#enron — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #enron, aggregated by home.social.
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Почему Уолл‑стрит игнорирует долги техногигантов / Хабр
https://habr.com/ru/articles/1072776/
> Несколько недель назад издание Nikkei Asia сообщило , что у пяти крупнейших технологических компаний США есть долговые обязательства на $1,65 трлн, которые в балансах у этих организаций нигде не фигурируют.
Речь не про ту часть, которую видно, а про второй, куда более мощный пласт долга.
Через несколько дней газета Financial Times обнаружила ещё $50 млрд арендных обязательств, которые Nvidia взяла на себя ради одного‑единственного центра обработки данных в Техасе, машинные залы которого планируется заполнить её же собственными чипами — обязательство, о котором до этого известно не было. -
Почему Уолл‑стрит игнорирует долги техногигантов / Хабр
https://habr.com/ru/articles/1072776/
> Несколько недель назад издание Nikkei Asia сообщило , что у пяти крупнейших технологических компаний США есть долговые обязательства на $1,65 трлн, которые в балансах у этих организаций нигде не фигурируют.
Речь не про ту часть, которую видно, а про второй, куда более мощный пласт долга.
Через несколько дней газета Financial Times обнаружила ещё $50 млрд арендных обязательств, которые Nvidia взяла на себя ради одного‑единственного центра обработки данных в Техасе, машинные залы которого планируется заполнить её же собственными чипами — обязательство, о котором до этого известно не было. -
Почему Уолл‑стрит игнорирует долги техногигантов / Хабр
https://habr.com/ru/articles/1072776/
> Несколько недель назад издание Nikkei Asia сообщило , что у пяти крупнейших технологических компаний США есть долговые обязательства на $1,65 трлн, которые в балансах у этих организаций нигде не фигурируют.
Речь не про ту часть, которую видно, а про второй, куда более мощный пласт долга.
Через несколько дней газета Financial Times обнаружила ещё $50 млрд арендных обязательств, которые Nvidia взяла на себя ради одного‑единственного центра обработки данных в Техасе, машинные залы которого планируется заполнить её же собственными чипами — обязательство, о котором до этого известно не было. -
Почему Уолл‑стрит игнорирует долги техногигантов / Хабр
https://habr.com/ru/articles/1072776/
> Несколько недель назад издание Nikkei Asia сообщило , что у пяти крупнейших технологических компаний США есть долговые обязательства на $1,65 трлн, которые в балансах у этих организаций нигде не фигурируют.
Речь не про ту часть, которую видно, а про второй, куда более мощный пласт долга.
Через несколько дней газета Financial Times обнаружила ещё $50 млрд арендных обязательств, которые Nvidia взяла на себя ради одного‑единственного центра обработки данных в Техасе, машинные залы которого планируется заполнить её же собственными чипами — обязательство, о котором до этого известно не было. -
AI Boom Has Echoes of Enron but Isn’t Doomed to Crash, Tech Guru Says
Today’s tech titans are using similar financial tactics to Enron, but that doesn’t mean they’re careening toward disaster,…
#UnitedStates #US #USA #aiboom #america #borrower #burry #business #BusinessInsider #CAR #company #demandprojection #enron #Investor #Nvidia #rambala #risk #techguru #unitedstatesofamerica #vendorfinancing #week
https://www.europesays.com/3197233/ -
So, #Nvidia is organizing a bunch of Wall Street firms to put together a half-trillion dollar "AI" infrastructure investment fund - which I'm guessing means "fund to loan money to companies so they can buy Nvidia systems".
Totally normal. I'm sure this means the "AI" market is healthy and profitable. Not at all like the other financial games they're playing, "investing" in customers directly to generate orders to themselves and all the other Ponzi schemes and cheque kiting and booking future revenue and hiding costs off-book and and and ...
#AI #StockMarket #WallStreet #WorldCom #Enron #accounting #bubble
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So, #Nvidia is organizing a bunch of Wall Street firms to put together a half-trillion dollar "AI" infrastructure investment fund - which I'm guessing means "fund to loan money to companies so they can buy Nvidia systems".
Totally normal. I'm sure this means the "AI" market is healthy and profitable. Not at all like the other financial games they're playing, "investing" in customers directly to generate orders to themselves and all the other Ponzi schemes and cheque kiting and booking future revenue and hiding costs off-book and and and ...
