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12
Considering the cost of the disease, both than the likely alternatives.
in terms of human suffering and health care Based on a review of the scientific
costs, government agencies have made literature, the results of nearly four decades
BY FRED L. SMITH, JR. reducing the incidence of hypertension a of government efforts focused on sodium
Lessons from a Decade of top priority. A public health strategy that restriction, and the existence of otherpos-
Conscious Capitalism successfully reduces hypertension rates has sibly more effectivemeans of hypertension
the potential to improve millions of lives reduction as presented in this paper, the
and save millions of dollars. A misguided current government recommendations on
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE approach, on the other hand, would at sodium fail to meet this standard.
best fail to reduce hypertension; at worst it Humans require a certain amount of
would encourage behavioral changes that dietary sodium in order for our bodies to
One Year Later, the Joint Employer Standard
increase harm, obscure more effective means regulate fluid homeostasis. Too little sodium
Still Causing Confusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
of risk reduction, and erode public trust in will result in the body ceasing to function,
How Many Americans Will Die Because of agencies. while too much can cause strain and death.
the FDAs Vaping Rule?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 For these reasons, population-wide However, the scientific community has yet to
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. . . . . . 14 recommendations should be rare and adhere agree on an optimal range of sodium intake.
Media Mentions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 to rigorous standards. At a minimum, such (continued on page 3)
recommendations should:
End Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fighting for Freedom, from the Saloon to the Courtroom
by Kent Lassman
seemore freedom, stronger economic growth, and a academy, private consulting, and the halls of govern-
society that flourishes without overbearing regulation. ment, where he contributed to regulatory economics,
As we enter a new year with a Republican admin- coalition-driven policy change, and deregulationmost
istration and GOP majorities in the House and Senate, notably of the nations airlines. Next time you book a
Washington, D.C. is ripe with opportunities for policy cheap flight to visit family, consider giving him a nod of
change, as well as challenges. We intend to make the thanks.
most of the opportunitiesand seek opportunities in Yet, promoting human liberty extends beyond public
the challenges. And we have already seen some of our policy. It also requires a deep appreciation of the
labor bearing fruit. cultural flourishing and innovation that freedom makes
Consider the slate of regulatory reversals now possible.
making their way through Congress. In the last great With that in mind, Im happy to note that I, Whiskey:
wave of regulatory reforms in the mid-1990s, Congress The Human Spirit is an award winner. Just a month
created a mechanism for reviewing and disapprov- after its release, CEIs latest film project won gold at the
ing of recently issued regulations. This mechanism, the Television, Internet and Video Association of DC Peer
Congressional Review Act (CRA), was intended to pro- Awards. At the Southern Shorts Awards, I, Whiskey
vide a legislative check on burdensome and controver- made its big screen debut. The film was honored with
sial rules. Until last month, it had only been used once in an Award of Excellence in the documentary category,
20 years. But now Congress is using the CRA to reject Awards of Distinction for music and production design,
some of the most recent heavy-handed regulations that and individual achievement awards for the talented
have come out of Washington. crew, for a total of nine awards so far. Stay up to date
CEIs work on regulatory reform over the past few with the latest #iwhiskey news at www.cei.org/whiskey.
decades helped lay the groundwork for these develop- And watch for more from CEI in light of our hire of
ments, and were already working on the next ones. Jim Harper to serve as Vice President. We wooed Jim
You may have seen Wayne Crewss prolific writings on away from our friends at the Cato Institute, where for
the topic. 12 years hes been working on technology, telecom-
We also see considerable opportunity in the new munications, intellectual property, cryptocurrency, and
administrations skepticism toward the Washington government transparency. Jim will help further increase
orthodoxy on climate change. And the work of experts the quality of CEIs work, add new dimensions to CEIs
like Myron Ebell has put CEI directly at the center of efforts in technology and information policy, and carry
efforts to establish sensible environmental policies. forward the messages of liberty, free markets, and
Congress has ceded much of its authority to a human development.
distended executive branch over decades. In that
regard, we also see opportunity in the reaction against
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.
will be a
cultural and political attacks would Another concern is that Conscious
become both rarer and much less Capitalism has, to date, focused largely
threatening. on internal changes in firm operations.
