Wednesday 10 March 2010

Why is James Overdahl leaving the SEC?

Yeah, he'll be leaving soon. End of this month. Shame. James Overdahl, chief economist at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has had enough. He don't wanna be no chief economist no more. It's Jack Pickles, you see.

This is what Mr Overdahl told me late last night: 'Mikey, I can't do it any more. I just can't do it. (You sound really down, man.) Yeah, I am down, Mikey. Real down. We ain't ever gonna catch Jack Pickles. Mary thinks she can get him. But she ain't ever gonna get him. She's just wasting her time. Well, I ain't gonna waste my time no more. There's a better life, Mike. I want to float away. I'm heading for the desert. (That's great, James. Just one thing: you're not a SEC man now - or you won't be.) So? What do you mean? (Well, James, you'll see some things in the desert of our love that may upset you a little bit.) Really? (Oh yeah. We ain't regulated in the desert, man. You get me? We don't give a shit about no SEC or FSA. We do things our way. You dig?) Mike, are you saying that there is wrongdoing even in the desert of your love? (Wrongdoing?! I wouldn't call it wrongdoing, James. We do things our way.) You mean insider trading? (James, man, we do things our way. That's all I'm gonna say.) I thought you were one of the good guys, Mike. (I am a good guy. You know how Jack operates. I ain't nothing like that. I draw the line at murder and kidnap and blackmail and all the other shit he's involved in.) I'm still disappointed. (Does that mean you've changed your mind about the desert?) I'll have to think about it.'

Oh, he'll have to think about it! Ain't no SEC characters ever gonna make it in the desert. You've got to be open-minded. You've got to be cool - even when you're burning. And you've got to have a set of balls. We ain't fucking around.