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November 29, 2003

Corporate Scandals? Cut Enforcement Budgets

The Big Picture caught an underreported story last week-- even as tens of billions of corporate perks were dished out by Congress, promised funds to beef up enforcement at the Securiites and Exchange Commission (SEC) were slashed:

And amid the growing mutual-fund scandal, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which enjoys bipartisan support, will lose a third of the $96 million budget increase it expected until recently. The decision surprised Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D., Md.), who sponsored corporate-reform legislation in the last Congress that committed the body to a steady increase in funds for the SEC.

Thank god for New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, who is about the only force out there putting any check on corporate corruption of the financial markets.

Posted by Nathan at November 29, 2003 11:50 PM