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The Hidden Costs of Interchange Fee Bans
The state of Illinois risks transforming the Land of Lincoln into the Land of Patchwork Price Controls. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), passed…
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Welcome to the Machine
The transition toward superintelligence will come with serious risks—from economic disruption, to misuse in areas like cybersecurity and biology, to the loss of alignment…
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Three Reasons Tariffs Don’t Work
He just likes tariffs. President Trump’s decades-long love of tariffs comes from the heart. The intellectual arguments Trump and his aides use to justify…
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The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 Will Help Species
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted into law. Since that time, more than half a century ago, the law has been…
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Questions for Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh’s…
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The Beauty of Regulatory Sunsets
Introduction In 2019, Idaho pioneered zero-based regulation (ZBR), an orderly approach to statewide regulatory reform. Like zero-based budgeting, ZBR starts with the presumption that…
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Free the Appliances!
Introduction The Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance efficiency standards program has been in place for decades, subjecting nearly every major home appliance to multiple…
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Freedom, Broadcasting, and the Public Interest
Introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is invoking the public interest to justify regulatory moves that would, in theory, force television and radio station…
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I, Pharmaceutical
The global pharmaceutical industry is complex. This is true not only in the number of countries involved but the range of products, the sets…
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‘Contradictory to Our Country’s Laws’
Introduction In the first days of the second Trump administration, elusive aspirations of confining agencies of the federal government to their legitimate functions suddenly…
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End IRA Subsidies Now
Introduction “The first lesson of economics is scarcity,” wrote economist Thomas Sowell. By contrast, “The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first…
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No Permission Needed
Robust, resilient, and high-capacity internet service is critical to America’s economic prosperity and success. A key part of internet service is Wi-Fi, which provides…
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The Innovation Imperative
The Competitive Enterprise Institute recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh was chosen because the city was celebrating the 300th anniversary of…
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The Supreme Court’s New New Deal
In the final weeks of its 2024 term, the Supreme Court of the United States issued several opinions that transform the nation’s regulatory climate.
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How to Keep the Lights On
A reliable electrical grid is essential to all aspects of daily life. Power keeps the lights on, appliances running, and keeps our homes warm…
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Champagne Regulations on a Beer Budget
Regulation is often regarded as akin to a tax, albeit one that takes place off of the government’s books. Similar to a value-added tax,…
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Achieving Change at the Federal Trade Commission
Introduction “Never mistake activity for achievement.” – John Wooden Although small in budget, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sometimes had an outsized impact. Created to fulfill…
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Major Questions on Net Neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised once again to change and classify broadband internet access service (BIAS), the mass market wireline and wireless…
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Forcing the UN’s Hand on China
Most United Nations (UN) environmental treaties are a bad deal for America that are made worse by classifying China as a developing nation and…
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Toward a US-Swiss Trade Agreement
This paper examines the benefits and challenges of a potential free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Switzerland. Such an agreement would…
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Big Problems with SEC Climate Disclosure Mandate
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finalizing its mandatory climate disclosure rule[1] that will require publicly traded companies to provide…
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Conflict of Justice
Introduction Imagine that a federal agency has charged you with violating a law or regulation, and you have to defend yourself in court. But…
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Four Hot Issues at COP28
Over 75 different agenda items will be discussed and negotiated in Dubai at the 28th annual Conference of the Parties of the United Nations…
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The UN’s Annual Climate Conference
I remember the first Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) I participated in.1 It was back…
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Rules for Robots – A framework for governance of AI
Introduction With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies in recent years, we have seen increasing calls for regulation to mitigate…
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Threats Then and Threats Now
Executive summary In 1971 Lewis Powell, a prominent Republican lawyer who would go on to serve on the Supreme Court, wrote a memo warning…
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FTC’s Subscription Deception
