Corporate Responsibility Finally Established, Corporate Watchdog Matt Komanecky Can Now Retire

At the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas today, a group of carefully selected guests -- eerily agreeable to the Bush Administration's positions on most issues -- rallied together to discuss worries and positively express solutions for the struggling economy. Included in the discussion were such issues as corporate malfeasance, terrorism insurance, and the elimination of the estate tax.

"I couldn't agree with you more, on account of all the corporate principles you laid out there," Donald Evans proclaimed, mirroring the Pollyanna tone about the role of corporations. "We [CEO's and corporations] lift people up out of poverty, and raise the standard of living...That's hope for the world." The Commerce Secretary giddily praised the role of corporate America for it's ability to "provide opportunity for individuals to pursue their dreams, and to pursue their life, and to provide for their family." (The Commerce Secretary forgets that the Wily Beaver pursues his dreams as well, without corporate help.) Corporate buzzwords like "core values," "integrity," "moral honesty," and "corporate responsibility" were thrown around like paper airplanes on substitute teacher day.

Frank Raines, Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae, continued to philosophize about the role of corporations in society. The CEO of one of the largest financial services corporations in the world ponificated that corporations "are here because they are the best way to generate wealth, and to uplift the human condition." He continued "I consider it to be a privelidge to be a CEO. And that it's a calling, an opportunity to serve in a different way." When he thinks about corporate responsibility, he thinks about the responsibility to the people who have 17 billion dollars invested in his company, the 15 million homeowners who have place to live because of the efforts of Fannie Mae, their 4500 emplyees, and the thousands of communties who depend on his company everyday. This kind of corporate congratulatory boardroom talk went on for quite awhile. Another message echoing through the discussion was that the majority of CEO's are honest; an idea presented by a group made up of CEO's like Hank Mckinnel, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, and Ken Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express.

Also at the Economic Forum, the President heard from four "ordinary Americans," like a 17-year veteran driver of UPS, who mysteriously was one of the only speakers who did not clamour for the repeal of the "Death Tax," as Republicans like to call the Estate tax.

Other issues mentioned were the need for terrorism issurance for businesses, investor education, healthcare, restraint in government spending, promotion of foreign trade, deregulation, simplification of the tax laws, and punishment of corporate misdeads.

President Bush said all the right things, yet his actions betray his true intentions. If he was serious on restraining spending, he would have never allowed the surplus to become a deficit. If the President was serious on corporate misbehavior, he wouldn't be giving the American people so much lip service and weak token gestures, like the tougher penalties for manipulitive CEO accounting practices. The reality is that white collar criminals rarely even get jailtime, and when they do it is in country club prisons.

The way this forum went today, with the positive economic messages and the reinforcement of corporate responsibility, I can retire as a watchdog for corporate injustice. However, this seems to be just a political smokescreen. Far too many guests agreed with the President's policies and most even praised how great a leader the President was in economic issues.

With so little dissent and real debate, I'm pulling the bullshit card on the President's Economic forum and will not retire as a corporate watchdog.