July 30, 2010
seems absurd to me that the federal government wants to impose additional regulation on an industry that is responsible for the majority of the financial growth in this country. A few guys like Bernie Madoff show up in the news, and legislators act like the big hero that has to protect everybody. When in all reality they are the ones that need to be regulated. Think about
Who would have ever imagined 225 years ago that the government would pass something as unconstitutuional as this farce of a health care bill that was just recently approved. The 56 men that signed the declaration of independence would be up in arms AGAIN if they knew how far the constitution had been stretched.
Now, if you're one of those educated types that has never owned your own business, or really made any true contribution to reducing the unemployment rate by hiring someone then you're probably not going to appreciate what I have to say.
Our country was established as a Government Of the People, By the People, For the People. This "By the People" part is not limited to some select group in Washington, DC that is supposed to know everything and do everyting "For the People." That "By the People" part requires some personal responsibility.
Remember the saying "If it seems too good to be true, It probably is." People know this If they are dealing with an advisor that is promising them unbeliveable results, then they shouldn't believe it. Due diligence has to apply to the consumer as well as the advisor.
I remember back in the early 80's, my father and a group from our church were solicited by an "advisor" to invest in a Manganese mining operation. The pastor had been sold on the idea, and he was the one who got the rest of the church group excited about the prospect of making a huge amount of return on their investment. Well guess what happened. They lost their money. It was a scam.
Was it the crook's fault that they lost their money? NO He was doing his job. That's what crooks are supposed to do. That's why they call them Crooks Was there a lack of personal responsibility, and due diligence on the part of the investors? Well of course there was. If they had done their part to investigate the "Mining Operation" then they would have avoided the whole ordeal.
I learned a long time ago that door locks are only in place to keep honest people honest. If someone is set on stealing, you're not likely to stop them with new regulations. There are enough laws and regulations to keep honest people honest. If we just enforce the laws that we already have, and issue appropriate sentences for those who don't want to play by the rules everything will work out just fine.
BUT if you want to continue to stifle economic growth, and discourage or prohibit people from doing honest business then go ahead, and put what ever regulation in place that you see fit. The more regulation that are put in place, the higher the cost of doing business. Not to mention the higher cost of government that will be involved. That additional cost will just be passed on to the consumer/tax payer. Which in some cases will make it cost prohibitive for them to purchase the "Best" product for themselves, and in some cases limit the birth or expansion of new business. If you have never started a new business, you could not begin to understand how difficult it is.
So doing what is "Best" for the consumer sometimes includes not imposing further regulation on an industry.
I'm sure you can tell by now that I am not for big government. You might not agree with my opinions, but please remember that the government "By the People" part includes taking into consideration views that may conflict with your own.
Just so that there is no confusion in what I am trying to convey to the SEC I am opposed to any additional regulation being imposed on the financial services industry.