Air travel and rail transport were early examples of deregulation bringing huge benefits to consumers and industries. Yet automobility, air travel, and freight rail, are increasingly threatened with further regulation that will reduce their ability to transport goods and people. CEI opposes these attacks by arguing for greater freedom in mobility and opposing perverse transportation industry regulations.
Transportation Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
Shutdown woes show why it is time to privatize the TSA
Imagine arriving at the airport for a long-anticipated vacation, only to face a line longer than an airport runway. The excitement quickly gives way to…
Blog
Mandates before proven safety: How the Railway Safety Act ignores rail safety
The Washington Post’s recent piece on the Railway Safety Act underscores an essential point: safety legislation must be grounded in evidence, not fear or…
Blog
Pardon me boys, is this the Special Interest Express?
The Washington Post published a smart editorial on Monday on why the proposed Railway Safety Act is a bad idea. The legislation is…
Search Posts
Newsletter
Banning Pets, Vampire Attacks and Consumer Credit
The City of San Francisco proposes a ban on pet sales. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received some bizarre claims, including a woman’s…
Op-Eds
Regulatory Flights of Fancy
In Washington, D.C., everything old is new again. Keynes is back as the defunct economist our politicians are in thrall to, wind and solar…
Newsletter
Ethanol, Amtrak and Auto Insurance
New global warming legislation contains subsidies for ethanol production. Amtrak, which loses money annually, is now embroiled in legal troubles. State governments take an increasingly…
Op-Eds
Time to set Amtrak free
For almost 40 years, Amtrak has been a burden on American taxpayers. It has a record of inefficiency, incompetence and overspending. Now we can…
Newsletter
Toyota’s Body Count, Toll Roads and Voter Intimidation
US News & World Report claims that the death toll from runaway Toyotas was more than originally reported. Concession agreements between cities and private companies…
Newsletter
Union Bus Drivers, Fannie Mae Reform and Transportation Partnerships
In New York, bus drivers can take months of paid leave to recuperate from being spit on by passengers. The Obama…
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…
Newsletter
Energy Taxes, the Kagan Nomination and Toyota’s Safety Record
Sens. John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman prepare to introduce their much-anticipated energy bill on Wednesday. Obama nominates Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Toyota posts…
Op-Eds
GM Deliberately Tried to Deceive Americans (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to criticize General Motors for falsely claiming in a recent TV ad campaign to have “repaid”—“in full”—what it received from…
Op-Eds
What Do Arlingtonians Get For Their Always-Rising Tax Bills? (Letter to the Editor
I was saddened that the County Board raised taxes on April 24 to pay for a billion-dollar spending spree. All over the…
Newsletter
GM’s Misleading Bailout Claims, Swine Flu and Financial “Reform” Legislation
General Motors boasts that it has repaid its government loans in full, despite having used other bailout funds to repay the initial loans. The government…
Newsletter
Greenhouse Gas Regulation, High-Speed Rail and Waiting on Crist in Florida
The 2006 Supreme Court verdict in Massachusetts v. EPA is cited as one of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens’ most influential. President Obama pushes for…
Op-Eds
GM’s Tricky Payback
President Obama’s tax-cheat treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is trumpeting the fact that General Motors has paid back a small fraction of what taxpayers…
Citation
Punish GM’s False Advertising
News Release
General Motors Deceptive Advertising Challenged by Watchdog Group in FTC Filing
Washington, D.C., May 4, 2010 –The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that General Motors misleadingly…
Opposing Views
What’s With Obama and His Obsession With Trains?
In 2000, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment (the “Monorail Initiative“) authorizing the creation of a high-speed intercity rail network. However, as the economy slowed…
Opposing Views
General Motors Still Losing Billions (Letter to the Editor)
The Washington Times was right to criticize the Obama administration for its misleading hype about General Motors repaying $6.7 billion of the $50…
Washington Times
Tolls, More Freeways Would Improve Transport (Letter to the Editor)
The editorial "Freeways are the solution to congestion" (Comment & Analysis, April 12) got it half-right. Widening roads to support more cars is far less…
Newsletter
Tax Day, Open Skies and Toyota’s Legal Tactics
Tax Day inspires out an array of protests and demonstrations. The U.S. and EU signed an “Open Skies” agreement last month, which purportedly allows airlines…
Washington Times
Fly the Free Skies
When the United States and European Union first signed their Open Skies aviation agreement in 2007, the U.S. airlines got the better of the…
Newsletter
Fuel Efficiency, Imports, and H1N1
The Obama Administration plans to increase fuel efficiency standards. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative releases the 2010 National Trade Estimate report. The Centers…
Newsletter
Compact Fluorescents, Toyota, and Health Care
USA Today quotes Policy Analyst Michelle Minton saying that CEI will be celebrating the development of the compact fluorescent lightbulb. Members of Congress interrogate Toyota…
Newsletter
Finance, Trade and Toyota
Sen. Chris Dodd has introduced a new financial reform bill. U.S. Sugar is lobbying to keep government restrictions on sugar imports. The Washington Post’s coverage…
Newsletter
Court Nominations, the TSA, and Climate Change Biases
President Obama nominates left-leaning Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit court. President Obama chooses retired Army Gen. Robert A. Harding to lead the Transportation Security…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: January – February 2010
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the January-February 2010 issue: …
Newsletter
Immigration, Bake Sales and Snow Removal
The Wall Street Journal reports that E-Verify, the federal database intended to track undocumented workers, actually fails 54% of the time. The New York City…
Heartland
TSA Rules Threaten In-Flight Technology Use
Newsletter
Child Support Disputes, NFL Claims “Who Dat?” and Anti-terrorism Police Drills
Virginia legislators vote down a bill which would have forced non-custodial parents to pay child support for their children through college.
