Daily Yopp! 3.19.17 - Oppose Jay Clayton for SEC Chair

CALL ON YOUR SENATORS TO OPPOSE JAY CLAYTON FOR SEC CHAIR

But seriously...why?

The thing about all this activism is that we have to pay attention and be on top of *everything* so that we can let our members of Congress know how we feel. So much reading, so much researching...and most of us have jobs and families and our own lives to take care of. That's like the whole point of representative democracy, right? We elect people who we trust and let them pay attention to everything.

Alas...that's not where we are at right now. If we're going to change things, we each need to step up and start paying attention. And don't just hand your trust over to some other group like Indivisible or Robert Reich or Rachel Maddow or me. I mean, listen to those voices, but don't just do what we say because it's YOUR JOB to suss out the truth. Blindly doing what someone else tells you to do or indiscriminately reposting something without doing a little fact-checking is how we got where we are today.

So today's Yopp! is one that probably is off your radar. The folks at Indivisible have set up a calling script which I've posted below. Now, I trust them for the most part. I trust that this guy Jay Clayton should not be SEC chair, and I'm going to call my senators. But I don't really know that much about the SEC or Jay Clayton, so I'm going to dig in a little bit and find out.

What is the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

According to Investor.gov, the SEC has a three-part mission:

•  Protect investors
•  Maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets
•  Facilitate capital formation

Investopedia explains that "the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a government commission created by U.S. Congress with goals of protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. The SEC promotes full public disclosure, protects investors against fraudulent and manipulative practices in the market, and monitors corporate takeover actions in the United States."

Basically, the SEC is like a government watchdog against fraudulent corporate action. Pretty important, right?

Who is Jay Clayton?

He's a corporate lawyer. The official bio on his firm's website is exactly one sentence long. "Jay Clayton’s practice involves public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions, capital markets offerings, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, and other matters where multidisciplinary advice and experience is valued."  Other partners in that firm get multiple paragraphs plus bullet points on their bios, but not Clayton. According to Politico, his bio was scrubbed after he was nominated. Reuters argues that Clayton will likely reduce corporate regulation.


So...yeah. In my opinion, he's a pretty bad choice to be the chair of the SEC. A fox in charge of the hen house if you will. Furthermore, it appears that the bad guys are once again trying to sneak someone in the back door of power without We the People noticing. But don't take my word for it. Do your own research and decide if preventing the corporate takeover of our country is worth fussing over.

Here's the script from the folks at Indivisible.

Jay Clayton will need to be confirmed by the full Senate in order to be appointed Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Make sure both of your senators know that you oppose Jay Clayton’s confirmation. Visit your Senators’ regional offices and call their office to voice your opposition. 

SAMPLE CALL DIALOGUE 

Caller: Good morning/afternoon! Can you let me know the Senator’s position on the nomination of Jay Clayton to Chair the Securities and Exchange Commission? 

OPTION 1: OPPOSES CLAYTON’S NOMINATION 

Staffer: Thank you for calling! Senator [“Hernandez”] opposes the nomination of Jay Clayton. 

Caller: That’s great! I’m calling to say that if Senator [“Hernandez”] truly believes, as I do, that Jay Clayton is unqualified to Chair the SEC, he/she should do everything he/she can to oppose Clayton’s nomination. This means making public statements or delivering a floor speech opposing Clayton’s nomination in an effort to prevent the wholesale takeover of our government by Wall Street.  

I’m happy to hear the Senator opposes Jay Clayton’s nomination to the SEC. Thank you. 

OPTION 2: SUPPORTS CLAYTON’S NOMINATION TO THE SEC 

Staffer: Thank you for calling! Senator Bob supports the nomination of Jay Clayton. 

Caller: That’s terrible. What that means is Senator [“Hernandez”] is choosing to further enrich Wall Street and the wealthy few at the expense of working class Americans. When it comes to the financial security of ordinary Americans, the SEC is critical. We experienced firsthand what can happen when the SEC fails to hold Wall Street banks accountable – during the financial crisis in 2008, ordinary Americans lost more than $16 trillion and more than three millions households were foreclosed upon. And while that was happening, Jay Clayton was helping Goldman Sachs, and others, receive billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailout money.  

Americans deserve an SEC chair who has a proven track record of putting the financial interests of Americans first, not Wall Street banks. Does Senator [“Hernandez”] put Americans first? 

OPTION 3: DODGES / HAS NO POSITION 

Staffer: Thank you for calling! I’m not sure if the Senator supports or opposes the nomination of Jay Clayton, but I’m happy to take down your concerns.  

Caller: That’s disappointing to hear—the SEC is critical to the financial security of millions of Americans, myself included. Jay Clayton has spent his entire career helping Wall Street banks skirt the rules and rake in profits, including in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Jay Clayton is wholly unqualified to lead the SEC. Here are my concerns: We need an SEC Chair who has a proven track record of putting the financial security of ordinary Americans before the bottom line of Wall Street. I expect Senator [“Hernandez”] to publicly state his opposition to Jay Clayton’s nomination to prove that he/she is on my side.  

Staffer: I will certainly pass on your concerns to the Senator. 

Caller: Please do, and please take down my contact information to let me know when the Senator has made up his mind. I’m eager to hear what he decides.