SEC wants more funding

The Wall Street Journal recently reported (subscription required) that the Securities & Exchange Commission wants more money from Congress to invest in the oversight of investment banks and credit-rating agencies. Given all the problems that have emerged there, it seems like it might be necessary.

But the problem is that many of the Chris Cox-led SEC's failures have not been a result of a lack of funding, but rather a lack of a political will to stand up to the Business Roundtable that no amount of additional funding can compensate for.

In a glaring betrayal of the investing public back in December, Cox and the GOP-controlled Commission took steps to insulate poorly performing directors from dissident shareholders.

Separately, investigative journalist Gary Weiss charges that, rather than cracking down on serious problems in the securities markets like the rating agencies and investment banks, Cox has devoted an inordinate amount of time to the topic of naked short selling. Weiss asked the question "Why is naked short selling the only `fraud' that has no victims and no perpetrators, only a bunch of crackpots yammering about conspiracies?"

Maybe the SEC does need more funding to protect the interests of investors. But it could do a lot more without any additional money if Cox and company actually took their duty to the American people seriously.