Featured Posts
Citation
Newsom Looks To Extend Carbon Cap Policy, Fund Rail Boondoggle As Possible Gas Crisis Looms
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on gas prices “California refining capacity is dying, it is dwindling,” Marlo Lewis Jr., a senior fellow at the Competitive…
PYMNTS
Bankers Tell Congress Regulation Hinders M&A and ‘De Novo’ Formation
PYMNTS cited CEI’s expert on bank mergers and de novo banks “In every business sector, new entrants are essential to the functioning of a competitive,…
Blog
Under Biden or Trump, taxing carried interest is stupid and destructive policy
No matter who’s in charge of the presidency or Congress, flawed proposals to close the so-called carried interest loophole just keep coming back. News outlets…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
Value Destroyers Like Bernanke Fancy Themselves Magician Economists
Economics is not magic. Yet today, many prominent economists insist on pulling off an economic rabbit hat trick when they propose getting something for nothing.
News Release
Eurocrats Delay “Basel III” Albatross on U.S. Banks
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8, 2013 – Over the weekend, a committee of international regulators and central bankers decided to slightly revise and delay the…
News Release
TAG Bank Bailout Fails in Senate, Taxpayers Win
Washington, D.C. – December 13, 2012 – On behalf of taxpayers and future generations burdened by the nation’s debt, the Competitive Enterprise Institute rejoices at…
Letters
Free-Market Coalition Letter Against TAG’s Unlimited Deposit Insurance
As the Senate prepares today to vote on extending unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bank accounts, 14 leaders and scholars of conservative and free-market groups signed a…
News Release
Coalition Tags TAG Bailout as Regressive and Economically Disastrous
Washington, DC, December 10, 2012 – As the Senate prepares today to vote on extending unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bank accounts, 14 leaders and scholars…
Appeal Democrat
Taking money off the table
The range of higher taxes looming Jan. 1 as part of the "fiscal cliff" are not the only blow the economy could suffer, John Berlau…
Legal Brief
Dodd Frank Challenge – Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
Full Document Available in PDF This lawsuit cobbles together an array of disparate challenges to the constitutionality of three titles of an…
Daily Caller
‘Basel cliff’ looms for community banks
As if the “fiscal cliff” were not enough, banks of all sizes — and in turn the consumers and businesses that rely on their credit…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Unintended Consequences of Basel III
Full Document Available in PDF The undersigned organizations, institutions and nonprofits interested in fostering entrepreneurship represent hundreds of thousands businesses, small and…
Letters
Letter Opposing Misnamed ‘Taxpayer Protection Act’: Another Beach House Bailout
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the millions of citizens represented by the undersigned groups, we write in strong opposition…
News Release
Durbin Bank Fees: An Unhappy One-Year Anniversary
Washington, D.C., October 2, 2012 – One year ago this month, the Durbin Amendment debit card price controls from the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law went…
Legal Brief
Dodd-Frank Challenge – Amended Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF…
News Release
Three States Join Constitutional Challenge to Dodd-Frank
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2012 – The states of Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Michigan today joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Wall…
National Review
Sandy Weill’s About-Face on Glass-Steagall
Isn’t it something how a former Wall Street baron named as one of Time magazine’s “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis” suddenly becomes…
News Release
CEI Fellow Testifies On Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank “Unhappy” Anniversaries
Washington, D.C., July 27, 2012 – As two purported financial “reform” laws mark their anniversaries this July, CEI’s John Berlau testified two times this week…
Comment
Testimony on The 10th Anniversary of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act
John Berlau testifies July 26, 2012 before a House Financial Services subcommittee on the topic of the 10th anniversary of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Comment
Testimony on Examining Consumer Credit Access Concerns, New Products and Federal Regulations
CEI’s John Berlau testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Berlau explains why reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers will increase competition for…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Price Controls Put Barriers to Jobs, Economic Growth
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2012 – Today’s weaker-than expected jobs numbers highlight the role overregulation plays in hampering job growth. As the Dodd-Frank law, which…
