Op-Eds
Obama’s Penalty Tax Could Hit Banks that Refused TARP Funds
President Obama’s so-called Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee is a tax in search of a target. Today, the president declared, “We want our…
Blog
Obama Bank “Responsibility Fee” Is Destructive, Hypocritical and Likely Unconstitutional
The so-called Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee is a tax in search of a target. Today, the President declared, “We want our money back.” Yet his…
Blog
Financial Crisis Hearing is Partisan Sham that Skips Over Fannie and Freddie’s Role
John Berlau, director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, offers the following thoughts on what’s missing from the first hearing of the Financial Crisis…
Citation
House Panel Approves Ban On Retail Price-Fixing Deals
Citation
Sarbanes-Oxley: Albatross to Growth
Op-Eds
Financial Crisis Hearing Is Partisan Sham
Today marks the first-ever meeting of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is charged with investigating the causes of the mortgage meltdown.
Op-Eds
Sarbanes-Oxley: Albatross to Growth
Many economists, policy makers, and members of Congress of both parties are questioning whether what is good for the Big Four accounting firms is…
Citation
Fed Should Let Interest Rates Rise
Citation
Tax Preparers Must Meet License Requirement
Citation
Reforms Bode Ill for Tax-Free Health Accounts
Credit Union Times
Payment Card Networks Under Assault
Blog
Health care bill’s hidden tax on pain relievers, Pedialyte, and prenatal vitamins
Blog
Obama Summit: President’s goals of more loans and more heavy-handed regulation in conflict
Statement of John Berlau, director, Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Competitive Enterprise Institute: President Obama’s twin goals of more bank loans and more heavy-handed regulation…
Credit Union Times
Big PhRMA Payoff: Hidden Tax on Pedialyte, Prenatal Vitamins, and Pain Relievers
Blog
Tarp the TARP and give small biz relief from Sarbanes-Oxley and other burdensome regs
Statement of John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, on extending TARP for small business and on Rep. Barney Frank’s plans to…
The Wall Street Journal
Sarbanes-Oxley on Trial
Congress wants to wallop business with even more regulation in the wake of the financial panic, but perhaps the Members should pause on Monday and…
The Wall Street Journal
Al Gore Should Lose His ‘Oscar’ Due To ClimateGate
The Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Set to Review Scope of Peek-a-boo Power
Study
Payment Card Networks Under Assault
How Capping Interchange Fees Will Hurt Consumers, Charities, Community Banks, and Credit Unions…
Southern Shift News
30 Million Small Businesses: The Army President Obama has yet to Deploy
Southern Shift News
Letter to the Editor: Retailers Want to Shift Their Costs onto Consumers
It’s a real pity that The Examiner’s Nov. 27 lead story – billed with the screaming front-page headline "Credit cards show no pity" –…
Letters
Federal Reserve Transparency Working Group Sends Letter to the Senate
Dear Members of the U.S. Senate: In the last two years, the Federal Reserve Board has lent several trillion dollars to banks…
Southern Shift News
Effort To Curb Financial Giants May Worry Markets Even More
Southern Shift News
Effort To Curb Financial Giants May Worry Markets Even More
Southern Shift News
DDT: The Silent Killer…Only When It Was Gone
Southern Shift News
DDT: The Silent Killer…Only When It Was Gone
News Release
Government Watchdog Finds Credit Card Price Controls Hurt Consumers
Today, the Government Accountability Office released its widely anticipated report on interchange fees—the fees that retailers pay to credit and debit card issuers for processing…
Blog
Reps. Maloney and Adler push true bipartisan stimulus — Sarbanes-Oxley relief
After months of talk about solutions that would rev up job growth and the economy, today the House Financial Service Committee may finally adopt a…
Southern Shift News
“Gifted Hands” Surgeon Rips into Obamacare
As the Senate Finance Committee completed its work on a bill that would greatly expand the government’s role in health care – requiring nearly…
News Release
Unemployment Report, Real Solutions
Today's unemployment report showed the U.S. jobless rate reaching 9.8 percent, the highest since 1983. And although unemployment is referred to as a "lagging indicator"…
Southern Shift News
Don’t Let 7-11 Give Card Users a “Big Gulp” of Big Govt
If Congress acts on 7-Eleven's misleading petition to put price controls on interchange fees, consumers will pay the price through the reduction of credit card…
Southern Shift News
Retailers Shortchange Customers in Credit-Card Fee Fight
Today, 7-Eleven Inc. and other big retail chains will hit Capitol Hill to offer Congress members and their staffs a supersize serving of hypocrisy.
Southern Shift News
Retailers Shortchange Customers in Credit-Card Fee Fight
7- Eleven and other retailers, who rightly complain about costly government mandates in health care and other areas, are hitting Capitol Hill…
Blog
7-Eleven serves up Big Gulp of Big Government to credit card consumers
Tomorrow, 7-Eleven Inc. and other big retail chains will hit Capitol Hill to offer Congress members and their staffs a supersize serving of hypocrisy. Retailers,…
News Release
Don’t Let 7-Eleven Give Card Holders a “Big Gulp” of Big Government
On Wednesday, 7-Eleven Inc. and other big retail chains will call on Congress to slap price controls on the interchange fees they pay to banks…
Washington Times
Solutions: How to Reduce Unemployment
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke recently said the recession is probably over, as third-quarter growth in gross domestic product will likely be positive. But…
Washington Times
Meryl’s Mad Green Meanderings about Julia
In the new movie "Julie & Julia," Meryl Streep does well portraying the late Julia Child, but one can say Streep also benefits from…
Blog
Obama scolds Wall Street, but targets Main Street with regs
One year after the Wall Street meltdown, President Obama…
News Release
Berlau in New York Times on Overdraft Fees from Debit Cards – with Misleading Headline
John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was a guest contributor this week to the New York…
Washington Times
Meryl Streep’s Attack on Julia Child Ironic, Ungrateful
In the new movie “Julie & Julia,” Meryl Streep does well portraying the late Julia Child, but one can say Streep also benefits from…
Blog
Meryl trash talks Julia on pesticides and fat
In the new movie “Julie & Julia,” Meryl Streep does well portraying the late Julia Child, but one can say Streep also benefits from her subject. …
Washington Times
The BofA Bonus Show
Salon.com
Ted Kennedy… the Deregulator?
Salon.com
Kennedy’s Lasting Gift to America: Airline Deregulation
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
Blog
Ted Kennedy’s Deregulatory Legacy on Airlines and Trucking
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
News Release
Kennedy Left Deregulation Legacy on Airlines and Trucking
Salon.com
Don’t Ban but Expand Them
In proposing his new financial regulations this summer, President Obama pledged to get tough on the big Wall Street banks whose risky practices are…
Blog
UBS Deal Only a Partial Victory for the Feds
Today, after a long and protracted battle between the U.S. and Swiss government, Swiss bank UBS AG agreed to turn over the names of at…
Salon.com
U.S. Swiss Bank Deal a Partial Victory for Financial Privacy
After a long and protracted battle between the United States and Swiss governments, Swiss bank UBS AG has agreed to turn over 4,000 names…
News Release
UBS Settlement Only a Partial Victory for the Feds
The following is the statement of John Berlau, Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, in reaction to…