Some consider the Renaissance Italian cleric (whose feast day is today) to be patron of p.r. practitioners and lobbyists, and at least one comic tale, prefiguring the later Public Choice theme of “Bootleggers and Baptists,” tends to back them up. I explain at Cato at Liberty.
Posts Tagged ‘competition through regulation’
Why starting up a new ISP is really hard
Incumbent firms “have an army of lawyers” and aren’t afraid to use them [Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica]
On state liquor regulation and the “three-tier” system
I spoke on Thursday to the Bastiat Society chapter in Charlotte with some observations rooted in public choice theory about the “three-tier” system of state liquor regulation familiar since Prohibition. A few further links for those interested in the subject:
- Tom Wark: “Why do wine and beer wholesalers deliver up more campaign contributions than all wineries, distillers, brewers and retailers combined?” (Because of the rents!) The North Carolina microbrewery angle;
- Matt Yglesias at Slate: “How Looser Regulation Gave D.C. Great Specialty Bars“
- AEI held a panel discussion last spring with Brandon Arnold, Jacob Grier (both formerly with the Cato Institute), and Stephen George, moderated by Tim Carney. Video snippets: Jacob on the history of the 3-tier system (2:00); Brandon on homebrewing (0:44). Here’s Jacob discussing the Oregon system at his cocktails-and-policy blog Liquidity Preference, and here’s Brandon on direct-to-consumer Internet sales.
- On “at rest” laws, and the attempted extension to New York: my posts at Cato and Overlawyered, Wark, and recently from CEI’s Michelle Minton on renewed action in New York.
- Oldie-but-goodie David Spiegel, Regulation mag, 1985 (PDF).
“Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs”
The disappearance of the cheap, popular incandescent bulb “has become a fitting symbol for the collusion of big business and big government…. the market didn’t kill the traditional [low-profit-margin] light bulb. Government did it, at the request of big business.” [Tim Carney]
Feds’ crackdown on Chinatown buses
It’s pretextual and cronyish in motivation, argues Jim Epstein at the Daily Beast (earlier).
If your city suppresses social-lodging options like AirBnB…
…maybe City Hall is not your friend [Arnold Kling, Nick Sibilla/IJ, earlier here and here]
May 2 roundup
- Pigford and more: why do modern privacy laws so often redound to the benefit of those in power? [Stewart Baker]
- N.H. man who lost life savings at carnival game in exchange for dreadlocked banana concedes he was “foolish” but is considering lawsuit [WBZ, BoingBoing]
- The judicial humorist — I’ve got him on the list [San Antonio strip club case: MySanAntonio, Above the Law, ABA Journal]
- To be for capitalism, be against crony capitalism [Tim Carney, The Atlantic]
- “News Corp. Pays Itself $139 Million For Phone-Hacking Scandal — Minus Legal Fees” [Daniel Fisher]
- What must they think of the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932? Brennan Center lists Wisconsin bill providing for stays of injunction pending appeal among “Attacks on Judiciary” [Brennan Center Fair Courts E-lert]
- Federal Trade Commissioner Joshua Wright says it’s time to pin down commission’s vague Section 5 power [Andrea Agathoklis Murino, WLF]
April 20 roundup
- “Victory For Blogger Patterico In Free Speech Case” [Ken at Popehat, earlier]
- “Watch ‘disparate impact’ become the new HUD jihad if it succeeds in [Westchester]” [Jackson Jambalaya, earlier]
- “Big Tobacco uses Big Government to keep out Small Competitors” [Tim Carney, DC Examiner]
- Casinos or no, Connecticut tribes want the federal dole [AP]
- High cost of litigation to California municipalities [L.A. Daily News, new CALA report in PDF] “San Francisco’s iconic cable cars cost city millions of dollars in legal settlements” [AP]
- Morning sickness drug Bendectin, famed casualty of unfounded litigation, returns to market renamed diclegis [MedPageToday, David Bernstein; background here, etc.; classic account from Peter W. Huber’s Galileo’s Revenge] Another Bendectin sequel: Barry Nace, former ATLA/AAJ head, draws 120-day suspension from West Virginia high court [Chamber-backed WV Record]
- “Tennessee’s ‘guns in parking lots’ bill a net drain on liberty [George Scoville; similarly Bainbridge and earlier] Another pro-gun but anti-liberty idea: Colorado lawmaker wants to force firms to hire guards if they deny armed customers access to their premises [KOAA, SecurityInfoWatch, Durango Herald (idea nixed in committee)]
How much political clout do liquor wholesalers have?
Enough that 33 states have so-called enacted At Rest laws, requiring that bottles spend time in an in-state warehouse before being sold to consumers. Although the laws limit competition, drive up prices to consumers, and make it harder to special-order less common labels, New York may join the list following generous donations to politicians from an in-state wholesaler. [New York Post] FTC attorney David Spiegel analyzed anti-competitive liquor laws in this 1985 article (PDF) in Cato’s Regulation magazine.
And: I’ve posted an expanded version at the Cato blog. (& Michelle Minton, CEI “Open Market,” who cites an informative column by Tom Wark, WineInterview.com, to the effect that the New York bill may be dead for now.) (Edited for accuracy 4/9: licensed New York wholesalers already own warehouses in both New York and New Jersey, and the bill would have protected the former from competition from the latter)
FDA declines to approve new tobacco products
Is this what Congress intended, or what the public was told, when the FDA was given authority over tobacco in 2009? Jacob Grier at the Atlantic:
As first reported by Michael Felberbaum of the Associated Press, since 2009 the agency has received about 3,500 substantial equivalence reports [i.e., submissions seeking approval for new products on the grounds that they are substantially equivalent to products already on the market]. Approximately 115 employees work on reviewing them. And to date they have issued exactly zero rulings.
Can it really be the case that none of the 3,500 reflect new products that are substantially equivalent to (or for that matter safer than) the cigarettes already on the market? And while we’re asking questions, who benefits when new competition for existing products is cut off? More: Michael Siegel.