wasted effort Mackey believes that individual
companies may well choose to invest
That could crowd out efforts to promote
a liberalized political and legal operat-
if government in addressing social and environmental
challenges, especially if they align with
ing environment. Capitalisms achieve-
ments depend upon the rule of law,
On February 1, a federal appeals On February 1, Nestl USA The office of attorney general (AG),
court ruled that a federal judge must announced it will move its head- under both the federal and state consti-
hold hearings to determine whether a quarters from Glendale, California, tutions, is that of an executive branch
settlement, covering 100 million Target to Arlington, Virginia. The move by official tasked with enforcing laws. But
customers whose private information the food giantmaker of Stouffers, in recent years, some state AGs have
was compromised in a notorious 2013 Hagen Dazs, and other popular taken it upon themselves to essentially
security breach, treats all customers brandsis the latest in a trend of impose laws through litigation. Worse,
fairly. The appeals court also struck businesses leaving the Golden State many have outsourced such lawsuits
down a $46,872 appeal bond, which in recent years. In 2010, aircraft to private class-action trial lawyers
the district court had required of two manufacturer Northrop Grumman with a stake in the outcome. In a new
objectors to the settlement, who were moved its headquarters from California CEI study, Pirates at the Parchment
represented by CEIs Center for Class to Virginia. And in 2016, CKE Gates: How State Attorneys General
Action Fairness (CCAF). Under the Restaurants, the parent company of Violate the Constitution and Shower
settlement, most class members stood Carls Jr. and Hardees, relocated from Billions on Trial Lawyers, Margaret A.
to gain nothing, while plaintiff attor- Anaheim to Nashville. Little, an attorney in private practice in
neys got $6.75 million in fees. Some multi-state businesses have Connecticut, lays out how such regu-
Over 99 percent of the Target closed their facilities in California, lation by litigation schemes work.
data breach class gets nothing in this despite having plenty of customers, Regulation by litigation launched
multimillion dollar settlement, so we after experiencing pointless harass- by state attorneys general, on the
are glad that the Eighth Circuit rec- ment due to Californias oppressive ground that Congress or state legisla-
ognizes that the District Court cannot regulatory regime, or the threat of tures are not doing their job, violates
rubber-stamp settlements where class meritless lawsuits, said CEI Senior the separation of powers and intrudes
counsel cuts corners on procedural Attorney Hans Bader. For businesses, upon the legislatures exclusive law-
fairness so they can get paid quickly the worst is yet to come. California is making function, says Little. AGs who
and generously, said CCAF attorney increasing its minimum wage over the try to accomplish through these self-
Melissa Holyoak. next several years to $15 per hour. interested proxies what they cannot
achieve legislatively have flunked
Civics 101.
...END NOTES
First Polar Bears, Now the Piggly Wiggly? Dont Let the TSA Confiscate Your Drink
According to environmental news website TreeHugger, Travelers waiting for flights in Missouri airports may soon
theres a new victim of human-caused climate change be able to consume their drinks at their gate in addition to
the supermarket produce aisle. One might think that with the designated bar seating areas where alcohol is served.
higher carbon dioxide concentrations extending grow- The Show Me States legislature is considering a bill that
ing seasons and greening the planet, a lack of fresh fruits would allow adults to roam freely through their concourse
and vegetables would be the only thing environmentalists with an adult beverage, eliminating the worry that treating
would not blame on global warming. But that would under- oneself to a cocktail could result in being late to board a
estimate the planets one truly inexhaustible resource flight. State Rep. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat, said the cur-
activist scaremongering. According to our tree-hugging rent limitation on drink mobility makes the state seem a little
friends: We can no longer expect to eat cucumber, old-fashioned. As supporters of the reform have pointed
Romaine, and cherry tomato salads in the middle of winter, out, many other airports allow travelers to enjoy their drinks
but rather content ourselves with roasted beets, shredded next to their gates in to-go cups rather than seated at a bar.
cabbage salads, and turnip bisques. Well believe it when Restrictions on serving underage and visibly intoxicated
Al Gore cashes in his Apple stock to invest in beet futures. customers will remain in force.
Paddle Your Way to the Florida DMV Wife Swap, Corrupt Politician Edition
State governments generally require owners of motor According to a recent lawsuit filed in North Carolina, two
boats to register and license them, on the basis that they state law enforcement officials have allegedly come up with
are akin to automobiles in terms of safety and pollution a novel way of getting around anti-nepotism laws that forbid
concerns. Florida lawmakers, however, are now consider- the hiring of ones spouseput each others spouse on
ing a requirement for owners of human-powered water- the payroll. District attorneys Wallace Bradsher and Craig
craftincluding kayaks, canoes, and paddle boardsto Blitzer are each accused of hiring their own wives, despite
fill out paperwork and pay fees alongside their motorized an explicit state directive to the contrary. So the wives,
counterparts. The state has officially convened a Non- Pam Bradsher and Cindy Blitzer, simply swapped jobs and
Motorized Boats Working Group to prepare a report and started working for the others husband instead. Former state
deliver its recommendations to the Boating Advisory Council, employee Debra Halbrook, who was fired after tipping off
which will pass those recommendations to the Florida Fish the State Bureau of Investigation to the alleged scheme, is
and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Enthusiasts of non- currently suing under the states Whistleblower Act for lost
motorized aquatic recreation are understandably aggrieved. pay and punitive damages.
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.