Who is Ripping Off U.S. Consumers?

Washington, D.C., July 11, 2006— When big business gets its way in Washington, the result is higher taxes, stricter regulation, and bigger government all around, all of which harm consumers, entrepreneurs, and taxpayers. Competitive Enterprise Institute Journalism Fellow Tim Carney reveals the quiet partnership of big business and big government—and its costs to the average American—in THE BIG RIPOFF: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.

Carney’s in-depth research, exclusive interviews, and shoe-leather reporting unearth a startling pattern that upends the conventional wisdom. Government regulation doesn’t rein in big businesses; it protects them while hurting the little guys. Higher taxes don’t soak the rich; they often merely transfer wealth from Mom & Pop to the largest corporations. It’s not just for good press that some big businesses are sounding a lot “greener” these days; the old-fashioned profit motive combined with some targeted lobbying is really behind the push for “corporate social responsibility.”

THE BIG RIPOFF presents a series of stories—simultaneously entertaining and infuriating—and weaves them together into a pattern. Driven by compelling narrative and punctuated by concise insights into today’s political and economic landscape, THE BIG RIPOFF opens up a new world to all readers.

Tim Carney is the Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a freelance investigative reporter in Washington, D.C. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, New York Sun, Wall Street Journal Europe, American Spectator, D.C. Examiner, and many other magazines, newspapers, and websites. He was formerly a reporter for veteran columnist Robert Novak and a reporter at Human Events. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN and other television outlets, and as a guest on dozens of radio stations. His website is www.TimothyPCarney.com.