#AI #StockMarket #WallStreet #WorldCom #Enron #accounting #bubble
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So, #Nvidia is organizing a bunch of Wall Street firms to put together a half-trillion dollar "AI" infrastructure investment fund - which I'm guessing means "fund to loan money to companies so they can buy Nvidia systems".
Totally normal. I'm sure this means the "AI" market is healthy and profitable. Not at all like the other financial games they're playing, "investing" in customers directly to generate orders to themselves and all the other Ponzi schemes and cheque kiting and booking future revenue and hiding costs off-book and and and ...
#AI #StockMarket #WallStreet #WorldCom #Enron #accounting #bubble
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So, #Nvidia is organizing a bunch of Wall Street firms to put together a half-trillion dollar "AI" infrastructure investment fund - which I'm guessing means "fund to loan money to companies so they can buy Nvidia systems".
Totally normal. I'm sure this means the "AI" market is healthy and profitable. Not at all like the other financial games they're playing, "investing" in customers directly to generate orders to themselves and all the other Ponzi schemes and cheque kiting and booking future revenue and hiding costs off-book and and and ...
#AI #StockMarket #WallStreet #WorldCom #Enron #accounting #bubble
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So, #Nvidia is organizing a bunch of Wall Street firms to put together a half-trillion dollar "AI" infrastructure investment fund - which I'm guessing means "fund to loan money to companies so they can buy Nvidia systems".
Totally normal. I'm sure this means the "AI" market is healthy and profitable. Not at all like the other financial games they're playing, "investing" in customers directly to generate orders to themselves and all the other Ponzi schemes and cheque kiting and booking future revenue and hiding costs off-book and and and ...
#AI #StockMarket #WallStreet #WorldCom #Enron #accounting #bubble
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RE: https://journa.host/@msfreepress/117072338098968191
JFC two of the poorest states in the country just signed a ecological suicide pact. they really want that 24/7 #Mississippi Is Burning experience.
UPDATE:
OMFG IT IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.this is a #KinderMorgan project. if you are in your 60s or older, this name will ring a bell: it’s one of the companies created from the #Enron implosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Morgan
#petromafia #climateCollapse #pipelines #methane #Alabama #USpol
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RE: https://journa.host/@msfreepress/117072338098968191
JFC two of the poorest states in the country just signed a ecological suicide pact. they really want that 24/7 #Mississippi Is Burning experience.
UPDATE:
OMFG IT IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.this is a #KinderMorgan project. if you are in your 60s or older, this name will ring a bell: it’s one of the companies created from the #Enron implosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Morgan
#petromafia #climateCollapse #pipelines #methane #Alabama #USpol
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RE: https://journa.host/@msfreepress/117072338098968191
JFC two of the poorest states in the country just signed a ecological suicide pact. they really want that 24/7 #Mississippi Is Burning experience.
UPDATE:
OMFG IT IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.this is a #KinderMorgan project. if you are in your 60s or older, this name will ring a bell: it’s one of the companies created from the #Enron implosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Morgan
#petromafia #climateCollapse #pipelines #methane #Alabama #USpol
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RE: https://journa.host/@msfreepress/117072338098968191
JFC two of the poorest states in the country just signed a ecological suicide pact. they really want that 24/7 #Mississippi Is Burning experience.
UPDATE:
OMFG IT IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.this is a #KinderMorgan project. if you are in your 60s or older, this name will ring a bell: it’s one of the companies created from the #Enron implosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Morgan
#petromafia #climateCollapse #pipelines #methane #Alabama #USpol
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RE: https://journa.host/@msfreepress/117072338098968191
JFC two of the poorest states in the country just signed a ecological suicide pact. they really want that 24/7 #Mississippi Is Burning experience.
