CEI Information Lunch: De-Weaponizing Financial Regulation

Financial regulation in the United States, intended to protect our bank accounts and investments from fraud and theft, has become an institution of social control exercised by politicians, bureaucrats, and ideologically driven activists.

A political agenda that could never pass a fair vote in Congress is seeping into our economic institutions and our daily lives through backdoor regulation. The federal government has now decided that before you can have a bank account, run a public company, or apply for government contracts, you will have to pass a leftist litmus test that determines whether you are progressive enough.

Joe Biden’s White House, Gary Gensler’s Securities and Exchange Commission, and even Elizabeth Warren’s “anti-crypto army” have all deemed financial transactions to be for a privileged class, not ordinary Americans.

Join us for a CEI conference lunch where we will discuss these threats and propose defense strategies.

Join us for a luncheon on Capitol Hill on the weaponization of financial regulation with CEI senior fellow Richard Morrison, Cato Institute policy analyst Nicholas Anthony, and Satoshi Action Fund policy director Eric Peterson.

When: 12:00–13:00, Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Where: 2360 Rayburn House Office Building — Main meeting room of the House Small Business Committee.

Guests will be served a Chick-fil-A lunch. Space is limited. RSVP now to secure your spot.

In light of the principles of congress ethics, this is a well-attended event.

Nicholas Anthony is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and a fellow at the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Anthony’s research covers a wide range of topics in monetary and financial economics, including central bank digital currency (CBDC), financial privacy, cryptocurrency, and the use of money in society. Anthony is the author of Digital Currency or Digital Control? Decoding CBDC and the Future of Money and his works have been published in “Wall Street Journal”, Market watch, Business informationand many other sources. Anthony has testified before Congress and runs the HRF CBDC Tracker, which documents CBDC developments and civil liberties concerns around the world. Originally from Baltimore, Anthony earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Towson University and a master’s degree in economics from George Mason University.

Richard Morrison is a senior research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where his work focuses on the relationship between economic and political freedom. He is widely cited for his research on corporate governance and financial regulation, particularly environmental, social and governance (ESG) theory. He is also the host of Free the economy podcast. He was previously a senior editor at CEI and managing editor of the OpenMarket blog. He also served as a program manager at CEI’s Center for the Advancement of Capitalism, where he coordinated outreach to the business community, universities, and other key allies. Before rejoining CEI in 2014, he was communications manager at the Tax Foundation, where he also hosted and produced the weekly Tax Policy Podcast. He previously served as director of media relations and new media at CEI from 1999 to 2010, during which time he hosted the Liberty Week podcast. He holds a bachelor of arts in public administration from Claremont McKenna College.

Eric Peterson is the Policy Director at Satoshi Action Fund, a nonprofit organization that educates and advocates for digital assets like Bitcoin. Their work has led to the signing of multiple state-level bills on the subject. Prior to working at Satoshi Action, Eric worked at both the Pelican Institute in Louisiana and Americans for Prosperity.