I'm no apologist for Lay, but there is some truth to this. If some thug rap star dies in a shootout, many in our society treat him like he was some unsung hero who was a victim of circumstance. If some crooked CEO dies, we act like he's as bad or worse than a serial killer. The fact is many people would give in to greed and do crooked things if put in the position that Lay was. That sort of power and money tend to corrupt. Again, that's not to defend him, but it's the truth nonetheless...
Massive Coronary http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13715925/ Pastor Steve Wende of First United Methodist Church of Houston, said in a statement that church member Lay died unexpectedly of a âmassive coronary.â Wende said Lay and his wife, Linda, were in Colorado for the week âand his death was totally unexpected. Apparently, his heart simply gave out.â Lay was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23. He faced decades in prison.
You're right, if Enron hadn't hired them, or acquired their employer, those people would never have gotten another paycheck in their life. Lucky for them Kenny-boy lifted their sorry asses out of the gutter and gave them Enron welfare checks out of the kindness of his heart. The least they can do by way of gratitude is turn a blind eye to the fact that they worked for a lie and their future has been stolen. Martin
Total drivel. The guy and his cronies vaporize billions in investor money, bring down one of the largest accounting firms in the world, totally screw their employees out of their pensions, and you want to defend him? Talk about needing a reality check.
There appears to be lots of emotion against Ken Lay. It is very tragic for his family but today he 'won'. He gets the final say: 'No mother f**kers I'm out of here. I'm gone. I will not be doing any of your dumb time in the slammer.' My perspective is non-emotional. Enron was a big glamour bull stock overhyped by a tribe of stock market hangers-on. Its just part of the big stock market roller coaster. Its stock, like certain other big ones, was going to come crashing down when the bear wave came whether or not the company carried on or went bust. Lay & Skilling were incidental. Look, I cannot understand why so many otherwise intelligent people cannot see this or do not want to see this. Smart money was out of Enron before the cracks started to appear. Those that stayed aboard this stock were mainly fantasists which is not uncommon. I have known analysts who have lost big dough in various stock market disasters. It happens all the time. "There are none so blind as those who will not see."
Regardless of your religious affiliation, I would hardly consider dying a "win." I'm a bit surprised that anyone would choose to be an apologist for systemic fraud but given the earlier comment about "winning" it's a bit more understandable. Just my $.02.