COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

VOL. 30, NO. 1 | SPRING 2017

FEATURED ARTICLES

What Science Really Says about

Sodium and Hypertension
4 BY MICHELLE MINTON
BY ANGELA LOGOMASINI
Five Weird Ways Prohibition
Persists Today T he notion that if you eat too much salt
you will have high blood pressure has
been perceived as medical gospel that most
peopleincluding this authorbelieved for
the past three decades. But in recent years,
research has emerged that challenges this
once accepted truth. Headlines asking, Is
salt really bad for your blood pressure? and
6 declaring, Its time to end the war on salt,
have fostered growing suspicion among the
BY MARLO LEWIS, JR. public that the facts about salt and its effects
How the Trump Administration on health might not be as clear-cut as once
Can Encourage Access believed.
Around the world, chronically elevated
to Affordable Energy
blood pressure affects approximately 40
percent of adults. In the United States, nearly Be limited in scope and based on
one in three adults qualifies as hypertensive, robust, high-quality evidence;
which puts individuals at greater risk for Weigh and thoroughly consider unin-
many serious health effects, including heart tended consequences; and
attack, heart failure, and stroke. Be more effective and less harmful

12
Considering the cost of the disease, both
in terms of human suffering and health care
costs, government agencies have made
BY FRED L. SMITH, JR. reducing the incidence of hypertension a
Lessons from a Decade of top priority. A public health strategy that
Conscious Capitalism successfully reduces hypertension rates has
the potential to improve millions of lives
and save millions of dollars. A misguided
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE approach, on the other hand, would at
best fail to reduce hypertension; at worst it
would encourage behavioral changes that
One Year Later, the Joint Employer Standard
increase harm, obscure more effective means
Still Causing Confusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
of risk reduction, and erode public trust in
How Many Americans Will Die Because of agencies.
the FDAs Vaping Rule?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 For these reasons, population-wide
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. . . . . . 14 recommendations should be rare and adhere
Media Mentions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 to rigorous standards. At a minimum, such
recommendations should:
End Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
than the likely alternatives.
Based on a review of the scientific
literature, the results of nearly four decades
of government efforts focused on sodium
restriction, and the existence of otherpos-
sibly more effectivemeans of hypertension
reduction as presented in this paper, the
current government recommendations on
sodium fail to meet this standard.
Humans require a certain amount of
dietary sodium in order for our bodies to
regulate fluid homeostasis. Too little sodium
will result in the body ceasing to function,
while too much can cause strain and death.
However, the scientific community has yet to
agree on an optimal range of sodium intake.
(continued on page 3)
 Fighting for Freedom, from the Saloon to the Courtroom
by Kent Lassman
S hortly after his 2009 inaugural, President Obama
met with congressional leaders and announced,
Elections have consequences. It was clear who was
driving the agenda. The quip evoked Richard Weavers
1948 classic, Ideas Have Consequences, which served
as a catalyst for a rebirth of liberty-based political activ-
ity in America. At CEI, we know that powerful ideas can
create the political consequences that we all want to
FROM THE PRESIDENT
seemore freedom, stronger economic growth, and a
society that flourishes without overbearing regulation.
As we enter a new year with a Republican admin-
istration and GOP majorities in the House and Senate,
Washington, D.C. is ripe with opportunities for policy
change, as well as challenges. We intend to make the
most of the opportunitiesand seek opportunities in
the challenges. And we have already seen some of our
labor bearing fruit.
Consider the slate of regulatory reversals now
making their way through Congress. In the last great
wave of regulatory reforms in the mid-1990s, Congress
created a mechanism for reviewing and disapprov-
ing of recently issued regulations. This mechanism, the
Congressional Review Act (CRA), was intended to pro-
vide a legislative check on burdensome and controver-
sial rules. Until last month, it had only been used once in
20 years. But now Congress is using the CRA to reject
some of the most recent heavy-handed regulations that
have come out of Washington.
CEIs work on regulatory reform over the past few
decades helped lay the groundwork for these develop-
ments, and were already working on the next ones.
You may have seen Wayne Crewss prolific writings on
the topic.
We also see considerable opportunity in the new
administrations skepticism toward the Washington
orthodoxy on climate change. And the work of experts
like Myron Ebell has put CEI directly at the center of
efforts to establish sensible environmental policies.
Congress has ceded much of its authority to a
distended executive branch over decades. In that
regard, we also see opportunity in the reaction against
Publisher
Kent Lassman
Editor
Richard Morrison
Editorial Director
Ph (202) 331-1010
Ivan G. Osorio
Fax (202) 331-0640
info@cei.org Contributing Editor
Molly Dreisbach
ISSN#: 1086-3036
2 CEI.ORG
President Trumps claims to sweeping powers. Unusual
allies may see the importance of restoring our federal
government to constitutional bonds.
Whichever way the wind blows well be tacking
toward liberty, limited government, and free enterprise.
We recently launched a dinner discussion series in
honor of Alfred E. Kahn. An influential economist and
professor, Alfred Kahn had a distinguished career in the
academy, private consulting, and the halls of govern-
ment, where he contributed to regulatory economics,
coalition-driven policy change, and deregulationmost
notably of the nations airlines. Next time you book a
cheap flight to visit family, consider giving him a nod of
thanks.
Yet, promoting human liberty extends beyond public
policy. It also requires a deep appreciation of the
cultural flourishing and innovation that freedom makes
possible.
With that in mind, Im happy to note that I, Whiskey:
The Human Spirit is an award winner. Just a month
after its release, CEIs latest film project won gold at the
Television, Internet and Video Association of DC Peer
Awards. At the Southern Shorts Awards, I, Whiskey
made its big screen debut. The film was honored with
an Award of Excellence in the documentary category,
Awards of Distinction for music and production design,
and individual achievement awards for the talented
crew, for a total of nine awards so far. Stay up to date
with the latest #iwhiskey news at www.cei.org/whiskey.
And watch for more from CEI in light of our hire of
Jim Harper to serve as Vice President. We wooed Jim
away from our friends at the Cato Institute, where for
12 years hes been working on technology, telecom-
munications, intellectual property, cryptocurrency, and
government transparency. Jim will help further increase
the quality of CEIs work, add new dimensions to CEIs
efforts in technology and information policy, and carry
forward the messages of liberty, free markets, and
human development.
The CEI Planet is produced by the Competitive Enterprise
Institute, a pro-market public interest group dedicated to
free enterprise and limited government.
CEI is a non-partisan, non-profit organization incorporated in the
District of Columbia and is classified by the IRS as a 501 (c)(3)
charity. CEI relies upon contributions from foundations, corporations
and individuals for its support. Articles may be reprinted provided
they are attributed to CEI.
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
 Sodium, continued
At least in part, the factors that
determine the amount of salt a person
cravesknown as salt appetite As a corollary, blood pressure reduc-
may be determined biologically and
influence a persons eating behavior in
unconscious ways, making it resistant
to public policy efforts to lower sodium
intake (which may prompt undesirable
physiological responses and changes
in behavior).
Currently, the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
recommend adults consume less than
2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
This limit originated not from a process
of scientific consultation, but from gov-
ernment fiat, prompted by politicians,
bureaucrats, and industry.
Most human populations consume
a relatively similar level of sodium that
is much higher than the U.S. govern-
ment recommendation, while only a
handful of populationssome isolated
tribal and Sub-Saharan peoplescon-
sume less than 2,300 milligrams a day.
However, Americans have not signifi-