UPDATE:
OMFG IT IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.this is a #KinderMorgan project. if you are in your 60s or older, this name will ring a bell: it’s one of the companies created from the #Enron implosion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Morgan
#petromafia #climateCollapse #pipelines #methane #Alabama #USpol
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https://www.europesays.com/people/180625/ Gibney’s Elon Doc Isn’t Out but Musk Is Already Calling It a ‘Hit Job’ #billionaire #BusinessInsider #Documentary #ElonDoc #ElonMusk #enron #film #gibney #look #Musk #october #piece #SiliconValley #theater #world
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Qui se souvient d' #Enron ? 🫧 #AI
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:azpq3hfq3llpowyqpjkqwgxs/post/3mrteceqokc26 -
Qui se souvient d' #Enron ? 🫧 #AI
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:azpq3hfq3llpowyqpjkqwgxs/post/3mrteceqokc26 -
Qui se souvient d' #Enron ? 🫧 #AI
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:azpq3hfq3llpowyqpjkqwgxs/post/3mrteceqokc26 -
Qui se souvient d' #Enron ? 🫧 #AI
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:azpq3hfq3llpowyqpjkqwgxs/post/3mrteceqokc26 -
Qui se souvient d' #Enron ? 🫧 #AI
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:azpq3hfq3llpowyqpjkqwgxs/post/3mrteceqokc26 -
Samsung Electronics Rocked by 100x Bonus Gap Shock — Semiconductor Division Gets Up to ¥65 Million, Other Units Just ¥650,000 — BigGo Finance
The AI boom has opened a deep rift within South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. Employees in the semiconductor division…
#EuropeSays #Korea #KR #SamsungElectronics #AIboom #Enron #HBM #Non-SemiconductorDivisions #performance-basedbonus #Samsung #semiconductordivision #SKhynix #suwon #TogetherUnion
https://www.europesays.com/korea/100892/ -
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In case all the Enron- and WorldCom-like accounting shenanigans haven't convinced you, here's another blatant sign the wheels are falling off the "AI" hype train.
A contract or memorandum of understanding (or any other written form of agreement) for *half a trillion US dollars* makes no sense at all. It's all just PR, "Look, it's real, please keep hyping our stock, I do too have clothes on!".
(For bonus points, it also calls for Nvidia to invest in SKHynix, so more accounting shenanigans...)
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In case all the Enron- and WorldCom-like accounting shenanigans haven't convinced you, here's another blatant sign the wheels are falling off the "AI" hype train.
A contract or memorandum of understanding (or any other written form of agreement) for *half a trillion US dollars* makes no sense at all. It's all just PR, "Look, it's real, please keep hyping our stock, I do too have clothes on!".
(For bonus points, it also calls for Nvidia to invest in SKHynix, so more accounting shenanigans...)
-
In case all the Enron- and WorldCom-like accounting shenanigans haven't convinced you, here's another blatant sign the wheels are falling off the "AI" hype train.
A contract or memorandum of understanding (or any other written form of agreement) for *half a trillion US dollars* makes no sense at all. It's all just PR, "Look, it's real, please keep hyping our stock, I do too have clothes on!".
(For bonus points, it also calls for Nvidia to invest in SKHynix, so more accounting shenanigans...)
-
In case all the Enron- and WorldCom-like accounting shenanigans haven't convinced you, here's another blatant sign the wheels are falling off the "AI" hype train.
A contract or memorandum of understanding (or any other written form of agreement) for *half a trillion US dollars* makes no sense at all. It's all just PR, "Look, it's real, please keep hyping our stock, I do too have clothes on!".
(For bonus points, it also calls for Nvidia to invest in SKHynix, so more accounting shenanigans...)
-
In case all the Enron- and WorldCom-like accounting shenanigans haven't convinced you, here's another blatant sign the wheels are falling off the "AI" hype train.
A contract or memorandum of understanding (or any other written form of agreement) for *half a trillion US dollars* makes no sense at all. It's all just PR, "Look, it's real, please keep hyping our stock, I do too have clothes on!".
(For bonus points, it also calls for Nvidia to invest in SKHynix, so more accounting shenanigans...)
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Oh now this is the best tech news I have heard for awhile…. Is a Mega-Enron situation about to happen to a bunch of the Magnificient Seven?
“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”
Also… is this why Apple effectively outsourced its AI, rather than build its own. If so, it could be the smartest tech hedge of the century.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet
#apple #microsoft #meta #google #alphabet #amazon #oracle #AI #hedge #enron #debt
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Oh now this is the best tech news I have heard for awhile…. Is a Mega-Enron situation about to happen to a bunch of the Magnificient Seven?
“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”
Also… is this why Apple effectively outsourced its AI, rather than build its own. If so, it could be the smartest tech hedge of the century.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet
#apple #microsoft #meta #google #alphabet #amazon #oracle #AI #hedge #enron #debt
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Oh now this is the best tech news I have heard for awhile…. Is a Mega-Enron situation about to happen to a bunch of the Magnificient Seven?
“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”
Also… is this why Apple effectively outsourced its AI, rather than build its own. If so, it could be the smartest tech hedge of the century.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet
#apple #microsoft #meta #google #alphabet #amazon #oracle #AI #hedge #enron #debt
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Oh now this is the best tech news I have heard for awhile…. Is a Mega-Enron situation about to happen to a bunch of the Magnificient Seven?
