A Very Short Rant on Financial Disclosure and Ethics Self-Regulation

It's always nice to see politicians provide evidence for the argument that ethics self-regulation doesn't work, but it's rare for it to happen in so public a way as occurred yesterday. According to an article in Roll Call, Rep. John Carter (R-TX), "the point man for Republicans seeking to strip Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) of his gavel," did not disclose large profits from a sale of Exxon stock, even after Roll Call contacted him about the omission a year ago.

The pot calling the kettle black is a common theme in ethics self-regulation. It brings no credibility to government.

Rangel too has made many "errors" in his financial disclosure forms. I don't understand this. Don't these guys have accountants? Don't these guys keep a file of all their stock and other transactions? Don't these guys disclose these transactions to their accountants for their tax returns? Do their accountants make this many "errors" on their tax returns? How do these accountants stay in business?

The image of an elected official with lots to disclose sitting down one Sunday evening to fill out his or her disclosure form is ridiculous. If they have lots to disclose, they're a businessperson or professional who knows how to keep files and how to work with an accountant. If they can't even be honest about this, how can we expect them to regulate their own ethics?

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research, City Ethics
rwechsler@cityethics.org
203-230-2548