Search for the Truth Regarding Enron
Re “White House’s Failure to Sound Alarm Faulted,” Jan. 13: Criticism of the Bush administration for not sending a warning to investors about Enron’s impending collapse seems more the product of political motivations than sound reasoning. Putting the federal government in the business of providing investment advice would surely create great potential for mischief and conflicts of interest. Private investors and their professional advisors are responsible for the wisdom of their investments.
The federal government is not without responsibility. If the laws regarding disclosure are inadequate, the Congress can fix that. If companies do not comply with the laws, the federal government can take legal action. Best of all, the Senate should stop its irresponsible behavior and enact meaningful campaign finance reform. And the president should fix the National Labor Relations Board, if Congress lets him, so that it enforces the Supreme Court’s 1988 Beck decision preventing unions from improperly using members’ money for political purposes. Without that, campaign finance reform would be problematic. The culprit in this issue is really the Congress.
Peter Horton
Coronado
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Re “Resist Revenge,” editorial, Jan. 13: Don’t think of it as revenge; it is simply fairness and the search for truth. Bill Clinton’s presidency was sabotaged by conservatives who hated him for his intelligence, humor and good looks. If George W. Bush’s presidency folds because, with his involvement in the oil business, a conflict of interest appears, it is his own fault and not some plot by liberals.
Jon Hartmann
Los Angeles
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When running for president, Bush promised that, if elected, he would bring a new morality into the government. With the Enron scandal, the country did not have to wait long. But with Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, etc., jumping ship, who will be left to prosecute Enron?
Louis Robins
Van Nuys
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Re “Auditor Says It Destroyed Enron Records,” Jan. 11: Even though I’m a layman, I know to keep my personal tax records for seven years in case I’m audited. Why have the accountants for Enron destroyed thousands of tax and business documents? Something to hide?
Was Bush’s name involved in these transactions? Or how about the other high-ranking officials who have since bowed out of the investigation due to possible conflicts of interest; did they make enormous profits selling shares as the everyday employees were restricted from selling their shares as they slid from $80 to worthless?
Larry Bickmann
Thousand Oaks
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Re “Compassionately Conserving Enron,” Commentary, Jan. 10: Arianna Huffington is fast becoming the patron saint of fair play. The Enron debacle is a microcosm of the Bush administration’s indifference to average citizens’ endeavor to provide a cushion for the autumn of their lives. Greed, the cancer of capitalism, must not be allowed to run rampant while the members of the ruling classes hide in their bunkers, counting out their millions. If “it’s the people’s money,” the slogan of the man who swaggered into the White House, then give it back to the people who are now hurting. And watch that “lockbox,” the working man’s last vestige of security.
Kathleen O’Donnell Hunt
Huntington Beach