“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”
Also… is this why Apple effectively outsourced its AI, rather than build its own. If so, it could be the smartest tech hedge of the century.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet
#apple #microsoft #meta #google #alphabet #amazon #oracle #AI #hedge #enron #debt
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Oh now this is the best tech news I have heard for awhile…. Is a Mega-Enron situation about to happen to a bunch of the Magnificient Seven?
“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”
Also… is this why Apple effectively outsourced its AI, rather than build its own. If so, it could be the smartest tech hedge of the century.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet
#apple #microsoft #meta #google #alphabet #amazon #oracle #AI #hedge #enron #debt
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I really want him to be right. Also I really don't want my parent's pension to collapse...
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I really want him to be right. Also I really don't want my parent's pension to collapse...
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I really want him to be right. Also I really don't want my parent's pension to collapse...
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I really want him to be right. Also I really don't want my parent's pension to collapse...
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I really want him to be right. Also I really don't want my parent's pension to collapse...
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AI compute demand does not exist at the scale that it needs to, will likely never reach that scale, and data center construction is a debt-funded asset bubble with ruinous consequences.
There Is Over 15 Times More Data Center Capacity Being Built Than Actual Data Center Demand, Which Is Already Inflated By OpenAI and Anthropic
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AI compute demand does not exist at the scale that it needs to, will likely never reach that scale, and data center construction is a debt-funded asset bubble with ruinous consequences.
There Is Over 15 Times More Data Center Capacity Being Built Than Actual Data Center Demand, Which Is Already Inflated By OpenAI and Anthropic
-
AI compute demand does not exist at the scale that it needs to, will likely never reach that scale, and data center construction is a debt-funded asset bubble with ruinous consequences.
There Is Over 15 Times More Data Center Capacity Being Built Than Actual Data Center Demand, Which Is Already Inflated By OpenAI and Anthropic
-
AI compute demand does not exist at the scale that it needs to, will likely never reach that scale, and data center construction is a debt-funded asset bubble with ruinous consequences.
There Is Over 15 Times More Data Center Capacity Being Built Than Actual Data Center Demand, Which Is Already Inflated By OpenAI and Anthropic
-
AI compute demand does not exist at the scale that it needs to, will likely never reach that scale, and data center construction is a debt-funded asset bubble with ruinous consequences.
There Is Over 15 Times More Data Center Capacity Being Built Than Actual Data Center Demand, Which Is Already Inflated By OpenAI and Anthropic
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¿Dónde esconden las grandes tecnológicas su deuda de 1,65 billones? #InteligenciaArtificial #IA #BigTech #DeudaTecnologica #Enron #Meta #Microsoft #Amazon #Alphabet #Oracle #CentrosDeDatos #EconomiaDigital #felizmiercoles #22dejulio
https://donporque.com/tecnologicas-esconden-billones-de-deuda-ia/
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¿Dónde esconden las grandes tecnológicas su deuda de 1,65 billones? #InteligenciaArtificial #IA #BigTech #DeudaTecnologica #Enron #Meta #Microsoft #Amazon #Alphabet #Oracle #CentrosDeDatos #EconomiaDigital #felizmiercoles #22dejulio
https://donporque.com/tecnologicas-esconden-billones-de-deuda-ia/
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¿Dónde esconden las grandes tecnológicas su deuda de 1,65 billones? #InteligenciaArtificial #IA #BigTech #DeudaTecnologica #Enron #Meta #Microsoft #Amazon #Alphabet #Oracle #CentrosDeDatos #EconomiaDigital #felizmiercoles #22dejulio
https://donporque.com/tecnologicas-esconden-billones-de-deuda-ia/
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¿Dónde esconden las grandes tecnológicas su deuda de 1,65 billones? #InteligenciaArtificial #IA #BigTech #DeudaTecnologica #Enron #Meta #Microsoft #Amazon #Alphabet #Oracle #CentrosDeDatos #EconomiaDigital #felizmiercoles #22dejulio
https://donporque.com/tecnologicas-esconden-billones-de-deuda-ia/
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¿Dónde esconden las grandes tecnológicas su deuda de 1,65 billones? #InteligenciaArtificial #IA #BigTech #DeudaTecnologica #Enron #Meta #Microsoft #Amazon #Alphabet #Oracle #CentrosDeDatos #EconomiaDigital #felizmiercoles #22dejulio
https://donporque.com/tecnologicas-esconden-billones-de-deuda-ia/
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“Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”*…
Scheduling Note: as a consequence of long meetings scheduled to start very early, (Roughly) Daily will be off tomorrow/Monday and Wednesday. There should be a post on Tuesday, and regular service should resume on Thursday…
Corruption in the U.S. has a long and costly history, intertwining both government and corporations. Our current moment is feeling especially “dirty“– and disfunctional— at both levels.
