Schapiro, who was first appointed as an SEC commissioner by Ronald Reagan in the late 1980s, has most recently presided over the FIRA —a nongovernmental regulatory agency dominated by industry participants that epitomizes the "self-regulatory" approach, according to which the financial industry is quite capable of overseeing its own affairs without interference by the state.The whole piece reminded me of this piece by Michael Lewis in the NY Times:
If the S.E.C. is to restore its credibility as an investor protection agency, it should have some experienced, respected investors (which is not the same thing as investment bankers) as commissioners. President-elect Barack Obama should nominate at least one with a notable career investing capital, and another with experience uncovering corporate misconduct. As it happens, the most critical job, chief of enforcement, now has a perfect candidate, a civic-minded former investor with firsthand experience of the S.E.C.’s ineptitude: Harry Markopolos.
Mr. Markopolos is the guy who wrote a 17 page opus to the SEC speculating exactly what Bernie Madoff was, which they proceeded to ignore. It is worth reading simply to know how just how obtuse the SEC must have been not to catch Madoff, and just how much fixing they need. But it is beyond comprehension to me that this is the first that I have heard of this appointment, and that an Obama administration would choose her. It seems a basic qualification for any would-be head of the SEC should be: If you investigated Madoff and failed to find anything wrong, than you are disqualified.
Here's my choice. Why not?
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