Here Comes the Durbin Tax
As if further evidence actually is needed, Bank of America on Thursday demonstrated yet again how government price controls inevitably harm consumers—and low-income consumers the… Read More
As if further evidence actually is needed, Bank of America on Thursday demonstrated yet again how government price controls inevitably harm consumers—and low-income consumers the… Read More
The Obama Administration has issued a record number of costly rules and regulations compared to its predecessors. But one set of new guidelines, in particular,… Read More
As Friday draws near, two contenders are neck-and-neck for the title of Nanny of the Week. A dark horse may yet emerge, what with so… Read More
Let’s take a closer look at how the Obama Administration demonstrates “efficiency” and “economy” in actual practice. Fair warning: It ain’t pretty. New rules (supposedly)… Read More
The White House on Tuesday announced “final plans” to reduce “unreasonable” regulations that hinder economic growth and job creation. That President Obama even acknowledges there… Read More
Rock Katschnig, a corn and soybean farmer in Prophetstown, Illinois, spoke for millions of business owners this week when making a polite appeal to President… Read More
Some 14 million Americans are jobless, but there just aren’t enough qualified sheepherders or goatherders to meet demand. The federal government, therefore, is allowing ranchers… Read More
The folks at the National Whistleblowers Center (yes, there is one) like to tell of Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven, two sailors who landed in… Read More
Optometrists and ophthalmologists aren’t seeing eye to eye these days on the proper role of government. So contentious is the issue that divides them, in… Read More
The nation’s capital is wracked by indecision these days. Raise the debt limit, or no? Don’t ask, don’t tell, or do? And, how will President… Read More
President Obama will bypass Elizabeth Warren to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and instead nominate former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to the… Read More
As Congress and the White House continue to quarrel over the debt ceiling, the folks at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are doing their part… Read More
It’s impossible to imagine that the Founders conceived of America as a place where the federal government regulates compost. Yet here we are. Effective May… Read More
Growing an herb (the legal kind) might seem pretty straightforward. Clear soil; plant seeds; water, fertilize, and harvest. Until the government gets involved, that is…. Read More
Most folks would reasonably think that a railroad engineer or conductor would be able to distinguish the front of a train from the back of… Read More
It’s been two decades since Congress seized from states the authority to regulate the size of the biggest trucks traveling the highways. But what started… Read More
Tucked into the 232 pages of the May 31 Federal Register—the daily catalog of new regulation—was glaring evidence that the newly created Consumer Financial Protection… Read More
In the 1939 movie You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man, W. C. Fields demands to know “What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?!”… Read More
From the city that has already banned military recruiting, plastic bags, cat declawing, new billboards, ATM fees, citywide phone book delivery, Styrofoam takeout boxes, officials’… Read More
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has delivered yet another ominous prediction about Dodd–Frank fallout, telling the Senate Banking Committee last week that government dictates on… Read More
Rewarding failure is a fundamental precept of The Bureaucratic Code, which helps to explain why government’s regulatory powers grow in spite of its incompetence. Examples… Read More
A House subcommittee on Wednesday approved legislation to modify the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Spawned by the vast Dodd–Frank financial regulation statute, the… Read More
At the behest of Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has “invested” several years and considerable tax dollars in devising restrictions on the amount of… Read More
Lest anyone tell you that the phase-out of (non-toxic) incandescent light bulbs will be hassle-free (other than hugely expensive), here is the directive from the… Read More
Not satisfied with just regulating the design of air conditioners, battery chargers, boilers, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, furnaces, heat pumps, light bulbs, refrigerators,… Read More
Every business must comply with a mind-boggling range of regulations, but the latest regulatory “guidance” on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may be the… Read More
You’re too fat, and vending machines are to blame. The government says so and is doing something about it. To temper the snack food cravings… Read More
Microsoft has filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) alleging unfair business practices by Google. The EC is the very same government body that… Read More
Pity the poor librarians. Those gentle custodians of the written word currently find themselves in a regulatory purgatory of sorts wherein compliance with hellish safety… Read More
In the age of the TV remote and DVR, when viewers can adjust (or mute!) volume or skip commercials entirely without moving from the couch,… Read More