cantly increased sodium intake since
such investigations began in the 1950s.
This is despite increases in processed
food consumption, more sodium in pro-
cessed food, and significant increases
in both calorie consumption and aver-
age weight.
Scientific evidence is inconsistent
regarding the health benefits of moder-
ate sodium restriction for individuals
who are not hypertensive. When
sodium is decreased, some individu-
als will experience decreases in blood
pressure, some will experience no
change, and some will see their blood
pressure increase.
People do not die as a result of high
blood pressure, but rather from health
Michelle Minton (michelle.minton@cei.org) is a fellow at CEI and the author of the
new CEI Issue Analysis, Shaking up the Conventional Wisdom on Salt: What Science
Really Says about Sodium and Hypertension, on which this article is based.
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
effects linked to, but not necessarily
caused by, elevated blood pressure.
tion does not always result in improved
health outcomes.
There is widespread agreement
within the scientific literature that other
dietary factors, such as weight loss
and increasing potassium intake, are
as effective as sodium reduction in
reducing blood pressure. Such alterna-
tive strategies also appear to benefit a
larger portion of the population, have
a greater probability of adherence, R.M.
and have less chance of unintended
consequences. FREEDMAN
The development of high blood
pressure is personal, multifactorial, and SOCI ET Y
not determined by a single genetic
or lifestyle factor. Sodium reduc-
tion may be advisable for some but
ineffective or counterproductive for
Help the Competitive
others. Effective risk reduction can only Enterprise Institute
be accomplished on an individual carry on its work for
basis by patients and their health
care providers. However, if public
generations by joining the
health authorities are going to attempt R.M. Freedman society.
to lower population hypertension
rates, they should refocus their efforts
toward helping people lose weight In 2013, CEI established the R.M. Freedman
Society in honor of Robert M. Freedman,
and increase potassium in their diet
a business owner from West Bloomfield,
through higher consumption of fruit and
Michigan, who placed CEI in his estate
vegetables.
and, in 2009, sadly passed on and gave
Worldwide, government attempts CEI its first legacy gift. We named the
to lower population sodium intake society in appreciation of his generosity.
below the recommended limit have
failed despite four decades of effort. Many of CEIs extended family choose to
Considering this failure and what we include CEI in their estate plans through:
currently knowand do not know Bequests,
about the biological effect of sodium Charitable Remainder Trusts,
restriction on the population at large,
government health agencies engaged Charitable Lead Trusts, or as a
in efforts to lower hypertension rates Life insurance beneficiary.
should abandon their myopic and
ultimately futile war on salt. If you make the decision to include CEI in
your estate plans, please reach out and let
us know.
While these sorts of decisions should be
undertaken with the help of an estate
planner, Lauren Avey and Al Canata of
CEI can be a resource to you. You can
reach them anytime at 202-331-1010.
C E I . O R G 3
 Five Weird Ways Prohibition Persists Today
BY ANGELA LOGOMASINI
Y ou would think that more than 80
years after the 21st Amendment
repealed Prohibition, policy makers
would have eliminated senseless restric-
tions on the sale of wine, beer, and
spirits. Unfortunately, that isnt the case,
so state alcohol regulations carry on
Prohibitions legacy to this day, in some
weird ways.
The 18th Amendment, which
banned alcohol across the United
States, was originally passed under the
auspices of temperance. If defined
simply as responsible use of alcohol,
temperance is surely a good thingas
long as people have the right to make
their own choices.
But rather than promoting good
health or serving the interests of society
as a whole, temperance policies ben-
efited special interests at the expense
of consumers, while restricting free-
dom and encouraging crime. Today,
Prohibition is gone, but alcohol policy
4 CEI.ORG
is still dominated by special interest cro-
nyism masquerading as temperance
or public health rules.
Here are five ways were still suffer-
ing from Prohibitions policy hangover.
1) Bans on Supermarket Alcohol
Sales. Many states still ban the sale of
all forms of alcohol in supermarkets,
and some only allow wine and beer.
Basically, this means an extra trip
for consumers thanks to anti-com-
petitive policies designed to protect
existing liquor stores that have a near
monopoly on alcohol sales. The number
of liquor stores is also often limited by
restrictive zoning and permitting laws,
further restricting competition.
2) Government Alcohol
Monopolies. Seventeen states are
alcohol control states, which means
the government directly controls alcohol
sales on some level.
For example, in Pennsylvania,
state-run alcohol stores were, until
very recently, the only entity allowed
to sell wine, beer, and spirits at the
retail level for off-premise consumption.
Fortunately, last year, for the first time
since Prohibition, Pennsylvania allowed
grocery stores to sell winebut non-
sensically, as in other states, consum-
ers must still go to special government
stores to purchase spirits.
Such government stores sell spirits
at relatively high prices without the
pressure of competition. In addition,
they often have the support of wine
and beer industry representatives,
who benefit from reduced competition.
Meanwhile, consumers are inconve-
nienced, as they are forced to pay
higher prices and have fewer choices.
3) Regulations on Shipping. In
some states, consumers are not allowed
to order wine, beer, or spirits directly
from producers or retailers. Such ship-
ping bans are supposedly designed
to prevent underage drinking, yet only
adults can sign for alcohol deliveries
in the first place. In reality, shipping
restrictions are driven by the interests
of wholesalers, who want to force all
alcohol sales to go through them.
Wholesalers maintain their position
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
 as mandated middlemen by support-
ing laws that enforce a three-tiered
system for alcohol distribution. Under
this system, producers must sell only to
wholesalers, who then sell to retail-
ers. The three-tier model can be an
efficient way to get products into the
marketplacewhen it is voluntary. But
mandatory wholesaling can prevent
other competitive business models from
emerging. Of course, wholesalers love
these managed markets because they
essentially guarantee business. But con-
sumers suffer from limited product avail-
ability and potentially higher prices.
Fortunately, in recent years, states
have become increasingly open to
direct shipping of wine to consumers
(although many states have arbitrary
restrictions on such shipments). In 2005,
the Supreme Court ruled that states must
allow out-of-state wineries to ship to
consumers if they allow in-state wine
producers to do so, but fewer states
allow wine retailers to ship across state
lines. Hardly any states allow shipping
of spirits; according to the National
Council of State Legislatures, only five
states and the District of Columbia
allow direct shipping of spirits to
consumers.
4) Mandatory Franchises.
Another set of regulations designed
to advantage wholesalers are so-
called alcohol franchise laws. In his
book Strange Brew: Alcohol and
Government Monopoly, economist
Douglas Glen Whitman explains that
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
nearly all states have franchise laws
for beer distribution, and about 20
employ such laws for wine and spirits
distribution. Although the specifics vary
by state, these laws typically forbid pro-
ducers from distributing their own prod-
ucts, even to local retailers. Instead,
they are required to hire a single
wholesaler for each market territory,
which may be an entire city, county, or
state. And once producers contract with
a wholesaler, its nearly impossible to
terminate the contract, even when the
wholesaler does a lousy job.
Winemakers, craft distillers, or
brewers who cant find a wholesaler to
sell their brand are essentially locked
out of these markets. Wholesalers
benefit from reduced competition, while
consumers bear the costs associated
with reduced choice and potentially
higher prices.
5) Restricted Sunday Sales. Many
states limit or totally prohibit alcohol
sales on Sunday. Who could benefit
from these laws? Believe it or not, some
existing retailers support Sunday bans
because they dont want to open on
Sundayand dont want their competi-
tors to have that option.
One can understand how these
policies stay in place because of
entrenched interests. But whats really
amazing is the many other absurd ves-
tiges of the Prohibition era that remain in
