The Lessons of the Enron Debacle by Huck Gutman

1653 Words7 Pages
| The Lessons of the Enron Debacle | by Huck Gutman | | The fall of Enron, and its subsequent bankruptcy, may well be the largest scandal in the history of American business and politics. If we ask, "What went wrong with Enron?" the answer would be, "Everything."Enron's rise from a small Texas gas company to the seventh largest American corporation was spurred, at every juncture, by political influence and political decisions. Whether they were changes in government policy, loosening of federal regulations, staffing of key positions which supported or monitored energy issues: The government of the United States and the state government of Texas, looked out for Enron's interests. Even when state and national interests, and the interests of consumers and taxpayers and workers, was being undermined.Enron has given $1.9 million in soft money to the national political parties, more than three quarters of it to the Republicans. It has spent additional millions on political candidates, so that two-thirds of our national legislators have benefited from Enron largesse to their campaigns.In particular, Enron president Kenneth Lay has been generous - profligate - with his political contributions. His most intimate and costly connection was with the Bush family. Lay was the co-chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign in 1992 and chairman of the Republican national convention in that year. He supported the gubernatorial and presidential campaigns of George W. Bush from the start. The largest donor to the current President's political career, Lay and Enron have given George W. Bush $575,000 in political money. What has this money meant?Money buys access. Kenneth Lay has had easy access to James Baker, President Reagan's chief of staff; to Vice-President and later President George Bush; to Governor and later President George W. Bush; and of course to Vice
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