Exactly 10 years ago today, the Enron Corporation filed for bankruptcy after it was revealed that it had blatantly falsified its earnings statements for many years. Although most of the accounting irregularities that caused its collapse were already illegal, Congress overreacted and passed Sarbanes–Oxley, a massive and deeply flawed accounting reform law. A decade later, it is time for cooler heads to prevail, and to consider repealing Section 404. This onerous provision is supposed to ensure that the financial reports of publicly traded corporations meet certain standards, but in reality …
In his weekly radio and Internet address this past Saturday, President Barack Obama predicted that his agenda would draw attack from “special interests and lobbyists” on several fronts. If by “attack” he meant “support” than Obama is 100% correct. The Center for Public Integrity released a study last week reporting that hundreds of companies are trying to influence who will be the winners and losers under President Obama’s promised cap and trade carbon plans. According to the report: more than 770 companies and interest groups hired an estimated 2,340 lobbyists …
The $700 billion that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is requesting from Congress to restore liquidity in the financial markets is a breathtaking sum of money. But it is also important to remember Paulson has already committed $200 billion to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The size of their bailout should tip Americans off: Fannie and Freddie were the key enablers of the mortgage crisis. Fannie and Freddie’s implicit government stamp of approval on these risky investments fueled Wall Street’s appetite for subprime securities. As of last June, Fannie alone …