Study
Government Barriers to Georgia’s Growth
Full Document Available in PDF Few states have been hit as hard by the financial…
Legal Brief
State National Bank of Big Spring et al. v. Geithner et al.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association join the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, in their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Unconstitutional Power-Grab, Says New Lawsuit
Full Document Available in PDF WASHINGTON, D.C., June 21, 2012 – The State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, today filed a lawsuit asking…
Daily Caller
The IRS’s Trojan Horse
It may be another 10 months before Tax Day rears its ugly head again, but that doesn’t mean that the American people should take their…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Consumer Debit Card Protection Act
Full Document Available in PDF To the Members of the United States Congress: You may have seen some recent reports, including in…
Daily Caller
Federal Regulations Should Draw as Much Scrutiny as Facebook IPO
Facebook’s fall following its much-hyped initial public offering has politicians scrambling for “solutions.” But were it not for politicians’ meddling, Facebook’s and other recent IPOs…
Daily Caller
Facebook Shows Need For Smaller IPOs
When I wrote my blog here last Friday on the day of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO), I praised the firm’s innovations but injected a…
Daily Caller
Overregulation Shackles Next Facebook
Today, Facebook finally goes public with a market capitalization of $104 billion. Its initial public offering (IPO) is the capstone of its amazing ascent that…
News Release
Groups Call on Senate to Lift Regulations Stifling Credit Unions, Entrepreneurs
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2012 – Leaders of 14 conservative, libertarian, and free-market groups are calling on the U.S. Senate to lift regulations keeping the…
Letters
Coalition Letter on the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act
Full Document Available in PDF As conservative, libertarian, and free-market organizations concerned about government regulatory overreach, we’re writing to you to urge…
News Release
Occupy Protest of Wells Fargo is An Attack on Shareholders, Middle Class Investors
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2012— John Berlau, Senior Fellow for finance and access to capital at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, issued the following statement on…
News Release
JOBS Act Will Create Jobs, Wealth, and Investor Freedom
Washington, D.C., March 21, 2012 – On Thursday, the Senate is expected to pass the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. John Berlau, Senior…
News Release
Critics Fail “Maxine Waters Test of Political Moderation”
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2012 – As the Senate takes up the JOBS Act this week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s John Berlau urges Senators…
Daily Caller
New IRS Rule Benefits Only Foreign Dictators
Since when is it the U.S. government’s job to report on the financial activities of foreign nationals to their home governments? It is now. The…
News Release
JOBS Act Would Create More than 10 Million Jobs
Washington, DC, March 8, 2012 – At last, there is a “jobs act” that lives up to its name, notes John Berlau, senior fellow…
Daily Caller
Consumers Shouldn’t Bank on Savings From Debit Card Price Controls
Coauthored by Kelly McCutchen, President and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation The news that Bank of America is again testing new…
Legal Brief
Bulldog Investors v. Massachusetts
Full Document Available in PDF Under the regulation at issue here, journalists, academics, students and others who are not wealthy or financially…
News Release
Free Speech for the 99% on Trial in Bulldog Investors v. Massachusetts
Washington, DC, March 5, 2012 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed an amicus brief in support of hedge fund Bulldog Investors and free speech…
News Release
Payday Loans Myths Punctured in New Report
Washington, D.C., February 6, 2012—So-called “payday loans” and other forms of non-bank , short-term credit are roundly vilified by many politicians and activists, including the…
Study
The 400 Percent Loan, the $36,000 Hotel Room, and the Unicorn
Is a $16 surcharge on a $100 product unfair, unjust, and “predatory”? Hardly anyone flinches, for instance, at a $16 “resort fee” on a $100…
Daily Caller
Letter to the Editor: Dodd-Frank Shields Fannie and Freddie
G. William Beale noted in his Commentary column, “Big regulations stifle small banks,” that small banks are being crushed by pointless red tape due to…
Daily Caller
Where’s the Money to Save the Euro Coming From? Not Us!
Markets rallied last week on news of central bank intervention to ease indebted European governments’ liquidity problems, but the central problem remains. Europe is in…
Daily Caller
Why Finra Needs To Charm The Supreme Court
Daily Caller
Spending More Has Never Worked!
