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The Washington Public Power Supply System Debacle

Document Type

Article

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

1989

Publication Title

Journal of Corporation Law

Abstract

Judge, then Professor; Robert Bork once began a legal analysis with the observation, "It would be overhasty to say that the Brown Shoe opinion is the worst antitrust essay ever written. . . ." Judge Bork concluded one sentence later, "Still, all things considered, Brown Shoe has considerable claim to the title." I have been long fascinated by this passage. How could anyone possibly know what was the single worst antitrust essay? The mind boggles at the amount of reading necessary to reach an informed judgment; or the improbability that the Supreme Court, rather than a lower federal court, case could be the culprit. But these types of considerations are overly rational. Bork, presumably, meant his comment metaphorically. From his point of view, Brown Shoe was "not merely a bad case, it [was] also a trend setter-as if the poems of E. A. Guest had determined the course of modern literature."

In a similar spirit, I offer the following observation. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) resolution of the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) investigation was the worst botch of a case in the agency's history. I, too, mean my comment metaphorically. Still, when it is borne in mind that in 1988 over $720,000,000,000 of municipal debt was held by investors, and in 1987 there were new offerings of $114,000,000,000, the ultimate significance of the Commission's inaction is rapidly suggested.

Keywords

Municipal Securities, Bonds, SEC, Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) Investigation

Publication Citation

Joel Seligman, The Washington Public Power Supply System Debacle., 14 J. Corp. L. 889 (1988)

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