In January 2011, Bill George, former Chairman & CEO of Medtronic’s, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School and author of True North, joined us on the McCuistion program to talk about character and leadership; of which he is an acknowledged expert. Dennis asked him, “There are people watching this program who will ask, how is it that you can be so focused on character and values and yet be on the board of Goldman Sachs?”

Bill George answered, “Here’s a firm that for 140 years focused on their clients. They paid their people well. They paid for performance… not stars. They were the first execs on Wall Street that didn’t take bonuses. And when they saw the problem with sub prime mortgages, they got out 18 months ahead of everyone else.”

Yet with all that said, Goldman Sachs history is problematic.

March 12, Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs director in London resigned, and in doing so published this letter, (NY Times) detailing his grievances, including the charge the firm is ‘morally bankrupt.’

“Today is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm – first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London – I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for.

It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture was always a vital part of Goldman Sachs’s success. It revolved around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility, and always doing right by our clients. The culture was the secret sauce that made this place great and allowed us to earn our clients’ trust for 143 years. It wasn’t just about making money; this alone will not sustain a firm for so long. It had something to do with pride and belief in the organization. I am sad to say that I look around today and see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working for this firm for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.”

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2011 and 2012 show numerous challenges with Goldman Sachs. In fact we wrote about these in an earlier story.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that Goldman Sachs will pay $550 million to settle the SEC’s charges against the firm. According to Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, “Half a billion dollars is the largest penalty ever assessed against a financial services firm in the history of the SEC. This settlement is a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex, and no investor too sophisticated, to avoid a heavy price if a firm violates the fundamental principles of honest treatment and fair dealing.”

In April last year, the SEC sued Goldman Sachs and one of its employees for civil fraud, alleging they defrauded investors in 2007, in selling a financial product tied to sub prime mortgages. While Goldman acknowledged that its marketing materials for the sub prime product contained incomplete information, Goldman agreed to settle the SEC’s charges without admitting or denying the allegations by consenting to the entry of a final judgment that enjoins them from violating the anti fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933.

In its complaint, the SEC alleged that Goldman misstated and omitted key facts regarding a synthetic collateralized debt obligation it marketed. In particular, the SEC alleged that Goldman failed to disclose the role that hedge fund Paulson & Co. Inc. played in interests were adverse to CDO investors. Of the $550 million to be paid by Goldman in the settlement, $250 million would be returned to harmed investors through a Fair Fund distribution and $300 million would be paid to the U.S. Treasury.

In spite of Sarbanes Oxley abuses keep piling up with more than a few business icons. This last month we aired the story of Richard Bowen- who blew the whistle on Citi.

Yet the values of true leadership Bill George shared are sound and indicative of how a company ‘should” operate on every level- with their internal customer, the employee, and certainly their external customer. Building loyalty and good business practice is more than just an aggressive return on investment to the shareholder, regardless of how some disparage their commitment to the public, their stakeholders and employees. George’s input on integrity and what true leadership means gives us a true north perspective.

In fact Bill George was on a committee that closely examined sound business practice and how Goldman should conduct its affairs. More can be read at this link: http://www.goldmansachs.com/who-we-are/business-standards/committee-report/business-standards-committee-report-pdf.pdf

Still history is showing Goldman still has far to go.

As always, thanks for watching as we talk about things that matter with people who care.

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ producer
Business performance consultant/ coach
nikin@nikimccuistion.com
214-750-5157

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 cost of energy supplies affects us daily and already we are seeing even higher prices at gas pumps and increasingly heated debate over our energy policy.

Dan Yergin, with Niki and Dennis

Dan Yergin, author of The Prize and The Quest joins McCuistion via a previously conducted interview. He states that with the increased availability of shale, gas and other technology driven solutions  America is on the verge of becoming more energy secure and  fast becoming more energy independent. In the near future America may be far less dependent on the Middle East for its oil supplies. We’re also twice as energy efficient as we’ve ever been.

Yergin maintains that net petroleum imports into America have declined from 60% in 2005 to 46% today. Further, the development of new ways of producing oil and gas through technology are huge factors in today’s energy security for America. The availability and price of energy affect our lives on a daily basis and with our close connection to Canada our pooled resources allow for imports actually going down. With US oil production up the good news is more money is being spent in the US rather than abroad, creating much needed jobs.

We also feature the late Matt Simmons; author of Twilight in the Desert, who talked about peak oil and the impact this could mean.

