You Did Nothing Wrong, Kenny Boy

By: J.G. Schwam

Ken Lay is no idiot who did not know what was going on at Enron. Ken did not get to head one of the largest companies in the world by not being pretty darn smart. Ken Lay did not get where he was in life until a few short weeks ago by blindly trusting the likes Andy Fastow or Jeff Skilling with his fortune and reputation. While Bush's MBA calls into question whether some such sheepskins are earned not bought, I tend not to doubt that Ken Lay earned his Ph.D. in economics.

Bob Stein of Rice University posed the following insight into Ken Lays economic philosophy on PBS's News Hour with Jim Leherer:

"This is a Ph.D. in economics and a strong marketeer who believed that if you just simply freed and allowed men and women unfettered in the marketplace they would do good things for everyone." "He probably would have continued doing this had there not been a slight downturn in the economy. They were caught. But I don't think they will ultimately ever see they were doing anything wrong or fundamentally unethical."

Bob Stein may be exactly right. Ken Lay is a zealot for free marketeering and an antagonist of regulation. His record since he wrote his campaign finance check bears this out. Kenny Boy knew from day one that the less regulation and oversight there was on trading, corporate financial reporting and accounting rules the more he could, make, manipulate and get away with.

In short, I highly doubt there was much going on other than perhaps the annual budget for Dixie cups at Enron's water coolers that Kenny Boy did not know about. He would like us to think he was a dupe, a poor victim of a company gone wild under his watch. Even if that argument held water it is no excuse. Not even a poor one.

An altruistic attempt at the exoneration of Ken Lay on the grounds that he believed that "if you just simply freed and allowed men and women unfettered in the marketplace they would do good things for everyone" resounds weakly through the shattered 401(k)'s, mutual fund losses and bedraggled consumer confidence Kenny Boy's vision has left in its wake.

If Ken Lay's Enron is what an "unfettered" marketplace gives America we don't need it. Here, once again is proof that there must be oversight. There must be oversight in commodities trading, accounting practices, inter-bank finance and corporate financial reporting. Some may say we have that now. Well then if we do it is inadequate and it failed. It failed because of access, influence, greed and money. It's pretty darn hard to turn down a check for $200,000.00 whether you are an opera house or a Senator. If someone hands you a check that big they are going to make sure you know exactly what they expect in return.

If any thing positive comes out this episode it should be a reminder that the reason we regulated financial transactions in the 20's and 30's was because an unfettered marketplace will be abused and manipulated and thus you will have fraud. The writing is on the wall. The access, influence and preference a corporate campaign finance check provides must end. It's time the congressional republican delegation that has been blocking campaign finance reform for years now weans themselves from corporate udder. In doing so they will help America back on the road to credibility, confidence and integrity.