My Proposal for Corporate Bankruptcy Reform: Liquidate THEN Incarcerate

[NAO]

or "Liquidate first, Incarcerate later".

With all the talk of "Bankruptcy Reform", I wonder why it's all about personal bankruptcy. After all, the biggest busts over the past few years have been Enron, Worldcom, etc - not Tom and Jane Smith.

Now the Bankruptcy Reform makes it harder for people to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy - forcing them to do a Chapter 7 which includes a liquidation of their personal assets.

So, what happens to the personal assets of guys like Ken Ley when Enron goes bust? Are Ken Ley's personal assets liquidated and distributed to his creditors?

Why not? If officers of companies were personally liable for Enron/Worldcom/Tyco type behaviors, they might be more hesitant to engage in unethical behavior. I don't even see why stockholders who were paid dividends that were not really due them (because the books were cooked) should not have to pay that money back. If the bank makes an error in your favor, and the mistake is discovered, you have to pay the money back, right? How is this different from asking stockholders to pay cooked-book dividends back?

Yes, I do think Ken Ley should be incarcerated. But I think first his personal assets - his personal assets, any other companies he might have, his real property, his wife's jewelry - those type of things - should be liquidated and disbursed to his creditors.

When he has less than $5,000 in total net worth, at THAT point, and no sooner, should the criminal charges be brought against him. He would have to rely on the public defender because he would not be able to retain a lawyer, but too bad.

[Talismom]

1. Sounds brilliant to me! LOL! From your mouth to G-d's ear! n/t

[loudsue]

2. Great post!! And a GREAT solution!

Recommended and kicked!


:kick::kick::kick:

[dweller]

3. where to start? Delphi?

or just for grins, let's start at A

Adelphi
Allied
Ames
ANC
Anchor
Armstrong
ASARCO
ATA
Bethlehem
Burlington
Catholic Church
Collins & Aikman
Delphi
Delta
Entergy
Enron
Exide
Federal Mogul
Foamex
Integrated Health
Interstate Bakeries
Kaiser
Kmart
LaidLaw
Loewen
Mariner
Meridian
Mirant
Northwest Airlines
National Century
Owens Corning
PG&E
Parmalat
Reliance
St. Vincent
Solutia
Spiegal
TECO Affilates
Tower Automotive
Trump Hotels (You're Fired) :evilgrin:
US Airways
USG Corporation
VARIG
WR Grace
Westpoint
Winn-Dixie
Winstar
WorldCom

http://www.bankrupt.com/periodicals/bcs.html

so many possible bailouts, so little left for the common American in need...

dp