place today.
CEIs Annual Dinner
June 7, 2017
Marriott Marquis
901 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
C E I . O R G 5
For example, while there are no fully
dry states, where alcohol is com-
pletely bannedMississippi was the
last state to repeal statewide prohibition
in 1966a number of U.S. counties that
continue prohibition to this day.
In Utah, its illegal to mingle in a
crowd of people while drinking a glass
of eggnog containing a tiny bit of alco-
hol at a restaurant-hosted holiday party.
Why? Because Utah law demands that
restaurant patrons may only consume
alcohol while seated at a table or coun-
ter, or standing next to a bar.
In Virginia, happy hour is less happy
thanks to a host of odd regulations.
For example, restaurants may not offer
two-for-one drink specials, they may
not advertise specials by type of drink,
and no drink specials are permitted
between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
In Indiana, it is illegal to sell chilled
alcohol at a retail store, so forget pick-
ing up a cold beer or wine on your way
to a Super Bowl party.
More than eight decades after the
repeal of Prohibition, weve made
some progress in enhancing consumer
freedom, but much remains to be done.
Hopefully, it wont take another 80-plus
years for common sense to prevail on
these policies, too.
Angela Logomasini (angela.logoma-
sini@cei.org) is a Senior Fellow at CEI.
A version of this article was originally
published on Learn Liberty.
 How the Trump Administration Can
Encourage Access to Affordable Energy
BY MARLO LEWIS, JR.
W hile President Trump will need
legislative approval by Congress
to accomplish parts of his economic
policy agenda, he can implement
several critical initiatives on his sole
authority as chief executive. Increasing
the affordability of both U.S. and global
energy is an important economic and
humanitarian objective that should be
at the top of the list. The following three
actions are among the most critical the
President can take to roll back the out-
going administrations job-killing assault
on affordable energy.
1) End U.S. participation in
the Paris Climate Agreement and
defund the U.N. Green Climate
Fund. Contrary to claims by the
Obama administration, the recently
negotiated Paris Climate Agreement is
no mere update of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change. It is a new treaty, designed
to lock future administrations and
Congresses into a policy straitjacket
inimical to the production, transport,
and use of Americas most affordable
6 CEI.ORG
and abundant energy sourcefossil
fuels, including coal, gas, and oil.
President Obama refused to submit
the agreement to the Senate for its
advice and consent, as required by
the Constitution, even though the pact
entails greater costs and risks for the
United States than any environmental
agreement in history. Why did the
president refuse? Because there was
no chance the Senate would consent to
new international climate commitments.
President Trump should formally with-
draw from the agreement while clarify-
ing that we never properly joined. He
then should submit the agreement to
the Senate for a ratification vote, where
it would likely fail.
2) Zero out U.S. contributions to
the Green Climate Fund. For the rea-
sons stated above, the Trump admin-
istration should stop sending hundreds
of millions of dollars of annual funding
for the Paris agreements foreign aid
program.
3) Overturn the Clean Power
Plan. The Environmental Protection
Agencys (EPA) so-called Clean Power
Plan (CPP) is an unlawful power grab
that will increase consumer electricity
prices, reduce U.S. job and economic
growth, and have no discernible
impacts on global warming or sea
level rise. The CPP is an attempt to
inflate a three-sentence, seldom-used
provision of the Clean Air Act, Section
111(d), into a mandate for decarbon-
izing the U.S. electric power sector, a
purpose Congress has not approved.
Instead of setting emission perfor-
mance standards that actually require
fossil-fuel power plants to improve their
performance (reduce the quantity of
emissions per megawatt hour), the CPP
imposes standards no individual plant
can meet, and then gives owners the
choice to comply by reducing output,
shutting down the unit entirely, or
investing in new renewable genera-
tion. Produce less, shut down your
facility, and subsidize your competi-
tors wind farm are illegitimate, non-
performance mandates, not bona fide
Clean Air Act performance standards.
Marlo Lewis Jr. (marlo.lewis@cei.org) is
a Senior Fellow at CEI. A version of this
article was originally published in The
Washington Times.
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
 Let the Market Take Care of Infrastructure
BY MARC SCRIBNER
S ince Donald Trumps surprising
electoral victory, one idea has
been gaining bipartisan currency in
Washington: more infrastructure invest-
ment. House Democratic leader Nancy
Pelosi has pledged to work together
with the Trump administration to quickly
pass a robust infrastructure jobs bill.
The problem with politically cre-
ated infrastructure jobs is that, contrary
to great myth, there is little evidence
that more infrastructure spending is a
good way to boost the economy or
promote job growth. In reality, these
projects often fail to deliver on their
promised gains while costs spiral out
of control, leading Oxford University
economic geographer Bent Flyvbjerg to
propose The Iron Law of Megaproject
Management: Over budget, over time,
under benefits, over and over again.
Those who are seriously concerned
about shoring up infrastructure in this
countrythe roads, bridges, mass transit
systems, and water networks people
rely onshould rethink their priorities.
Few of the problems with Americas
infrastructure networks are the result of
an alleged lack of federal spending.
Instead, most are the result of political
misallocations of resources.
Under federal grant programs,
expansions are prioritized over routine
maintenance projects, which are gener-
ally ineligible for federal funding. As a
result, states and municipalities chasing
federal dollars have an incentive to gold-
plate projects in an attempt to grab as
much free money as possible, allowing
them to brag to their constituents about
bringing home the bacon. Real mainte-
nance needs are then often neglected
until the problem grows large enough to
force politicians to act, costing several
times more to bring infrastructure facilities
up to a state of good repair.
Interest group lobbying is another
factor. The construction industry has an
incentive to warn of doom and gloom
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
Over budget, over time, under benefits,
over and over again.
over the state of American infrastruc-
ture. We are constantly reminded of
crumbling roads and bridges. But what
the infrastructure lobby doesnt say is
that the number of structurally deficient
bridges has been steadily declining for
25 years, according to the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics. The same goes
for the improving pavement quality of
our major highways.
Infrastructure problems, where they
do exist, are not national in scale, and
federal programs are not equipped
to fix them. Most of these problems
exist in our cities, where regional and
municipal leaders have allowed mass
transit systems, water and wastewater
networks, airports, and local streets to
decay over the years. Instead of expect-
ing Washington to bail them out of their
provincial troubles, Americans should
demand that their local leaders stop cre-
ating local infrastructure problems in the
first place. As Harvard University urban
economist Edward Glaeser recently
noted: Treating transportation infra-
structure as yet another public-works
program ensures the mediocrity that we
see all around us.
A smarter approach to improve
infrastructure, and benefit the people who
use it, would be to reduce the reliance
on the federal government and focus
C E I . O R G 7
much more on the maintenance and
performance of specific facilities. Address
problems when and where they arise in
a targeted way. To do so, state and local
policy makers should:
Prioritize maintenance over
ribbon-cutting ceremonies;
Collect user charges and hold-
ing that revenue at specific
facilities for targeted reinvest-
ment; and
Eliminate the cronyist procure-
ment and construction policies
that drive up costs.
Political appropriators must also be
willing to cede their turf by opening up
these government monopolies to pri-
vate-sector investment and competition.
The notion that federal infrastructure
spending is not an economic panacea
likely wont appeal to politicians more
interested in claiming credit than solving
problems. But if they want to support
infrastructure improvements that can do
real good, responsible politicians need
to think and act locally.
Marc Scribner (marc.scribner@cei.org)
is a Senior Fellow at CEI. A version of
this article was originally published in
USA Today.
 C E I E V E NT S UP DAT E

