Anti-fraud bill is a smokescreen
Anti-fraud bill is a smokescreen to distract public
from fact that corporate crooks aren't being prosecuted
WASHINGTON, DC -- An anti-fraud bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday
is an attempt to protect -- rather than punish -- the corporate
criminals responsible for the recent rash of Wall Street scandals,
Libertarians say.
That;s because writing new laws will do nothing to punish the corporate
crooks at Enron, WorldCom and other companies who have already
defrauded their shareholders and employees.
"It's time to call in the prosecutors, not the politicians," said
Steve Dasbach, Libertarian Party executive director. "Crimes have been
committed and lives have been ruined -- and current laws should be used
to immediately prosecute these criminals and force them to return their
ill-gotten gains."
Spurred by a wave of company accounting scandals, the Senate voted 97-0
on Wednesday to pass a bill that carries new penalties for corporate
fraud, document shredding, and tightens oversight of the accounting
industry. The Senate action followed a Wall Street speech that
President Bush gave on Tuesday, in which he spelled out his own ideas
for cracking down on corporate crime.
But new legislation is just a smokescreen to cover up the fact that the
current crop of criminals aren't being prosecuted, Libertarians say.
For example, the Senate bill doubles the penalty for mail and wire
fraud from five to 10 years, Dasbach said. "But why focus on
sentencing a hypothetical, future criminal to 10 years when an actual
Enron or WorldCom criminal can be sentenced to five years right now?
Are politicians hoping that these white-collar criminals can be quietly
sentenced to zero years when the furor dies down?"
Equally important, enforcing stricter laws for tomorrow does nothing to
help today's victims, Libertarians say.
"It's an insult for Congress to tell the 17,000 workers at WorldCom
who have lost their jobs, 'Don't worry, the next crooked accountant who
tries this will be punished,' " Dasbach said. 'The government owes it
to the workers who have lost their jobs and their savings due to fraud
to prosecute the perpetrators as soon as possible, not after
politicians preen over the latest bill they've written."
Another solution that politicians are overlooking: Restitution.
"Here are four words that should be on the lips of every 'concerned'
politician: 'Give the money back,' " Dasbach said. "After these
criminal executives are convicted, their victims should be encouraged
to file civil suits to recover damages. Force the guilty to empty their
bank accounts, sell their stock and put their mansions on the market in
order to compensate their victims.
"But writing another law won't return one dime to the hard-working
employees and stockholders who lost their jobs and their life savings -
and both Bush and Congress know that.
"As long as politicians blather on about new laws instead of enforcing
those already on the books, they should be considered accomplices
after-the-fact in these corporate crimes."
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from a Libertarian party news letter
