Will Corporate Reform Law Just Add To The Problems?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)

Byline: JOSEPH GUINTO

President Bush signed an accounting reform bill Tuesday, calling it "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

The president said, "We will act against those who have shaken confidence in our markets using the full authority of government."

Many are glad to hear that. But even though lawmakers say new investigations and regulations will help stocks, a different view is emerging among some investors and those who represent them. They say Washington is hurting Wall Street, not helping it.

"The stock market is a self-correcting mechanism," said Ted Parrish, director of investments at G.W. Henssler & Associates, a money management firm in Atlanta. "We don't need more laws -- just enforcement of existing ones."

Let The Market Work

The argument against Washington's actions so far is fairly nonpartisan -- Democrats and Republicans are both getting blame. But they're being blamed for very different things. For instance: