California's Regional Stay-At-Home Order Was a Costly Failure
By the state’s own estimates, a two-month lockdown was less effective than a slow day of vaccinations.
Regulation
Little Green Men Caught in Red Tape
When a metal monolith was discovered in the desert, all federal officials could see was a zoning violation.
Biden Tells Federal Bureaucrats To Approve Regulations With Benefits That Are 'Impossible To Quantify'
Biden has also moved quickly to remove some oversight that limited the growth of the regulatory state.
Hypocritical Politicians Violate Their Own Coronavirus Restrictions
The rules should not just apply to the little people.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Issues Surprise Retraction of Controversial Stay-at-Home Order
The governor's order had banned outdoor dining and forbade Californians from socializing with members outside their household.
Will Democrats Learn to Love the Congressional Review Act?
The CRA may offer Democrats a quick and easy way to repeal Trump Administration regulations, if they are willing to use it.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Vetoed One Outdoor Dining Bill Because It Took Too Much Power Away From Zoning Officials. Will He Do That a Second Time?
Garden State lawmakers have unanimously passed two bills now allowing restaurants to keep their outdoor operations running so long as their indoor dining rooms are restricted.
Supreme Court Ends Pandemic Permission To Prescribe Abortion Pills Remotely
Plus: Amazon responds to Parler lawsuit, Trump's execution spree continues, a bad ruling on safe injection houses, and more...
California Voters Liberate Ride-Share Drivers From A.B. 5
The lawmakers who passed A.B. 5 ignored the many benefits of contractor status.
Pandemic-Slammed Small Businesses Require Regulatory Relief
Entrepreneurs discouraged by red tape even before COVID-19 need officials to leave them alone.
In a Last-Minute Reversal, HHS Voids FDA Fees on Distillers Who Produced Emergency Hand Sanitizer
Thanks to coverage at Reason and pushback from the industry, the federal government voided $14,000 fees on do-gooder craft distillers just in time for the new year.
When There Wasn't Enough Hand Sanitizer, Distilleries Stepped Up. Now They're Facing $14,060 FDA Fees.
Distilleries just learned that to cap off a brutal year, the FDA is charging them a fee normally reserved for drug manufacturing facilities.
Local Governments Play Scrooge To Stop People from Helping the Needy
Do you have a license for that refrigerator stocked with free food?
When Your Outfit Is Made Illegal
When fabulous clothes are outlawed, only outlaws will be fabulous.
To Protect 'Children' From E-Cigarettes, Congress Imposes New Restrictions on Everything Related to Vaping of Any Kind
The law bans mail delivery of vaping products and requires all vendors to comply with burdensome tax reporting rules.
Congress Legalizes Smokey Bear Impersonations
The $2.3 trillion spending bill repeals criminal penalties for using Smokey Bear's likeness without government permission.
Therapist Elizabeth Brokamp Fights for the Right To See Patients Virtually
"I hope my case can start removing senseless boundaries to teletherapy," said Brokamp, who is suing in federal court on First Amendment grounds.
A 14th Amendment Case That Deserves the Supreme Court's Attention
It's time to breathe some life back into the Privileges or Immunities Clause.
Dodd-Frank Is Driving the Wrong Kind of Innovation
The federal government responded to the 2008 mortgage crisis by piling new regulations on the financial system, but lower-skilled finance employees were squeezed out of the job market.
New D.C. Law Says Restaurants Must Rehire Staff They Were Forced To Lay Off
The new law layers more bureaucratic requirements on a hospitality industry trying to bounce back from its worst year on record.
California's Health Secretary Concedes There Is No Empirical Basis for the State's Ban on Outdoor Dining
The ban is "not a comment on the relative safety of outdoor dining," Mark Ghaly says, but part of the effort to keep people from leaving home.
California Judge Says Los Angeles County's Outdoor Dining Ban Isn't 'Grounded in Science, Evidence, or Logic'
A tentative decision from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant is yet another rebuke of officials trying to reimpose March-style lockdowns on a skeptical public.
