In regards to business, the recent history of America has been one of deregulation. After the restrictions corporations faced during the New Deal, they entered a period of neoliberalism. As Gonick states: “It is important to remember, after all, that neoliberalism was itself a response to an earlier crisis of profitability ultimately produced by the Keynesian welfare-state regime that was ushered after the New Deal.”(Gonick 3). At the time, intellectuals and business owners believed that deregulation of business would promote investment deals and free trade. In the pri

Politicians are hesitant to make strong reform attempts because of corporate political connections. The same companies that are involved in these scandals are financing the campaigns of top politicians. “Since, at heart, the corporate scandal is a political scandal- corporate money corrupts politicians, who by passing or neglecting to pass laws, make corporate crimes possible and profitable.” (Huffington 1) Once elected, politicians hold a responsibility for the businesses that financed them and are reluctant to take any action that may harm the company. The single largest contributor to Bush’s presidential campaign was Kenneth Lay, Enron’s Chairman. It is safe to assume that this political connection had affected his sentence after the Enron scandal. “It is hard to see how we will ever get rid of this corporate hangover until we cure our politicians unslackable thirst for campaign cash.” (Huffington 1)

Although regulation and reform are so dire, we can’t begin to reform until we attend to the structural obstacles; corporate reforms cannot be reached until political ones are. Although any government involvement in business is viewed as “un-American”, some regulation is required to ensure the welfare o

Some topics in this essay:
Business Week, American Capitalists, Exchange Commission, Gonick3 Soon, SEC” Birnbuam, Enron’s Chairman, Harvey Pitt, Tom Dashel, , Companies WorldCom, huffington 1, business recent, government involvement, birnbuam 2, recent scandals, business week,