I've been following the Enron scandal with great interest. With all the bad corporations out there stealing, deceiving, and hurting people, it's nice to see some of the bad guys nabbed once in a while. When some dude high on drugs holds up a bank, it makes all the headlines, but meanwhile these so-called corporate warriors in their tailored suits get away with crap all the time.
On Thursday, Ex-Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay received his long overdue indictment. Okay, this guy was part of a corporate culture that bilked employees out of their retirement, cheated stockholders out of millions, and defrauded banks. The Enron conspirators are among the biggest crooks in U.S. history.
Does Kenneth Lay step forward and take responsibility for one of the greatest corporate crimes? Not really, Kenneth Lay is a weenie. First, in 2002 he refuses to testify to the Senate Commerce Committee and pleas the "Fifth Amendment." I remember him mumbling something about "on the advice of my attorneys I cannot comment." I felt that was disgusting because all these corporations seem to do whatever they want, and on the rare occurrence when they get nabbed they won't even talk.
Then, at a press conference on Thursday he at least took responsibility for the ordeal, but added, "I continue to grieve, as does my family, over the loss of the company and my failure to be able to save it. But failure does not equate to a crime."
In other words, his underlings are running amok cheating, lying, and defrauding, and Mr. Lay admits he's a really bad leader, but he doesn't consider himself a criminal. Hmmmmm.
Now for a little background:
• In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a corporation should have the same rights as a living person . Now that was a big mistake because corporations don't have souls or consciences. I see them as giant, lumbering monsters that eat everything in their path. The little executives that work for them often lose their sense of accountability and responsibility. They know it's the corporation that will get fined or revoked. They know that no one can beat up the corporation or throw it in prison — it's like a mythical beast. The little executives also know they have limited liability because THAT ROTTEN CORPORATION DID IT - NOT ME!
• Corporate thievery is nothing new. I remember the Savings & Loan Scandal of the 1980s which bilked the nation between $300 and $500 BILLION. During this same period, burglars cost the nation $3.4 billion. Now burglars are finks too, but who are the REAL criminals in our society?
• All the crimes mentioned above are nothing to compared to the corporations that help to kill people. In 2000, the leading cause of death in the U.S. was tobacco , with 435,000 deaths, or 18.1 percent of total U.S. deaths. Despite a barrage of lawsuits, the tobacco industry is alive and well, and I see their poison for sale nearly everywhere I go. The tobacco industry has set the standard for dirty tactics, and other corporations have learned well from them. One of their favorite tactics is to "attack the science," which is now a favorite maneuver for the Global Climate Change deniers.
On one hand, I know smoking is a matter of personal responsibility, but shouldn't corporations show responsibility too? I'm sure a lot of tobacco farmers in North Carolina and Kentucky will be voting for President Bush because he's a "good pro-life supporter." The irony kills me.
While corporations are often huge, they are often slow and dumb, and they appear very responsive to public outcries. Pro-business candidates scream, "We need to cut back on regulations for business!" But if corporations would only behave we wouldn't need ANY regulations.
So, what do you do? Buy stock in a corporation that misbehaves. Then write letters and speak out at shareholder meetings. Speak up! If we don't get these giants back in their cages, who will???
Okay, time to connect the dots:
"In addition to being one of the single largest financial backers of George W. Bush's political career, Ken Lay can count himself among the president's closest friends. Letters written while Bush was governor of Texas and obtained by Mother Jones reveal that the Enron Corp. chairman regularly wrote Bush and called upon the governor for favors."
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