During this six-part series entitled, 20 Years of McCuistion, Dennis McCuistion revisits past programs on specific issues from the last 20 years. In part one of this series, Dennis McCuistion discusses Education and Our Children. This program features:
- Terry Flowers, PhD: Headmaster at St. Philip’s School
- Tom Luce: CEO of National Math and Science Initiative
Terry Flowers is joined by students from St. Philips School who recite the St. Philip’s Creed, a creed that made national news. Tom Luce talks about what is necessary for the US to remain competitive today in education.
The McCuistion TV Program (co- founded 20 years ago by host, Dennis McCuistion, and Executive Producer/Producer, Niki 
Nicastro McCuistion) focuses on issues that impact our daily lives, economically, politically and socially. Niki believes that “the power of television when combined with an understanding of important issues can make significant, positive differences in the lives of people who watch.” The team brings that mission to every program they have produced.
Dennis and Niki both firmly believe educating our children is a critical issue, stating:
“Educating our youth is the single biggest challenge we face in a knowledge based society with global 
competition. We believe it’s not about more money; it’s about better parenting, more discipline, innovation or market-based education vs. government run education, and great leadership. It’s vital we put more emphasis on the basics; phonics, and repetition, yet it’s also using the best of the new technology.”
The team believes “children are our future, and while we say that if we don’t provide the tools and the environment where our children can excel, then it won’t be them who have failed us, it will be us who have failed them.”
Guest, Charles Gasparino, is a critically acclaimed investigative journalist and CNBC TV personality and joins Dennis McCuistion for another look at Wall Street.
In part two of this program Charles Gasparino illuminates the crisis of today and what responsibilities Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and others played that led to the global meltdown in our economy. He cautions that the present day situation had its roots in irresponsible actions taken 30 years ago. He urges that if we want answers we need to look back at the players then and the key figures today… all built on yesterday’s greed and risk taking.
Wall Street’s romance with risk developed an ever increasing appetite for risk taking; which led to investments that were bizarre, esoteric and complicated. So complicated that former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, Bob Reuben, a trader deluxe at Citigroup, didn’t even understand collateralized debt obligations. Yet, here was a man who earned a $15 million salary at Citigroup. According to Gasparino, “There was no responsibility. He should have stepped up to the plate, but instead advocated Citigroup to take on even more risk!!!”
A mild rupture to the system, that of decreasing housing prices, among others, created massive implosion. The model, did not have a possibility that home prices could go down so they were kept on balance sheets. The correction led to defaults, people could not afford the mortgage they were paying, they had variable rate loans, had bought homes with nothing down and nothing invested, homeowners in increasing numbers walked away from obligations they could not fulfill… and the list goes on.
You’ll walk away from watching this program angry at the irresponsibility of government and Wall Street and the risks they have taken that have put all of us at risk.
Join us as we talk about things that matter with people who care…
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
***
1813 – 01.31.10
Critically acclaimed investigative journalist and CNBC TV personality, Charles Gasparino, joins Dennis McCuistion for an intense discussion and look at the last 30 years that led to today’s financial meltdown.
Charles Gasparino talks about Wall Street’s “love affair” with risk. From the 1980’s and the advent of mortgage-backed securities, to the packaging of mortgages to bonds, to the selling of those to Wall Street. He speaks on the bond market situation in 1986 and Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, who in 1987 lowered interest rates and bailed out Wall Street.
Charles Gasparino explains the trail of culpability, including the Government’s encouragement of home ownership which prompted mortgage brokers to give loans to people who did not have the means to pay back the money loaned and the underwriters who invested in risky debt. He states the outcome was an abdication of collective responsibilities on the part of government, homeowners and financial institutions and for Wall Street – greed and risk taking.
Overall, Charles Gasparino says it was about avarice, arrogance, stupidity and greed… and the “selling off of the American Dream.”
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
***
1812 – 01.24.10
During this episode on Character and Leadership, former Medtronic CEO, Bill George, now Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, joins Dennis McCuistion for a frank discussion on ethics and business practices in corporate America.
Bill George is the author of several business books, which include: True North and 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis.
He tells us,“Leaders of my day, kids of the Kennedy era, were supposed to make a difference. Yet, we destroyed big companies.” George asks, “What happened?”