Joining us for the studio discussion,  bringing us the latest in energy news are:

• Ed Blessing: Managing Partner, Blessing Petroleum, LLC;
• Chuck Davidson, CEO of Noble Energy, Inc., and
• Former Dallas mayor Laura Miller, now Director of Projects- Texas, with the Summit Power Group.

Laura Miller, once very much against dirty coal plants, is now working on a new concept involving building clean coal plants that capture 90% of carbon dioxide and sulphur; taking carbon dioxide, compressing it and pumping it back into oil wells. Summit has gotten significant grants – including $450,000,000 to work on these projects. Chuck Davidson’s company is far ranging, with exploration from oil and natural gas, in West Africa, Guinea, Israel, Mexico and Pennsylvania among others.  He informs us that the changes in technology have resulted in a 100-year plus supply of natural gas.

Ed Blessing believes that by 2017; if we continue on the present path of oil and gas exploration and safeguards, the US could well be the largest oil producer in the world. Production is increasing to a million barrels a day and this hemisphere could in fact be energy independent and energy secure. The good news is we have tremendous assets right here, positioning us for future security.

For the first time in a long time we should feel better about our long-term energy prospects.  While there are challenges, chief among them environmental concerns, we have renewable sources that are cost effective.

Energy security is critical to our future. We’ll be exploring these issues on two additional programs in the coming weeks so stay tuned, and go to our website at www.mccuistiontv.com, to view other programs on this and related topics.

Thank you for joining us. As always we appreciate your inviting us in to talk about things that matter with people who care.

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive producer/ Producer
Business performance consultant
214-750-5157
nikin@nikimccuistion.com

***

02.26.2012 – 1920

Unless you’ve been asleep the last few months, you know about the “loosely” organized movement referred to as Occupy Wall Street. Its slogan, “We are the 99 percent,” has resonated with Americans from coast to coast. But mainstream media often sets out to get the most outlandish sound bite or portrays the more sensational rather than accurate story.  So, for most of us, the questions still remain:

 

Who are these people? What are their issues? What do they want? And what does it have to do with me?

Prior to taping a program on this topic, Dennis and I took cameras to the street to interview Occupy Dallas protestors. The protestors voiced their concerns with the American economic system and the impossibility of trying to live on minimum wage. They expressed their anger at the business world and how increasingly business is corrupt and has damaged the American dream.

The protestors were vocal in their frustration with “the top few having all the wealth”.  They expressed concern at how today more college graduates than ever before are jobless and shackled with overwhelming debt and increasingly overwhelmed with their downward spiral. Some expressed no hope.

Our studio panelists are experts on this topic and give succinct comments on the situation’s cause and current status.

Joining us are:

• Cal Jillson, PhD – Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University and author of the newly released, Lone Star Tarnished: A Critical Look at Texas Politics and Public Policy
• Jacob Hornberger – President of The Future of Freedom Foundation
• Jonathan F. Winocour – Attorney
• Glynn Wilcox – Advisor to Occupy Dallas

More than a history lesson, our panelists and man/woman on the street, present a vivid picture of the facts on the ground.

Jacob Hornberger believes we need to eliminate the welfare state and restore the principles on which this country was founded. Cal Jillson talks about the concentration of wealth and that this has been repeated in our history before- even back to Andrew Jackson who fought against the first banks. Jonathan Winocour says that this is not just an American historical phenomenon but a global movement. He states that it started with the Arab spring and that this present situation is more than a dispute between Hamilton and Jefferson. Glynn Wilcox, who has been up front and center with Occupy Dallas talks about the frustration of crony capitalism and what is continuing to destroy the American dream.

Left wing critics of the Tea Party say that many in that group didn’t have a good grasp of the issues or of politics and elected officials. They were often correct. Right wing critics of Occupy Wall Street say the same about them, and they too are often right. Yet, what may be true about both groups is that both intuitively know that there is something not quite right with where this country is headed.

On this episode covering the Occupy Wall Street movement, our panelists challenge us to ask tough questions, of government and of business.

Thanks for joining us as we talk about things that matter…

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
Business consultant /speaker on transformational change…
nikin@nikimccuistion.com

 

***

02.19.2012 – 1924

We keep trying to figure out just what caused the mortgage meltdown and credit crisis, and one might very well ask, “Didn’t anyone know what was  going on? Did anyone ask? Did anyone care?”

