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Sell Sarbanes-Oxley

Submitted by John F., Aug 26, 2008 13:40

Sarbanes-Oxley has been a disaster. The economy has been weak ever since it was passed. The 20-year sentences for nonviolent economic crimes violate the Eighth Amendment. The PCAOB violates Article II of the Constitution (like many "independent" agencies, e.g., the Fed). But the most pernicious aspect of the Act is the one that seems the most innocuous: requiring CEO's and CFO's to certify to the accuracy of financial statements. This essentially forces them to be second-level auditors, and most of them are not qualified for it. Furthermore, the more time they spend double-counting last year's money, they less time they have to figure out how to make next year's money. We should let them leave accounting to the accountants so that the managers can focus on managing. Despite all the accounting chicanery of the dot-com era, there was a lot of real money being made. We should return to the regulatory system and prosecutorial climate we had then.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
The point of all this is that Congress violated their boundaries under the Constitution. While the results may have been... [MORE]	Dan	Sep 4, 2008 16:59
SOX is much like the 1964 Civil Rights Act...we all heard how we couldn't legislate morality, etc. etc. Now we... [MORE]	Richard Walega	Aug 27, 2008 07:50
I guess if you can't make money the old fashioned way, the only thing to do is scuttle Sarbanes Oxley... [MORE]	MLF	Aug 26, 2008 18:41
Outstanding editorial. SOX is a violation of the rights of businessmen. They are presumed guilty before they even act under... [MORE]	WFM	Aug 26, 2008 14:22
Sarbanes-Oxley has been a disaster. The economy has been weak ever since it was passed. The 20-year sentences for nonviolent...	John F.	Aug 26, 2008 13:40
This is good news. SOX is an overreach of gov't power. All the illegal activity that spurred SOX were caught... [MORE]	Karl	Aug 26, 2008 12:33
Sarbanes Oxley always was a sickly white elephant. Put it out of its misery. It's a prime example of big... [MORE]	urban coyote	Aug 26, 2008 12:23
No way. The repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley would encourage greater foreign investment and help out our dollar! But I am one... [MORE]	Richard	Aug 26, 2008 12:10
Sorry can't concur with this article. Sarbanes Oxley is the best law to hit the books in the last 30... [MORE]	chet	Aug 26, 2008 09:17

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Sell Sarbanes-Oxley