Naked Capitalism is one of the best financial blogs. Alas, writer Yves Smith does not seem to be a fan of Arthur Levitt ‘52.

Arthur Levitt Hired by Goldman Sachs Jesse. “Hired” = “Bought”. Levitt was up for some regulatory posts, and when he was the head of the SEC, exhibited a bit of backbone, enough so that he got perilously few board seats when he stepped down.

The linked article notes:

Arthur is often trotted out as an independent analyst and pundit on financial news programs. His name has been floated for some of the top regulatory jobs in the Obama Administration.

Goldman does not require advice from Arthur Levitt. People like Art and Larry Summers are hired for their connections, insider knowledge, and for future services to be rendered. In this case Arthur will be offering to help to shape the evolving regulatory structure as it is ‘reformed.’

As long as Ephs are doing the “reforming,” I have few complaints. See here for a less charitable description.

Well, here’s something amazing. It’s like protocapitalist buddhism: the endless life-cycle continues. Clinton’s SEC chairman, the man who powdered his nose and fondled himself for years and years while companies like Goldman Sachs bilked America with one “Bullshit.com” IPO after another, is now going to work for… wait for it… Goldman, Sachs. Nothing like years of hideously ineffectual non-enforcement to attract those lucrative Wall Street job offers!

More to the point, Levitt was one of the key figures who helped usher in the Financial Services Modernization Act (repealing Glass-Steagall) and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (deregulating derivatives). Along with Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, and Alan Greenspan, Levitt helped convince Bill Clinton to make two of the most important bad decisions that led to this financial crisis. So it’s really a relief to see that he’s still around helping to liase between Goldman Sachs and the government. That portends well for the rest of us, doncha think?

Depends on what you mean by “us.”