The Sec at Sixty: A Reply to Professor Macey

The January 1994 issue of the Cardozo Law Review featured a symposium on the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or the "Commission") and the commencement of federal regulation of securities trading in the United States. This is certainly an anniversary worthy of note; unfortunately, the one Article in the symposium devoted to offering a broad ranging appraisal of the SEC's record was so one-sided and inadequate that a reader could be excused for wondering why we ever set up a system of securities regulation at all, let alone celebrate its continuing existence. The purpose of this Article is to present a more balanced evaluation and to suggest that there is cause not only for celebration, but also for hope-that the SEC will continue to play an important part in providing the United States with the best securities markets in the world, as well as serving as a model for financial regulation in other countries.