Strong Criticism for IPO On-Ramp: A Wall Street Journal article on House passage of the JOBS Act (“Jobs Bill Loosens IPO Regulations,” March 8, 2012) documents broad opposition to the bill’s so-called IPO On-Ramp. Industry data shows that all but a handful of IPOs would qualify for the bill’s exemptions from basic financial reporting and
Imaginary Problems: In a letter to shareholders (“Imaginary Problems: Who Really Benefits from Lower Regulatory Burdens?” February 2, 2012), Motley Fool mutual fund manager Bill Mann thoroughly debunks the premise behind a central plank of the JOBS Act, that American companies are finding it difficult to go public. Mann warns that, on the contrary, proposals
Short Memories: A New York Times editorial (“They Have Very Short Memories,” March 11, 2012) calls the JOBS Act “a terrible package of bills that would undo essential investor protections, reduce market transparency and distort the efficient allocation of capital.” Citing “reams of Congressional testimony, market analysis and academic research” refuting the claim that regulation has been an impediment to raising capital, the article notes that, on the contrary, “too little regulation has been at the root of all recent bubbles and bursts — the dot-com crash, Enron, the mortgage meltdown. Those free-for-alls created jobs and then imploded, causing mass joblessness.”