Bill George believes many corporate leaders play for the short term, not the long term. He believes that in business we are “playing up leaders who are playing for that short term… Business is too serious to be about YOU… You can’t create anything in a quarter.”
In response to Dennis’ question: “Is corporate ethics an oxymoron?” Bill responds, “No- it isn’t. There’s a whole generation of leaders who are coming along.”
View the video for a discussion with Bill George on the qualities of effective leadership and the True North principles that guide them.
And as always, thanks for joining us as we talk about things that matter with people who care.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
01.03.10 – 1811
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The virtual loss in 2008 of the large investment bankers on Wall Street was shocking. The forced sale of Bear Stearns, the bankruptcy of Lehman, the controversial sale of Merrill Lynch and the changes at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have rocked the world.
This program addresses several areas that led to our system almost going down:
- Where were mistakes made and by whom? What changes are needed and by whom?
- What is the current mood of investors and how do they feel about corporate performance?
- What about Madoff, Stanford and other frauds?
Panelists Include:
- Max D. Hopper: Founder, Max D. Hopper Associates
- Robert J. Potter: President, R.J. Potter Company
- Shad Rowe: President, Investors for Director, Accountability Foundation
Dennis McCuistion starts by chronicling the above, “our nation’s source of building capital has instead become merely the capitol of greed.” He follows the statement by asking Shad Rowe why he is so angry.
Shad replies,
“I don’t look that angry. But I am angry at what’s happening in corporate America. Our system almost went down the drain. Why? The real cause in my opinion is that corporate boards are not representing owners, not thinking like owners and are allowing chief executives to make ‘heads’ I win; ‘tails’ shareholders lose, bets that have jeopardized our system.
Shareholders are directly represented by their corporate directors. It’s the law, but it’s not conventional wisdom and… it needs to become so, so we can preserve and enhance our system … Ownership is the litmus test. Private companies treated money like it was their own money. Directors are the legal representatives of shareholders!”
Bob Potter adds,
“Directors are absolutely responsive/responsible to stockholders. In the companies I serve as director, we have created incentive plans to management that are tied to stockholder performance. Some companies have allowed management to not act in the best interests of shareholders. We see excessive salaries, for instance. But they were approved by the compensation committee.”
Max Hopper says,
“Most corporate board directors really do represent shareholders. But some companies have gotten so big, that directors can not get their arms around what’s going on within the companies themselves. Too large a growth may be detrimental to their shareholders.”
All agree that more stringent rules need to be applied and that directors must act in the best interests of the shareholders. They also state that most companies are in fact doing their best to do so, yet we hear the bad news, not the good. Tune in for lively, straightforward talk about greed and Wall Street and what needs to happen to preserve capitalism.
As always we’ve been talking about things that matter with people who care. Thanks for joining us.
—
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ producer
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance, University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
***
12.27.09 – 1810
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A celebration of 20 years of McCuistion Television Programming…
Thursday, November 19th at 7PM- Arlington Hall at Lee Park was the site of a gala event – the very first, celebrating the McCuistion Program’s success and 20 year run on KERA, Channel 13, Dallas PBS. A success from start to finish- from harp music at the welcome reception, to desert, conversations and a standing ovation for the co-founders, Dennis McCuistion: Host of the program and Niki Nicastro McCuistion: Executive Producer/Producer. Guests included program panelists, loyal viewers, funders and board members.
The event was emceed with grace, humor and style by former board member and close friend, Terry Brock, CPAE, an internationally renowned marketing coach and consultant. He illustrated the last 20 years with inside stories that captured audience attention and highlighted the social media work made possible by a Searle Foundation grant. Terry walked us through the new website and blogging Niki has spearheaded with Orangecast, our new social media consulting firm. He showed us how to easily access past and present programs, comment on blogs and stay tuned even when an airing is missed. This work takes the program to another level, yet is still in progress so we hope you join us, comment and Twitter your friends and associates to follow us.
