A Bipartisan Agenda for Economic Liberalization & Restraint on Political Power
From the introduction by Fred Smith:
Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff, recently commented: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Now, we at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are at least as concerned about the nation’s current economic crisis—but we are even more concerned about bad policies that may come out of this crisis.
Still, Emanuel’s point is valid. Crises expose unexpected—and often misunderstood—weaknesses in current policies. While our statist friends see this as an opportunity—indeed, a duty—to expand the size and scope of government,we at CEI see it as a chance to challenge the entanglement of the private and political spheres.
Introduction
Secure the Economy
- One Nation, Ungovernable?
- Rein in the $1 Trillion Regulatory State
- Reform U.S. Agriculture Programs
- Curb and Phase Out Taxpayer-Funded Corporate Bailouts
- Roll Back Burdensome Sarbanes-Oxley
Accounting Rules - Make Accounting Regulators Accountable
- Recognize the Value of Hedge Funds and Private Equity for Entrepreneurs and Shareholders
- Encourage Innovation in Credit Availability
- Liberalize Telecommunications
- Avoid Energy and Global Warming Policies that Pose More Risk than Global Warming
- Increase Access to Energy
- Allow Workers and Employers to Work without Burdensome Regulation
- Avoid Extending Antitrust Regulation into New Competitive Realms
- Avoid Privacy Regulation that Could Worsen Personal Security
- Forge a Bipartisan Approach to End Corporate Welfare
- Develop Smart Policies to Help Homeowners Deal With Natural Catastrophes
- Liberalize Homeowners, Automobile, Life, and Commercial Insurance Regulation
- Encourage Competition between Different Types of Depository Institutions
- Phase Out the National Flood Insurance Program
- Protect Sensitive and Disaster-Prone Natural Areas
- Let Market Forces Regulate Internet Gambling
- Allow Immigrants to Help Fill America’s Need for Workers
- Keep Government’s Hands off the Net and E-Commerce
- Clarify the Role of Intellectual Property in the Economy
- Study and Understand Corporate Social Responsibility
- Protect and Enhance Federalism
- Avoid Hampering the Internet through Net Neutrality Regulation
- Protect Free Speech by Rejecting Content Regulation
- Advance a Global Pro-Trade Agenda
- Counteract Politicization of Federal Science Policy
- Resist New Burdens on the Transportation Sector
- Facilitate Electricity Competition
Protect the Environment
- Restore the Constitutional Right to Property
- Embrace Private Conservation of Land and Natural Resources
- Protect Endangered Species
- Clarify the Role of Invasive Species
- Develop New Approaches to Preserve Ocean Resources
- Trash Counterproductive Waste Disposal Policies
- Recognize the Elitist Nature of “Anti-Sprawl” Measures
- Rethink Water Rights Policies
- Reform Wetlands Policies
Improve Health & Safety
- Reject the Precautionary Principle, a Threat to Technological Progress
- Recognize the Deadly Effects of Over-Regulating Medicines and Medical Devices
- Purify Federal Water Policies
- Ensure Consumers’ Access to Bottled Water
- Enhance Auto Safety
- Improve Food Safety and Quality though Greater Information, Consumer Choice, and Legal Accountability
- Protect Incentives for Pharmaceutical Innovation
- Resist Over-Caution on Nanotechnology and other Frontier Sciences
- Recognize the Role of Private Enterprise in Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
- Contributors