Pay-to-Play in America, Part 4: The SEC's Proposal for Regulating Pay-To-Play

The first three parts of this series describe various facets of the never-ending "pay-to-play" cycle. Money managers contribute to the campaigns of elected officials, who then award public pension business to the money managers, who make more contributions, are awarded more business and so on.

Pay-to-Play in America, Part 1

Pay-to-Play in America, Part 2: The Subtle Side of the Game

Pay-to-Play in America, Part 3: 'Money Rarely Raises Its Voice'

Pay-to-Play in America, Part 4: The SEC's Proposal for Regulating Pay-To-Play

In August 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is responsible for regulating money managers, proposed to prohibit money managers from engaging in pay-to-play.

As often happens with universally popular causes, politicians and industry representatives unanimously condemned pay-to-play and applauded the rule's purpose -- and then proceeded to question every dotted "i" and crossed "t" until the rule was crushed under the weight of the unattainable perfection they demanded.

The Enemy of the Good

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