House Republicans have made $5.3 billion in earmark cuts but there are still $4.8 billion in earmarks left untouched, according to Gregory Korte’s USA Today article, “$4 billion in pet projects left intact.” Defense, military construction and veterans affairs projects account for $4.1 billion of the $4.8 billion in earmarks that have so far been spared. Critics seem determined to go after the remaining earmarks.
Earmarks are items in the federal budget that are pet projects of a particular Congressman. Their effect is local, where the Congressman’s voters live. It is political patronage. The Congressman brings home the bacon, buys votes. Earmarks are often called “pork.” Of course whether something is pork or not is in the eye of the beholder. Some of the projects may have socially redeeming value. But so do others that apparently have no powerful sponsor ? like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
No serious, reasonably well-informed person believes that the U.S. securities markets should not be regulated, and everybody agrees that the amount and difficulty of the work the SEC is supposed to do has markedly increased as a result of electronic (flash crash) trading and the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, which expanded its mission. Yet the SEC comes to Congress, makes its case for increased funding, and is lambasted for being a failed agency.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Inspector General David Kotz said the Commission needs more funding, according to Jessica Holzer’s Wall Street Journal article, “SEC Watchdog: More Cash Needed to Fix Problems.” While Mr. Kotz has been critical of the agency he investigates, he warned against the deep budget cuts proposed by U.S. House Republicans.
J. Boyd Page, the senior partner at Page Perry, a law firm that specializes in representing investors, said “It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish not to increase funding at the SEC. If Congress was serious about reforming Wall Street and preventing another financial crisis, it would make sure the SEC is not outgunned by the bad guys. But I’ve got my doubts about the judgment and resolve of some of those in power. This problem is compounded by the fact that many state securities departments are inadequately funded and unable to provide meaningful assistance in regulating the financial industry. At the rate things are going, our financial markets are going to become a free-fraud zone where anything goes.”
Page Perry has over 125 years collective experience representing institutional and individual investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration all over the country. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 40 occasions.