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One great moment in the budget battles: GOP’s ‘Policy Statement on Deregulation’
Today marks the release of the White House’s $7.3 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, even as policymakers continue their wrangling over the…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Taconite and lab fees
President Biden delivered his State of the Union address. Super Tuesday primaries all but settled this year’s presidential combatants. The FTC has a full slate…
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Beware the labor regs of March!
A new rule from the federal government meant to protect workers is set to take effect today, March 11. It will instead leave most workers…
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Will EPA empower California to ban gasoline-powered cars?
Did Congress authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to outlaw the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles? Did it authorize the EPA to…
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One way for government to improve air quality: Remove obstacles to prescribed fires
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule on particulate matter prematurely makes the primary annual standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) much…
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SEC’s new climate disclosure rule a slow-motion train wreck
The day that many observers of financial regulation have long been awaiting (and dreading) has come; the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted…
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Free the Economy podcast: Free markets and the common good with Iain Murray
In this week’s episode we cover fake environmentalism and the need to build, a look at policymaking inside the National People’s Congress…
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CEI sues to end federal at-home distilling ban
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, which regularly litigates against federal overreach, represents the Hobby Distillers Association and its members in a lawsuit seeking an end…
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SOTU 2024: Unparalleled spending, regulation, and dependency
In bumper-sticker fashion, we have fondly summed up Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union Addresses (SOTU) as appeals for more spending, regulation and…
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The Surge: New EPA rulemaking, Biden’s LNG ‘pause,’ and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication…
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Spending bills fail to provide checks on Biden’s energy and environmental abuses
Over the weekend, House and Senate appropriations released the text of six final fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bills: Energy and Water, Agriculture, Military…
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Crickets: Congressional silence on a new communications act
In what seems to be news to legislators and regulators, the communications marketplace is innovative and dynamic. The platforms used to consume increasingly varied types…
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The Stop Woke Investing Act and ‘ESG fatigue’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it far too easy for activist shareholders to overturn the traditional proxy review process. The SEC’s…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Seabird mitigation and nuclear locations
CEI is hosting a hill event on March 5 about reforming administrative law courts. Politicians got upset about Wendy’s menus. GDP growth was…
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FTC declares mergers to be union-busting
In a classic case of regulatory creep, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently asserted jurisdiction over labor unions and collective bargaining. The agency is…
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Where do regulations go when Congress shutters an agency?
The way the federal government spends money rarely changes until a crisis comes along. Arguably, we’re already there with federal debt service (interest) payments…
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An exemplary climate debate on campus
I recently returned from Miami and the campus of Florida International University (FIU), where I was pleased to take part in the FIU Environment…
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Free the Economy podcast: Politically homeless with John Tillman
In this week’s episode we cover an environmental conference in Miami, allegedly underfunded government schools, Google’s AI diversity debacle, and new…
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Senate should pass bill to stop Biden’s liquified natural gas export ‘pause’
The Biden administration announced a pause last month on new approvals for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement (non-FTA) countries. The…
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EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy is unscientific, lacks integrity
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a draft update to its “Scientific Integrity Policy,” which aims to ensure the agency’s science-based decisions and…
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What ails the working class?
