As we reflect on the year 2001, our minds catapult to the World Trade Center in flames and hundreds of courageous firemen and police officers racing up stairs to try to save their trapped fellow citizens. Almost all of them gave their lives in this heroic effort.
For the last several months, the nation has been impressed by the dedication and discipline of American troops in Afghanistan successfully fighting to help rid the world of international terrorism. Some of these young people have died or been wounded.
Throughout the country, in the wake of September
11th, there has been a growing sense of coming together and shared
sacrifice. Hundreds of millions of dollars
have been donated to special funds for the families of the victims, and
Americans are taking a deeper look at the meaning of their lives.
And then of course there are the titans of corporate America. Unfortunately, for many of them, it's the same old story. Greed, greed and more greed.
Case in point is the Enron Corporation, which,
just last year, was the seventh largest company in America with revenue
exceeding $100 billion and over 20,000 employees.
Having contributed millions in campaign contributions to the Republican
Party and the President, the company was strongly
positioned to influence the direction of energy policies in the Bush
Administration. One of the results of their
efforts was a huge increase in electric rates in California.
Earlier this year, Enron was forced to admit
that it had over-reported its profits by nearly $600 million. This led
to the largest bankruptcy in history. While Enron was exaggerating its
profits, and before its artificially high stock price plummeted, three
top executives in the company, Lou Pai, Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling cashed
in stock options worth some $560 million. Like rats on a sinking ship,
they got their money out just in time. But they didn't give that same opportunity
to their employees.
While Enron's stock was crashing, the company
forced more than 12,000 of its employees to retain Enron stock in their
401(k) pension plans. This caused massive
losses for the workers and many lost their entire retirement savings.
Taxpayers will be delighted to know that the House Republicans included a $254 million corporate welfare check for Enron as part oftheir so-called "economic stimulus plan." But it's not just Enron.
The American people continue to pay by far
the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Many of the same
drugs
sold in this country by American drug companies
are sold abroad at a fraction of the price. The result is that millions
of
Americans suffer, and some die, because they
are unable to afford the medicine they need.
Meanwhile, year after year, drug companies
constitute the most profitable industry in our country. Last year, they
had profits
that exceeded $30 billion. At a time when
elderly citizens cut their dosages in half, nine executives at the top
pharmaceutical
corporations in the U.S. were given $890 million
in stock options according to Families USA. This is on top of the $169.9
million in wages, bonuses and other compensation
that these executives are already receiving.
How does the pharmaceutical industry manage
to rip off the American people, generate huge profits, get massive tax
breaks
and provide outrageous compensation packages
for their top management? Easy. As the wealthiest political lobby in
Washington they have spent, over the last
three years, more than $200 million in campaign contributions, lobbying
activities
and media advertising
Even in the face of the bioterrorism attack
on the United States, the drug giants are choosing profits over the health
of the
American people. When the federal government
chose to stockpile the antibiotic Cipro, the "deal" struck with the drug
companies requires the government to pay far
more than is charged by generic manufacturers abroad, and, in fact, more
than the federal government itself already pays under a different program.
But wait, corporate self-dealing doesn't end
there. Take, for example, Big Blue. As the holiday season approached, IBM
announced a new round of job cuts. According
to published news reports, the company has cut more than 5,000 jobs in
the
United States since July. Meanwhile, they
are building two new micro-processing plants in China where workers are
paid a
fraction of what American workers receive.
To IBM watchers, this latest act is par for the course.
Two years ago, despite record-breaking profits
and a pension fund surplus of some $10 billion, IBM slashed pension and
retirement health benefits for workers in
1999 and 2000 and curtailed salaries in 2001. Meanwhile, the CEO of IBM,
Louis
Gerstner, raked in $176 million in total compensation
and stock options over the past 2 years. In addition, he has accumulated
over $260 million in unexercised stock options from IBM during his tenure.
While slashing the pension plans of IBM employees, he negotiated a retirement
plan over $1.1 million a year for himself.
Once again, no bad deed goes unrewarded. If
the House Republican leadership gets its way IBM will receive $1.4 billion
in
corporate welfare this year.
This country has gone through an extremely
traumatic year, and we are now confronting serious economic and security
issues. It would be nice if, for once, some
of our corporate leaders looked out for someone other than themselves.