Corporate Greed and Appreciation for a System

[sbyers@wirb.com]

I would like to refer everyone to an interesting article
in the current (9/23) New Yorker magazine by John Cassady.
What was most illuminating for me was the extent or size
of the system that must be "appreciated" to begin to 
understand corporate behavior and performance in recent
years. A key input was an argument developed and advanced
30 years ago by two just-graduated economists on the subject
of executive compensation: "It planted the idea that the 
most important people in any company are not the employees
or the managers but the owners - the stockholders and bond-
holders." Mr. Cassady explains clearly how this idea took
hold and led us to stock options, manipulation of the data
and the system, and Enron and others of their ilk.

For me, the article provokes many more questions than it
answers, and so was quite enjoyable to read.

Regards,

Steven Byers

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