"And it’s that S.E.C. legal action that has, in a single week, radically transformed the politics and prospects for financial reform in America."
Theater critic Rich does not bother to mention that the S.E.C. is currently beset with its own porn scandal, and apparently unbeknownst to him, the legal action of which he speaks will wind its way through the courts over the course of many years at a cost of tens of millions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers before it is ultimately settled at a future time when it has been long forgotten by the American public.
I wish I could share Rich's faith in the S.E.C. A trading day doesn't go by without manipulation of share prices, e.g., "painting the tape", as a result of the 2007 cancellation of the Uptick Rule, which had protected small investors for 70 years. Given the opportunity to reinstate this critical regulation responsible for safeguarding the financial markets, the S.E.C. recently settled upon some watered down, toothless constraint, which continues to allow fear merchants to short sell start-up, micro cap companies, i.e. the economic future of the U.S., with few limitations and to fleece stockholders.
Even more absurd was the New York Times editorial on Thursday entitled "Mr. Karzai Might Even Agree," which propounded:
"[Obama] should urge Mr. Karzai to ask the United Nations . . . to hand responsibility for overseeing Afghanistan’s economic development to others more proficient in handling money."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/opinion/23fri1.html
Given the scandals brewing at home, Obama is hardly in a position to tell Karzai where he should be seeking economic and financial advice.
A Sunday doesn't go by without Frank Rich introducing partisan venom into issues of critical national concern. I realize that this is Rich's stock in trade, but isn't it time to recognize that the economic future of the U.S. transcends politics and requires an appeal for unity and cooperation among America's lawmakers?
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