Treasury Secretary Condemns Corporate Scandals

New York Times ^ | Monday, June 24, 2002 | By BLOOMBERG NEWS

[JohnHuang2]

June 24, 2002

Treasury Secretary Condemns Corporate Scandals

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

ASHINGTON, June 23 (Bloomberg News) — The Treasury secretary, Paul H. O'Neill, said today that people should be "outraged" by recent corporate scandals, as President Bush's administration continues to seek a way to bolster investor confidence.

Mr. O'Neill, speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, also called for better disclosure of the cost of stock options and said corporate boards should show restraint on executive pay.

The administration has been emphasizing corporate responsibility as financial markets react to scandals that have enveloped corporations like Enron, Tyco International and Adelphia Communications.

"I think anyone who's paying attention ought to be outraged about the things that keep tumbling out," Mr. O'Neill said. "The amount of money some of these people have taken out and gotten away with is just unconscionable, and we need a law so we can get it back."

[JohnHuang2]

Monday, June 24, 2002

Quote of the Day by LonePalm

[SteamshipTime]

O'Neill should know. As Secretary of the Treasury, he is one of the trustees for the Social Security Trust Fund and the Federal Employees Retirement Pension Fund. On a continuing basis, he withdraws money from the funds and replaces it with IOU's. When even that is not enough, he asks Congress to increase the government's $6 trillion credit line. After all, as a net tax consumer, he doesn't have to pay it back.

In the private sector, O'Neill would be thrown in jail and have all his assets seized. In frontier times, he would have been tarred and feathered and hung from a tall tree.