The IAC meeting revealed an apparent indifference to imposing regulatory requirements that might discourage issuers from going public. This a continuing theme. By way of example, in an October 2022 SEC meeting to address a 20-year decline in the number of public companies, and inflation as contributing factors, events that would seem not to have much explanatory power as to long-term decline. But it does indicate that the costs of regulation are simply not a priority for SEC leadership.

It should not seem surprising that consumers who use BNPL services do not have a lot of savings. Why did the CFPB conduct a study where the results of what it would find did not require a study? Here's a possible subject ripe for a study: state lotteries. According to Jonathan Cohen's "," people with limited savings spend remarkable amounts of money on state lotteries that are basically a form of hidden taxation.  These government-run lotteries that have built in losses for the…

In the event of a market disruption, it is likely that aware NY consumers that have access to the product will attempt to clear the shelves quickly. If that is the case, then the NYAG's proposed rules may exacerbate the impact of a supply shortage in the state. No doubt, the NYAG will then be shocked and dismayed by the fact that businesses and consumers both comply with the laws of economics.

Historically, the SEC has functioned as a reasonably non-partisan agency, with most rule proposals put forward and adopted by unanimous vote. A trend in partisan voting on regulatory rule proposals has accelerated under the chairmanship of Mr. Gensler, with the majority going forward in 3-2 party line votes. The tension resulting from the party line votes was compounded by the fact that in a good number of situations, the regulatory actions were criticized by the minority Republican…