Congress Should Look in the Mirror Before Attacking the SEC

It's far too easy to blame the SEC for the Bernie Madoff fiasco- or anything else. In fact, it's way too convenient. And, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) yesterday blaming the SEC for undermining the confidence Americans have in the financial markets is outrageous.

Mr. Ackerman, how dare you.

It is the SEC's job to investigate and enforce- yet they do so under, and within, the laws and regulations set forth by Congress. Period.

It is Congress that created FASB 157 "mark-to-market" accounting, which is primarily responsible for crashing the markets- and which led to the Republicans getting crushed in the elections. (And this is an entirely other sordid matter, which I call 'FASB-gate'. Republicans are you listening?)

It is Congress that still does not insist on re-instating the "up-tick" rule - a rule that would not enable short-sellers to easily conduct bear raids on stocks and pound their stock prices into the pavement. This was also an important part of the market crash. In fact, it would even be a better idea to disallow shorting on the bid. And, with great foresight, the SEC has already published my idea on their website. It's been up there for almost 10 weeks. Have you Congressional lawmakers even seen it?

It is Congress that has allowed generations of Wall Street executives and lobbyists to operate, unchecked, within a culture of greed and arrogance - arrogance that allowed the monolithic investment firms to gamble with the taxpayers' money and lose billions due to incompetent trading and reckless investment decisions- only to then have these same firms come running back to the same taxpayers to be bailed out- and using their insider proxies on the Hill to do so.

It is Congress that, to this day, has never provided the SEC with sufficient funding and manpower to be able to effectively investigate and enforce the markets.

It is Congress that set up the rules for the mortgage market- and let their own mortgage children, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), wield havoc within the mortgage industry right under their noses.

It is Congress that let hedge funds run wild, manipulating every market on the planet. And continue to do so.

It is Congress that failed to regulate the un-Godly dark world of the derivatives market.

It is Congress that seems to only tackle any or all of the above once it becomes politically-correct to placate their tax-paying constituents- and only seems to even begin making a legitimate attempt at it- if there is a "TV-op" attached in the process.

And, it is Congress which loves to grand-stand on national television before taxpayers and levy blame on everyone but themselves for what is wrong.

I feel sorry for the SEC. All these years, they have done the best they can with what they've had to work with. They've been strangled all the way.

Just once I'd love to see Congressional representatives sitting where the SEC was sitting today and grilled repeatedly for all of the incompetent 'ambulance-chasing'-style law-making they have effected- and continue to do.

This great country is great despite Congress. And can be greater, if just once, Congress could act before a crisis occurs- and not only after a crisis occurs.

Congress: instead of pointing fingers at everyone else- investigate and enforce yourselves.

The taxpayers demand it.

Comments

[Chuch:]

congress doesnt know what theyre doing. we're going to lose all of our top people to foreign competition, see here crashmarketstocks.com

Feb 05 01:49 PM

[semperpax:]

Congress ought to be prosecuted under the Rico statute.

Feb 05 01:54 PM

[bricki:]

You didn't take it far enough.

The American electorate should look in the mirror before attacking Congress.

Feb 05 02:05 PM

[Steven Hansen:]

Whenever you watch congressional hearings, think of the McCarthy hearings of 1954. You then can detach yourself from the damage these imbeciles are doing to our lives. 99% of the time, they really do not understand what they are doing. it is sad.

and bricki - you are dead right. we generally re-elect those fools over and over. we would be far better off if we changed them out every election.

Feb 06 01:33 AM

[gtmcduffy@g...:]

You raise a salient point. I once wrote a thesis called- "What If They Gave An Election And Nobody Came" -which discusses, in depth, the things relating to what you are suggesting. Suffice to say- both you and I have looked into the mirror. Haven't we...

On Feb 05 02:05 PM bricki wrote:

> You didn't take it far enough.
>
> The American electorate should look in the mirror before attacking
> Congress.
>

Feb 06 04:47 AM

[Tim Miles:]

A suggestion: President Obama should declare a state of emergency, tell Congress that it has four years off for vacation and "study tours", and provide stimulus funding and enact legislation himself. I am sure that this is not likely to happen under our form of government, but these are my thoughts and perhaps those of many others who realize that America is in crisis and does not need another 8 years of Republican political theater.

Feb 06 08:30 AM

[Tim Miles:]

I forgot to add that President Obama ought to mandate that USG regulatory can do their jobs now rather than requiring them to find ways around regulations or to minimize their impact on business as the Bush Administration did.

Feb 06 08:35 AM

[BerkeleyBob:]

Pogo once said: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Congress has plenty to answer for. Mark to market did not "cause" the collapse in the financials or housing sector. Failure to regulate did as did the failure to hold the rating agencies which colluded with the investment banks to market phony loan packages. The executive branch (ie, the President and his appointees) also have plenty to answer for. Is anyone really satisfied with the performance of Christopher Cox at the SEC? If Congress is unresponsive and irresponsible, doesn't that have some relationship to the smelly relationship between campaign donations and the staggering cost of elections?

Feb 06 01:16 PM

[henarl:]

Pot - Kettle. Both black.

Feb 06 01:43 PM

[ain't no fo...:]

I'm almost speechless that anyone without their head stuck up their butt would have the nerve to defend those arrogant fools at the SEC... its just incredible.

Feb 06 02:31 PM

[aware:]

This is not a country that acts,it only reacts thats a big problem.

Feb 06 03:16 PM

[Tim Miles:]

Not sure I tried to defend the SEC. I was explaining why some people in the regulatory agencies did not or could not do their jobs during the Bush Administration. Just talk to employees at EPA who fought their political appointees over environmental regs.

Feb 13 10:27 AM

[Madoff cont...:]

Bernard Madoff contributed to Ackerman's election campaigns in 1994 and 1996, right around the time Ackerman voted to make it more difficult to enforce securities fraud laws. It's laughable that Ackerman now pounds on the table about Madoff and the SEC.

Feb 23 07:28 PM