Sunday, June 30,
2002
WorldCom latest
on disturbing list
WorldCom told a $3.8
billion lie on its books, and now there is the devil to pay. And
it is not just WorldCom that will do the paying.
The stock market
is taking a hit. The economy is taking a hit. Corporate America
is taking a hit. Telephone and Internet users will take a hit.
For lack of ethics,
a great deal has been lost, and the most pressing question is
what can be done to set things aright.
Here is an instance
when Washington must absolutely be responsible. Given this fiasco
on top of the scandals at Enron, Tyco, Arthur Andersen and other
corporations, it is crucial that Congress and the administration
discern what new laws are needed on accounting and transparency
and federal policing powers.
It is also crucial
that officials of both parties do not simply look to where political
advantage might lie, but instead address these issues seriously.
Meanwhile, we’re
all left with another question: What in the world has led to all
of this big corporate malfeasance?
Economists have been
telling the press that boom periods may encourage some business
leaders to take shortcuts, thinking that the boom will last forever,
rescuing them from error or fraud. That does not explain why they
would not have the integrity to avoid the shortcuts.
Of course, not all
the executives at these companies are responsible for what went
wrong, and it’s a minute fraction of all corporate leaders
who have now been implicated in dishonesty. The scary thing is
how the list keeps growing.
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