My, what changes 3 years (and $3 trillion in recovery money) can bring...

"Prominent figures in the U.S. are warning that the nation's financial markets have been handicapped by post-Enron regulatory overreach.  Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has made addressing the problem a signature political issue.  A blue-ribbon committee chaired by former Bush economist Glenn Hubbard has echoed this sentiment, as does a report commissioned by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  Their key evidence is data suggesting that U.S. stock markets are increasingly unattractive places for companies to list shares...Their solution: a lighter touch in regulating corporate behavior...."   [from "In Call to Deregulate Business, a Global Twist," The Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2007].

Such was the collective sentiment on strong regulation three years ago.  Scholars, elected officials, and others rallying opposition to Sarbanes-Oxley, itself a reaction to the costs of the notorious frauds of 2001/2002.

With the health care issue decided, regulatory reform seems poised for the full attention of the White House.  This time, may academia, Washington, Wall Street and Main Street understand the true cost of the subordination of regulation to theories on competition.

---JSC, 3/23/10