CEI Today: Ethanol election delay, Dodd-Frank's perverse flaws, and the threat of an airline strike

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Editorial: The Ethanol Election Delay - Why the U.S. burns 40% of its corn, despite a global food shortage.

Last October, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Action Aid petitioned the EPA to review the so-called renewable fuel standard that mandates that 13.8 billion gallons of corn ethanol be blended into the gasoline supply next year. The free-market think tank and global hunger charity argued that the EPA's technical regulations implementing the mandate did not meet "basic standards of quality."

That basically applies to all EPA rule making, though in this case the EPA was supposed to answer in 90 days. But last Thursday the agency took another 90-day extension, the third so far. "We would like to assure you that we are working diligently to provide you with a substantive response," the EPA claimed. > Read the Wall Street Journal editorial of Oct. 29.

> Interview a CEI expert

> View CEI's original petition to the EPA

DODD-FRANK'S PERVERSE FLAWS - IAIN MURRAY American Spectator: Dodd-Frank's Mystery SIFI Theater There's an even more troubling aspect of Dodd-Frank. The act designates the too-big-to-fail institutions as SIFIs -- Systemically Important Financial Institutions. SIFIs are subject to additional regulations and eligible for orderly liquidation authority. Most importantly, they have to pay staggeringly large fees to help clean up the mess when a peer SIFI fails. That's right -- Dodd-Frank requires some financial institutions to pay to fix problems created by others.  > Read the full commentary at Spectator.org   > Interview Iain Murray See also: SIMON: States’ challenge to Dodd-Frank needs support, Protecting the Constitution a serious responsibility

AIRLINE STRIKE THREAT - MATT PATTERSON Fox News: The threat striking fear into the hearts of weary airline travelers everywhere On October 24th, 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Airline Deregulation Act, ending the nightmare of total government-control over air travel. But now 34 years later, just in time for Halloween 2012, a new, shadowy threat has emerged from the depths of the airline industry to strike terror into the hearts of weary air travelers everywhere. It’s – Attack of the Killer Pilots Union! The Allied Pilots Association (APA), the largest of the unions representing American Airline employees, has rejected a generous contract offer from the ailing airline; pay raises coupled with a 13.5 percent stake in the new company in exchange for the flexibility to transfer some operations to allied airlines.  >View the article on Foxnews.com > Interview Matt Patterson

Read more... Production Tax Credit: High Cost Subsidy for Low Value Power Italy’s Greatest Economic Threat: Italian Politicians CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation Scapegoating Free Speech To Hide Massive Government Failures?

COMING NOVEMBER 15... The Competitive Enterprise Institute is proud to announce a new ambitious film project: an animated adaptation of I, Pencil by Leonard Read. > View the I, Pencil trailer

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website, cei.org, and blogs, Globalwarming.org and OpenMarket.org.  Follow CEI on Twitter! Twitter.com/ceidotorg.