Houston Chronicle biz columnist calls for SEC commish's head

Loren Steffy, who writes a column for the business section of the Houston Chronicle, called for SEC commissioner Christopher Cox’s resignation in a column, noting that the blunder of the subpoenas of business journalists occurred on his watch and during his tenure that the reform movement to make corporate America more accountable has died.

Steffy writes: “It’s tempting to cast Cox as another bad manager, too detached to know what his subordinates were doing, or too spineless to take the blame.

“Or he could be something worse: a political hack masquerading as a market watchdog.”

Later, Steffy goes for the jugular, writing, “Less than a year after he left Congress, Cox has shown he’s still the master of the political game. With journalists rallying to Greenberg’s defense, he can look like a champion of free speech while heaping public humiliation on the enforcement division.”

And then he ends with this: “Investors, though, are left with a nagging question. Is the market’s top cop inept, spineless or a political hack? No matter the answer, the solution is the same:

“Mr. Cox, we await your resignation.”

I wish more business columnists took a stand like this on any issue. Today, too many business columnists serve as gossip columnists or to do the bidding of corporate leaders.

Read the column here.