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Are Solar Panel Mandates Helping Consumers Save Money?

  By Krisztina Pusok and Ana Diaz, American Consumer Institute   California’s solar energy mandate was officially implemented at the beginning of this year, making the Golden state the first in the nation to implement a law that obligates all newly constructed houses to have solar panels. Hawaii, Arizona, Maryland, and other states have announced they will follow suit. While […]

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Epic Fail: Trump’s trade policy in a nutshell

  “Trump’s Trade Policy Has Produced Damaging Tariffs but Little Else” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center   Americans are about to enter the third full year of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime, which aims to promote US manufacturing, protect key industries, and prompt other nations to reduce their trade barriers. So, […]

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Why does Switzerland have sugar subsidies? Why does anyone?

  “Sweet temptation” By Dr. Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse   Something consumed by lots of people every day should never be in short supply, even in a crisis — or so the thinking goes. The Swiss Confederation therefore requires selected sectors to engage in stockpiling, in order to be able to ensure continued […]

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New Protectionism: Still Protectionism and Bad Economics

        By Veronique de Rugy, courtesy of the Mercatus Center   For several years now, news headlines have reflected anxieties about the effects of globalization and freeing trade: Will jobs evaporate? Does China have an “unfair” advantage? Is the middle class disappearing? These fears need to be addressed, because they have resulted […]

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French motorists and smokers are “cash cows”

  “Tax on fuel and cigarettes – How the motorist and the smoker were transformed into ‘cash cows’ with €60 billion taxes” Courtesy of the Molinari Economic Institute   The taxation of fuel and cigarettes is particularly hard to understand for the general public, but also for specialists. The price of these products includes specific […]

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Trump takes the keys back from California on auto standards

      By Mike Palicz, Americans for Tax Reform     President Obama’s special waiver allowing California to set and enforce its own greenhouse-gas regulations for cars beyond federal standards has been a complete disaster.     California’s waiver from the federal fuel economy rules, the so-called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, kneecaps […]

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Big Tech’s argument: We’re just trying to help!

                      With the U.S. government and the attorneys general of numerous U.S. states starting probes against four of the biggest “Big Tech” firms — shorthand for Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple — the Wall Street Journal is helpfully reviewing both sides of the argument, presenting […]

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U.S. consumers paying price for tariffs

    Donald Trump’s decision to escalate the trade war with China is counter-productive, harmful to American consumers, and could even derail the stock market, argues Young Voices contributor Charlie Gers in his recent op-ed in The OC Register.     Gers notes the results of a recent report from a raft of economists warning […]