…apparently the Securities and Exchange Commission doesn’t give its people enough to do or monitor their activities very well, since they have lots of time to look at porn online instead of keeping con men from defrauding investors.

What’s that you say? Porn? Yes, porn.

The Washington Times reported today that an internal investigation by the SEC’s inspector general found no less than 24 SEC employees were spending office time surfing internet porn sites.

No word on whether any of the employees were dismissed as a result.

It’s hard to blame the SEC employees involved. Porn is much more diverting, we’re told, than Bernie Madoff’s financial statements.

Of course, the investing public is told that because the SEC is available to regulate the financial industry their savings are safe. This is a lie; government employees who spend their time watching a clock and playing hearts on the computer in between checking out DebbieDoesDryProng.com will never catch the crooks before the damage is done. A skeptical public armed with the knowledge they’re on their own will always do a better job of regulating the markets than a government bureaucracy which thinks it’s important to force companies to disclose their carbon emissions in SEC filings.