John Berlau

Senior Fellow and Director of Finance Policy

Competitive Enterprise Institute

John Berlau

Senior Fellow and Director of Finance Policy

Competitive Enterprise Institute

John Berlau is a senior fellow and Director of Finance Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. His work focuses on how public policy affects access to capital, entrepreneurship, and investments made by the public and business community alike. In recent years, he has studied the consequences of financial reform efforts passed by Congress like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis including the Dodd-Frank Act, the placement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, and the rise of cryptocurrency.

He is also the author of the book George Washington: Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father’s Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World. The book received rave reviews in the Wall Street Journal and other forums, and was endorsed by eminent historians and scholars such as Richard Brookhiser, Amity Shlaes, and Craig Shirley.

Berlau is a contributing writer for Forbes. His work has been published and cited in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, Politico, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Investor’s Business Daily, National Journal, National Review, American Spectator, Reason Magazine, and more. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, including CNBC’s “The Call,” “Power Lunch” and “Closing Bell,” Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” and Fox Business’ “Cavuto.”

He has testified on the impact of financial regulation before the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A recognized expert on the phenomenon of crowdfunding, Berlau has spoken at prominent conferences such as South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, the FinTech Global Expo in San Diego, the CFGE Crowdfund Banking and Lending Summit in San Francisco and the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) Summit in Washington, D.C. He is also author of the widely cited paper “Declaration of Crowdfunding Independence: Finance of the People, by the People, and for the People.”

Berlau is an award-winning financial and political journalist. He served as Washington correspondent for Investor’s Business Daily and as a staff writer for Insight magazine, published by The Washington Times. In 2002, he received the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism from Washington’s National Press Club. He was a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2003. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994 with degrees in journalism and economics.

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Contributions

How Fifth Circuit Affirmed George Washington’s Vision of Fundamental Justice

John Berlau

June 14, 2022

The recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Jarkesy v. SEC is a victory for limited constitutional government on many levels. As Mario Loyola, professor at Florida International University and senior fellow at my organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), writes in The Wall Street Journal, the court “has taken what could be a historic step toward restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances.”

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Deep Dive Episode 218 – A Discussion on Stablecoins

April 19, 2022

An expert panel explored the rise of stablecoins and debated how regulators ought to approach them.

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A Discussion on Stablecoins

April 19, 2022

An expert panel explored the rise of stablecoins and debated how regulators ought to approach them.

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Deep Dive Episode 185 – SEC v. Ripple Labs: Cryptocurrency and “Regulation by Enforcement”

June 29, 2021

An expert panel discusses SEC v. Ripple Labs, the broader cryptocurrency regulatory landscape, and potential legislative and regulatory reforms.

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Don’t Fear Volatility in Cryptocurrency Prices; Fear Regulations that Will Harm America’s Crypto Lead

John Berlau

May 14, 2021

John Berlau discusses the future of cryptocurrencies and how regulators might approach the nascent industry.

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Deep Dive Episode 159 – Countering the Politicization of Financial Services: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?

January 28, 2021

This live podcast explores the issues surrounding the politicization of financial services, including the OCC rulemaking and other recent initiatives.

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Deep Dive Episode 127 – Should the Fed Create Fedcoin, Digital Dollars, and Fed Accounts?

August 25, 2020

Some say the U.S. Federal Reserve should issue a  “Fedcoin” or “digital dollar.” This live podcast discusses the pros and cons of such a move.

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Deep Dive Episode 69 – SOX Auditor Attestation Requirements

September 30, 2019

Do proposed rule changes from the SEC properly balance the concerns of investor protection and capital formation for smaller businesses? John Berlau, Wes Bricker, and J.W. Verrett discuss, and C. Wallace DeWitt moderates.

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Feds: Gambling Fine, But Investing Too Risky

John Berlau

September 25, 2019

“In the risk reform debate, as in so many political debates, logic is often for losers.” So lamented Competitive Enterprise Institute founder and president emeritus Fred L. Smith, Jr. in 1995, and he has expressed similar sentiments many times since.

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