SEC's Chris Cox to those who lost billions due to ponzi scheme: My bad.

"I am gravely concerned by the apparent multiple failures over at least a decade to thoroughly investigate these allegations or at any point to seek formal authority to pursue them," said commission Chairman Christopher Cox in a written statement.

That's all you'll get from Chris Cox and the SEC, who turned a blind eye time and time again when warned about Bernard Madoff, who allegedly ran a ponzi scheme that swindled billions from institutions all over the world.

It seems that a pattern is forming in regards to Mr. Cox and the SEC, who also chose to ignore many red flags signaling the current financial crisis. The fact that Mr. Cox is owning up to any failure at all by the SEC is a huge victory. The default "pass the buck" response would have been more than appropriate here.

Not surprisingly, those duped by Madoff are looking for restitution, and it isn't hard to guess where they are expecting the money to come from; the world's insurance provider: the Federal government. Yet again, the taxpayer will ultimately bear the burden of Madoff's corruption.

Chris Cox has been criticized heavily over "mark to market" accounting procedures that have allowed investment firms and brokers to hide billions of liabilities off their balances sheets, thus leaving investors completely in the dark about the real value of the firms. He has also been criticized over short selling deregulation that, in effect, allows large firms to swing the entire stock market up or down several hundred points in a given day.

My question is this: how does this guy still have a job?

Most Americans Don’t Understand Basic Economics

New survey shows the majority of consumers can’t correctly answer questions about borrowing, interest rates and even basic math.

The Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (CEEL) recently released a new survey underscoring the need for increased education on personal finance and economic issues. The national survey shows an overwhelming number of Americans are unable to answer some of the most basic questions about borrowing, interest rates, terminology and even basic math. More troubling is that many Americans admit to making poor decisions with their own personal finances.

Startling highlights from the survey include:

• 54 percent of respondents could not identify what a subprime mortgage was.
• 56 percent of respondents could not identify FICO score as the most important factor in getting a loan.
• 65 percent of respondents could not identify what would remain if you subtracted 25 percent from 8. One in three respondents could not identify what 1 percent of 50,000 was.
• 75 percent did not know that when in need of short-term emergency cash, bouncing a check costs more than wire transfers, credit card advances and short-term payday loans.
• Half of respondents have overdrafted their checking account at one time, while a third of respondents have paid a bill late in the past year.
• 35 percent of respondents admitted to not having a family or personal budget that would allow them to conceivably eliminate their credit card debt by the end of 2009.