DOG AND PONY SHOW

04/15/2013

Dog and Pony Show   The continued charade that is the regulation of the financial industry continues with the key culprits left unchecked to act in their own interest. The latest farce comes from the STOCK ACT which was passed in 2012 to prohibit members of Congress and other government employees from trading on insider knowledge. The bill was passed with much fanfare and was well publicized to show how Congress is really acting in all of our “best interest.” Of course, it is downright laughable that until 2012 it was perfectly legal for Congress to trade on inside information. Well, on Friday the House passed a rush bill and eliminated a "key requirement of the insider trading law for most federal employees, passing legislation exempting these workers, including congressional staff, from a rule scheduled to take effect next week that mandated online posting of financial transactions." According to Zero Hedge: The reason why one will have to take Congress at its word that it is not breaking the law? Because apparently posting Congress' financial dealings online would be pose a "national risk" according to the National Academy of Public Administration.  Surely this explains why the bill was rushed and voted in the matter of hours: one can't have a debate over matters of "national security" especially if the financial well-being of Congress is at risk. As Washington Times recaps, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, introduced the bill on Thursday and had the chamber vote on it late that evening. The House took the bill up on Friday afternoon and passed it by unanimous consent, with no members objecting. Republican leaders did not give lawmakers the traditional three days to read the bill before holding a vote. One GOP aide told The Washington Times the three-day rule did not apply to Friday’s action because the bill came from the Senate, while another said the House moved quickly because of a Monday deadline for the new disclosure mandates to take effect."  In other words, while the STOCK Act passed nearly unanimously in 2012 just to show how "honest" congress is, the follow up legislation that effectively undoes the key reporting requirement of said anti-inside trading law passed just as unanimously, allowing congress to have its shady dealings cake, and eat its non-inside trading reputation too.  More back door dealings, more secrecy, more of the public getting screwed by the insiders in the game. Trade well and follow the trend, not the perma-bull OR perma-bear “experts.”  Behold the age of infinite moral hazard! On April 2nd, 2009 CONgress forced FASB to suspend rule 157 in favor of deceitful accounting for the TBTF banking mafia. ---Larry Levin

LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE