The richest country in the world. Us! The country that supports Israel, Japan, Egypt, Korea, and who knows else. Us! All well and good, but let’s stroll down Wall Street. Let’s talk to the little people of Enron, World Com, and Johnson and Johnson. They aren’t worried about any of those countries. On their minds is: ‘Do I have a pension?’ The execs are all taken care of, having sold company stock in the millions while the little man holds worthless stock indicating that the pension is now a nothing.

Big question in our country: Does George W. cater to the executives of these companies that contribute to his party in large amounts or does he go for the plight of the little man who lost everything? Let’s find out.

The Bush government is made up of these executives. Bush and his vice president, (Dick) Cheney, are former company officers that argued for less government intervention in business. Now they are facing questions about their business practices then. Bush at Harken Energy Corp. and Cheney at Halliburton. Both men made huge profits from these companies and moved on just as these execs in their companies are doing. Can the little man ever win? I doubt it.

Bush is on the spot to bring into effect strict laws that would stop all this catering to the company officers and would lose support of those that contribute millions to his campaign. It’s called biting the hands that feeds you. Politics and money become bedfellows.

Then blame must be put somewhere and a pigeon found for that blame. Enter SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. Bush offers the suggestion. Pitt comes down harder on execs that profit handsomely from enormous financial company failures.

From the White House the best way to prevent abuses is to catch them as they are occurring and apply the law to them.

Kill the goose that lays all those golden eggs? Never happen! Wait and see! A different solution will be found – heaven help us!

Florence Arena is a regular columnist for the News-Herald.