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Non-Tech : The Enron Scandal - Unmoderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (160)	1/15/2002 3:00:01 PM
From: Paul Moerman	Respond to of 3602

Jori, you're a breath of fresh air! the media is distorting enron's 401k plan issue so much it makes me puke. many companies pay matching contributions in company stock - it's completely legal. also legal to place restrictions on when such company matching contribs (i.e. "free money") can be switched out of company stock. no villainy whatsoever on an employer's part to do so! if enron employees invested too much of their own 401k contributions in company stock, that was their own (unwise) choice. they could have diversified more, but were emotionally swept up by the fabulous good times of Enron and its stock. why should we need a law to protect people from their own greed (or laziness/cheapness to get some investment advice) ? the media and event several ignorant legislators keep talking about how enron employees' "pensions" have been wiped out. not true, because pensions are formula driven, defined-benefit plan benefits that are insured by law by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. 401k plan benefits are for retirement income purposes, but they are not "pensions". I don't know if enron even sponsors a defined-benefit plan - the law doesn't require them to (nor offer a 401k plan either for that matter). at least the enron employees who have been wiped out are mostly young enough to pick up the pieces and start over. they can find other jobs. I feel less sorry for them than for the many retired investors who got sucked into the problem by some fast talking broker/analyst (the stock is going up, after all), only to then walk away and let these senior citizens lose it all. sure enron management was crooked, and Arthur Anderson is tainted (or worse) by their having "blessed" the accuracy of all the filings and financial statements. many should go to jail. however it's not up to the government or taxpayers to bail out the "poor" enron employees from their individual failure to avoid placing all their eggs in one basket. that's pretty basic, and they should have known better, even if their management kept saying everything is coming up roses! seems to me that enron employees should suck it in and stop trying to shift the blame to someone else. I do feel sorry that many enron employees are now out of a lucrative job, and for the stress this is having on their families, but they have a lot of company. how many 100,000's of jobs have been eliminated in the last 12-18 months? a bunch!