Jim Harper
Testifies before
State Lawmakers
on REAL ID
On February 7, CEI
Vice President Jim
Harper testified before
the Minnesota Senate,
and on February 23
before the Alaska
Kent Lassman and Wayne Crews Talk Senate, regarding the REAL ID Act, a federal law that
Regulatory Reform on Capitol Hill aims to make the 50-state driver licensing system into
a national ID system. Harper discussed the security
On February 2, CEI President Kent Lassman and Vice President weaknesses of such a system and the risks of hacking
for Policy Wayne Crews hosted a panel on Capitol Hill, to and identity fraud it creates. REAL ID would impose
discuss how the 115th Congress can lay the groundwork for significant costs on states and undermine state
comprehensive regulatory reform that can help create jobs, sovereignty. Harper argued that Minnesota should ask
expand opportunities, and eliminate temptations to cronyism. its congressional delegation to immediately suspend
Joining Lassman and Crews on the panel were Mercatus Center all REAL ID compliance deadlines, discontinue federal
Senior Research Fellow Jerry Ellig, Hoover Institution Research spending on the program, and work to repeal the
Fellow Adam White, and Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Lyle T. Alverson national ID law.
Professor of Law at George Washington University.

Myron Ebell Discusses Energy Policy during the Trump Administration

Myron Ebell, Director of CEIs Center for Energy and Environment,
led the incoming Trump administrations transition team for the
Environmental Protection Agency from September through
Inauguration Day. Since then, Ebell has been busy offering his
insights into what climate, energy, and environmental policy
may look like during the next four years to audiences in America
and abroad. On January 30 in London, Ebell address a news
conference sponsored by the Foreign Press Association. Later that
day, he gave a private briefing hosted by the Global Warming
Policy Foundation at a House of Commons committee room. Then
on February 1 in Brussels, he delivered a keynote address and
spoke on a panel discussion at the Blue-Green Summit, a one-
day seminar on how private ownership and free markets result
in better environmental quality than government command-and-
control policies. The summit was chaired by Daniel Hannan, MEP.
And on February 4, Ebell gave the featured presentation, The
Trump Administration and the Environment: A Reporters Primer,
at a Society of Environmental Journalists conference held at New
York Universitys Washington D.C. building.

