SNET Internet : Features : Survey : Corporate Fraud

We certainly hit a nerve with this survey question! There were many thoughtful responses on how to fix the current system, plus frankly, a few responses that were unprintable! Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on what to do, with jail time and compensation to the victims being the most common.

Survey Results:

Stricter accounting rules - 63 (3%)
More independent auditing - 79 (4%)
Legal accountability of executives - 379 (20%)
All of the above - 1165 (62%)
No clue/don't care - 90 (5%)
Other - 97 (5%)

Your comments:

"Enforce the laws that already exist! Don't make more." JP, Litchfield

"Ten years hard labor, no country club prison, full restitution to all ripped off parties and make them pay luxury hotel rates for their stay in prison." Robert, Winchester

"Nothing! An occassional shaking-out of unethical businesses is good and necessary. The stock buyer needs to be more aware of what he or she is buying. If the item looks too good to be true, it probably is. All the inside stuff is put in the prospectus, and the various other company publications. Most of those companies that imploded I wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole. A prospective stockholder needs to know what the company does. If the company just buys and sells other companies, it is not a good investment." Jon, Glastonbury

"The key factor is handling of stock options. Current accounting practices, controlled by the option recipients, assure that every avenue to cause higher stock prices will be used, including fraud and other legal and illegal techniques." WFP, East Hartford

"If a company files for bankruptcy, then the funds of the executives should be frozen until all charges of fraud have been reviewed. They should not be able to keep their mansions and yachts if there is fraud found. Let them live like the employees they have taken advantage of." KSB, Trumbull

"Regarding corporate responsibility, we need real campaign reform. Full state and federal funding for all qualified candidates, and change in the voting process to instant runoff elections as in Australia and Ireland. With a government in place that is truly representative of the people, there would be watchdogs in Washington instead of corporate lackeys."HB, Bethel

"Let the employees be Judge, Jury and Executioner!"Jeff, Shelton

"I think that these greedy crooks should go to jail. Have all their assets taken and put back into the 401ks they robbed from. If they have families, oh-well, they can just start working for a living like the rest of us."TSL, Morris

"The 7X rule should be mandatory. No one at any corporation can make more than 7 times what the lowest paid full-timer gets paid. That way, instead of profits going to the top people, prices can be lowered for customers, wages for the lower paid people would go up and the giant monopolies where such illegal behavior thrives would disappear."Gerry, Waterbury

Previous survey results are available.