Karen De Coster Archives
"If Sarbanes-Oxley were a stock, we'd recommend selling it short."
A great comment and article on the editorial page of the New York Sun on the US Court of Appeals decision concerning the PCAOB and Sarbanes-Oxley.
The issue is whether Sarbanes-Oxley's creation of an agency to police auditors of public companies violated the doctrine of separated powers.
The chief constitutional problem with the law is that the five board members at this new agency -- the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the suit's caption -- aren't appointed by the president. Nor can the president fire them. Instead the commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who are presidential appointees, get to do the hiring and firing for the new Oversight Board. And the firing can only be for cause.
The Sun points out that the dissenting judge, Brett Kavanaugh, was an associate council of Bush at the time that he signed Sarbanes-Oxley into law in 2002. Kavanaugh also served under Kenneth Starr during the Clinton investigation, and was a principal author of the Starr Report. Senator Kennedy,who opposed Kavanaugh's appointment to the Court of Appeals, called him "a political operative who is the least experienced and most partisan appointee to the court in decades."
Here's Floyd Norris of the New York Times with some interesting articles on 1) the PCAOB and the court's ruling, and 2) how politics manipulates a board that exerts tremendous influence and control over public companies.
Challenge to Sarbanes-Oxley is Denied by Court of Appeals
The Free Enterprise Fund's challenge to the constitutionality of the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) created by Sarbanes Oxley was denied by a US Court of Appeals today. There was one dissenting judge.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented, writing that it was "the most important separation-of-powers case regarding the president's appointment and removal powers to reach the courts in the last 20 years."
The PCAOB's structure "unconstitutionally restricts the president's appointment and removal powers," Kavanaugh wrote.
An appeal to the Supreme Court can be expected.
Bookstores in Trouble
Sadly, Borders Group, Inc. is in trouble and it's up for sale. More and more of these companies continue to drop as consumers pinch pennies on wanna-have but don't-need items. I listened to analysts talking about this on Bloomberg yesterday, and they don't seem to really get it. There was a discussion of ways in which Borders can improve sales, and one of them was new book club memberships to be offered by Borders. "New" book club memberships (whatever that means) won't save this business. People don't want to buy memberships when they can shop online and have greater selection, better prices, and enjoy the surfing experience. Borders is also going to "face out" more of its books, but that's not a long-term solution either.
Borders problems go beyond the looming economic pickle, however. As book lovers know, surfing for books online leads to you discovering many other books that weren't formerly on your radar map. Soon the wish list grows and grows, but it's a fun way to relax. Plus you come across great reviews and interesting people with fabulous book lists that lead you unto even more discoveries. Book shopping online is a better and cheaper experience for most people. Then there's those great deals on used books -- I even find good books at .01 plus $3.99 shipping.
As much as I love bookstores, two big book chains can't survive in this era. It's too costly for them to operate, and people just don't read anymore. Each new generation reads less than the one before it. (Read "Why People Read Less and Less.") The large-selection, used book stores and the magazine racks are better bets for survival.
A Bull Market for CPAs
February 25, 2008 6:06 AM
| Comments (3)
Keynesian Economics: Better Late Than Never
February 15, 2008 5:20 PM
| Comments (7)
Can You Hear Gold Laughing at Bernanke?
January 20, 2008 8:05 PM
| Comments (5)
Mozilla: Meet Sarbanes-Oxley (and Henry Blodget)
January 7, 2008 9:58 PM
| Comments (7)
"A meaningful estate tax is needed to prevent our democracy from becoming a dynastic plutocracy.''
November 28, 2007 12:27 PM
| Comments (50)
SEC: The Great Overseer Fails in Oversight of Self
November 19, 2007 9:51 PM
| Comments (1)
Fannie Mae: Fuzzy Math = Transparency
November 15, 2007 9:13 PM
| Comments (3)
General Motors: More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Deferred Tax Assets
November 7, 2007 9:14 PM
| Comments (16)
The Michigan State Government's 24-Hour ATM
November 4, 2007 6:29 PM
| Comments (7)
Warren Buffett: "There's never just one cockroach in the kitchen."
