Consumers are too stupid to make good choices

[kandrathe]

To be clear, I'm not saying this because I'm some sort of Elliot Ness of corporate justice. I am saying this because whenever I see these types of scandal, IMO they siderail wealth creation by bringing too much instability and distrust.

I guess I see it as a part of the natural selection of the corporate world. There was a definite bubble created by certain accounting frauds that siphoned off losses to hidden subsidiaries, while expressing all the profits in Enron. This same practice was also uncovered (because of AA's involvement) at Worldcom. These two pin pricks deflated the hyper exuberant stock market of the late 90's, and for those people who know when to leave the party before the paddy wagon arrives it was kinda fun. For all the people who stayed invested after fall 2001, it was a huge sucking sound. Your use of the term greed or hyper-greed is confusing, seems judgmental and sounds pejorative, and since this was a case of outright fraud akin to them selling you shares in the Brooklyn Bridge, or offering 10 people 40% interest in a company, it seems a mismatch to me. Also, the way you describe this event makes it seem that other fraud has been frequently perpetrated and escaped prosecution.