Vermont Governor Howard Dean, a democrat who may run for President in 2004, visited western Iowa Monday and Tuesday. Dean says the Bush Administration hasn’t calmed the fears of the nation’s investors.Dean says no one takes the Bush Administrations proposals for cracking down on corporate fraud seriously, and Dean says that’s why the markets have “gone south.” Dean ridicules Republicans who’ve said investors should to be smarter about risks. Dean says that’s like saying we don’t need the police because little old ladies who’re walking down the street have an obligation to avoid criminals. He says he doesn’t think the president is a crook and says he doesn’t think Bush’s Harken activity will amount to anything. He does say though there needs to be regulation.Dean says the man Bush picked to head the Securities and Exchange Commission is an example of how the Bush Administration has taken the wrong steps.S-E-C Chairman Harvey Pitt is a lawyer who worked for accounting firms who are now under fire for bookkeeping tricks. Dean says investors are not getting accurate financial information from companies, and the government needs to take steps to ensure there’s proper public disclosure.