Conversation at each table was hosted by a lead person and included:
Hasan Pirkul on education, Jerry Fullinwider on oil and energy in Russia, Iran and Iraq, Ed Wallace on world history, John Goodman on healthcare, Terry Brock on technology, Cary Clayborne on capital markets, Steve Pejovich on the Berlin Wall, Larry Steinberg on the Middle East, Dennis on the credit crisis and Niki on terrorism and the Roots of War documentary.
A video of the best of the last 20 years programming Niki had produced for the evening’s event included comments from program guests and supporters from, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Gail Cooksey and her team and Jim and Carol Young congratulating the host and producer on their 20 year TV anniversary. Highlights included candid clips of what goes on behind the scenes to make the program production work. A fun and surprise ending featured Dennis in makeup, commenting that he didn’t look one day older than when the program started, and attributing it to good makeup and shots. The video is posted at the top of the page.
Terry Brock interviewed Niki as the filmmaker- co-interviewer on the controversial Roots of War documentary. Scheduled to air on KERA in January of 2006, the documentary was funded in part by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation, one of our major TV funders. It aired first at the Angelika to community leaders. Protested by the Freedom and Justice Foundation, the KERA airing date was postponed. Niki spoke to what had occurred and what was done by her and Phil Smith, lead camera and co-editor of the documentary, in the ensuing years to get the program back on KERA. She felt compelled to honor the funder’s expenditure and trust and took her own time and money to do so. More of this story can be seen at www.therootsofwar.org. The documentary is going to be posted online as well.
Dennis capped off the evening by talking about the future of the program, its collaboration with the University of Texas at Dallas (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) School of Management and the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance and how the program will benefit and grow as a result. We recently taped several programs with their assistance in providing us the very best panelists from around the world. Take a look at programs 1807 (Corporate Governance) to 1810 (Wall Street: Capitol of Greed or Builder of Capital – airing on December 27th) for programs that profoundly affect our daily lives.
And of course what would the festivities have been without the host introducing key guests who have been part of our success, from Willis Duff to John Goodman, PhD, CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, among others you’ll see on the 
upcoming excerpts of that night. A sterling moment highlighted energy guru Jerry Fullinwider, who in 1942, played with his then band in the very room the evening’s gala was held in. Paid the royal sum of $25 for the evening, Jerry had to spend $5 of that fee to buy the music they played. We learned Jimmy Dorsey had tried to hire him but Jerry decided to stay in college and eventually go into business. As one of our benefactors, we’re sure glad he chose that route. But to show he did indeed have talent then and now, a trumpet magically appeared and Jerry played a few bars to resounding applause.
The evening ended with a standing ovation for the co-founders, Dennis and Niki and a promise of more good programming. Stay tuned where as always we talk about things that matter with people who care…
***
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
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During McCuistion TV’s episode on Corporate Governance and its impact on China and the world, they address three questions:
- How do the Chinese see our economic situation?
- How has trade impacted what multinationals do?
- How has American economic and foreign policy impacted the rest of the world?
Guests include:
Angelina Kwan: Managing Director and COO, Asia Pacific, Cantor-Fitzgerald
The Hon. Mario Mancuso: Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Former Under Secretary of Commerce
One of the points that host, Dennis McCuistion, addressed was that by-and-large we as a society do not often talk about China when discussing the American credit crisis and corporate governance, although it does impact them. He asked Angelina Kwan for her perspective.
Ms. Kwan believes that,
“The US is China’s best past and present trading partner. China wants a strong dollar. China really thinks that America has a great entrepreneurial spirit and it will get out of the current trade deficit.”
Ms. Kwan states that China will continue to work with the US and not in an adversarial role, but first and foremost as trading partners.
Dennis agrees, “We, the US and China, need each other. China is the largest creditor of the United States. We need to both figure out how they [China] will get paid.” Angelina Kwan tells us that the US needs to look at how it’s dealing with their dollars and its fiscal policy. China and the US are having serious discussions about China exporting less and the US having less dependency on exports and not relying so heavily on Asia and China.
The guests agree that trade is good for both partners. Mario Mancuso adds,
“A prosperous China is in the best interests of the United Sates and vice versa. Both being prosperous is in the global interest. These are the two largest economies in the world, and we agree on our ultimate objectives. We just can’t figure out how to implement those objectives- that’s the irony.”