November 3, 2007 10:40 PM
| Comments (8)
Sarbanes-Oxley and the PCAOB: No Profit Motive = Bigger Bloat
October 29, 2007 10:23 PM
| Comments (2)
Warren Buffett Has An Austrian Economics Moment
October 27, 2007 6:26 AM
| Comments (7)
Sarbanes-Oxley: Helping to Nationalize Accounting & Auditing
October 8, 2007 10:23 PM
| Comments (13)
The Heroic Richard Lindzen on Global Warming
October 3, 2007 9:05 PM
| Comments (29)
Sarbanes-Oxley: Costs, Costs, Costs
September 26, 2007 9:35 PM
| Comments (10)
Unions as Central Planning Mechanisms
September 24, 2007 8:39 PM
| Comments (9)
Giant Food Companies Welcome the Regulatory State
September 17, 2007 8:03 PM
| Comments (5)
CPAs Join With the Evil Ad Council to Promote Saving Habits
September 16, 2007 5:37 PM
| Comments (4)
Bush to Provide for the New Socialist Man
September 6, 2007 9:49 PM
| Comments (1)
Austrian Economics Hour on Bloomberg Radio?
September 4, 2007 6:18 PM
| Comments (8)
Dead Politicians, Doggies, and the Glories of Voluntary Preservation
September 4, 2007 5:56 PM
| Comments (3)
Starbucks: Are Fu-Fu Prices Too High?
August 1, 2007 8:16 PM
| Comments (15)
Nationalizing the Wine Industry
July 17, 2007 5:26 PM
| Comments (11)
Accounting and Accountability in Government
July 17, 2007 5:19 PM
| Comments (2)
Less Regulation Through More Central Planning?
July 6, 2007 4:05 AM
| Comments (1)
Using the Fear Factor to Hate China and Wal-Mart
June 30, 2007 7:02 PM
| Comments (11)
John Galt Lacks Appropriate Neural Firing
June 20, 2007 4:54 AM
| Comments (14)
"The issue has caught Congress’s eye, as it searches for revenue sources."
June 14, 2007 9:24 PM
| Comments (7)
Deconstructing GovernmentSpeak: When More Regulation Eases the Burden of Regulation
May 20, 2007 5:38 AM
| Comments (3)
Michael Oxley Knew Sarbanes-Oxley "could spell trouble"
April 6, 2007 3:36 PM
| Comments (3)
Professor Norman Barry on "Stakeholding" and the Firm
January 8, 2007 7:23 PM
| Comments (0)
Pelosi's Principles
November 22, 2006 9:18 PM
| Comments (2)
Let's Go Green and Watch the Market Value Tumble
September 10, 2006 4:52 AM
| Comments (64)
Fannie Mae: Big Guv Up to No Good?
September 1, 2006 4:36 PM
| Comments (2)
Sellers of Scarce Goods
August 25, 2006 11:37 AM
| Comments (14)
Idealism and Optimism as a Market Force
July 13, 2006 7:58 AM
| Comments (1)
Who's Overseeing Those Who Have the Power of Oversight?
June 28, 2006 9:08 PM
| Comments (2)
Cantillon for Laymen
June 7, 2006 8:11 AM
| Comments (14)
Tableau of Mischief?
June 1, 2006 12:01 PM
| Comments (6)
A Heroic Kenneth Starr?
April 29, 2006 6:20 AM
| Comments (4)
Henry George and the Tariff Question
April 19, 2006 7:55 AM
| Comments (78)
The Creativity of the Slide Rule Class
March 29, 2006 9:27 PM
| Comments (8)
Drucker on Corporate Social Responsibility
March 2, 2006 11:25 PM
| Comments (1)
Mises Word Cloud
February 23, 2006 12:15 PM
| Comments (3)
Tyranny, Sarbanes-Oxley -- Or Do I Repeat Myself?
