Policy and Legislation - greasing the wheels or a slipper slide to demise

I was reading the Washington Regulatory Update this week, and being a member of the ISACA Government and Regulatory Agencies subcommittee region three, we are exposed to movements in legislation re IT Governance in Europe, Middle East and Africa. There's a huge amount of activity at the moment, from changes at Basel, the Dodd- Frank Act et al.

For what it's worth, my pennies worth, or rather a word of caution. We must be very careful that we don't promulgate legislation and policy (even at business and professional level) that stifles the very source of capitalism it's designed to protect. There must be a balance. I'm concerned that we are striking a balance too far to one end of the pendulum. What happens when business is stifled and unemployment rises. Do we review what was put in place and then have an epiphany in the other direction. i.e. for the greater good...... which was probably the reason why we did it in the first place! At least this is why we hope this is being done, but sometimes one can't help but feel that it's political grandstanding.

Unfortunately, there's a very real fundamental that lawmakers seem to miss. The presense of policy and law does not make the problem go away or make companies and shareholders ethical. The real threat of consequence should be the kicker!!

At the same time, Boards and Management need to knuckle down and deal with the fundamentals- good sustainable business. If you're rotten, you deserve to get left in the orchard.