Sure. In 1994, Lieberman aligned himself against investors and joined corporate America and accounting businesses to block an FASB proposal that would have companies deduct stock options from the bottom line to more accurately state earnings to investors. He's "one of the corporate whores who made Enron, MCI etc possible": From Frontline.... Lieberman In 1993, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposed closing an accounting loophole that allowed companies to avoid recording stock options on their balance sheets. According to a Merrill Lynch study, expensing stock options would have slashed profits among leading high-tech companies by 60 percent on average. Corporate America aligned with the accounting industry to fight the FASB proposal, with the result that in 1994, the Senate, led by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), passed a non-binding resolution condemning the proposal by a vote of 88-to-9.
Back in 1994, the Financial Accounting Standards Board was on the verge of ruling that stock options should be counted as expense. But then Congress, responding to a torrent of corporate pressure, flexed its muscle and forced the board to back down.
Then-Chairman of the SEC, Arthur Levitt, who has emerged as something of a white knight in this crisis, also buckled to political demands and urged the accounting regulators to cave in -- what he now calls the "biggest mistake" of his tenure. The bullying was spearheaded by Sen. Joe Lieberman, who proudly labels himself a “pro-business Democrat” -- Washingtonspeak for “I get a lot of money from bankers, brokers, and accountants.” Every night, hundreds of CEOs take the 6:15 from Grand Central to Lieberman’s home state, Connecticut, where they spend millions of those ill-accounted options dollars on goods, services, and politicians.
Currently Joe Lieberman is a big supporter and champion of Bush policy. |