Eric Ries was a founder of the Lean Start-Up movement and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad (highly recommended), tackles the issue head-on. Here, a short excerpt, explaining why…
Not all forms of making money are equal. Some create wealth; others destroy it. Over the centuries, when people have gone searching for the moral logic of capitalism, they always hit this same bedrock principle: Fully informed, uncoerced, voluntary transactions create surplus value because both parties end up better off.
Think about your last genuinely good purchase. You valued the product more than the price you paid, so you are better off. But the seller, too, is better off (otherwise they would not have sold). Both parties are wealthier. When this happens, it’s a bit of a magic trick. In an instant, new value exists that did not a moment before. This wealth was not stolen; it was generated.
But this only works when the exchange is truly voluntary and informed. Remove any of these conditions and the mechanism breaks.
This is why embezzlement, coercion, fraud, bribery, and deception are wrong. It’s not only because they are illegal or even immoral. It’s because they corrupt the fundamental premise of our entire economic system. They transform transactions meant to create value into ones that destroy it.
This trajectory is so common these days that we hardly know what to call it. The answer is simple. Since every version of it shares the same value-destroying logic, regardless of whether the violation is illegal or even immoral, we should use the same word to describe them all: corruption.
Our modern sense of “corruption” has become catastrophically narrow. What I’m talking about is something much broader than bribery or embezzlement. (After all, the Latin corrumpere means “to break completely.”) Corruption breaks the logic of capitalism itself.
Every Ponzi scheme, every hidden externality, every unit of extracted value is a drag on our whole economy’s potential. These corruptions don’t just harm their immediate victim; they erode trust, increase transaction costs, and destroy the civic infrastructure that makes efficient markets possible. The hidden economic costs are staggering. The truth is that capitalism succeeds not because of these widespread violations but despite them…
As the “father of capitalism” himself, Adam Smith, said: “Justice… is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society… must in a moment crumble into atoms.” (Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chapter III)
Diagnosing the disease that threatens us: “Corruption, Defined,” from @ericries.bsky.social.
* Thomas Jefferson
###
As we grapple with graft, we might recall that on this date in 2002, three days after being found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting emails and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron, accounting firm Arthur Andersen was preparing its appeal.
Legal department member Nancy Temple and David Duncan, the lead partner for the Enron account, were cited in the legal action as the responsible managers in the scandal because they ordered subordinates to shred relevant documents. Duncan himself pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to obstruction of justice on April 10, 2002, saying that he had ordered the destruction of documents and also personally destroyed documents.
The conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed on the charge against Andersen). The Supreme Court ruling theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. However, the damage done to the Andersen name was so great (not just from the Enron scandal but also from others involving Andersen accounting malpractice, such as WorldCom a year after Enron) that it did not return as a viable business even on a limited scale in the years after the ruling.
Although only a small number of Arthur Andersen’s employees were involved with the scandal, the firm was effectively put out of business; the SEC is not allowed to accept audits from convicted felons. The company surrendered its CPA license and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
#ArthurAndersen #buiness #capitalism #corruption #culture #Enron #graft #history #justice #politics #trust #Worldcom -
“Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”*…
Scheduling Note: as a consequence of long meetings scheduled to start very early, (Roughly) Daily will be off tomorrow/Monday and Wednesday. There should be a post on Tuesday, and regular service should resume on Thursday…
Corruption in the U.S. has a long and costly history, intertwining both government and corporations. Our current moment is feeling especially “dirty“– and disfunctional— at both levels.
Eric Ries was a founder of the Lean Start-Up movement and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad (highly recommended), tackles the issue head-on. Here, a short excerpt, explaining why…
Not all forms of making money are equal. Some create wealth; others destroy it. Over the centuries, when people have gone searching for the moral logic of capitalism, they always hit this same bedrock principle: Fully informed, uncoerced, voluntary transactions create surplus value because both parties end up better off.
