins in Your Thanksgiving Meal
Should you “go organic” for Thanksgiving, buying only “chemical free” foods? That’s the suggestion of some “…
Forbes
Online Gambling — None of Washington’s Business (But Its Enemies Don’t Care)
George Leef writing for Forbes cites Michelle Minton’s work on online gambling. One of the things that gives capitalism a bad name is the way…
Blog
Federal Office of Financial Research Violates Privacy, Produces Little of Value
The American people would be better off without it.
Townhall
Beware the Dangers of Online Gambling Says Wildly Rich, Totally Uninterested Casino Owner
Writing for Townhall, Brian McNicoll cites Michelle Minton’s work on online gambling. Sheldon Adelson is concerned about problem gambling. He’s also concerned about underage gambling,…
Blog
Is Using Pesticides an Act of Chemical Warfare?
While the benefits of judicious use of pesticides are quite clear and documented, the claims about chlorpyrifos being risky lack substance.
Bridge
When Lansing Writes Laws Based on Emotion, Rather Than Facts
Michigan lawmakers were optimistic in 2011 that their newly enacted “keg tag” law would help reduce the state’s high rates of underage binge drinking.
Blog
FDA Issues Commonsense Federal Guidance on Nutrition Labeling
While it might not be ideal, it’s an improvement on the former scenario—a sprinkling of common sense on an otherwise foolish regulation.
Blog
Pennsylvania Becomes the Fourth State to Legalize Online Gambling
This past Monday, October 30, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill legalizing Internet gambling throughout the state. The move makes the Keystone State the…
Blog
New York’s Anti-Science Vape Ban Will Not Reduce Smoking Rates or Save Lives
Thanks to the education efforts of public health activists, today few Americans are now unaware of the dangers of smoking. As a result, cigarette use…