Proposed Negative Option Rule has no opt-out from bureaucratic overreach Introduction The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a Negative* Option Rule Notice…
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Four Principles for Real Permitting Reform
Federal legislators continue to focus on permitting reform. For example, the Senate is reportedly1 working on more ambitious reform than those recently enacted in…
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M&As Are A-Okay
Fretting about “killer acquisitions” and “kill zones” is common among regulators in Washington these days, but entrepreneurs and investors at work in the tech…
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Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right to Repair
Should you have the legal right to fix your own stuff? At first glance, the answer would seem like a simple “yes.” That simple…
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Unleashing America’s Energy Abundance
As a side deal to the Inflation Reduction Act of August 2022, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) agreed to streamline infrastructure…
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Strategies to Improve the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan
Few policy issues are as crucial to the future of U.S. national security and global economic competitiveness as the development of artificial…
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How Regulatory Sandbox Programs Can Promote Technological Innovation and Consumer Welfare
Around the world, leading financial centers seek to attract companies capable of developing innovative financial products and services. From blockchain-based payments to alternative credit…
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Terrible Tech Bills from the 117th Congress
Congress is considering an onslaught of legislation targeting the largest tech platforms in the U.S., addressing topics such as mobile apps, advertising,…
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How Congress and the Federal Communications Commission Can Help Improve Affordable Internet Access to Underserved Populations
June 30, 2022 …
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The SEC’s Costly Power Grab
The concept known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has gained an increasingly high profile in recent years, with advocates producing a large…
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The High Costs of the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act
Concerns about plastics waste in the world’s oceans have raised genuine issues about the impact of plastics on the environment. In response, Sen. Jeff…
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Why Carbon Taxes Are Anti-Growth, Anti-Consumer, and Politically Dangerous for Conservatives
A tax on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, contrary to its advocates’ claims, is a market-rigging policy, not a free market one. Its purpose is…
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Ban Overboard: Exploring Solutions to Ocean Pollution
Heartbreaking photos and videos of wildlife harmed by plastics litter have rightly raised public concerns about plastics in the ocean. In response, state and…
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The Immeasurable Benefits of Plastics to Humanity
It is popular these days for people to proclaim that they are giving up plastics. Just browse the Web and you will find all…
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How Plastics Benefit Wildlife and the Environment
Several proposals designed to end America’s so-called addiction to plastics are currently pending in Congress. They include the Break-Free from Plastics Act (H.R. 2238,…
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Preserving Section 230 Is Key to Maintaining the Free and Open Internet
Passed as part of the Telecommunications Decency Act of 1996, Section 230 was intended to clarify liability rules online and to encourage sites to…
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The Protect the Right to Organize Act Empowers Unions at Workers’ Expense
View the Full Document as PDF The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is touted by its supporters as advancing…
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A Way Forward for Vaccination Passports
View Full Document as PDF Countries around the world have announced plans to implement vaccine passports—electronic or paper credentials that show…
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The Annual Percentage Rate Is the Wrong Metric for Assessing the Cost of a Short-Term Loan
Think calculating the cost of a loan is simple? Not under the longtime rules of the federal government and many states. Consider the following…
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Repeal of #NeverNeeded Regulations Can Help People Stay Home and Safe During the COVID-19 Crisis
As individuals and businesses continue to address the COVID-19 health crisis, access to technologies and services that have enabled large swaths of the economy to…
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Government-Run Payment Systems Are Unsafe at Any Speed
For people quarantining during the COVID-19 health crisis, electronic payments proved essential to obtaining needed supplies, from groceries to medicines, while maintaining social distancing and…
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How Repeal of #NeverNeeded Regulations Can Help Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis
A number of factors are combining to stress the American economy in the spring of 2020—the global and domestic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, an…
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Federal Health Agencies’ Misleading Messaging on E-Cigarettes Threatens Public Health
The scientific community is increasingly unified in the assessment that e-cigarettes are vastly safer than smoking, help smokers quit, and are a net positive for…
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California Ride Share Contracting Legislation Is a Solution in Search of a Problem
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5) into law on September 18, 2019.[1] The legislation, which generally takes effect…