Regulatory Revolving Door

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/10/regulatory-revolving-door-3

A front-page Wall Street Journal article about trading by Steven Cohen's SAC hedge fund has a couple of examples of the regulatory revolving door:

"Finra is trying to do its job, but you also have to consider that this particular firm is a huge firm, and there's lots of trading," said Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who now does regulatory consulting. He said SAC isn't a client.

And:

Since Sen. Grassley's office went public with the document requests, SAC has hired two of the senator's former staffers, Kenneth Cunningham and Cory Crowley, as consultants to provide insights into the office's next steps, people familiar with the matter said. The two didn't respond to requests for comment.

"There has been no dialogue between anyone on Sen. Grassley's staff involved with the investigation, and any former Grassley staffers," a spokeswoman for Sen. Grassley said.

One can't blame former government officials for wanting to make money in the private sector, and one can't blame companies or individuals for wanting to hire them. But if the laws were simple and impartially enforced, it'd reduce the need for companies to hire former government officials. I've referred to this sort of activity in the past as "private-sector job-creation, Obama-style." But Senator Grassley is a Republican, and Commission Atkins was appointed by George W. Bush, so this is probably a case of "both parties do it."

by Editor  |  Oct 25, 2011 at 4:52 am receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list