They may not always win, but they are as stubborn as all get-out and are willing to fight over the long term. Ths frequently makes them a force to be reckoned with, right or wrong, for better or worse. (think MS vs. USDOJ, MS vs. Netscape, X-box vs Sega, etc)
The situation with Martha Stuart getting nailed by the SEC while Kenneth Laye is still under investigation is not difficult to understand.
Ken Laye knows the system better than Martha. The Laws governing corporate recordkeeping (both for the corporations themselves and the audit companies that review their records) dont have any real teeth to require reporting for all but the most obvious cases of fraud. The laws also assume, naively IMO, that the coporations and auditors themselves will be honest. Most are, but we can see the consequences of those which are not, and in this case they were quite severe.
Consider also the fact that a corporation (of which Kenny was the head) as large and sprawling as Enron had plenty of opportunites to "cook the books", while poor Martha assumed that
a) what she did was peerfectly normal and
b) even if it was a bit of an abuse it was so minor no one would care.
She ignored the fact that the SEC and other Federal authorities were just itching to bust *anyone* who was of stature or wealth (preferably both) to give the illusion that they are doing their jobs to protect us. This is especially true in light of the recurrant corporate scandals (there have been so many as of late.. take a look around...).
The reality is
1) they dont have the ideal legislation to back them up either with the authority to conduct the kind of investigations they need to
2) the ability to bust ppl and/or corps for what the average citizen can identify as theft and outright deception (politicians in their pockets, as you said)
3) They also dont have the federal funding to get the manpower needed to catch all but the most eggregious and stupid offenders.
Martha is/was one of these, but the story for her is far from over. Given the public polarization over her stature and attitude, I'd wager she'll lose. But, yeah you're right - the system sucks and the wrong ppl get away with things. I just thought you might want to educate yourself a bit more as to why this happens: public apathy in regards to governmental skullduggery. Dont like what you heard? Write your representaive a letter and let him know what you think of this kind of thing. Better yet, have a few others sign it, and please do VOTE. Voting = (among other things) a license to b*tch.
Slashdot Mirror
Looks like the Rotten Egg that Orrin Hatched may be all over his face.
I agree completely
They may not always win, but they are as stubborn as all get-out and are willing to fight over the long term. Ths frequently makes them a force to be reckoned with, right or wrong, for better or worse. (think MS vs. USDOJ, MS vs. Netscape, X-box vs Sega, etc)
The situation with Martha Stuart getting nailed by the SEC while Kenneth Laye is still under investigation is not difficult to understand. Ken Laye knows the system better than Martha. The Laws governing corporate recordkeeping (both for the corporations themselves and the audit companies that review their records) dont have any real teeth to require reporting for all but the most obvious cases of fraud. The laws also assume, naively IMO, that the coporations and auditors themselves will be honest. Most are, but we can see the consequences of those which are not, and in this case they were quite severe. Consider also the fact that a corporation (of which Kenny was the head) as large and sprawling as Enron had plenty of opportunites to "cook the books", while poor Martha assumed that a) what she did was peerfectly normal and b) even if it was a bit of an abuse it was so minor no one would care. She ignored the fact that the SEC and other Federal authorities were just itching to bust *anyone* who was of stature or wealth (preferably both) to give the illusion that they are doing their jobs to protect us. This is especially true in light of the recurrant corporate scandals (there have been so many as of late.. take a look around...). The reality is 1) they dont have the ideal legislation to back them up either with the authority to conduct the kind of investigations they need to 2) the ability to bust ppl and/or corps for what the average citizen can identify as theft and outright deception (politicians in their pockets, as you said) 3) They also dont have the federal funding to get the manpower needed to catch all but the most eggregious and stupid offenders. Martha is/was one of these, but the story for her is far from over. Given the public polarization over her stature and attitude, I'd wager she'll lose. But, yeah you're right - the system sucks and the wrong ppl get away with things. I just thought you might want to educate yourself a bit more as to why this happens: public apathy in regards to governmental skullduggery. Dont like what you heard? Write your representaive a letter and let him know what you think of this kind of thing. Better yet, have a few others sign it, and please do VOTE. Voting = (among other things) a license to b*tch.