A pox on SOX
I noted once at my former online home about what a hash the Sarbanes-Oxley law has made of doing business in the United States. But leave it to Ron Paul to pinpoint some facts and figures that really drive the point home (emphasis mine):
In 2000, nine of every ten dollars raised by foreign companies were raised in the United States. In 2005, nine of the ten largest offerings were not registered in the United States, and, of the largest twenty-five global offerings, only one took place in the US. The number of public companies going private increased from 143 in 2001 to 245 in 2004. Sarbanes-Oxley is a, if not the, major reason companies are fleeing America’s capital markets. Furthermore, according to some estimates, Sarbanes-Oxley has cost the very investors the law claims to protect at least $1.4 trillion.
I'd love to see even more recent figures, but the conclusion is unmistakable: Sarbanes-Oxley is a major driver behind the explosion in private equity.
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