Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins spoke at the Economic Club of New York this week discussing the benefits of free markets while stating enforcement at the Commission has too frequently been used as a policy tool.
Invoking the legacy of Adam Smith, author of the Wealth of Nations, and his concept of the invisible hand of capitalism that lifts people up, drives wealth and prosperity for the masses.
Atkins stated:
“As the nation’s story continued to unfold, and competing ideologies sought to engineer economic strength from the top down, ours was a model that steadily proved its value on the world stage. The many Socialist experiments, built on brute force of totalitarian government and a commitment to central planning, crumbled under a philosophy incapable of channeling the forces of human aspiration. In stark contrast, our system entrusts citizens with freedom, private property rights, and the opportunity to shoulder the burdens and realize the rewards of risk and innovation.”
The reference to socialism is pointed as New York City has elected a socialist mayor who has already needed an $8 billion state bailout for his budget while guaranteeing a reduction in housing options by fixing rent for around a million homes. While ignoring facts and history, Mayor Zoran Mamdani has placed the top financial center of the world on a precarious path as more stories emerge of reduced investment and departures – making a balanced budget even more challenging for the coming years.
Atkins states what should be obvious to all by quoting a previous SEC Commissioner Chris Cox: “Our market economy, better than any other system in the world, enables the poor to rise from poverty, and enables the vulnerable and marginalized to be protected. Because after all, wealth must be produced before it can be shared.”
On a separate front, Chair Atkins reiterated that enforcement should not become a “de facto policy instrument”. Something that was endemic during the prior administration. He outlined his strategy regarding enforcement as the “ACT Strategy” or Advancement, Clarity, and to Transform.” Part of this is addressing the needed regulatory framework for digital assets – another shortfall from his predecessor.
Atkins also reinforced his goal of making IPOs great again, an area that has been in need of treatment for decades as the number of publicly traded firms have been in systemic decline.
He said the common sense mission is to tend the framework the founding fathers designed while beholding the garden of free enterprise as described by Mises.
