Posted by
Tom Kummer on Saturday, November 15, 2008 1:06:39 AM
Tonight I was watching “Hannity & Colmes” on Fox News, and, during a panel which included Juan Williams, the comment was made that the economic crisis was caused by a “lack of regulation” that took place under the Bush administration. Juan Williams said this just as they were going to commercial. When I heard this, I wondered what, if any, regulations were taken off the books or ignored by the Bush administration.
Try as I might, I’m having a real hard time thinking of one example of a regulation that was taken off the books under the Bush presidency. I also can think of no regulatory body that was shut down under President Bush. In fact, I can think of one big example where regulations were increased.
The quintessential example of increased regulation under the Bush administration is Sarbanes/Oxley, referred to, somewhat derisively, as SOX, for those who have worked for any publicly traded company since its passage. Also, anyone who has worked for a publicly traded company, as I have, during this time can attest to the fact that it is quite intrusive. That’s not deregulation, that’s increased regulation.
Again, I can’t think of any example of lack of regulations, or deregulation under President Bush. In fact, the Bush administration pushed for increased oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but he was rebuffed. If anyone can site a specific example of deregulation under this administration, please do so.