He tells us, 95% of our customers are outside the US and if we build a wall, we close competitors out.
“A rules-based trading system is advantageous to competitive parties and the US is the most competitive in the world.”
US consumers benefit with better products at cheaper prices…
“An additional point, I take a backseat to no-one in terms of levying criticism, at the same time I don’t think the final chapter has been written on US economic leadership.”
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
Tune in for the rest of the story as continue to talk about things that matter with people who care…
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1809 – 11.22.09
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Amidst the financial meltdown over the last few years, there has been a seeming breakdown of the ethics of corporate executives. Some observers believed that the regulatory changes under Sarbanes-Oxley legislation passed in 2002 would eliminate illegal and unethical behavior, but is that the case?
Joining Dennis McCuistion to discuss this and other issues surrounding this question are:
- Sharon Allen: Chairman of Deloitte LLP
- Todd M. Bluedorn: CEO of Lennox International,Inc
- Jared Richardson: Sr. Counsel of Energy Future Holdings
Todd Bluedorn tells us that essentially corporate ethics are about basic compliance, “you don’t lie, cheat or steal.” He believes that there is more to this though, “It’s about selfless leadership… and a balance, not just being selfish. It’s also courage and an internal and moral ability and willingness to speak to truth.”
Sharon Allen tells us that the overall outlook for corporate America is good, it’s encouraging. Companies are focused on being good, ethical citizens, extending that to their employees and the individual stakeholders they serve. “It’s important to instill that… It’s too easy to say, ‘that’s business and that’s personal.’ No, ethics are ethics.”
Jared Richardson tells us that in any industry there is a code of ethics. A company is its “Ethos – which develops from the people that make up the organization.”
Dennis mentions Enron, one of the biggest debacles and corporate bankruptcies in history and asks about Enron’s corporate ethics. He mentions that Jeff Skilling had been interviewed by us in 2001 and made a point of referencing the companies 64 page ethics manual. Skilling also spoke to a group at Southern Methodist University that day- and he shows a short clip of that presentation, asking “was a lack of ethics involved in the downturn of Enron?” Todd’s comment: “Skilling would have failed the selfless test!’
The guests agree it’s important to differentiate what has happened in the last 18 months from “just” ethical causes. The meltdown was as a result of much more- structural issues and other fundamantal causes.
As Sharon reminds us regarding Sarbanes-Oxley,
“No oversight will ever solve internal problems… It still comes down to how an organization presents and governs.” Sharon cites a Deloitte study, that employees first look at ”their manager and then their direct supervisor for their moral compass,” before other factors such as positive reinforcement, compensation and their peers.
Todd reminds us that,”It’s important to have structure and compliance and to force people to face commitments. It’s not only relying on good people and leadership.”
Jared agrees, that yes, it’s about the tone at the top and the direction from senior leadership and establishing a culture of ethical compliance. But, he says,
“It goes beyond that, beyond the legal limits, if you will. It’s more than just the folks at the top, it’s at every level. The person you hire today at a starting analyst position may be a senior manager tomorrow.”
In response Dennis introduces a Pinkerton study that says 30% of the population not only will steal if the opportunity arises, they will create an opportunity to do so. Forty percent will steal if there is little danger of getting caught, and 30% won’t steal at all.
The guests discuss the pressure that organizations are under to produce, most especially in business downturns. They touch on the global economy and how there may be “unique practices acceptable elsewhere but not here.” Yes, global organizations are coalescing around acceptable standards.
Statistics on why people make unethical decisions in the workplace are discussed:
- 80% Lack of personal integrity
- 60% Job dissatisfaction
- 44% Financial rewards
- 41% Pressure to meet goals
- 39% Ignorance of code of conduct
They concur that at the end of the day- its still about personal integrity.
Todd Bluedorn leaves us with a thought that summarizes the theme behind this program, “If you live for today, you’re going to lose tomorrow.”
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
As always, thank you for joining us to talk about things that matter with people who care,
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1808 – 11.15.09
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Join us this Sunday, November 15th at 12 noon on KERA, Channel 13 for McCuistion TV’s episode: Is Corporate Ethics an Oxymoron?
