by Marlena Elias
July 16, 2006
After a 3-year hiatus, I have chosen Ken Lay’s death to write my first “complete” article to post on the new Ethmar. Clearly my voice is opposite from Ethan’s calm and logical voice. I consider this difference to be the success of our marriage.
I have first-hand experience at getting laid off because of corporate greed and "creative" accounting. Eth and I touch on the topic of a "market driven economy" on a fairly regular basis and I think it's horseshit. The shareholders are king when a company is publicly held and the employees are nothing more than slaves. I've been bought and sold so many times; I can't remember where my career started in the software industry. I've worked for Satan...oddly enough his name was not Kenneth Lay.
Ken Lay is not unique in his avarice and greed. There are other rat bastards that have raped and pillaged companies for their own profit. These sons of bitches sold their soul for a buck. There must be a price for selling your soul and the folks that worked for Enron paid the price for the greed of their corporate masters. Ethan and I still dream of the day when we can own a successful company and not become one of "them". With every corporate disaster that happens, that dream seems less visible. People like Ken Lay have killed the American dream and created a dwindling middle class. The White House rewards this kind of corporate narcissism and we as citizens pay a price. What’s more galling is that we the citizens of this country tolerate this kind of corporate bullshit when we should be rioting in the streets. Where is the outrage? Where is the moral fucking outrage? Why is it OK for the top 1% of the country’s wealthiest to get away with corporate crimes while what’s left of a middle class struggle?
The CEO of Whole Foods thinks that corporations are not accountable for crimes committed by the company. Well, isn’t that a kick in the ass? If I stole merchandise from Whole Foods and got caught, the company could prosecute and send me to jail. But if the company knowingly commits fraud, they are not accountable. How is that possible? Where is the outrage?
Are we so concerned about Gay Marriage and burning the American flag that we’re not paying attention to the political and corporate greed killing our economy and killing the middle class? Upper management, whether it’s the boardroom or the oval office, is taking advantage of the working class in this country and laughing all the way to the bank. Knowing these rat bastards will burn in hell is really not enough payback for me. Knowing that some of them end up in jail is really not justice. We should go back to a simpler time…when people were put in the stocks or hung in the town square. I think a strong message of punishment would really be the “wake-up” call that this country needs. Maybe then we could get some accountability back in this country. <EM>
