I have to agree with John Horne above. Your are sometimes hard to follow and following the information as you have presented it is some disjointed.

The gist of the situation all boils down to that in every aspect of our life, there is in one way or another a “good ole boys club.” Whether it be in the financial sector, the professions, or the guy whose buddy helped get him a job.

I’m still reading the material you have presented, so where you are headed to the point I am now in the material, may not be where you end.

I do readily believe the financial markets have used their extreme power (leverage) to manipulate legislation to the favor. They sure wouldn’t do it to obtain unfavorable outcomes!

But if you’re headed down the path of Milton Friedman that unfettered markets are the answer, I will vehemently disagree. Greenspan’s model was “flawed,” because he failed to factor in man’s greed. A vice for which there is no cure.

Madison clearly understood that power must be balanced equally and SEPARATED.

Regulation is required – our mistake has been in not separating those who regulate from those require regulation, including the legislatures who enact those laws. Donations to PACs should be limited to beginning of year contributions and contributions should be made immediately available to the public. I’d like to see it go a step further and prohibit contributions by those industries to those on committees that serve their interests. But since our legislators make the laws, that will never happen – be it GOP or Dem.

Eliminating regulation may end “capturing,” but, as we’ve seen as recently as King Peanut Butter, ending regulation is not the answer. Investors demand profits at all costs and CEO’s have to deliver those profits, even if it means hiring their own inspectors to meet FDA requirements (which, of course, they weren’t).

Until we figure out a way to keep separate these entities, we will always have these problems.

And that, unfortunately, is a dilemma that will probably never be solved, as there no longer seem to be ethical people operating within the ruling class of our society.

We will soon find ourselves sitting in the ashes, like Rome.

Richard Sauer

Adjunct Professor; Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP
B.A., University of California (Davis); J.D., Loyola of Los Angeles; LL.M., S.J.D., Harvard

Address:
600 New Jersey Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

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Biography

B.A., University of California (Davis); J.D., cum laude, Loyola of Los Angeles; LL.M., S.J.D., Harvard. Professor Sauer is a Partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP. Recently, he was the Assistant Director of the Division of Enforcement in the Securities and Exchange Commission. As assistant director, he is involved in the investigation and resolution of major financial fraud, market manipulation, and insider trading cases. He has also served as Branch Chief and Senior Attorney in the Division of Enforcement and as Senior Attorney for the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Federal Trade Commission. Professor Sauer has also served as as Adjunct Professor for Catholic University. He writes frequently on issues involving financial fraud.