The  truth is – many did. Richard Bowen, now a  Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas- Dallas, the Jindal School of Management, was one who did. Richard was the Business, Chief underwriter at  Citi Financial, a subsidiary of Citigroup. His job was to oversee the credit quality of $90 billion of mortgage loans, which had been purchased by Citi from mortgage companies and banks. Some of these loans were sold to Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae – which are now in conservatorship with the Government.

Richard Bowen noticed that over 60% of these loans did not meet accredited guidelines. He attempted to warn everyone in his business unit that Citi  Financial had a serious problem with these mortgage loans. That problem eventually escalated from 60% to 89% of these loans not meeting quality standards — yet he was still ignored. Richard Bowen again warned all of  the key parties at Citi Financial.

After  attending a UT-Dallas, Institute for Corporate Governance seminar, and listening to  Michael Oxley, one of the key writers of Sarbanes- Oxley, he realized he had no ethical choice but to take action regarding  Citi Financial’s ignoring his warning signals. So he did. Yet, while investigations proceeded, little to nothing was done. His complaint was relegated to almost non-existence and given little to no attention.

Richard Bowen took further action. He  became a whistleblower. Today he is no longer with Citi Financial. In this episode we learn more about Bowen’s story and the role he played.

We hear from Dr. Wayne Shaw, Helmut Sohmen Distinguished Professor of Corporate Governance; KPMG Institute for Corporate Governance at Southern Methodist University, about  the other side of whistleblowing and what an individual may encounter in the process. Dr. Shaw talks about what whistleblowing is, how it works, and the risks to the person who blows the whistle. According  to Wayne Shaw; people who take this step often lose their jobs and are shunned; often not getting a job in their industry again.

Ultimately, becoming a whistleblower is a choice- and one with, perhaps, heavy consequences. Yet, the ultimate question may be one of personal integrity. If something is wrong, do you keep quiet so as to protect yourself? Or stand up and take the risks?

Thanks for joining us:

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
Business consultant on transformational change…
nikin@nikimccuistion.com

***

02.12.2012 – 1923

“Buy Enron stock today!”  These were Jeff Skilling’s ending words to the group of civic and business leaders assembled at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 2001.

We had just finished interviewing him for an upcoming McCuistion TV program on the energy situation in California. (Under Skilling, Enron adopted market-to-market accounting, in which anticipated future profits from any deal were accounted at their present market value rather than any historic or future value.) Skilling joked about the California energy crisis at one meeting of Enron employees by asking, “What is the difference between California and the Titanic? At least when the Titanic went down, the lights were on.” Skilling later attributed the remark to frayed relations between Enron and California. His employees, meanwhile, plotted to keep the price of energy high in California.

Off the record I had asked about Enron’s ethics policy- as I was writing a paper on corporate ethics for an MBA class. “Solid,” he said. “We have an ethics policy that covers everything you can conceive of.  Not that it’s needed, you either follow an ethics policy or you have one on the shelf.”  I kid you not! Honest… that was the gist of the conversation.

We then ran to set up the camera to catch his speech. Jeff Skilling instantly captured our attention with, “Enron got hammered last week.” He proceeded to tell a joke about what you would want someone to say about you at your funeral. The punch line, “Look, he’s still moving!” got laughs. He added, “After the equity markets last week, I hope they say that about us too.”  In hindsight – rather ironic.

Jeff Skilling addressed Enron’s pioneering spirit, the changes in the energy business and a tale of two cities, telecom and the efficiency of communications and the gas and oil industry.  He made an argument for vertical integration and the breaking down of the monolithic corporations that have for so long dominated the landscape in these fields.

With obvious pride he told us that Enron is the Toyota of the energy industry; delivering a package of energy cheaply. He warned us of California’s deregulation issues, yet stated, “California is the most regulated market in the US right now.” Throughout his speech and the TV interview he’d held with us earlier, he was composed, cordial and gracious as he became the head of the then most innovative company in the world- according to Fortune magazine- lauding it for 6 years in a row. And at its Houston headquarters- on a can’t miss it banner- Enron self-proclaimed itself, “The World’s Leading Company.”

So what went wrong?  It wasn’t supposed to happen this way? How did this successful giant topple so quickly? What did we miss? Or did we just not question their, “Anyone who doesn’t understand our business just doesn’t get it” inference? Yet even Goldman Sachs, at the top of the heap back then, would admit they had to take the company’s [Enron’s] word on its numbers. Who really cared about its convoluted finances, its numbers, as long as Enron delivered? What Wall Street most cared about was smoothly growing earnings.

