Time to get tough on corporate crime

(FinalCall.com)---America reached another dubious milestone July 22 as once mighty WorldCom filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. And while the spokespersons for the company and the Bush administration may want to put a good face on the debacle, the country is in deep trouble.

WorldCom�s downfall follows revelations of accounting magic, which failed to account for $3.8 billion in expenses.

The company�s freefall has sent banks, suppliers and other phone companies scrambling to lessen the negative impact of the crisis at the telecommunications giant. WorldCom was the second largest long distance company in America and the largest handler of Internet data. Government officials are saying the bankruptcy will have no impact on customers. But that doesn�t calm the jittery nerves of workers who have watched the company cut thousands of jobs already, and who are wondering who�s next?

Wall Street investors are reeling, watching the value of their stock evaporate right before their eyes and wondering what major company will be the next to tumble.

What happened?

The recent wave of corporate scandals results directly from a decades-long campaign waged by Corporate America to diminish or eliminate executive accountability and dismantle vital safeguards for consumers, workers and pensioners, Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook told lawmakers in congressional July 18 testimony.

Corporate bigwigs and lobbyists parlied influence into weakened protections against corporate wrongdoing and a slowness to punish executives for wrongdoing. Both Congress and the president have been talking tough about corporate crime, but what�s needed is proper government oversight and putting executives who violate laws in jail. It�s time to get tough on crime, white collar crime that is leading thousands of people to financial ruin.

FinalCall.com