Late last month I was privileged to be asked to speak at a Heritage Foundation event on the subject of the continuing travails of…
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NLRB ruling on college athletes may foul foreign players
Nothing produces untended consequences like government action, and no one can say that the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) isn’t producing its fare share. The…
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Worried about massive federal debt? Time to right-size the regulators
In the annals of federal bloat, a milestone is looming as noted in another post last week: 2024 interest payments on America’s $34 trillion…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Space debris and dried prunes
The privately-built Odysseus spacecraft became the first American moon lander since 1972. President Biden announced new Russian sanctions in response to opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s…
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I’ve got your ‘common good’ right here
As a classical liberal, I believe in the value of free markets and individual liberty, but as a Freedom Conservative, I also feel that…
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Amazon primal: Retailer calls NLRB unconstitutional
Amazon has joined the growing chorus of businesses declaring that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may be unconstitutional. Along with SpaceX and Trader Joe’s,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Federal tech with Deb Collier
In this week’s episode we cover the future of environmental policy, rare earth minerals in Wyoming, and what we can learn from…
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Trade is a tool for American national security
Free trade policies have recently come under attack on national security grounds. One of the attackers is Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). His argument does…
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New student loan proposal is regressive, politicized, and won’t stop rising prices
President Biden this week unveiled a new student debt relief proposal. It would cancel student debt for up to 153,000 people who incurred $12,000…
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NLRB v. EEOC: Damned if you fire, damned If you don’t
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) aggressive new enforcement stance is creating a terrible bind for some businesses: if they try to avoiding penalties from…
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Today’s federal spending makes the Louisiana Purchase look like pocket change
The week of Presidents’ Day 2024 comes at a lull before contentious budget battles resume in early March. It is thus an opportune moment…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Cooking energy and steel plants
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George Washington’s marvelous list of liberties and grievances
On the federal holiday on Monday and on his real birthday on Thursday, February 22, we celebrate the 292nd birthday of our nation’s first president,…
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Off-the-rails FTC wrong answer for keeping kids safe online
This week the Washington Post reported that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is poised to pass the Senate, but faces hurdles in…
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Time to simplify trade agreements
Over at National Review’s Capital Matters site, Kent Lassman and I make the case that trade agreements should stick to trade. We also argue…
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Red tape? More like chains, thanks to deficit spending and subsidies
Federal subsidies and grants are infamous for having strings attached. That’s nothing new, but those strings are increasingly chains. Businesses are being seduced into corporate…
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Free the Economy podcast: Federalism wins with Patrick Gleason
In this week’s episode we cover President Biden’s attack on shrinkflation, barriers to workplace flexibility, and a motherlode of domestic lithium.
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Major asset managers drop climate activism
It’s all over the business news headlines this morning: Major money managers are exiting an international alliance focused on influencing climate change policy and reducing…
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CEI’s The Surge: Biden admin particulate matter rule, GOP carbon tax support, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication…
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Biden liquefied natural gas export ‘pause’ hurts Americans and our allies
The Biden administration recently announced plans to pause approvals for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to countries in which the United States doesn’t…
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The GOP is souring on free trade
It is no secret that the median voter is either unaware or doesn’t care how most policies actually work, from immigration to health care policy.
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Adam Smith, national ruin, and human progress
During the American Revolution, British Member of Parliament John Sinclair wrote a letter to Adam Smith. He was worried about how badly the war was…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Horseracing and postal products
The Supreme Court heard a case about whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding public office under the Fourteenth Amendment. A lawyer’s memo called…
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Energy and Environment Regulatory Tracker: EV mandates, EPA confuses science and policy, and more!
Keeping track of the most important energy and environmental federal rules can be difficult. The following lists some important proposed rules with open comment periods: …
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Regulatory reform in the 118th Congress: The POST IT Act
When navigating federal regulations, small businesses frequently encounter challenges in understanding and adhering to them. This lack of clarity poses significant hurdles for both new…
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FTC commissioner wants to regulate worker misclassification, decries ‘unfair competition’
Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya has announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will get into the business of enforcing labor law. That was the…
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Free the Economy podcast: Understanding AI with Matthew Mittelsteadt
In this week’s episode we cover Elon Musk’s controversial pay package, protecting children online, and the Biden administration’s slamming the breaks…
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The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: A slush fund for the EPA and favored nonprofits
President Joe Biden signed the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law on August 16, 2022. The bill, enacted on a purely partisan basis,…
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Congress takes on anti-consumer furnace regulation
CEI suggested five bad appliance regulations Congress should reject with the Congressional Review Act last November. Now, Congress has taken up the first target…
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‘Right to repair’ advocates likely to fail at the FTC
CEI submitted comments on a 53-page petition for rulemaking last week that asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate rules “to protect consumer’s…