Think about your last genuinely good purchase. You valued the product more than the price you paid, so you are better off. But the seller, too, is better off (otherwise they would not have sold). Both parties are wealthier. When this happens, it’s a bit of a magic trick. In an instant, new value exists that did not a moment before. This wealth was not stolen; it was generated.
But this only works when the exchange is truly voluntary and informed. Remove any of these conditions and the mechanism breaks.
This is why embezzlement, coercion, fraud, bribery, and deception are wrong. It’s not only because they are illegal or even immoral. It’s because they corrupt the fundamental premise of our entire economic system. They transform transactions meant to create value into ones that destroy it.
This trajectory is so common these days that we hardly know what to call it. The answer is simple. Since every version of it shares the same value-destroying logic, regardless of whether the violation is illegal or even immoral, we should use the same word to describe them all: corruption.
Our modern sense of “corruption” has become catastrophically narrow. What I’m talking about is something much broader than bribery or embezzlement. (After all, the Latin corrumpere means “to break completely.”) Corruption breaks the logic of capitalism itself.
Every Ponzi scheme, every hidden externality, every unit of extracted value is a drag on our whole economy’s potential. These corruptions don’t just harm their immediate victim; they erode trust, increase transaction costs, and destroy the civic infrastructure that makes efficient markets possible. The hidden economic costs are staggering. The truth is that capitalism succeeds not because of these widespread violations but despite them…
As the “father of capitalism” himself, Adam Smith, said: “Justice… is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society… must in a moment crumble into atoms.” (Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chapter III)
Diagnosing the disease that threatens us: “Corruption, Defined,” from @ericries.bsky.social.
* Thomas Jefferson
###
As we grapple with graft, we might recall that on this date in 2002, three days after being found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting emails and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron, accounting firm Arthur Andersen was preparing its appeal.
Legal department member Nancy Temple and David Duncan, the lead partner for the Enron account, were cited in the legal action as the responsible managers in the scandal because they ordered subordinates to shred relevant documents. Duncan himself pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to obstruction of justice on April 10, 2002, saying that he had ordered the destruction of documents and also personally destroyed documents.
The conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed on the charge against Andersen). The Supreme Court ruling theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. However, the damage done to the Andersen name was so great (not just from the Enron scandal but also from others involving Andersen accounting malpractice, such as WorldCom a year after Enron) that it did not return as a viable business even on a limited scale in the years after the ruling.
Although only a small number of Arthur Andersen’s employees were involved with the scandal, the firm was effectively put out of business; the SEC is not allowed to accept audits from convicted felons. The company surrendered its CPA license and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
#ArthurAndersen #buiness #capitalism #corruption #culture #Enron #graft #history #justice #politics #trust #Worldcom -
“Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”*…
Scheduling Note: as a consequence of long meetings scheduled to start very early, (Roughly) Daily will be off tomorrow/Monday and Wednesday. There should be a post on Tuesday, and regular service should resume on Thursday…
Corruption in the U.S. has a long and costly history, intertwining both government and corporations. Our current moment is feeling especially “dirty“– and disfunctional— at both levels.
Eric Ries was a founder of the Lean Start-Up movement and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad (highly recommended), tackles the issue head-on. Here, a short excerpt, explaining why…
Not all forms of making money are equal. Some create wealth; others destroy it. Over the centuries, when people have gone searching for the moral logic of capitalism, they always hit this same bedrock principle: Fully informed, uncoerced, voluntary transactions create surplus value because both parties end up better off.
Think about your last genuinely good purchase. You valued the product more than the price you paid, so you are better off. But the seller, too, is better off (otherwise they would not have sold). Both parties are wealthier. When this happens, it’s a bit of a magic trick. In an instant, new value exists that did not a moment before. This wealth was not stolen; it was generated.
But this only works when the exchange is truly voluntary and informed. Remove any of these conditions and the mechanism breaks.
This is why embezzlement, coercion, fraud, bribery, and deception are wrong. It’s not only because they are illegal or even immoral. It’s because they corrupt the fundamental premise of our entire economic system. They transform transactions meant to create value into ones that destroy it.
This trajectory is so common these days that we hardly know what to call it. The answer is simple. Since every version of it shares the same value-destroying logic, regardless of whether the violation is illegal or even immoral, we should use the same word to describe them all: corruption.
Our modern sense of “corruption” has become catastrophically narrow. What I’m talking about is something much broader than bribery or embezzlement. (After all, the Latin corrumpere means “to break completely.”) Corruption breaks the logic of capitalism itself.
