At the risk of demonstrating a calloused heart, I don’t think it’s that sad. An old-timer who worked for my dad took his first long vacation in years, fished and drank for two weeks then blew a gasket in his sleep the day before his flight home. Everybody’s gotta go and I’m sure given the choice, KennyBoy would have prefered living in a cell to dying in Aspen but he was given no such choice and in the end, perhaps, counted it fair enough. So long, Kenny (my namesake). All I can say is I’m sure you weren’t as bad a cat as the Lefties have declared. You couldn’t be.
I don’t see how the “lefties” declared Lay to be such a demon — after all, he is a convicted felon — nor do I see why this is a left vs. right issue — but I am sorry to see his passing. The fact that he kept his stock while the company tanked leads me to think that there is some credibility to his defense that he was unaware of the fraud which was going on under his watch. RIP Ken Lay –
Well, OK, there are a lot of vituperative comments on the huffington site — however I wouldn’t conflate what you see on a blog with what “the left” (whatever that is) thinks — people who blog (myself included) may be more vocal than the rest, and have too much time on their hands, but I’m not sure if they are typical of the larger group of “lefties” — in any event, I don’t see this as a left vs. right issue, although there will always be nut jobs who view anything as symptomatic of some larger, darker conspiracy (as the huffington posts show) –
Kenny – Boy escapes the hangman’s noose – just like most of the infamous scoundrels of our times. No, I think he got off easy in this regard – he most likely would’ve lived out his remaining days in prison, which I believe would have been a far worse fate than his passing.
If this sounds nasty, well, I knew a few folks who lost their life savings because of this guy and his minions, and who speaks for them? Many of their lives are effectively ruined, and where do they get their justice now?
I agree, Peter, but when you’re basically being lied to by your own CEO and President, pleading with you not to dump your employee stock, that the company’s financials are sound, etc. – well, that’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
Were all of the employees greedy, and got what they deserved? Perhaps in some regard, but that does not excuse their superior’s total abdicaton of fiduciary and ethical responsibilities in this matter. When you’re going to mislead the people who brought you to the pinnacle of success, while you’re still enriching your own pockets at the same time – there’s gotta be a special place in hell for those folks.
I may be wrong (and it sure wouldn’t be the first time) but weren’t Enron employees required to invest their pension contributions in Enron stock, or just strongly encouraged? And/or prohibited from selling that stock, at least in the final months before the collapse?
I believe that they were only prevented from selling their stock during a short time period, when the stock went from something like $12 down to $9 in the couse of a few weeks. Otherwise, any of them could have sold their stock at any time.
Yes, Enron was not a traditional ESOP (the kind the Dems look back on so nostalgically) wherein the company invests in stock, overwhelmingly its own, in the name of employee pensions. It was more of a 401 type deal but Lay did certainly beg the employees and all shareholders to forego sales during the plunge. On the earlier point, peter, bloggers don’t do it for ya? Is the WaPo a reliable voice of the cultural Left? Well, on Ken Lay they sure are. Regardez… http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/05/AR2006070501754.html
If there is any public figure, other than George Bush, that such a load of malice would be dumped upon through the editorial filters of the WaPo or similar outfit I’d like to know who it is. And it ain’t Saddam Hussein.
At the risk of demonstrating a calloused heart, I don’t think it’s that sad. An old-timer who worked for my dad took his first long vacation in years, fished and drank for two weeks then blew a gasket in his sleep the day before his flight home. Everybody’s gotta go and I’m sure given the choice, KennyBoy would have prefered living in a cell to dying in Aspen but he was given no such choice and in the end, perhaps, counted it fair enough. So long, Kenny (my namesake). All I can say is I’m sure you weren’t as bad a cat as the Lefties have declared. You couldn’t be.
I don’t see how the “lefties” declared Lay to be such a demon — after all, he is a convicted felon — nor do I see why this is a left vs. right issue — but I am sorry to see his passing. The fact that he kept his stock while the company tanked leads me to think that there is some credibility to his defense that he was unaware of the fraud which was going on under his watch. RIP Ken Lay –
peter, see my post above to see the demonization of Lay in all its glory…
“I don’t see how…”
If ya don’t look ya CAN’T see.
Well, OK, there are a lot of vituperative comments on the huffington site — however I wouldn’t conflate what you see on a blog with what “the left” (whatever that is) thinks — people who blog (myself included) may be more vocal than the rest, and have too much time on their hands, but I’m not sure if they are typical of the larger group of “lefties” — in any event, I don’t see this as a left vs. right issue, although there will always be nut jobs who view anything as symptomatic of some larger, darker conspiracy (as the huffington posts show) –
Kenny – Boy escapes the hangman’s noose – just like most of the infamous scoundrels of our times. No, I think he got off easy in this regard – he most likely would’ve lived out his remaining days in prison, which I believe would have been a far worse fate than his passing.
If this sounds nasty, well, I knew a few folks who lost their life savings because of this guy and his minions, and who speaks for them? Many of their lives are effectively ruined, and where do they get their justice now?
I don’t want to sound callous, but if you put all of your eggs in one basket, what do you expect?
I agree, Peter, but when you’re basically being lied to by your own CEO and President, pleading with you not to dump your employee stock, that the company’s financials are sound, etc. – well, that’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
Were all of the employees greedy, and got what they deserved? Perhaps in some regard, but that does not excuse their superior’s total abdicaton of fiduciary and ethical responsibilities in this matter. When you’re going to mislead the people who brought you to the pinnacle of success, while you’re still enriching your own pockets at the same time – there’s gotta be a special place in hell for those folks.
agreed
I may be wrong (and it sure wouldn’t be the first time) but weren’t Enron employees required to invest their pension contributions in Enron stock, or just strongly encouraged? And/or prohibited from selling that stock, at least in the final months before the collapse?
I believe that they were only prevented from selling their stock during a short time period, when the stock went from something like $12 down to $9 in the couse of a few weeks. Otherwise, any of them could have sold their stock at any time.
Yes, Enron was not a traditional ESOP (the kind the Dems look back on so nostalgically) wherein the company invests in stock, overwhelmingly its own, in the name of employee pensions. It was more of a 401 type deal but Lay did certainly beg the employees and all shareholders to forego sales during the plunge. On the earlier point, peter, bloggers don’t do it for ya? Is the WaPo a reliable voice of the cultural Left? Well, on Ken Lay they sure are. Regardez…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/05/AR2006070501754.html
If there is any public figure, other than George Bush, that such a load of malice would be dumped upon through the editorial filters of the WaPo or similar outfit I’d like to know who it is. And it ain’t Saddam Hussein.