Thesis on "Enron Scandal"

Thesis 5 pages (1433 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Enron Scandal: Texas Political Scandal

The work of Paul Waldman (2004) entitled: "Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You" states "The unfortunate truth is this: George W. Bush is a fraud. From the moment he arrived on the national scene, George W. Bush has been telling us how honest he is, and for just as long-despite the ever-mounting evidence for the opposite conclusion -- most Americans, even many of those who oppose him politically have agreed." Indeed Waldman states that quite "contrary to what he seems to never tire of assuring us, George W. Bush is not a man of integrity; in fact he ranks among the most dishonest president in American history." (Waldman, 2004) While Bush lies are many times impromptu, according to Waldman, when asked an unexpected question however, "most often it is the essence of his political strategy, the key to every major policy move." (Waldman, 2004)

The Enron Scandal Breaks

Waldman states that when the Enron scandal broke on the scene and Bush was questioned by reporters concerning his relationship with Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, one would have been forgiven for expected Bush to admit that his ties to Enron are substantial." (2004) However, the truth is that Kenneth Lay is "an old Bush family supporter. Lay raised and contributed money to senior Bush, who made him chairman of the organizing committee for the 1992 Republic convention in Houston." (Waldman, 2004) in fact, Kenneth Lay's company, Enron, contributed more money over the course of the political career of George W. than did any other and contributions are stated as follows:

(1) 1978 - $47,500

<br />

(2) 1994 - $75,000;

(3) Two governors races - $312,500;

(4) Use of Enron's corporate jet during 2000 presidential campaign;

(5) $100,000 to inaugural committee with an additional $100,000 in personal money contributed by Lay and CEO for Enron, Jeffrey Skilling'

(5) Lay and his wife contributed $10,000 during the Florida recount;

(6) Enron contributed $1,138,990 in 2000; and (7) Lay contributed $333,910 to the GOP between 1998 and 2002. (Waldman, 2004)

II. George W. Bush -- Denial of Association with Lay

The answer provided by George W. Bush when first questioned about Ken Lay and Enron was as follows: "He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994...she named him the head of the Governor's Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken and worked with Ken, and he supported my candidacy." (Waldman, 2004)

Waldman reports that the top management at Enron started selling off their stock very quickly "as the house of cards that was the company's finances began to teeter...what makes this action so reprehensible is that the majority of Enron's employees -- who had been encouraged to load up their 401(k)s with Enron stock -- and all of its shareholders were not privy to this knowledge and consequently lost everything." (2004)

Waldman states that Bush sold his Harken stock valued at $848,560 for $4 per share on June 22, 1990, and just a few weeks later "the company issued a quarterly report revealing millions of dollars in losses." (Waldman, 2004) Stock fell quickly "reaching $1 per share by the end of the year. By getting out before things hit the fan, Bush saved himself more than $600,000." (Waldman, 2004) According to the work of Herivel and Wright (2003) the "massive contributions" of Enron to the Bush family and other political candidates "played a key role in the economic rise of Enron..." (Herivel and Wright, 2003)

III. The Enron Scandal Facts

The work of Joel Levy entitled: "The Little Book of Conspiracies: 50 Reasons to be Paranoid" relates that Enron had its beginning in 1985 as a small fuel supply company located in Houston, Texas. Enron sold and delivered gas to customers and "diversified to become an energy broker and dealer in the complex financial instruments of the energy market." (2005) in 2001, an investigation began when a corporate whistleblower tipped off the investigation and ultimately resulted in billions being lost including the share options and pensions of Enron employees and investors. (Levy, 2005, paraphrased) Levy states that the rise of Enron in the financial world "...coincided with… READ MORE

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