Posted on 02/08/2002 10:08:58 AM PST by wcdukenfield
What a bunch of clowns! If anyone still wonders why the American people have such disregard and even contempt for Congress, they need only watch a few hours of congressional hearings on Enron. I don't think most dictatorships could run better show trials. I'm waiting for Representatives Billy Tauzin and John Dingell to pull a Nikita Khrushchev and start banging one of their shoes on the table for attention.
I don't know whether executives at Enron violated any criminal statutes, securities regulations, or pension rules. I don't know whether they conspired with auditors from Arthur Andersen to cook the books, or with creditors like Citigroup to conceal the true financial condition of the company. But I do know one thing: The group demagoguery being practiced by Congress contributes nothing to the public's knowledge about Enron's bankruptcy — or to the pursuit of useful information in the formulation of public policy.
Of course, the irony of congressional handwringers denouncing Enron executives for screwing the little people is not lost on most conservatives. These are many of the same politicians who continue to perpetuate the myth that Social Security benefits are actually paid out of a trust fund when, in fact, they long ago misappropriated those retirement funds to support unrelated federal programs. This is the biggest financial scam in the history of man, involving hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of millions of largely unwitting taxpayers and pensioners. While Congress heaps praise on whistleblowers inside Enron, who purportedly sought to alert top management of the company's coming financial collapse, those who dare to question the practices and solvency of the Social Security program are denounced roundly and hysterically.
Congress also has legislative oversight responsibility for the rest of the federal bureaucracy. The General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress, has stacks of reports exposing waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the government — from the Education Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to the Interior Department and Health and Human Services. Billions and billions of tax dollars are mismanaged or unaccounted for in hundreds of programs involving student loans, Indian trust funds, unemployment compensation, grants to nonprofit environmental groups, farm subsidies, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid funds, and on and on. Yet despite the overwhelming evidence of widespread abuse, not only will every one of these budget items receive generous increases in funding, but Congress plans to create a massive new entitlement for prescription drugs, among other things.
The unvarnished truth is that Enron's collapse is of no direct consequence to most Americans. We haven't invested in Enron — or we've invested a small amount through widely diversified mutual funds. Despite the mantra that Enron's was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, at its peak the company employed a workforce of only 19,000, 4,500 of whom have received pink slips. To put this in perspective, last month Ford Motor Company announced it was laying off over 20,000 employees. And since the beginning of the recession, over 1,000,000 workers have lost their jobs. Enron's bankruptcy simply does not merit the attention of a dozen congressional committees.
Moreover, and unlike the systemic mismanagement and malfeasance that pervade the federal government, Enron's dealings are in no way typical of corporate America. The overwhelming majority of businesses are law-abiding and ethical. They care about their employees, they manage their finances — including pension funds — responsibly, they make public a true accounting of their financial health, and they contribute mightily to the nation's unparalleled economic prosperity.
There's every indication that the Enron executives who appear to have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities to investors and employees, or who may have violated the law, will be dealt with by federal and state law enforcement and regulatory authorities. And that's as it should be.
What's troubling is the transparent attempt by too many in Congress to use Enron to advance their political agendas. Some hope to damage the Bush administration by creating a web of suspicion involving meetings, past associations, and campaign contributions. Others are using Enron to disparage capitalism itself and promote bigger government. And still more are grandstanding to impress their constituents, or to inoculate themselves from criticism for their own past associations with the company.
In the end, little benefit will come from these hearings. They afford little more than the sorry spectacle of public officials abusing the public's trust in the name of the public interest.
Have you seen a conservative -- anybody, actually -- defend what went on at Enron?
Here at FR, you have seen some people questioning what really happened, and questioning the motivations of the Congress and the media. They have defended the Bush administration, against the onslaughts of the Democrats and the media, but you haven't seen anybody defending Enron.
If you have, I'd appreciate some examples of what you mean.
You don't read that as sarcasm and a pointed comment about the media, rather than about Enron?
Did you check your sense of irony at the door?
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