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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…
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News Release
Obama’s Glass-Steagall 2.0 Could Crash Financial System
President Obama’s proposal today to bring back 1930s-like separation of commercial and investment banks, dubbed Glass-Steagall II or Glass-Steagall 2.0, would do little to prevent…
News Release
Report Card for the Obama Administration
One year ago today, Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States. Since then, he and his appointees have had…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, the War on Salt and Beach House Insurance
The Federal Communications Commission receives thousands of comments on its proposed “net neutrality” regulations. New York City public health officials launch a campaign to reduce…
Op-Eds
The Bank Tax and the Bay State
As the race for the late Ted Kennedy’s seat goes into the home stretch, financial-services policy has suddenly emerged as a top issue in…
Op-Eds
SarBox Might be Coming to an End
Prospects for substantial relief from or repeal of one of the most burdensome corporate regulations in recent memory have suddenly grown in Congress and…
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…
Newsletter
CIA Climate Data, Fannie and Freddie Absent and Health Insurance and Antitrust
The Central Intelligence Agency shares classified satellite data with climate researchers. Executives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are conspicuously absent from the first hearing…
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…
Op-Eds
More Enron-Like Behavior by Obama Administration
Earlier, The Washington Post reported on how the Obama administration pressured Freddie Mac not to disclose to investors and the SEC the $30 billion…
Citation
Reforms Bode Ill for Tax-Free Health Accounts
Op-Eds
Change We Can Really Believe In
Over the last century, America has lurched down a path toward statism. And Presidents Bush and Obama accelerated the expansion of government power by…
Op-Eds
Stimulus Package Forces States to Raise Taxes
The federal government’s $800 billion stimulus package, which failed to cut unemployment, is now forcing states and local governments to raise taxes.
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: November – December 2009
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the November-December 2009 issue: …
Newsletter
China in Copenhagen, Cash for Fannie and Freddie and the Pandemic that Wasn’t There
Officials debate the role of China as a “spoiler” in recent UN climate change negotiations. The Treasury Department announces the availability of “an unlimited amount…
Newsletter
Immigration, Smoking Bans and Sarbanes-Oxley
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduces comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The Colorado Supreme Court upholds a ban on smoking in stage performances. The battle over the…
Newsletter
Wall Street Meets the White House, EPA Rules on Greenhouse Gases and Health Care Divided
President Obama hosts a White House summit with Wall Street banking leaders The Environmental Protection Agency publishes its final rule designating greenhouse gases as a…
Newsletter
Re-importing Drugs, TARP for Small Business and Palin on ClimateGate
The Senate health care debate stalls on the question of whether to permit the re-importation of drugs from countries with price controls. President Obama announces…
Op-Eds
Did Deregulation Cause the Great Recession?
In a December 3 article in Politico ("J-O-Bs should come before GDP"), Rep. Phil Hare argues that "reckless deregulation" is one of the causes…
Public Radio
Did Deregulation Cause the Recession?
Newsletter
Sarbanes-Oxley in Court, Swine Flu Peaks and Trade Deficits in Perspective
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments challenging the legitimacy of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accounting law. Swine flu infections have peaked and are declining, according to…
Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Case Against Sarbanes-Oxley
Overlawyered
FDA Raw Oyster Ban
Newsletter
Credit Card Fees, Immigration Reform and Heading off an EPA Power Grab
The U.S. looks to Australia’s experience with regulating credit cards fees. Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs softens his longtime anti-immigration stance. Environmental groups petition the…
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
Supreme Court Set to Review Scope of Peek-a-boo Power
The Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Set to Review Scope of Peek-a-boo Power
News Release
Supreme Court To Hear Pivotal Sarbanes-Oxley Case Monday, Dec.7
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2009—On Monday, December 7th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a…
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
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…
Newsletter
Senate Health Care, Rising Deficits and Food Safety on Thanksgiving
The Senate advances prepares for a floor debate on health care legislation after Thanksgiving. The rising federal budget deficit and national debt raise concerns about…
Southern Shift News
Effort To Curb Financial Giants May Worry Markets Even More
Newsletter
FDA’s Tobacco Powers, Credit Card Fees and Cult-like Union Behavior
Anti-tobacco activists observe the “Great American Smokeout.” The Government Accountability Office finds that controlling credit card processing fees could hurt consumers. Union officials are accused…
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…
Newsletter
Bailout Transparency, Climate Politics and Mortgage Foreclosures
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduces a bill to make public details of the bank bailout. Critics accuse President Obama of failing the world on climate change.