Amidst the financial meltdown over the last few years, there has been a seeming breakdown of the ethics of corporate executives. Some observers believed that the regulatory changes under Sarbanes-Oxley legislation passed in 2002 would eliminate illegal and unethical behavior, but is that the case?
Joining Dennis McCuistion to discuss this and other issues surrounding this question are:
- Sharon Allen: Chairman of Deloitte LLP
- Todd M. Bluedorn: CEO of Lennox International,Inc
- Jared Richardson: Sr. Counsel of Energy Future Holdings
The federal government took many quick actions in the wake of the credit crisis in order to stop the damage. Now it wants to implement new regulations to prevent future problems. In this episode of McCuistion TV, we examine changes in corporate governance.
Joining Dennis McCuistion, for a lively discussion on this issue are guest experts:
Edward J. Durkin - Director of the Corporate Affairs Department of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Francis H. Byrd – Managing Director and Co-Leader for the Corporate Governance Advisory Practice at The Altman Group
Robert Royer – Partner in The McPherson Group and former Legal and Legislative Counsel to the Securities Industry Association and former General Counsel to the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress and Counsel to the House Administration Committee of the United States Congress
Would you have believed me if I had told you in 2007 that these things would happen…
- Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers disappeared
- Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG have been nationalized
- Washington Mutual became the largest bank failure in history
- The $300 billion auction rate securities market disappeared
- Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America
- Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are now bank-holding companies
- Congress approved a $168 billion economic stimulus package in February 2008, a $300 billion homeowner relief bill, and a $700 billion bailout of the financial system
- The Treasury has guaranteed $1.3 trillion in money market funds
- FDIC has increased deposit insurance to $250,000
- The Federal Reserve has injected over $1 trillion of liquidity into the banking system
…and if you were in DC at the time, what would your response have been?
The discussion on corporate governance focuses on what Government has done thus far and what it is likely to do.
Robert Royer tells us of the mood in Congress and that it (Congress) “is fashioning a broad yet specific approach to the problems of meltdown.” He informs us that there has been some legislation produced by the Administration and the House Banking Committee while while the Senate Banking Committee has been fairly quiet throughout the process. The two banking committees, House Financial Services and the Senate, are “the two principle engines of any change that might take place in this area.”
Ed Durkin tells us about unions, their funds, and how they impact our economy, while Dennis reminds us that union pension funds are huge, saying that “People think of unions, from a ‘40-’50’s perspective.” Durkin addresses this issue by discussing that Unions were the first to put in place employment pension funds.
According to Durkin, “unions are in a unique position to blend the interests of their members as workers as well as the interests of their members as owners.”
He believes we need to come up with a long term approach of value enhancement, reminding us that “the idea of workers owning America is one that people don’t understand.” Presently, there are over 100 pension funds in the country. He says, “we invest in the market.”
Francis Byrd tells us that board governance has now changed dramatically. “Share holders are far more interested in oversight of management and risk, strategic planning. They are on top of management, a huge dramatic change.”
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities Exchange Commission is a government agency. Their role is to protect investors, not just institutions but individuals.
Has the SEC fulfilled its responsibility to its investors?
Royer says, there was a lack of oversight and responsibility under Secretary Christopher Cox citing the SEC’s handling of Madoff. They believe the SEC should have been tougher as the SEC did not have the most capable people with the best knowledge of exotic financial products.
With Chairman Shapiro there should be improved disclosure on companies and they concur that he is the right person for a very big task. They believe that Cox did few good things, such as modernizing disclosure, but the new group will be more aggressive.
Federal Reserve and the Treasury
The panelists talk about the Federal Reserve and the Treasury and the power plays between them, over who is going to be that “over-arching regulator.” The prediction: The Fed will probably continue being in charge as the systemic regulator, despite past missteps.
From the move to control executive compensation to amending proxie votes so brokers can not use shareholder’s votes to elect corporate directors, to proposed new regulations and the political environment – The Government’s Response to the Crisis in Corporate Governance gives us a well rounded education on what we must do to reduce future risk and negligence in corporations today.
Overall the crisis and meltdown may have caused much needed scrutiny. Thus, we are looking at longer term value creation for the good of all concerned.
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1807 – 11.08.09
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