8 CEI.ORG COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

 I, Whiskey Feted at Film Festivals
Four months since its launch, I, Whiskey: The Human
Spirit is now an award-winning film. Just a month after its
release, CEIs latest film project won gold at the Television,
Internet and Video Association of DC Peer Awards. Passing
Lane Films producers Drew Tidwell and Helen Straight, CEI
producer Amanda France, and CEI executive producer
Richard Morrison attended the ceremony at the French
Embassy in November 2016. Continuing on the festival
circuit, the production team headed to Roswell, Georgia, in
January for the Southern Shorts Awards, where I, Whiskey
made its big screen debut. The film was honored with
an Award of Excellence in the documentary category,
Awards of Distinction for music and production design, and
individual achievement awards for the talented crew for
a total of eight awards. Editing team Erin Michelle Kruger
and Lucas Abel were named Best Editors from among
87 films submitted. In February, the CEI team headed to
Mississippi for their third festivalthe Oxford Film Fest. They
were pleased to be screened opening night for Women,
Whiskey, and Beer, in addition to the Food + Film Fest
Saturday night. Stay up to date with the latest #iwhiskey
news at www.cei.org/whiskey. Cheers!

Trey Kovacs Marc Scribner

Testifies before
Congress on
Official Time
On February 16, CEI
labor policy analyst Trey
Kovacs testified before a
joint hearing of the House
Government Operations
and Economic
Opportunities subcommittees. The hearing focused on a
new Government Accountability Office report that found the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) lacks an accurate meth-
odology for tracking the use of official time, which grants
federal employees paid time off to perform union work. As
Kovacs noted, many VA employees spend 100 percent of
their time performing union activitieslobbying Congress,
attending union conventions, and filing grievancesinstead
of caring for patients. Kovacs called for an elimination of
official time and, short of that, a detailed annual reporting of
its cost, and the amount of time and types of activities federal
employees perform on official time.
Discusses
Infrastructure
Policy at the
Heritage
Foundation
CEI Senior Fellow Marc
Scribner spoke on a
January 27 panel at the
Heritage Foundation on infrastructure policy, moderated by
Heritages Michael Sargent. Joined by the Cato Institutes
Chris Edwards and the Eno Center for Transportations
Robert Puentes, Scribner emphasized the need to reform
federal infrastructure financing programs to level the play-
ing field between public and private investment. This would
not only improve the provision of infrastructure, but reduce
taxpayer exposure to project risk. He also stressed the need
to address air traffic control modernization in the forthcom-
ing Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization before
the current law expires in September 2017.

COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE C E I . O R G 9

 John Berlau at CrowdConverge
2017, Las Vegas
On Friday, February 3, John Berlau delivered the key-
note luncheon speech at the CrowdConverge 2017
conference. The two-day conference, organized by
the securities law firm Trowbridge Sidoti LLP, sought to
educate entrepreneurs on ways to raise capital through
the modest deregulatory provisions of the Jumpstart our
Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which allows for limited
equity crowdfunding by exempting small and mid-size
firms from some of the onerous provisions of Dodd-Frank,
Sarbanes-Oxley, and other securities laws.
Iain Murray on Heritage Foundation
Panel on the Future of Europe
On January 12, CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain
Murray spoke on a panel at the Heritage Foundation,
The Future of the EU: Understanding the Roots of Political
Fragmentation in Europe, alongside Marian Tupy of the
Cato Institute and Nile Gardiner of Heritage. Murray
focused on what he termed the crises in European politi-
cal ideologiesthe failure of socialist central planning,
the unraveling of the European Unions internationalist
impulse for greater integration, and the recent populist
backlash. He argued that the Anglo-American classi-
cal liberal tradition, steeped in liberty, will need to shine
brighter as a beacon in the coming years.

Consumer Policy fellow Michelle Minton

Speaks on CPAC Panel on how Cronyist
Interests Hijack Federalism
While conservatives are generally wary of expanding legal
gambling, protecting the principle of federalism requires that
the decision be left for the states to decide. That is the message
CEIs Michelle Minton argued at a panel, hosted by Institute
for Liberty President Andrew Langer, held at the Conservative
Political Action Conference (CPAC). Joined by Taxpayers
Protection Alliance Vice President Michi Iljazi, Tea Party
Patriots Founder Jenny Beth Martin, and Institute for Liberty
Vice President Jerry Rogers, the panel discussed how efforts to
create a nationwide prohibition on Internet gambling violates
the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, does nothing to pro-
tect consumers, and acts to protect certain brick-and-mortar
casinos from competition.