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Sarbanes-Oxley and Anti-Cat Regulations
Senate Democrats win committee approval of a “cap-and-trade” bill to reduce U.S. greenhouse gases over the objection of Republicans. The House Financial Services Committee voted…
News Release
U.S. Chamber Caves to Special Interests on Energy-Rationing Legislation
Washington, DC, November 4, 2009—The Competitive Enterprise Institute responded today to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s announcement that it will now support energy-rationing legislation by…
News Release
CEI Praises Obama and House Members For Pushing Sarbanes-Oxley Small Business Exemption
CEI Praises Obama and House Members For Pushing Sarbanes-Oxley Small Business Exemption Statement of John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs…
Southern Shift News
1 Year Later-Obama’s Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises.
Newsletter
Pay Cuts for Wall Street, Required Window Glazing and the New Public Option
The White House “pay czar” plans to cut paychecks for top bank executives by 50%. Environmental regulators in California move to require all cars sold…
Newsletter
Web Giants Battle over Networks, Obama on Climate and New Financial Regulations
Google and AT&T battle over web rules. President Obama won’t talk climate change at UN negotiations in Copenhagen. The House Financial Services Committee votes to…
Newsletter
Health Care Competition, Financial Regulations in Court and Net Neutrality
The House Judiciary Committee votes to strip antitrust protections from health insurance companies who share risk information. Prominent officials and scholars endorse CEI’s Supreme Court…
News Release
Prominent Officials, Scholars Endorse CEI’s Supreme Court Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Board
Prominent Officials, Scholars Endorse CEI’s Supreme Court Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley Accounting Board CEI Case Gains Bipartisan Support from Attorneys General, Former…
Newsletter
Health Care, Climate Change and Nobel Economics
The Senate Finance Committee approves major new health care legislation. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) write an op-ed for the New York…
Newsletter
Climate Negotiations, Senate Health Care and the Nobel Prize
Climate negotiators attempt to reach an agreement ahead of UN-sponsored talks in December. The Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on health…
Newsletter
Retail Prices, Utility Politics and Swine Flu
The Maryland legislature bans manufacturers from setting minimum retail prices for their products. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist plays hardball with the state’s public utilities. Doctors…
Newsletter
A Swine Flu Vaccine, Rising Unemployment and Limits on Executive Pay
The federal government launches a swine flu vaccine campaign. Alan Greenspan predicts increased economic growth, but also rising unemployment. The White House moves to limit…
Newsletter
Questionable Stimulus, EPA on CO2 and Underfunded Union Pensions
Experts question the economic wisdom of government stimulus spending. Critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions point out the cost…
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"…
Newsletter
Credit Card Fees, Nike Resigns and EU Chemical Policy
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven lobbies for restrictions on credit card processing fees. Nike resigns from the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest…
Southern Shift News
As Deficit Rises, So Too Does Number of Federal Employees
Thanks to the $800 billion stimulus package, and other huge government spending increases, the number of federal and state employees is projected to increase…
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
Subprime Mortgage Catastrophe
Newsletter
Obama on Wall Street, EPA Backlash and Health Care Roadblocks
President Obama gives a major speech in New York on the future of Wall Street. The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to censor data on global…
News Release
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street
One Year After Wall Street Meltdown, Obama Targets Main Street Statement by John Berlau of CEI Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs Washington, D.C., September…
Newsletter
Intel’s Human Rights, Overdraft Fees and Insurance Deregulation
Intel argues that a recent $1.45 billion fine levied by European antitrust regulators amounts to a violation of the firm’s “human rights.” Banking industry critics…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: July – August 2009
The July-August 2009 issue of the CEI Planet features coverage of CEI’s 25th Anniversary Gala, and articles on federal catastrophe insurance and TARP transparency.
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…
Newsletter
Labor Lobbying, India’s Greenhouse Gases and Honduras’ Financial Struggle
Labor unions gear up to lobby for the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act,” which could impose binding federal arbitration in union disputes. India’s emissions of…
Newsletter
A Doctor Shortage, Cap and Trade in the Senate and TARP Transparency
The American Medical Association lobbies Congress to restrict the number of new doctors in the U.S. Senate sponsors of “cap and trade” global warming legislation…
Letters
Let Credit Unions Lend to Small Businesses
Full Letter Available in Word Today’s difficult economic situation stems, in large part, from a shortage of credit. Banks, thrifts and other…
Newsletter
Wireless Probe, Nanotechnology Funding and Ted Kennedy, RIP
The Federal Communications Commission launches a three-part investigation into competition in the wireless industry. The National Science Foundation dispenses new grants for nanotechnology research in…
Washington Times
New Credit Card Law Punished Responsible People
If your credit is good, or your credit card balance is low, you may soon pay more on every credit card bill. Why? Congress…
Washington Times
The Anticipated Consequences of Credit-Card Reform
Washington Times
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…
Newsletter
Swiss bank settlement, Hurricanes, Healthcare debate continues
UBS agrees to turn over to the IRS the names of 4,450 U.S. account holders. …
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…
Newsletter
TARP Transparency, Stimulating Recession and Union Arrogance
