[snarks_when_bored]

Bush, of course, did well to lower the Capital Gains Tax—but does this temporary measure, easily repealed, offset the permanent harm done by an institutionalized Sarbanes-Oxley?

Sarbanes-Oxley is almost solely responsible for current wave of public companies being bought (often at only a modest premium) and taken private by filthy rich private equity groups (the elder Bush's Carlyle Group being just one of many such groups).

I'll go on record here with the following statement: when the privatization frenzy has quieted down, Sarbanes-Oxley will be repealed (or gutted) and the once-public, now-private companies will again be brought public as IPO's, at much higher prices than they were bought out for, producing stunning gains for the private equity groups. It's a long-term play, but if you've got billions of dollars in your coffers, you can afford to wait.

We're little grains of sand between the toes of the mega-capitalists and their political bed-partners...

[snarks_when_bored]

In post #9 on this thread, I predicted the gutting or repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley, a move that would be intended to help private equity companies IPO their recent acquisitions at much higher prices and thus reap huge windfall profits. I had no idea, though, that the attack on Sarbanes-Oxley would begin so quickly! Our new Treasury Secretary, Henry "Hank" Paulson, a Goldman-Sachs investment banker's banker and the best buddy of private equity firms the world over, has just fired the opening salvo:

Paulson calls for some Sarbanes-Oxley changes

Questions competition in accounting industry

By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch

Last Update: 1:28 PM ET Nov 20, 2006

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Parts of the landmark 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley rules for corporate governance should be implemented in different ways to save businesses time and money, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a speech Monday.

In prepared remarks to the Economic Club of New York, Paulson said that a new law to amend the act is not needed, but he acknowledged the impact its accounting provisions in particular are having on businesses.

"We need to implement the law in ways that better balance the benefits of the legislation with the very significant costs that it imposes, especially on small businesses," he added.

In a wide-ranging speech, the Treasury secretary called for balanced regulation and reform of laws that hamper the competitiveness of U.S. businesses. Paulson announced that the Treasury will host a conference on capital markets and economic competitiveness in early 2007.

He singled out section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which has long drawn complaints from businesses for being costly and time-consuming. It requires management to sign off on the effectiveness of a company's internal financial controls and requires an auditor's attestation.

"Section 404 should be implemented in a more efficient and cost-effective manner," Paulson said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will seek comments about a new auditing standard soon, according to Paulson.

The Treasury secretary's remarks appeared to have little or no effect on U.S. markets Monday.

Accounting competition

Separately, Paulson questioned how much competition there is in the accounting industry, suggesting the current concentration of market power among four big firms "may not be healthy." Read the speech.

He pointed to the Sarbanes-Oxley law as a reason activity in initial public offerings is declining.

"Despite our strong economy and stock market, IPO dollar volume in the United States is well below the historical trend and below the trend and activity level in a number of foreign markets," Paulson said.

China talks planned

The Treasury secretary also focused some of his remarks on China, saying that the fast-growing Asian nation must open up its financial markets to support sustainable economic growth. Paulson said that he will travel to Beijing in December to hold talks with Chinese officials.

During a question and answer session following his speech, Paulson said structural changes like increasing consumption in China and Japan are necessary to help reverse the U.S. current account deficit.

As part of his remarks on regulatory balance, Paulson said that talks between the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. aimed at combining their regulatory operations are a "positive development."

"I encourage them to focus on achieving the right principled result as opposed to just combining the two rule books," he said.

Robert Schroeder is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
 

As I said in post #9, "[w]e're little grains of sand between the toes of the mega-capitalists and their political bed-partners..."