Category Archives: CEI Podcast

CEI Podcast for August 16, 2012: Drought, Food Prices, and Ethanol

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Severe drought in the Midwest has driven corn prices to record levels. Policy Analyst Brian McGraw argues that ending the federal government’s ethanol mandate could help families who are struggling to pay their heightened grocery bills. Under the mandate, nearly 40 percent of this year’s corn crop will be used for fuel instead of food.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Economics, Price and Wage Controls

CEI Podcast for August 9, 2012: Getting TSA to Follow the Law

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When the TSA installed full-body scanners in airports across the country, it did so illegally. More than a year after a court ordered TSA to open up its full-body scanner policy to public comment, the agency has refused to do so. Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner explains how a related lawsuit could force TSA to follow the law, and calls for de-nationalizing airport security.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Law, Security Theater

CEI Podcast for August 2, 2012: Cybersecurity Bill Fails

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Today the Senate shot down a controversial cybersecurity bill that Associate Director of Technology Policy Studies Ryan Radia believes would have been a disaster for freedom of speech, property rights, and freedom of contract.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Technology

CEI Podcast for July 24, 2012: Unfunded Mandate Reform

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Unfunded mandates are a way for Congress to increase government’s size and scope without increasing the deficit. Of course, this just means that state governments and the private sector are footing the bill instead. Research Associate David Deerson explains why past efforts to rein in unfunded mandates failed, and why new legislation that Congress is set to vote on this week could help.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Economics, Public Choice, Spending

CEI Podcast for July 19, 2012: Congress Takes on High-Skilled Immigration Reform

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Congress will soon vote on a package of reforms for holders of the H-1B visa for high-skilled immigrants. Policy Analyst David Bier unpacks the proposed reforms, and explains why allowing more high-skilled immigration would help spark economic growth, especially in the technology sector.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Immigration

CEI Podcast for July 12, 2012: Who to Blame for DC’s Power Outage

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The Washington, D.C. area was recently hit by a rare derecho storm, which is essentially a land hurricane. Three million people were left without power, some for more than a week — during a record-breaking heatwave. Pepco, the electric utility that serves D.C. and parts of Maryland, quickly drew the public’s ire. Energy Policy Analyst William Yeatman thinks the jeering public should look in the mirror. A government-granted monopoly and rampant NIMBY-ism are not a recipe for success.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Competition, Economics

CEI Podcast for July 5, 2012: Relic of Prohibition

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Prohibition ended 79 years ago, but in Washington, D.C., it is still illegal to buy liquor on Sundays. Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton thinks these blue laws need to be modernized.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, prohibition, regulation

CEI Podcast: June 28, 2012: The Health Care Decision

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General Counsel Sam Kazman shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s health care decision, the Commerce Clause, Congress’ taxation power, and more.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Economics, Health Care, Law

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CEI Podcast for June 13, 2012: Smarter Transportation Funding

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When the federal government gives out transportation funding to the states, it attaches a lot of strings. The solution, according to Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner, is to get the federal government out of the transportation business and devolve it to the states. In the just-released CEI study “Fixing Surface Transportation in Massachusetts: A Path Forward under a Devolved Federal Funding Scenario,” Scribner argues that by following a user-pays, user-benefits principle, states can raise revenue and maintain infrastructure more efficiently than the federal government can.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Spending

CEI Podcast for May 31, 2012: Ten Thousand Commandments

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Congress passed 81 bills last year, while agencies passed 3,807 regulations. This, according to Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews, is regulation without representation. Crews discusses this and other findings from the just-released 2012 edition of his annual report, “Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Regulatory State.”

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Posted in CEI Podcast, regulation