Congress cites a lack of financial transparency in a report sharply critical of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout. The economies of Germany and…
Newsletter
Banking Privacy, Media Bias and Sports Betting
Federal officials reach a bank privacy agreement with Swiss bank UBS. The death of news anchor Walter Cronkite sparks debate over the ideal of journalistic…
Washington Times
Lesson From France-Recession Ends Without US-Style Stimulus
Washington Times
Lesson From France-Recession Ends Without US-Style Stimulus
The recession has ended in France, which avoided adopting a massive stimulus package like Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package. France’s conservative President…
News Release
Federal Officials Reach Bank Privacy Agreement with UBS
Statement of John Berlau, director of the Center for Investor and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, on a reported deal between the United States…
CEI Planet
TARP Transparency: A Good Start, but Not Enough
Herbert Allison is President Obama’s newly-confirmed head of the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Stability. On Thursday, June 25, he promised to “emphasize transparency so…
Newsletter
EU Antitrust Rebuke, Record Deficit Numbers and the Costs of Global Warming Policy
European competition regulators get chastised for hiding evidence in a case against Intel. The Congressional Budget Office reports that the federal…
Newsletter
Apple under Investigation, CEO Pay Limits and Hurricane Safety
The Federal Communications Commission investigates Apple and AT&T over the decision to spurn Google Voice on the iPhone. The House of Representatives passes a bill…
News Release
Bonus Pay Bill: CBO Predicts Huge Costs to Private Sector, Broad Swaths of Employees Affected
Bonus Pay Bill: CBO Predicts Huge Costs to Private Sector, Broad Swaths of Employees Affected Statement of John Berlau, Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs Washington,…
News Release
CEI Blasts Rep. Neal’s Reinsurance Tax Bill
A Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank, today blasted Rep. Richard Neal’s (D-MA) introduction of a bill to impose…
Newsletter
Cutting Back on Healthcare, Online Privacy and Front-Running on Wall Street
House Democrats debate how to cut healthcare costs as part of their effort to pass major new legislation. Online advertisers back voluntary industry guidelines for…
Newsletter
Labor Politics, Government Paternalism and Tobacco Profits
Labor unions push to establish “binding arbitration” in contract negotiations. The nomination of law professor Cass Sunstein to oversee new federal regulations moves forward. Cigarette…
Newsletter
Paulson’s Testimony, Ken Burns on National Parks and Obama’s Surgeon General Nominee
Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies before the House Government Reform Committee on his handling of the banking crisis. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns announces his…
CEI Planet
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it can somehow…
Newsletter
Chemical Safety, Global Warming Balance Sheets and Hybrid Smugness
Canadian officials find that the presence of bisphenol A, a chemical used in plastic food containers, poses “no health or safety concerns.” The Securities and…
Newsletter
AIG in Court, Mobile Phone Competition and the Future of Solar Power
A federal jury rules in favor of Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, in a $4.3 billion stock dispute. The Department of Justice considers…
News Release
Hank Greenberg Wins One in Court, Hits Homerun against AIG and Spitzer
Washington, D.C., July 7, 2009—A federal jury today found in favor of ousted AIG Chairman Hank Greenberg today, in a case brought by the company…
Newsletter
Shareholder Rights, EPA Censorship and Honduran Democracy
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduces the “Shareholder Bill of Rights.” The Environmental Protection Agency censors an inconvenient study on global warming by career analyst Alan…
CEI Planet
Sink Schumer’s dangerous ‘Shareholder Bill of Rights’: It’s micromanaging madness
If deceptive labeling of bills in Congress were punishable by government agencies, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Maria…
CEI Planet
Washington Post Sells White House Access to Lobbyists
Until it was publicly-exposed, the Washington Post was selling its access to the White House to lobbyists. As Politico reported, “For $25,000 to $250,000,…
CEI Planet
Ayn Rand at 100: When Will Businessmen Learn Her Lessons About Politicians?
She called businessmen "America’s persecuted minority." And today—as has been the case at least since the start of the Industrial Revolution—many businessmen and -women…
CEI Planet
Media Ignore Negative Aspects of Obama Agenda
Mark Tapscott is right that much of the media are “in the tank for Obama.” That’s why they failed to report on how his stimulus…
CEI Planet
Standing Athwart Nationalization
My organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has frequently been accused of being "in denial" regarding important issues. It’s a charge we most often wear…
CEI Planet
Case of Denial
CEI Planet
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Untouched in Financial Overhaul
The mortgage crisis was caused largely by the reckless government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by federal affordable-housing mandates. But Obama’s…
CEI Planet
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Untouched in Financial Overhaul
The mortgage crisis was caused largely by the reckless government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by federal affordable-housing mandates. But Obama’s…
Newsletter
Burning Rivers, Broadband Price Controls and Beach House Bailouts
Residents of Cleveland observe the 40th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire. Congress considers a bill to regulate the pricing of broadband Internet service.
CEI Planet
Nationalization Review
Given the Obama administration’s rapid takeovers of General Motors and Chrysler, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to conservatives that, in the…
Newsletter
Stimulus Waste, California’s Deficit and Internet Privacy
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) releases a report citing millions of misspent dollars from the federal economic stimulus package. The state of California faces a $24…