Every 2,400 page bill that comes from this administration has cute little surprises tucked into them. The Financial Reform Act is no exception.
The SEC no longer has to provide any information that was previously required by the Freedom of Information Act. Remember the big campaign promises about more transparency? Forget that. Remember the trumpeting about the Act itself that it would look after the little guy? Forget that.
Do you recall any public disclosure about this part of the Act while it was being debated? Any media exposure of this new SEC immunity from disclosing anything to anyone? What will happen to this part of the act now?
There will be a hue and cry that it hurts the little guy. The Democrats who stuck it in there will come up with lame excuses regarding the reasons why it was stuck in there. But, it will stay in there. Stay in there until January of 2011 when a Republican Congress takes it out.
What does the SEC have to hide? Let’s see there was that little Bernie Madoff problem. Using the Freedom of Information Act, some media got information that showed Madoff had a tight relationship with certain people in the SEC. The same with Bear Stearns, the same with Lehman Bros. Very embarrassing to the SEC. If the SEC is investigating someone, wouldn’t you as an investor want to know about that?
Can you name one reason why this is in your benefit to have the SEC be able to hide anything they choose to hide that no other facet of government is allowed to hide? Come up with one and I’ll listen.
In my judgment, this was done by the SEC with the help of a Democratic Congress to allow the SEC to bury embarrassments that might happen despite the very expensive Financial Reform Act.
So, if the Act fails, the failures can be hidden. I find this disgusting at best and downright illegal at worst.
