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Enron Mail |
=09Paul Krugman has made frequent negative references to Enron and its mana=
gement in his New York Times column over the last twelve months. I have re= frained from responding until now. Below (and in the attached in Word form= at) is a letter I hope you will print. If you wish to contact me, you can = call my office (713.621.6550) or page me (888.906.9761). Thank you for you= r consideration. Steven J. Kean Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Enron Corp. It's hard to tell what motivates Paul Krugman's frequent attacks on Enron (= "Enron Goes Overboard" August 17). His latest attack is no more than a str= ing of misstatements and non-sequitors reminiscent of a schoolyard taunt. = He reveals, in depth, his ignorance of Enron, the people who work here, and= the tragically botched California regulatory regime. Perhaps he seeks mer= ely to entertain. =09The broader goal of his personal attack appears to be to discredit the f= ree market system - a system that entrusts people to make choices and enjoy= the fruits of their labor, skill, intellect, and heart. He would apparentl= y rely on a system of government controlled or sponsored monopolies to make= choices for people. We disagree, finding ourselves less trusting of the i= ntegrity and good faith of such institutions and their leaders. Ironically= , the example Krugman cites of "financialization" run amok (the electricity= market in California) is the product of exactly his kind of system, with a= ctive government intervention at every step. Indeed, the only winners in t= he entire California fiasco were the government owned utilities of Los Ange= les, the Pacific Northwest, and British Columbia. The disaster that squand= ered the wealth of California was born of regulation by the few, not by mar= kets of the many. So long as Krugman's elitist reasoning prevails, we are = doomed to repeat such mistakes. Steven J. Kean Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Enron Corp. =20
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