Daily Caller
Enron Bankruptcy 10 Years Later: Before Bailouts Were Big
Daily Caller
GOP Hopefuls, Administration on Same Page
Daily Caller
What the Super Committee Could Have Learned From Italy
One of Thomas Jefferson’s rules for living was, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” As an American and as a “cittadino”…
Daily Caller
Obamateurism of the Day
Daily Caller
What’s Trickling Down Are Lies
Daily Caller
Bank Debit-Card Fees Under U.S. Justice Department Review
Daily Caller
The Price We Pay For Investment Apartheid
The federal government protects two different classes of investors very differently against losses they might incur as a result of making poor investment choices. Both…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing $730,000 Conforming Loan Limits: Fannie-Freddie Subsidies for McMansions
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has signed a coalition letter with other individuals and public policy organizations opposing the expansion of government-backed mortgages for wealthy home-buyers.
Daily Caller
Will Western Civilization Rediscover The Moral Foundations Of Sound Money?
What is money, and from where does it draw its value? This is a question Greece is facing as its people stare into the abyss.
Washington Post
A Stake in Financial Markets
Capital standards are critical to the stability of any financial system. However, whether such standards are better achieved by markets rather than political entities…
Washington Post
Making It Legal to Tweet For Investors
‘Tweet for Jobs.” So says a section of Barack Obama’s campaign website encouraging the public to use social networks to lobby Congress for passage of…
Washington Post
‘Unforeseen Consequences’ of Changing Banks
Washington Post
Small Banks, Credit Unions Capitalize on Big Bank Fumbling
Washington Post
Get a Job!
Repeal Financial Regs Repeal portions of the Bush-era Sarbanes-Oxley Act to make it easier for smaller companies to raise capital by going public,…
Daily Caller
Regulation Is This Halloween’s Goblin
American entrepreneurs and small business owners have good reason to be scared this Halloween. According to a new Gallup poll, small business owners consider…
RealClear Markets
Yes, Regulation Does Keep Unemployment High
When regulations make hiring employees more expensive, companies won't hire as many of them. It's a simple truth. But it is an inconvenient one…
RealClear Markets
Letter to the Editor: Hoover Didn’t Show Any Fiscal Restraint
Re: “Amendment would cripple government, devastate Americans,” Oct. 23 commentary: Where did Andy Schmookler get the strange idea that former President Herbert Hoover practiced…
Letters
Coalition Letter on Sarbanes-Oxley
Full Document Available in PDF Now that the Senate has defeated the so-called American Jobs Bill, which…
RealClear Markets
2012 Candidates Target Costly Enron-Era Law Aimed at Thwarting Accounting Fraud
The Volokh Conspiracy
CEI “Durbin Dollars”
The Volokh Conspiracy
What About Fannie Mae Millionaires?
‘They are . . . not interested in asking millionaires and billionaires to pay a half a penny on the dollar for the sake of…
The Volokh Conspiracy
Long Live the Limited Liability Corporation
What does it mean when angry mobs take to the streets not to protest against the specific corporations and politicians that teamed up to loot…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Bright Light of the Week: CEI’s ‘Durbin Dollar’
News Release
$5 “Durbin Dollars” Protest Price Controls That Killed Free Checking, Debit Cards
Washington, DC, October 14, 2011 – In response to the spate of new “Durbin Fees” hitting the debit cards and checking accounts of so many…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Hoover Never Practised Austerity
Re: Harper denies focusing on austerity, Sept. 28. Wherever did some Canadian economists get the strange idea that U.S. President Herbert Hoover “helped plunge…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Why Your Bank Is Charging More Fees
There are many observations that can be made about President Obama’s remark Monday to ABC News that businesses “don’t have some inherent right just…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Hoover Spent Big
Wherever did some Canadian economists get the strange idea that U.S. president Herbert Hoover “helped plunge his country into the Great Depression through austerity measures”…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Dodd Frank and the End of Free Checking
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Austerity Hardly To Blame
Re: “Harper rejects warnings austerity will spark recession,” The Journal, Sept. 28. Former U.S. president Herbert Hoover did not practice austerity, so it is…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Farewell Free Checking?
