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

To: KLP who wrote (1175)	2/2/2002 11:26:41 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 3602

I can't help but wonder if the government wasn't so intertwined with energy companies through regulations, whether this kind of money flowing would be happening. Remember a few years ago, Microsoft didn't get involved very much in political contributions, (relatively speaking). Then Wham! Clinton's team of justice department lawyers came after them big time. Eventually, costing them nearly 5 billion dollars trying to keep Microsoft together. Lawyers got rich, so did a bunch of political consultants, but did the consumer really benefit when all was said and done? I don't think so. The lesson Enron provides us is that free market forces should be allowed to operate without political legislative influences when at all possible. Our energy industries have been far too intertwined with political whims for decades. They should be deregulated and allowed to operate in an environment in which the rules don't fluctuate at the political whims of hucksters shaking down a few more bucks for the next campaign. Enron simply played the game better than most. They sucked up and paid off whomever they thought would help give them a competitive advantage. First Clinton, then Rubin, and when the house of cards began to fall, they tried to use their contributions to the Bush campaign to save them. President Bush and Vice President Cheney showed the kind of strong character they have by turning a blind eye toward their request for assistance, even though they had donated to the campaign. In a previous administration, some behind the scenes deal with a foreign government probably would have been arranged, which would have allowed the books to be cooked for few more years.