Every Ponzi scheme, every hidden externality, every unit of extracted value is a drag on our whole economy’s potential. These corruptions don’t just harm their immediate victim; they erode trust, increase transaction costs, and destroy the civic infrastructure that makes efficient markets possible. The hidden economic costs are staggering. The truth is that capitalism succeeds not because of these widespread violations but despite them…
As the “father of capitalism” himself, Adam Smith, said: “Justice… is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society… must in a moment crumble into atoms.” (Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chapter III)
Diagnosing the disease that threatens us: “Corruption, Defined,” from @ericries.bsky.social.
* Thomas Jefferson
###
As we grapple with graft, we might recall that on this date in 2002, three day after being found guilty of obstruction of justice on for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting emails and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron, acconting firm Arthur Andersen was preparing its appeal.
Legal department member Nancy Temple and David Duncan, the lead partner for the Enron account, were cited in the legal action as the responsible managers in the scandal because they ordered subordinates to shred relevant documents. Duncan himself pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to obstruction of justice on April 10, 2002, saying that he had ordered the destruction of documents and also personally destroyed documents.
In the end, the conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed on the charge against Andersen). The Supreme Court ruling theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. However, the damage done to the Andersen name was so great (not just from the Enron scandal but also from others involving Andersen accounting malpractice, such as WorldCom a year after Enron) that it did not return as a viable business even on a limited scale in the years after the ruling.
Although only a small number of Arthur Andersen’s employees were involved with the scandal, the firm was effectively put out of business; the SEC is not allowed to accept audits from convicted felons. The company surrendered its CPA license and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
#ArthurAndersen #buiness #capitalism #corruption #culture #Enron #graft #history #justice #politics #trust #Worldcom -
“Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”*…
Scheduling Note: as a consequence of long meetings scheduled to start very early, (Roughly) Daily will be off tomorrow/Monday and Wednesday. There should be a post on Tuesday, and regular service should resume on Thursday…
Corruption in the U.S. has a long and costly history, intertwining both government and corporations. Our current moment is feeling especially “dirty“– and disfunctional— at both levels.
Eric Ries was a founder of the Lean Start-Up movement and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad (highly recommended), tackles the issue head-on. Here, a short excerpt, explaining why…
Not all forms of making money are equal. Some create wealth; others destroy it. Over the centuries, when people have gone searching for the moral logic of capitalism, they always hit this same bedrock principle: Fully informed, uncoerced, voluntary transactions create surplus value because both parties end up better off.
Think about your last genuinely good purchase. You valued the product more than the price you paid, so you are better off. But the seller, too, is better off (otherwise they would not have sold). Both parties are wealthier. When this happens, it’s a bit of a magic trick. In an instant, new value exists that did not a moment before. This wealth was not stolen; it was generated.
But this only works when the exchange is truly voluntary and informed. Remove any of these conditions and the mechanism breaks.
This is why embezzlement, coercion, fraud, bribery, and deception are wrong. It’s not only because they are illegal or even immoral. It’s because they corrupt the fundamental premise of our entire economic system. They transform transactions meant to create value into ones that destroy it.
This trajectory is so common these days that we hardly know what to call it. The answer is simple. Since every version of it shares the same value-destroying logic, regardless of whether the violation is illegal or even immoral, we should use the same word to describe them all: corruption.
Our modern sense of “corruption” has become catastrophically narrow. What I’m talking about is something much broader than bribery or embezzlement. (After all, the Latin corrumpere means “to break completely.”) Corruption breaks the logic of capitalism itself.
Every Ponzi scheme, every hidden externality, every unit of extracted value is a drag on our whole economy’s potential. These corruptions don’t just harm their immediate victim; they erode trust, increase transaction costs, and destroy the civic infrastructure that makes efficient markets possible. The hidden economic costs are staggering. The truth is that capitalism succeeds not because of these widespread violations but despite them…
As the “father of capitalism” himself, Adam Smith, said: “Justice… is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society… must in a moment crumble into atoms.” (Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chapter III)
Diagnosing the disease that threatens us: “Corruption, Defined,” from @ericries.bsky.social.
* Thomas Jefferson
###
As we grapple with graft, we might recall that on this date in 2002, three day after being found guilty of obstruction of justice on for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting emails and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron, acconting firm Arthur Andersen was preparing its appeal.
