Liberty Week » All Episodes

June 13, 2013: Deirdre McCloskey Wins CEI’s Julian Simon Award

Ryan Young — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:19:27 +0000

Deirdre McCloskey, a distinguished economic historian and author of many books, including The Rhetoric of Economics, The Bourgeois Virtues, and Bourgeois Dignity, will receive CEI’s Julian Simon Memorial Award on June 20 at CEI’s annual dinner. CEI Founder and Chairman Fred Smith talks about how McCloskey’s work embodies the same joie de vivre and optimistic spirit that animated Simon’s thought.

June 7, 2013: National Donut Day

Ryan Young — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:44:01 +0000

June 7 is National Donut Day. General Counsel Sam Kazman is urging Americans to eat not one but two donuts—one for themselves, and one for their liberty. Contrary to what some regulators and food activists might say, it’s ok to indulge now and then.

June 6, 2013: Making Passenger Rail Affordable

Ryan Young — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:59:24 +0000

Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner discusses a new CEI study arguing that regulations make passenger train cars unnecessarily expensive.

May 30, 2013: The Politics of Caffeine

Ryan Young — Thu, 30 May 2013 19:00:06 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to investigate, and possibly regulate, caffeine consumption. Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton prefers separation of food and state.

May 22, 2013: Twenty Years of Ten Thousand Commandments

Ryan Young — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:20:37 +0000

The twentieth anniversary edition of Ten Thousand Commandments was released this week. The annual report gives a big-picture overview of the federal regulatory state. Author Wayne Crews discusses his main findings, how he started Ten Thousand Commandments, how the regulatory state has evolved over the last twenty years, and what the future holds for regulation.

May 16, 2013: A Controversial EPA Nominee

Ryan Young — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:07:06 +0000

The bitter fight over Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee for EPA Administrator, is headed to the Senate floor under a potential filibuster threat. Myron Ebell, Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment, explains that the deeper cause of this political fight is a startling lack of transparency at the EPA that McCarthy is unlikely to fix.

May 8, 2013: The Debate Over Undocumented Immigration

Ryan Young — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:22:25 +0000

CEI Immigration Policy Analyst David Bier is critical of a new Heritage Foundation study that estimates that giving legal status to America’s undocumented immigrants would cost $6.3 trillion over the next 50 years.

May 2, 2013: Small Business Owners Sue Over IRS Obamacare Power Grab

Ryan Young — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:40:28 +0000

Small business owners and individuals in six states, with help from CEI, are suing the IRS over what General Counsel Sam Kazman calls a flagrantly illegal expansion of the Affordable Care Act.

April 25, 2013: Regulations Are Less Than Transparent

Ryan Young — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:29:24 +0000

Every year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases a report on the costs and benefits of the previous year’s new regulations. This year’s report was just released. Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews points out that the report ignores three quarters of all agencies and includes the costs of fewer than one half of one percent of last year’s regulations. Even so, the reported costs are double the previous year’s.

April 18, 2013: CISPA Is the Wrong Approach to Cybersecurity

Ryan Young — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:28:17 +0000

Today, the House passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2013 (CISPA). Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia opposes the bill because it would nullify existing contracts and eliminate the rule of law in certain areas.