I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit

An Award-Winning Film from CEI

10 CEI.ORG COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

 Missouri May Become Model State for
Government Union Labor Relations
BY TREY KOVACS
M issouri recently made headlines
when it became the nations
newest right to work state. Private sector
workers in the Show Me state can no
longer be required to pay union dues
as a condition of employment. Yet, there
could be more good news for Missouri
workers. Government union reform leg-
islation has been introduced that could
make Missouri a model for other states
to follow.
The Government Union Reform Act
(Senate Bill 210), sponsored by State
Sen. Bob Onder (R-District 2), will bring
greater accountability to government
unions and freedom to public workers,
which is desperately needed.
A recent comprehensive report
compiled by the Commonwealth
Foundation, a free-market think tank
in Pennsylvania, graded each states
government union laws based on 11
measures related to taxpayer and public
employees. Missouri ranked near the
bottom with a D grade. But the reform
bill could turn things around.
Sen. Onders legislation increases
worker freedom in two major ways.
First, it requires secret ballots in
union elections conducted by the state.
Currently, unions can organize public
employees via card-check elections,
which severely restricts worker choice.
Under card check, a union only needs
to collect signed authorization cards
from a majority of employees to become
the certified labor representative.
Without a secret-ballot election, workers
are deprived of time to hear the pros
and cons about unionization and reflect
on whether they want union representa-
tion. Card check also leaves workers
open to union intimidation tactics.
Second, the bill requires recertifi-
cation elections of labor unions. That
means labor unions will have to be
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
reelected by a majority of employees
they represent on an annual basis. This
is a crucial reform; without it unions
can end up representing and collecting
forced dues from workers who never
voted for them. Regular elections ensure
the majority of union workers are repre-
sented by the union of their choice, not
one chosen by past workers.
Taxpayers are also protected by
the legislation. It curtails government
unions ability to impose contract provi-
sions related to wages and benefits on
the taxpayer via collective bargaining.
While government unions may still bar-
gain over wages and other monetary
benefits, the public body in charge of
negotiating a collective bargaining
agreement may refuse to accept all or
part of the provisions offered by the
union. Without the government having
the ability to accept or decline a unions
contract demands, collective bargaining
effectively grants power over the public
purse to union chiefs.
The legislation also eliminates arbitra-
tion requirements, which can force one
party or other to accept a contract if the
union and public body cannot agree to
terms. As such, in the future, collective
bargaining agreements with unsustain-
able wages and benefits are unlikely
to become ratified and drain public
resources. Collective bargaining reform
of this nature is vital in guaranteeing that
the special interests of government unions
do not control the cost, effectiveness, and
availability of government services.
The bill also increases transparency
and accountability, by granting the
public access to collective bargaining
meetings.
It also ends a subsidy to govern-
ment unions, known as union release
time, which allows government union
employees to be paid with tax dollars
while doing union workincluding
attending union meetings, lobbying,
and negotiating contracts. The cost of
C E I . O R G 11
release time to Missouri taxpayers is
mostly unknown because a majority
of the states employers either do not
track the union subsidy or else charge a
cost-prohibitive fee to obtain the data,
according to public records obtained by
the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
But judging from the few government
employers that fulfilled the informa-
tion requests, the results were startling.
At three school districtsParkway,
Lindbergh and Northwest R-Ithe union
employees were allowed to engage
in partisan political activity while using
release time. For example, Parkway
union employees participated in the
Communications Workers of Americas
Lobby Day, in which they lobbied
against right to work and paycheck
protection laws. Other union employ-
ees at the school districts engaged in
the National Education Associations
Capitol Action Day and Legislative
Day, part of the unions lobbying
strategy.
State lawmakers owe it to their con-
stituents to enact laws that provide public
employees with worker choice and
ensure that tax dollars are well spent.
Trey Kovacs (trey.kovacs@cei.org) is a
Policy Analyst at CEI. A version of this
article was originally published by the
American Legislative Exchange Council.
 Lessons from a Decade of
Conscious Capitalism
BY FRED L. SMITH, JR.
W hat can 220 CEOs learn at a
Conscious Capitalism confer-
ence? Perhaps valuable insights into the
purpose and value of their businesses.
Perhaps also, ways to communicate
those attributes and, in the process,
better defend themselves and their firms
from anti-business attacks. CEOs must
learn that focusing only on the self-
interest benefits they provide too often
fails to gain them legitimacy and doesnt
win over the hearts of their customers
and employees. CEOs need to become
12 CEI.ORG
more conscious of the moral and eco-
nomic virtues that capitalism advances
spontaneously.
With these ideas in mind, Whole
Foods CEO John Mackey recently
gathered a couple hundred of his
fellow corporate leaders near his home
base of Austin, Texas, for the 10th
annual Conscious Capitalism CEO
Summit. Conscious Capitalism is the
name of the nonprofit organization
that organizes the event, as well as of
the book, co-written by Mackey and
Professor Raj Sisodia, that inspired it all.
The books subtitle is Liberating
the Heroic Spirit of Business. Mackey
and Sisodia emphasize two ways of
achieving that: 1) recognize the moral
purpose of business leaders and 2)
make them, and the general public,
more conscious of the contributions of
capitalism to human flourishing. These
two key terms reinforce one another.
One cant have much of a sense of pur-
pose without being conscious of it.
A recent report from Globescan,
a research firm that specializes in
corporate reputation, defined purpose
as the process by which a company
marries business value with soci-
etal value. And, at the Conscious
Capitalism conference, many were
striving to be financially successful by
making a positive difference in society
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

