Dodd's plan: Public service for a priceRegulatory reform has come to this: A $50,000 bounty paid to Securities and Exchange Commission employees for snitching on each other.
The snitch clause is part of proposed legislation introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, who seeks to overhaul financial regulation.
Ah,so much for doing your job.
Under the clause, SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz could pay any employee who makes an allegation that eliminates abuse or misconduct, according to Dodd’s measure. SEC staff could also get awards for suggestions that boost productivity or reduce waste.
Employee awards may exceed $50,000 if Kotz determines that “the suggestion or allegation has extraordinary merit,” Dodd’s measure said. It would also establish a telephone hotline for SEC staff to make confidential complaints to the inspector general.
“It’s sad that you would need to put that much money on the table to induce SEC staff to do their job,” said Donald Langevoort, a former SEC attorney who’s now a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington. In comments to Bloomberg News, he said, “It might cause suspicions that what’s motivating the whistle-blowing is greed rather than a sense of public service.”
Would someone at Countrywide get paid for providing details on Dodd's quid pro quo VIP mortgage?