January 23, 2006 9:03 PM
| Comments (1)
Federal Excess
January 4, 2006 5:56 AM
| Comments (4)
Listen to the Yield Curve
December 27, 2005 10:36 PM
| Comments (8)
What's Killing General Motors?
December 10, 2005 12:05 PM
| Comments (39)
The Street Beats Up on GM
November 12, 2005 9:15 PM
| Comments (53)
I Am Outraged About Global Competition!
October 9, 2005 8:54 PM
| Comments (15)
The Logisitics of Private vs Public
September 18, 2005 8:23 PM
| Comments (5)
Galles on Commerce Clause (on C-Span)
August 2, 2005 9:47 PM
| Comments (2)
The Silver Satire
August 2, 2005 6:19 PM
| Comments (1)
Indians, the Colonials, and Lockean Theory
July 13, 2005 8:12 PM
| Comments (10)
Pick and Choose Your Government Intervention
May 11, 2005 6:50 AM
| Comments (12)
Move Over Sacajawea; Hello Podunk
May 10, 2005 6:17 AM
| Comments (2)
Never Too Big to Fail
May 10, 2005 6:05 AM
| Comments (14)
That Criminal Wal-Mart
April 25, 2005 3:47 AM
| Comments (7)
prax·e·ol·o·gy
April 13, 2005 6:36 PM
| Comments (2)
"Our Job Was to Build Up the American Empire"
March 3, 2005 6:33 PM
| Comments (13)
Not Your Father's CFO
March 3, 2005 5:49 PM
| Comments (1)
Bring It On!
March 2, 2005 6:51 PM
| Comments (3)
The Difference Between Enron and the US Government Is.....
February 12, 2005 5:30 AM
| Comments (3)
It's the Market, Stupid
January 30, 2005 6:56 PM
| Comments (15)
The Sarbanes-Oxley Snare
January 26, 2005 8:21 PM
| Comments (12)
General Motors Avoiding Junk Pool
January 25, 2005 8:50 AM
| Comments (1)
Embracing Information Anarchy
January 17, 2005 8:54 PM
| Comments (12)
Interviewing Employees the Tough Way
November 28, 2004 9:33 PM
| Comments (7)
Fleckisms
November 4, 2004 10:30 PM
| Comments (0)
Managerial Society 101
November 4, 2004 10:23 PM
| Comments (2)
St. Thomas on Economics
October 16, 2004 7:11 AM
| Comments (1)
Coase Answered
September 8, 2004 8:23 PM
| Comments (2)
Henry Ford, FDR, and the Automobile Code
July 3, 2004 2:00 AM
| Comments (2)
James Grant on the Bond Swing
June 22, 2004 8:44 PM
| Comments (9)
Don't Dare to Double-Click
June 4, 2004 7:37 PM
| Comments (7)
Austrians vs. Chicagoans?
May 30, 2004 7:08 AM
| Comments (5)
Comparison Shopping, and Toying With Demand Curves
May 28, 2004 9:52 AM
| Comments (10)
Tax FAQs
April 22, 2004 8:23 PM
| Comments (11)
The Health Care Non-Market
April 21, 2004 4:18 PM
| Comments (8)
Three Cheers for Tax Avoidance
April 20, 2004 3:07 PM
| Comments (8)
Legalized Gangstering: Report from the Trenches
March 4, 2004 9:27 PM
| Comments (2)
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
January 30, 2004 4:55 PM
| Comments (11)
Wall Street, Oh Wall Street -- What Have You Wrought?
January 29, 2004 5:31 PM
| Comments (5)
Hyperinflation Website
January 25, 2004 7:22 AM
| Comments (2)
Free Trade is "Too Costly"
January 23, 2004 10:45 AM
| Comments (7)
Recent Comments