Perfecting your
companys
higher purpose
will be a
wasted effort
if government
agencies
regulate you out
of business.
through [their] products, services and
operations.
Of course, any company, regard-
less of its managers intentions, is
already making a positive difference
in society simply by virtue of selling
something that people want to buy.
Mackey and Sisodia understand that
point well, noting:
A good business doesnt need to
do anything special to be socially
responsible. When it creates value
for its major stakeholders, it is
acting is a socially responsible
way. Collectively, ordinary business
exchanges are the greatest creator
of value in the entire world.
Conscious Capitalists should recog-
nize that markets arent tainted by some
moral deficiency. Businesses have no
need to redeem themselves by signing
on to faddish social responsibility
programs. Helping business leaders
appreciate the morality at the heart of
business is perhaps this movements
most important contribution.
But gaining that awareness is only
the first step toward a much bigger
prize: developing the communication
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
strategy that will reach both policy
makers and the general public, making
them aware of the inherent morality
and social value of business. If a firm
could achieve that goal with its eco-
nomic partnersits customers, employ-
ees, suppliers, and investorsand enlist
them as ambassadors, unwarranted
cultural and political attacks would
become both rarer and much less
threatening.
Mackey believes that individual
companies may well choose to invest
in addressing social and environmental
challenges, especially if they align with
their business and their customers. The
higher purpose of Whole Foods, for
example, involves advancing a specific
vision of environmental stewardship
and healthy eating. The companys
investors, business partners, and
customers recognize that purpose and
value it. Understanding that purpose
makes it easier for the company to
defend its policiesand to enlist its
stakeholders in that effort.
Unfortunately, many business lead-
ers dont have a clear sense of their
companys higher purpose. Often this
is because the firm has defined itself
in terms of what they make rather than
what they make possible. The steel
and cement sectors, for example, are
starting to recognize that they not only
produce valuable commodities but also
make possible safer, more affordable,
more efficient, and more livable build-
ings and cities.
The Conscious Capitalism move-
ment can help business leaders under-
stand and communicate the human
connection to their operations and the
downstream (and upstream) advan-
tages of their products. Such communi-
cations can also help restore the pride
and self-esteem of individual business
leaders who too often are demoralized
by the steady media emphasis on real
or alleged corporate wrongdoing.
There are risks, however. The term
conscious capitalism suggests to
some that the economy itself needs
some form of conscious, centralized
control to smooth its rough edges. But
C E I . O R G 13
centralized planning is a very different
premise from what Mackey is suggest-
ing. Individual firms need to con-
sciously embrace a higher purpose, he
says, and managers need to integrate
that into the culture and operations of
the firm. But the same is not true of the
economy as a whole.
Another concern is that Conscious
Capitalism has, to date, focused largely
on internal changes in firm operations.
That could crowd out efforts to promote
a liberalized political and legal operat-
ing environment. Capitalisms achieve-
ments depend upon the rule of law,
enforceable agreements, and secure
property rights. Those prerequisites
made the Industrial Revolution and its
massive economic achievements pos-
sible. But a technologically and institu-
tionally dynamic economy requires for
this requisite framework to evolve in a
way that enables the meeting of new
challenges.
Conscious capitalists should
promote that co-evolution: allowing
property rights to be established in
emerging resources, arguing for the
legitimacy of risk-sharing contracts,
and reducing barriers to entrepreneur-
ial start-ups. Business leaders should
seek to expand the voluntary sphere
of economic action by questioning the
rationale for government regulation,
subsidies, and mandates. Perfecting
your companys higher purpose will be
a wasted effort if government agencies
regulate you out of business.
The success of the Conscious
Capitalism movement so far demon-
strates a thirst among business lead-
ers for a group that can validate their
profession and their passions. Thus, it
represents an important step toward
the business world understanding its
own value and contribution to society.
I hope it will also evolve to mount a
more active defense of its freedom to
operate and innovate.
Fred L. Smith Jr. (fred.smith@cei.org) is the
Founder of CEI. A version of this article
was originally published on Forbes.com.
 THE
GOOD
CEIs Center for Class
Action Fairness Wins
Major Victory in Target
Data Breach Case
On February 1, a federal appeals
court ruled that a federal judge must
hold hearings to determine whether a
settlement, covering 100 million Target
customers whose private information
was compromised in a notorious 2013
security breach, treats all customers
fairly. The appeals court also struck
down a $46,872 appeal bond, which
the district court had required of two
objectors to the settlement, who were
represented by CEIs Center for Class
Action Fairness (CCAF). Under the
settlement, most class members stood
to gain nothing, while plaintiff attor-
neys got $6.75 million in fees.
Over 99 percent of the Target
data breach class gets nothing in this
multimillion dollar settlement, so we
are glad that the Eighth Circuit rec-
ognizes that the District Court cannot
rubber-stamp settlements where class
counsel cuts corners on procedural
fairness so they can get paid quickly
and generously, said CCAF attorney
Melissa Holyoak.
14 CEI.ORG
THE
BAD
Overregulation Prompts
More Businesses to Flee
California
On February 1, Nestl USA
announced it will move its head-
quarters from Glendale, California,
to Arlington, Virginia. The move by
the food giantmaker of Stouffers,
Hagen Dazs, and other popular
brandsis the latest in a trend of
businesses leaving the Golden State
in recent years. In 2010, aircraft
manufacturer Northrop Grumman
moved its headquarters from California
to Virginia. And in 2016, CKE
Restaurants, the parent company of
Carls Jr. and Hardees, relocated from
Anaheim to Nashville.
Some multi-state businesses have
closed their facilities in California,
despite having plenty of customers,
after experiencing pointless harass-
ment due to Californias oppressive
regulatory regime, or the threat of
meritless lawsuits, said CEI Senior
Attorney Hans Bader. For businesses,
the worst is yet to come. California is
increasing its minimum wage over the
next several years to $15 per hour.
THE
UGLY
State Attorneys General
Outsource Lawsuits to
Bounty-Hunting Trial
Lawyers
The office of attorney general (AG),
under both the federal and state consti-
tutions, is that of an executive branch
official tasked with enforcing laws. But
in recent years, some state AGs have
taken it upon themselves to essentially
impose laws through litigation. Worse,
many have outsourced such lawsuits
to private class-action trial lawyers
with a stake in the outcome. In a new
CEI study, Pirates at the Parchment
Gates: How State Attorneys General
Violate the Constitution and Shower
Billions on Trial Lawyers, Margaret A.
Little, an attorney in private practice in
Connecticut, lays out how such regu-
lation by litigation schemes work.
Regulation by litigation launched
by state attorneys general, on the
ground that Congress or state legisla-
tures are not doing their job, violates
the separation of powers and intrudes
upon the legislatures exclusive law-
making function, says Little. AGs who
try to accomplish through these self-
interested proxies what they cannot
achieve legislatively have flunked
Civics 101.
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
 MediaMENTIONS
House Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy highlights an annual
study by Wayne Crews on the
costs of federal regulations:
In President Obamas final year the
Federal Register hit 97,110 pages
longer by nearly 18,000 pages, or
15 King James Bibles, than in 2008.
Federal regulations cost the American
people about $1.89 trillion every
year, according to an estimate by the
Competitive Enterprise Institute. Thats
more than 10% of GDP, or roughly
$15,000 per American household. The
Obama administration has also bur-
dened the public with nearly 583 million
hours of compliance over the past eight
years, according to the American Action
Forum. Thats averages to nearly five
hours of paperwork for every full-time
employee in the country.
January 24, The Wall Street Journal
Melissa Holyoak weighs in on an
important ruling received by CEIs
Center for Class Action Fairness
in their appeal of the Target data
breach settlement:
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
said in an opinion filed Wednesday
that Judge Paul Magnuson must review
the class certification he approved in
November 2015.
Olsons attorney, Melissa Holyoak,
said its important the court recognizes
that the District Court cannot rubber-
stamp settlements where class counsel
cuts corners on procedural fairness
so they can get paid quickly and
generously.
February 2, Associated Press
John Berlau discusses President
Trump changing the Dodd-Frank
Act through executive order:
The promises have been to simplify
Dodd-Frank. It will probably be difficult
to repeal it, said John Berlau, senior
fellow at the Competitive Enterprise
Institute, a libertarian think tank. What
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
has been discussed is to make the play-
ing field a little bit more even between
large institutions and smaller ones.
February 2, CNBC
Myron Ebell and Marlo Lewis dis-
cuss changes in the Environmental
Protection Agency under the
Trump administration:
The EPA under a Donald Trump pres-
idency will be everything he promised,
according to a EPA action plan drafted
by Myron Ebell, a member of Trumps
transition team whos also a director at
the libertarian think tank Competitive
Enterprise Institute.
A wish list for the EPA targets regu-
lations such as those carbon emission
rules that limit the amount of greenhouse
gases allowed from power plants,
and chopping $193 million in climate
programs. ...
Marlo Lewis of CEI says the changes
are welcome.
Its a good idea for a new admin-
istration that is thinking about a new
direction for the EPA to want to take a
pause, a time out, and just look at all of
these first before spending taxpayers
money, Lewis said.
January 10, CNN Politics
Washington Post columnist Robert
Samuelson cites Wayne Crews on
the cost of federal regulations:
Now regulation is pervasive. It
touches air and water pollution, pen-
sions, vehicle fuel efficiency, the Internet
(net neutrality rules), home mortgages,
political campaign contributions ... and
much more. The annual outpouring of
new rules and proposed rules is mind-
boggling. In fiscal 2015, the Federal
Registercontaining final and recom-
mended rulestotaled 80,260 pages,
says the Competitive Enterprise Institute
(CEI), a market-oriented think tank.
At CEI, Wayne Crews Jr. found that
in 2015 all federal regulations cost $1.9
trillion, an amount about half the federal
C E I . O R G 15
budget. Although
Crews didnt estimate
regulations benefits,
his higher cost figure
suggests a substantial
regulatory burden.
Other studies have
even higher estimates.
February 5, The
Washington Post
John Berlau discusses the presi-
dents authority to remove the
Consumer Financial Protection
Bureaus director:
However, its not exactly clear if
Trump will have the authority under
current law to fire [Richard] Cordray,
whose term doesnt expire until July
2018. Dodd-Franks strict language
allows the president to remove the CFPB
director only for cause.
Cordray will probably sue to stay
on. Let him sue. It will be an exciting
battle, said John Berlau, a senior fellow
at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise
Institute, who also wants Trump to
remove Cordray.
January 10, 2017, CNN Money
Myron Ebell discusses the
EPAs decision to suspend 30
regulations issued under the
Obama administration.
Myron Ebell, a senior fellow at the
Competitive Enterprise Institute who
served on the Trump transitions EPA
landing team, said the suspension was
needed so that the new administration
could review the pending rules.
The EPA has been headed in the
wrong direction for years, so freez-
ing new regulations is a necessary first
step in turning the EPA around, Ebell
said. Taxpayers and consumers across
America should be cheering these
actions by the Trump administration.
January 25, The Washington Post

