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This week in ridiculous regulations: energy labeling and FCC rules for homework
There are now more than 2,000 new final regulations on the year. The Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago. A labor market statistic caused…
Blog
2024 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments is out now
The federal government has a spending budget that the public can see. Every year Congress allocates a certain amount of money to each agency, and…
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…
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New Jersey
Banning Four Loko: Bloggers on the ‘Blackout in a can’ controversy
News Release
Protest San Francisco’s Happy Meal Ban – While You Still Have a Choice
Washington, DC., November 16, 2010—The Competitive Enterprise Institute invites you to consider taking your family to McDonald’s for Happy Meals on Saturday, November 20th, to…
Organic Wine Journal
Why Is Congress So Afraid of Mail Order Wine?
Organic Wine Journal
Why Is Congress So Afraid of Mail Order Wine?
Organic Wine Journal
Why Is Congress So Afraid of Mail Order Wine?
The quest by wine and beer wholesalers to maintain their “middleman” role within the liquor industry is simply bad news. A bill making its way…
Organic Wine Journal
Private Sales Don’t Increase Drinking
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Regarding “Police Concerned Over Privatizing Liquor Stores”: The fear of law enforcement agents that privatizing liquor sales will result in increased underage drinking,…
Organic Wine Journal
Greg Conko on Salmonella and Eggs
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Gregory Conko discusses the concern over salmonella and eggs. He explains why people do not need to panic.
Organic Wine Journal
Seeking Food Safety, Getting Human Harm
Congress is set to consider a food-safety bill when it returns from the August recess. But the bill has so far stalled because of…
Newsletter
Campaign Finance, Alcohol Regulation and Underage Senior Citizens
Senate Democrats lose a key vote on the DISCLOSE Act, a bill to regulate campaign finance spending. Congress is considering a bill that would allow…
Newsletter
Congress’ Confidence Level, Attorneys General Gone Wild and Liberating Wine Sales
A recent poll found that only 11% of Americans have confidence in Congress. CEI releases a report on America’s worst state attorneys general. New York…
Newsletter
Climategate, Wine Regulations and the Jones Act
A recent report appears to clear scientists involved in the “Climategate” scandal of most wrongdoing. Congress sidelines a bill that would have created new restrictions…
Newsletter
A Beer Stimulus, Comcast Merger Questions and Urban Beekeeping
A proposed “Beer Stimulus Bill” would reduce the federal excise tax that small brewers must pay. Yesterday lawmakers conducted a field hearing questioning “Who Benefits?”…
Newsletter
Federal Spending, Free Trade and the Regulation Round-up
The House of Representatives passes a non-binding resolution to limit government spending. The Obama White House belatedly discovers the virtues of free trade. For those…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Organic Wine Journal
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…
Newsletter
Global Warming Endangerment, Free Expression, and the War on Salt
The Senate will soon battle over Lisa Murkowski’s resolution challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s “endangerment finding” on global warming. The Supreme Court overturns a ban…
Newsletter
Salt Police, Pensions and Union Contracts
The FDA is launching a new initiative to limit the amount of salt in processed food. The White House task force on the middle class…
Newsletter
Salt, Chanel, and Cap-and-Trade
Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz introduces legislation to ban all salt-use in New York restaurants. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld shows his “global warming-themed” fall-winter line for…
News Release
Report Card for the Obama Administration
One year ago today, Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States. Since then, he and his appointees have had…
Organic Wine Journal
As-salt on Science
On Monday, city officials rolled out an initiative to curb the salt content in manufactured and packaged foods. But the idea behind it — that…
Overlawyered
FDA Raw Oyster Ban
Overlawyered
Meryl’s Mad Green Meanderings about Julia
In the new movie "Julie & Julia," Meryl Streep does well portraying the late Julia Child, but one can say Streep also benefits from…
Newsletter
EPA’s Illegal Rule, Junk Food Lawsuits and Hurricane Preparedness
The Environmental Protection Agency moves to limit greenhouse gas restrictions to only large industrial sources. Anti-obesity campaigners agitate for taxes and legal restrictions on foods…
Overlawyered
Congressional Hype About Bottled Water
The news is depressing these days as people fear losing their homes or jobs and worry about family members deployed in military operations overseas.
Overlawyered
Overregulation on Tap
Dana Milbank’s July 9 Washington Sketch ["A Congressman With a Thirst for Truth"] on hearings on bottled water highlighted the absurdity of Washington policymaking.
Newsletter
Microsoft in Europe, GM Foods and the Political Crisis in Honduras
Microsoft and European Union officials hold talks over computer industry competition. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Val Giddings releases a blueprint for reforming the…
Newsletter
Chrysler’s Bankruptcy, Small Businesses Fight Back and New York’s War on Bottled Water
Financial analysts size up what Chrysler’s entrance into Chapter 11 bankruptcy means for customers and employees. Small business owners band together to oppose new union…
Newsletter
Banning Bottled Water, Remembering Jack Dreyfus and Greenhouse Gas Legislation
Activists campaign for college campuses to ban sales of bottled water. Legendary investor Jack Dreyfus passes away at age 95. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and…
Overlawyered
Now banned on campus: bottled water
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Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans, 2009
Eli Lehrer's Annual Review of Regulatory Absurdity…
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…
Punditry by the Pint
Beer Wars
Overlawyered
What have they done with the old Rose and Crown?
