the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Apr 1, 2002
Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that helped Enron shred thousands of documents, is slated for trial on May 6–but not on very serious charges, only one count of obstruction of justice.
On March 22, Paul A. Volcker, who used to be the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, proposed that he would agree to take over Andersen in order to save it. His only conditions? Drop the federal case against Andersen and block people from suing Andersen.
With Volcker’s past service on the Fed, there is no doubt that his proposals have support from the highest government and banking circles.
Once again the government is seeking a way to save big business from itself. And once again, at the expense of the population.
Will this proposal fly? It all depends on whether the politicians think they can get away with bailing out Andersen’s owners and investors–without suffering too much political damage. Time will tell.
But there’s no doubt about what they will do if they think they have the chance.