Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Eliot Spitzer is bad for America
Eliot Spitzer is bad for American business. Spitzer, the New York Attorney General, and perhaps a gubernatorial contender in 2006, is dangerous to a free market. One wonders how a state Attorney General, even from New York, can have such an affect on businesses.
Granted, I am not going to stand here and defend the businesses who have come under fire from Spitzer. For instance, Marsh & McLennan was accused late last year of bid rigging by the NYAG. Two weeks ago, Marsh & McLennan paid $850m to settle those civil charges. Unfortunately, Spitzer has the right idea, but is aiming in the wrong areas. My philosophy is that no company is bad (unless it's selling something like heroin, but you get my point), however people within that company have the capacity of wrongdoing. This is exactly what befell Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker. But who is to blame for the bid rigging? Is it the company, or is it the person or people who proposed the rigging, who actually performed the illegal action? Personally, I'm going to have to say the people involved should be held responsible, not the company they worked for. Spitzer obviously disagrees.
Granted, I am not going to stand here and defend the businesses who have come under fire from Spitzer. For instance, Marsh & McLennan was accused late last year of bid rigging by the NYAG. Two weeks ago, Marsh & McLennan paid $850m to settle those civil charges. Unfortunately, Spitzer has the right idea, but is aiming in the wrong areas. My philosophy is that no company is bad (unless it's selling something like heroin, but you get my point), however people within that company have the capacity of wrongdoing. This is exactly what befell Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker. But who is to blame for the bid rigging? Is it the company, or is it the person or people who proposed the rigging, who actually performed the illegal action? Personally, I'm going to have to say the people involved should be held responsible, not the company they worked for. Spitzer obviously disagrees.