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Capital Gains Tax Far Too High
Warren Buffett was wrong to suggest that capital gains taxes are too low (“Calling Buffett’s bluff,” Comment & Analysis, Monday). They are actually much too…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Today’s Red Tape Would Have Killed Home Depot’s IPO
Your editorial “The Anti-Solyndras” (Sept. 22) is right on target in detailing the devastating impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on job and…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Debit Durbin
Read the headlines — and your bank statement — and weep, but don’t say TAS didn’t warn you. As I detailed here in February…
News Release
Free Checking’s Demise: Blame Big Retailers and Big Government
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2011—“Free checking is going the way of the free checked bag,” declared USA Today this week. And for more than…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
White House Wants Bailout Tax
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
D.C. Summit Focuses on Consumer Credit
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on Conflict Minerals Rules of Dodd-Frank
The Competitive Enterprise has submitted comments regarding the implementation of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which attempts to…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Public Symposium on Capitol Hill Focuses on Acute Credit Needs
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Public Symposium On Capitol Hill Focuses On Acute Credit Needs
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Obama the Greek
Greece is in economic meltdown. Its economy has become so biased towards the public sector that it is now literally unsustainable. It cannot afford to…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Putting the Jobs Cart Before the Growth Horse
Among the colossal fallacies that keep our economy mired in unemployment, few loom as large as the notion that “creating” jobs leads to growth and…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Is Obama Ready to Drop Sarbanes?
In U.S. President Barack Obama’s 33-minute speech to Congress on job creation, one sentence was worth nearly all the rest of his 4,000 words. In…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Will Obama and Congress Slay the Sarbox Job-Killing Monster?
In President Obama’s 33-minute-long speech to Congress on job creation, one sentence was worth nearly all the rest of his 4,000 words. In the…
News Release
CEI Praises Obama’s Review of Sarbanes-Oxley Overregulation
Washington, D.C., September 14, 2011—Hours before President Obama’s address to Congress last week, scholars from the Competitive Enterprise Institute presented a “Ten-Point Plan…
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Did Feminist Groups Derail the Stimulus Bill?
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
A Plan Better than Obama’s to Create Jobs
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Obama Administration Planning to Freeze Foreclosures
http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Washington Examiner 10-16-2011.jpg
Obama’s Costly, Unaffordable, Harmful New Stimulus: The “American Jobs Act”
National Review
What the President Should Say Tonight
National Review
Obama’s Jobs Agenda: An Infrastructure Bank that Robs You
I stopped by our bank Friday to get something notorized, and, damn, they were all out of free Jolly Ranchers. For a moment, I’d forgotten…
National Review
Justice’s New War Against Lenders
National Review
Letter Writer Wrong About Hoover’s Tactics
A recent letter writer erred in claiming that Herbert Hoover cut taxes and government spending in the Great Depression (“O’Reilly Missed Lesson on Great Depression,”…
National Review
Hoover’s Budget Wasn’t Balanced
David Elbert made the dubious claim that President Herbert Hoover “was a firm believer in balanced budgets” (“Obama’s Situation Looking a Bit Like Hoover’s,”…
National Review
S&P’s Regulatory Politics
Within 24 hours, the Obama administration went from attacking Standard & Poor’s first-ever downgrade of U.S. debt to almost embracing it. On the Friday night…
News Release
Court Strikes Down Dodd-Frank Proxy Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute hails today’s decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals striking down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proxy…
National Review
One Year Later: Frank-Dodd “Reform” Leaves Fannie and Freddie Intact
National Review
Let’s Not Repeat Mortgage Mistakes
You write that the Obama administration decided last year to let “the market sort things out” regarding America’s housing woes in lieu of government intervention.
Washington Times
Employers Doubt Obama’s Vow of Less Red Tape
The Washington Times references Wayne Crews's study on the size of the federal regulatory burden. Mr. Kovacs noted that the Government Accountability Office…