Don't Believe the Hype About 'Socially Responsible' Investing
Want to make money and help the world, too? Wall Street says you can!
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Walter E. Williams, Free Market Scholar and Iconoclast, RIP
"I just do my own thing," said the George Mason University economist and author of The State Against Blacks.
The Unseen Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic
We must not ignore the suffering that this pandemic and our collective response to it have inflicted on millions of fellow citizens.
Ajit Pai on Net Neutrality, 5G, and Why He Wants To 'Clarify' Section 230
The outgoing FCC chairman discusses 'light-touch' regulation and the future of free speech on the internet.
The U.K. Approves COVID-19 Vaccine While the U.S. FDA Dawdles
It's not like we're in the middle of a pandemic or anything, right?
Joe Biden Should Think Twice About Cracking Down on Meat-Processing Plants
Requiring meatpackers to pandemic-proof their facilities will have unintended consequences.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock Urged People Not To Travel for Thanksgiving Shortly Before Boarding His Flight
The mayor is traveling to Mississippi to spend the holiday with his wife and daughter.
Rapid At-Home Tests for COVID-19 Finally Get FDA Approval. But People Still Need a Prescription.
Plus: Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejects Trump campaign complaint, new pandemic restrictions in lots of states, and more...
Another Wave of Business Closures Devastates the Suffering Restaurant Industry
Job losses and business closures loom as more cities and states once again shut down their hospitality industries.
Department of Energy Rolls Back Obama's Dishwasher Restrictions
You might finally be able to buy a dishwasher that gets the job done, unless Joe Biden changes the rules again.
The CDC's Eviction Moratorium Is Neither Necessary Nor Legally Sound
Despite fears that a pandemic-ravaged economy would force renters from their homes in droves, evictions were down nationwide at the end of summer.
The Atlanta Sex Toy Magnate Who Can't Stop Picking Fights
Michael Morrison used to be a boxer. Now he brawls with zoning boards and tax collectors.
The Trump Administration's Real Deregulatory Record
As is so often the case, Trump's claims are not matched by Trump's actual record.
Is 'King Solar' Now the Cheapest Electricity Source Ever?
Yes, and it's only going to get cheaper.
11 Trillion Reasons To Fear Joe Biden's Presidency
The former vice president's vision of an all-powerful government goes far beyond massive spending and tax hikes.
Joe Biden's Economic Policies Would Cost the Economy 4.9 Million Jobs by 2030, According to a New Study
The Democratic presidential candidate has promised not to raise taxes on middle-income earners. That's not the full story.
Big Tech Is Just the Beginning: House Dems Seek Major Changes to Antitrust Law
Enforcement is supposed to be about protecting "consumer welfare." Overturning that goal would be bad for all of us.
Infection Rates in Neighborhoods With Low Voter Turnout, Many Bars, Few Trees Could Slow California's Reopening Under New 'Equity Metric'
California's new approach to combating coronavirus layers on yet more requirements for counties looking to reopen businesses.
An Overdue Rebuke to Politicians Who Think Anything Goes in a Pandemic
Two courts say COVID-19 lockdowns in Michigan and Pennsylvania were unconstitutional.
California Is a Cautionary Tale for America
California bounds from one crisis to another; most of them being self-imposed.
Do Car Seat Mandates Reduce the Number of Children Families Have?
A new working paper argues that car seat laws are discouraging moms from having a third child.
Will Anyone Ever Be Able To Build Again in San Francisco?
How did California's housing shortage happen and why is it so intractable?
Florida Leads the Way on 2020 Occupational Licensing Reforms
House Bill 1193 loosened or abolished rules governing more than 30 different professions.
Federal Proposal Would Expand Hair Testing of Job Applicants and Employees To Make Sure They Are Obeying Drug Prohibition
The method, which can detect drug metabolites for up to a year, does not measure impairment or recent use.