Legal department member Nancy Temple and David Duncan, the lead partner for the Enron account, were cited in the legal action as the responsible managers in the scandal because they ordered subordinates to shred relevant documents. Duncan himself pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to obstruction of justice on April 10, 2002, saying that he had ordered the destruction of documents and also personally destroyed documents.
In the end, the conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed on the charge against Andersen). The Supreme Court ruling theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. However, the damage done to the Andersen name was so great (not just from the Enron scandal but also from others involving Andersen accounting malpractice, such as WorldCom a year after Enron) that it did not return as a viable business even on a limited scale in the years after the ruling.
Although only a small number of Arthur Andersen’s employees were involved with the scandal, the firm was effectively put out of business; the SEC is not allowed to accept audits from convicted felons. The company surrendered its CPA license and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
#ArthurAndersen #buiness #capitalism #corruption #culture #Enron #graft #history #justice #politics #trust #Worldcom -
“Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”*…
Scheduling Note: as a consequence of long meetings scheduled to start very early, (Roughly) Daily will be off tomorrow/Monday and Wednesday. There should be a post on Tuesday, and regular service should resume on Thursday…
Corruption in the U.S. has a long and costly history, intertwining both government and corporations. Our current moment is feeling especially “dirty“– and disfunctional— at both levels.
Eric Ries was a founder of the Lean Start-Up movement and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad (highly recommended), tackles the issue head-on. Here, a short excerpt, explaining why…
Not all forms of making money are equal. Some create wealth; others destroy it. Over the centuries, when people have gone searching for the moral logic of capitalism, they always hit this same bedrock principle: Fully informed, uncoerced, voluntary transactions create surplus value because both parties end up better off.
Think about your last genuinely good purchase. You valued the product more than the price you paid, so you are better off. But the seller, too, is better off (otherwise they would not have sold). Both parties are wealthier. When this happens, it’s a bit of a magic trick. In an instant, new value exists that did not a moment before. This wealth was not stolen; it was generated.
But this only works when the exchange is truly voluntary and informed. Remove any of these conditions and the mechanism breaks.
This is why embezzlement, coercion, fraud, bribery, and deception are wrong. It’s not only because they are illegal or even immoral. It’s because they corrupt the fundamental premise of our entire economic system. They transform transactions meant to create value into ones that destroy it.
This trajectory is so common these days that we hardly know what to call it. The answer is simple. Since every version of it shares the same value-destroying logic, regardless of whether the violation is illegal or even immoral, we should use the same word to describe them all: corruption.
Our modern sense of “corruption” has become catastrophically narrow. What I’m talking about is something much broader than bribery or embezzlement. (After all, the Latin corrumpere means “to break completely.”) Corruption breaks the logic of capitalism itself.
Every Ponzi scheme, every hidden externality, every unit of extracted value is a drag on our whole economy’s potential. These corruptions don’t just harm their immediate victim; they erode trust, increase transaction costs, and destroy the civic infrastructure that makes efficient markets possible. The hidden economic costs are staggering. The truth is that capitalism succeeds not because of these widespread violations but despite them…
As the “father of capitalism” himself, Adam Smith, said: “Justice… is the main pillar that upholds the whole edifice. If it is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society… must in a moment crumble into atoms.” (Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chapter III)
Diagnosing the disease that threatens us: “Corruption, Defined,” from @ericries.bsky.social.
* Thomas Jefferson
###
As we grapple with graft, we might recall that on this date in 2002, three days after being found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting emails and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron, accounting firm Arthur Andersen was preparing its appeal.
Legal department member Nancy Temple and David Duncan, the lead partner for the Enron account, were cited in the legal action as the responsible managers in the scandal because they ordered subordinates to shred relevant documents. Duncan himself pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to obstruction of justice on April 10, 2002, saying that he had ordered the destruction of documents and also personally destroyed documents.
The conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed on the charge against Andersen). The Supreme Court ruling theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. However, the damage done to the Andersen name was so great (not just from the Enron scandal but also from others involving Andersen accounting malpractice, such as WorldCom a year after Enron) that it did not return as a viable business even on a limited scale in the years after the ruling.
Although only a small number of Arthur Andersen’s employees were involved with the scandal, the firm was effectively put out of business; the SEC is not allowed to accept audits from convicted felons. The company surrendered its CPA license and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
#ArthurAndersen #buiness #capitalism #corruption #culture #Enron #graft #history #justice #politics #trust #Worldcom
