"Regulating Business"; By BUSHCO

[Mr. Shaman]

"The SEC's inability to detect Madoff's fraud was a high-profile embarrassment for the agency, which was already under scrutiny for the collapse of investment banks under its watch, helping fuel the financial crisis. SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro, who took over shortly after the Madoff case came to light, has acknowledged that the agency's performance was a failure, saying the SEC needed to improve enforcement and its surveillance of financial markets.

Madoff boasted at a business roundtable discussion about his close relationship with SEC regulators, saying "my niece just married one."

February 26, 2006​

"Considering the SEC's recent track record of not spotting financial fraud happening right under its nose, you'd think the commission's investigators would be focused on far larger issues. But as it turns out, the SEC is just another tool for the Bush administration to batter the media and intimidate the messenger.

After the likes of Enron, Worldcom, Tyco and Adelphia duped investors out of billions of dollars, can anyone actually believe that a fundamental problem in the financial markets is aggressive investigative journalism? Our chief market regulator seems to think so."

 

[TheFranklinParty]

How about a little transparency? You're either filing accurate financials or you're not. if you're not you go to jail. If you are then all is good. If you are part of a regualtory organization and you aren't doing your job you get fired and if you cheat on the job you go to jail. Seems pretty simple to me. This eliminates the political oversight.

 

[TruthAboveAll]

Actually this issue DOES go back to the Clinton administration. AT LEAST as early as 2000 (yes, 2000, before Bush took office) there was a whistle blower, Harry Markopolos, an independent financial fraud investigator. His assessment was that even then the SEC was afraid of Madoff.

Ridiculous, yet another attempt to blame the ineffectiveness of federal bureaucracies on Bush. There are plenty of laws and regulations (ad nauseum) to protect investors and the innocents. And I agree with your assessment TFP. (If I can call you that for short?)