1310 L Street, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
...END NOTES
First Polar Bears, Now the Piggly Wiggly?
According to environmental news website TreeHugger,
theres a new victim of human-caused climate change
the supermarket produce aisle. One might think that with
higher carbon dioxide concentrations extending grow-
ing seasons and greening the planet, a lack of fresh fruits
and vegetables would be the only thing environmentalists
would not blame on global warming. But that would under-
estimate the planets one truly inexhaustible resource
activist scaremongering. According to our tree-hugging
friends: We can no longer expect to eat cucumber,
Romaine, and cherry tomato salads in the middle of winter,
but rather content ourselves with roasted beets, shredded
cabbage salads, and turnip bisques. Well believe it when
Al Gore cashes in his Apple stock to invest in beet futures.
Paddle Your Way to the Florida DMV
State governments generally require owners of motor
boats to register and license them, on the basis that they
are akin to automobiles in terms of safety and pollution
concerns. Florida lawmakers, however, are now consider-
ing a requirement for owners of human-powered water-
craftincluding kayaks, canoes, and paddle boardsto
fill out paperwork and pay fees alongside their motorized
counterparts. The state has officially convened a Non-
Motorized Boats Working Group to prepare a report and
deliver its recommendations to the Boating Advisory Council,
which will pass those recommendations to the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Enthusiasts of non-
motorized aquatic recreation are understandably aggrieved.
Even retired Coast Guard officer William Griswold, a
member of the working group who is generally supportive of
the effort, described the idea to the Orlando Sentinel as like
a root canal for a paddler.
16 CEI.ORG
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit 425
Southern MD
Dont Let the TSA Confiscate Your Drink
Travelers waiting for flights in Missouri airports may soon
be able to consume their drinks at their gate in addition to
the designated bar seating areas where alcohol is served.
The Show Me States legislature is considering a bill that
would allow adults to roam freely through their concourse
with an adult beverage, eliminating the worry that treating
oneself to a cocktail could result in being late to board a
flight. State Rep. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat, said the cur-
rent limitation on drink mobility makes the state seem a little
old-fashioned. As supporters of the reform have pointed
out, many other airports allow travelers to enjoy their drinks
next to their gates in to-go cups rather than seated at a bar.
Restrictions on serving underage and visibly intoxicated
customers will remain in force.
Wife Swap, Corrupt Politician Edition
According to a recent lawsuit filed in North Carolina, two
state law enforcement officials have allegedly come up with
a novel way of getting around anti-nepotism laws that forbid
the hiring of ones spouseput each others spouse on
the payroll. District attorneys Wallace Bradsher and Craig
Blitzer are each accused of hiring their own wives, despite
an explicit state directive to the contrary. So the wives,
Pam Bradsher and Cindy Blitzer, simply swapped jobs and
started working for the others husband instead. Former state
employee Debra Halbrook, who was fired after tipping off
the State Bureau of Investigation to the alleged scheme, is
currently suing under the states Whistleblower Act for lost
pay and punitive damages.
COMPETIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE