That's the way the Feds work

Submitted by George (United States), Jun 14, 2002 at 12:42

I am a CPA who read your testimony about the State Department. I am most familar with the SEC. The SEC is full of "former" Big Five CPAs, "former" investment bankers, etc. The SEC head is Harvey Pitt, an attorney who "formerly" represented major accounting firms and investment bankers. This seems to be endemic to the Federal government. In about 1957, C. Walton Hamilton of Yale Law School wrote the Politics of Industry. Hamilton postulated that regulated industries seek regulation so they can capture the regulators. This has happened to our foreign policy. The "bribes" you describe are public at the SEC and I suspect most other Federal agencies. Unless it is made a felony to accept any form of remuneration, direct or indirect from a foreign power within 10 years of leaving the State Department, nothing will change.

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