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…
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…
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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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…
Newsletter
Obama’s Energy Plan, New York’s Obesity Tax and the End of Global Warming Alarmism
Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of Energy plans to focus on expanding sources of “clean” renewable energy. New York Gov. David Paterson proposes raising taxes…
Newsletter
Bottled Water for the Homeless, Challenging NAFTA and Green-on-Green Violence
North Carolina officials pass out winter aid kits to the homeless. Barack Obama’s presumptive pick for trade representative suggests that the U.S. should renegotiate the…
Newsletter
Ethanol Subsidies, Sarbanes-Oxley and Bottled Water
A broad-based coalition calls on Congress to phase out subsidies for ethanol production. A federal Appeals Court rules on a Constitutional challenge to the Sarbanes-Oxley…
Newsletter
Home Sales Rise, Voter Fraud Accusations and Another Ban on Bottled Water
Existing home sales rise 5.5% in September. Groups around the country preemptively prepare for the possibility of voter fraud. Bottled water faces a ban by…
Newsletter
Stimulus Redux, Benefits of Bottled Water and the Pro-Poverty Left
Senators consider a second round of taxpayer-financed economic stimulus. Bottled water producers attempt to work constructively with environmental groups that have called for additional taxes…
Newsletter
Banning Bottled Water, Disaster Insurance and the Mortgage Meltdown
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country. Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall…
News Release
Campaign Targets Unfair Political Assault on Bottled Water
A new petition drive demands that politicians not continue plans to ban the product for safety workers and consumers. The campaign comes in the wake of…
Newsletter
Bank Insurance, Banning Wine Coolers and Rationing Meat for the Planet
Members of Congress consider raising the federal bank insurance limit for individual deposits to $250,000. Utah bans flavored alcoholic malt beverages from grocery and convenience…
Newsletter
Hurricane Recovery, Union Politics and Disaster Insurance
Residents of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast are being advised to avoid taps and drink only bottled water. Unions increase their spending on campaign advertisements and…
Newsletter
Drug Approval at the FDA, Childhood Obesity and the War on Bottled Water
Industry analysts characterize the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process as especially “conservative.” An anti-obesity advertising campaign targeted at children generates controversy. Local government…
Overlawyered
Telling McDonald’s it can open franchises only in the white part of town
Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
This paper focuses on five clearly absurd product bans that seem to serve no social good.
Products
CEI Planet: January – February 2008
View the new Montly Planet by downloading the PDF of the issue. Below you’ll find previews of the articles in this issue: Free Trade…
Op-Eds
Land of the Fake Free
Item (a): Officials in Prince George’s County, Maryland, have proposed cracking down on truancy by strapping ankle bracelets on…
Op-Eds
Top Ten Junk Science Moments for 2006
It’s time again for JunkScience.com’s review of the most notable junk science events of the year – a “top 10” list that may sometimes…
Op-Eds
Proposed trans fat ban based on a lot of junk science
Dear Chicago Restaurantgoer: Ald. Ed Burke (14th) proposed last July that the Chicago City Council ban restaurants from serving foods made with vegetable oils…
Op-Eds
New York City Bans Science
The New York City Board of Health this week banned the use of trans fats by restaurants. The decision is directly traceable back to…
Op-Eds
Trans Fat Hysteria Could Be Lawsuit Bonanza
The takeover of Congress by Democrats could result in a big payday for trial lawyers at the expense of the feckless food industry.
Op-Eds
Low-Fat Diet Myth Busted
The widely-believed notion that low-fat diets are good for your health went “poof” this week—although the busting of that myth shouldn’t be news to…
News Release
Fast Food Obesity Lawsuit Threatens Consumers, Rule of Law
Contact for Interviews: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., January 26, 2004—Yesterday’s reinstatement of the obesity liability lawsuit against McDonald’s resurrects…
News Release
Time to End “Mad Cow” Madness
Washington, D.C., December 1, 2004—The Competitive Enterprise Institute joins President Bush in calling for an end to the unnecessary and harmful ban on importation of…
Overlawyered
We Eat Only What We Choose To (Letter to the Editor)
To answer John Gapper’s question (“Who would be in Neville Isdell’s shoes?”) in his article “How to get fat on a healthy diet” (May 11),…
Op-Eds
Recent Research Suggests…
There has been a great deal of ballyhoo this week over the decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require food products…
Overlawyered
Trade War Looms as US Launches Challenge Over Transgenic Crops
Citation
New Rules May Be Challenged
Overlawyered
Groups Challenge Ban on Health-Claims Labels
Overlawyered
A Turkey of a Regulation
Corn — or maize as the Indians called it — has always been part of Thanksgiving tradition. But this year, many Americans have found that…
Overlawyered
Weed Control has Caused Skylark’s Decline (Letter to the Editor)
From Mr Gregory Conko. Sir, Your article “Bird numbers `under threat’ from GM crops” (September 1) reported on a study in the current issue of…
Op-Eds
Resistance Dropping Toward Biotech Foods
In spite of an ill-considered, anti-progress publicity campaign from left wing self-appointed consumer and environmental groups, the New Green Revolution based on genetic engineering is…
Op-Eds
Canada Misses a Fat Chance: Henry Miller Op-Ed in the National Post
Published in the National Post (Canada) July 25, 2000 Canadian regulators’ decision to ban the fat substitute olestra runs against both…
Op-Eds
Regulations Stunt the Growth of Agricultural Biotech
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman gave what he intended to be a strongly pro-biotechnology speech July 13, predicting that biotechnological solutions would help to “create…
Overlawyered
It’s All About The Money
From pediatric disease to profit center — that, in a nutshell, is how smoking has changed in the eyes of the anti-tobacco warriors. In 1995,…
Overlawyered