Heartland
Letter to the Editor: TSA Doesn’t Need Any More Obstacles
The Examiner was right to oppose unionizing the Transportation Security Administration, which would harm airline security and reduce its effectiveness. But the TSA is…
Heartland
Stimulus Package Forces States to Raise Taxes
The federal government’s $800 billion stimulus package, which failed to cut unemployment, is now forcing states and local governments to raise taxes.
Newsletter
EPA in Court, Anti-Terrorism Policies and the Hidden Health Care Tax
Recent greenhouse gas regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency are sparking legal opposition. Security agencies respond to a suspected terrorist incident onboard a Detroit-bound…
Heartland
U.S. Government Undermining Air and Rail Security
An alleged terrorist from Nigeria has been charged with plotting to blow up an airliner. He carried explosives onto a plane and set…
Newsletter
Probing Treasury, Car-Free Conflicts and a Quiet Hurricane Season
Controversy continues to swirl around Treasury Department documents estimating the costs of cap and trade regulation. Observance of World Car-Free Day yields conflicting opinions about…
San Francisco Examiner
Aristocrats Can Afford Car-Free Days
In the early 1800s, when railroads first began to spread across Great Britain, the Duke of Wellington reportedly sneered that this innovation would “only encourage…
Newsletter
Opposing Net Neutrality, TSA Unionizing and Banning Soft Toilet Paper
The Washington Post editorializes against the FCC’s proposed “net neutrality” regulations. The American Federation of Government Employees seeks to unionize airport safety screeners and other…
Detroit News
Car-Free Crusade is Absurd
Newsletter
Obama at the UN, the Healthcare Tax and the Costs of Cap and Trade
President Obama call for a “new era of global engagement” in addressing climate change and other issues. Economists debate the financial impact that a healthcare…
Newsletter
Obama on Global Warming, Blocking Net Neutrality and Car-Free Day
President Obama delivers a speech before the United Nations, saying that the U.S. is “determined to act” on global warming. Republican senators announce legislation that…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Treasury’s Global Warming Memos and Car-Free Day
The Federal Communications Commission plans to introduce so-called “net neutrality” regulations for ISPs, including wireless companies. Treasury Department memos estimating the cost of the White…
News Release
Anti-Automobile Activists Gear up for “World Car-Free Day”
As organizers prepare to observe “World Car-Free Day” tomorrow, the Competitive Enterprise Institute would like to remind observers and participants of the value of personal…
Newsletter
The Costs of Cap and Trade, Deadly Auto Regulations and Rockefeller on Health Care
The U.S. Treasury Department admits that a “cap and trade” system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions could cost every household $1,761 a year. New fuel…
Detroit News
9/11 Ignored-Obama Undermines Airline and Train Security
In the aftermath of 9/11, Congress foolishly shifted airline security screening to the inept Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which has failed to detect explosive…
Salon.com
Ted Kennedy… the Deregulator?
Salon.com
Kennedy’s Lasting Gift to America: Airline Deregulation
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
Salon.com
Slothful Bureaucracy Fails to Protect the Public
Gene Healy was right to criticize the bloated bureaucracy that is the Department of Homeland Security. Its worst feature is the Transportation Security Administration…
Club For Growth
Checked Baggage Regulations
Club For Growth
Perverts Get Stimulus Money, Not Roads and Bridges
“Join your fellow pervs for some explicit, twisted fun,” urged a recipient of more than $250,000 from Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package, which received…
Club For Growth
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it can somehow…
Club For Growth
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Untouched in Financial Overhaul
The mortgage crisis was caused largely by the reckless government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by federal affordable-housing mandates. But Obama’s…
Club For Growth
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it…