Enron may have been the world’s leading company and that may have contributed to the culture of arrogance and hubris. Here was a company that encouraged flouting of rules. Yes, a pioneer, generating more than 80% of its earnings from wholesale energy operations and services. Reports increasingly warned, “they predict earnings practically to the penny;” and, “they have Wall Street beaten into submission.” In early 2001, Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates commented that no-one could explain how Enron made money. Doug Millet, COO of Kynikos said, “they’re a giant hedge fund sitting on top of a pipe line.” And one with low returns at that.

On February 12, 2001, Skilling was named CEO of Enron, receiving $132 million in a single year.  On March 28, 2001, PBS’s Frontline interviewed Skilling, where he claimed Enron was one of “the good guys”.  In August of 2001, Jeff Skilling stepped down as CEO of Enron.  A former employee, one of the many left financially decimated, said, “He saw what was coming and didn’t have the emotional fortitude to deal with it.”

Was it greed? Compensation was geared toward enriching executives rather than generating profits for shareholders. And hubris, not only did Jeff Skilling not give a reasonable explanation for leaving, but the company itself dismissed any suggestions that his departure was related to any problems within the company. Conjecture had it that Skilling knew the falling stock prices would wreak havoc on the various partnerships and cause Enron’s eventual exposure.

Stepping back into his role as CEO, Ken Lay said,”There was no accounting, trading or reserve issues.” Really Mr. Lay? While admitting Enron’s disclosure practices were less than adequate, Lay continued burying important information. In an October 16th press release, perhaps the one contributing to the beginning of the end, Enron reported a $618 million dollar loss, writing down shareholder equity by $1.2 billion. The big question remains; f Enron had ceased its game playing could the company had survived? Instead, a public company with thousands of employees were left unemployed, without retirement funds, investors lost billions in unsecured loans and derivative exposure; JP Morgan with $500 million; Citi, the same, Dynergy, $75 million; and the list goes on.

And so, a $100 billion dollar company, with 30,000 miles of pipeline in 44 countries, the leading electricity, natural gas provider in the world… a public company whose employees and shareholders counted on management, the Board and auditors to look out for their hard earned interest- fell- hard!  A senior Wall Street executive said of Enron’s debacle, “It disgusts me and frightens me.”

Yet, ten years later, we haven’t learned our Enron lesson and so to some degree, similar situations keep happening, over and over and over. Kind of reminds me of the movie Ground Hog Day.

And speaking of Ground Hog Day- this February 12th- we present you another recurring corporate story of greed and hubris- as told by Citigroup whistle blower, Dick Bowen. who tried over and over to call attention to the quality of its mortgage portfolio.

Join us as we continue talking about things that matter… with people who care.

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer McCuistion
Speaker/ Author on leadership and governance inspiring transformational change, through conversations that matter.

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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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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This is part two of a two part series on pharmaceutical companies and their relationships with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our focus is on the efficacy of prescription drugs as well as the cost for the consumer.

Jonathan Emord, attorney & author of The Rise of Tyranny and Dr. Charles B. Simone speak on the truth about the FDA.  An enormous amount of marketing dollars are spent by pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs. Thus,  patients learn to demand certain drugs from their doctors.  The problem with this is that often times over-the-counter drugs (i.e. Aspirin) or nutrients (i.e. fish oil) will have the same effect on one’s lifespan as a prescription drug.

Jonathan Emord has defeated the FDA six times and is well-versed in the issues surrounding the corruption of the United States health care system. At the center of the FDA issue is that of accountability. The checks and balances that are in place for government are non-existent for the FDA.  The FDA Commissioner has the authority to create law (regulations), enforce violations, and judge the violation.  The Commissioner of any independent regulatory committee is virtually all-powerful. This means that 3/4 of the laws that are made are not made by representatives in Congress, but they are in fact made by unelected officials.  And because of the controversial nature of the committee issues and the fragile nature of congressional elections, congressmen will avoid making the tough decisions and instead diplomatically mail a letter to the regulatory committee.

Another key component to concerns about the FDA is the way that economics play a role in FDA approvals and rejections. Simply put, the government has censored information for solely economic reasons.  They further discuss the specifics of how and why they do this and the resulting effect on health care.

To learn more about censorship, Dr. Simone‘s website will provide more information. He will also provide you with the tools to show you what you can do as a consumer to make a difference in these issues.

***

04.05.09 – 1726

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Did you ever wonder whether the prescription drugs you pay so much for are really bargains and even more importantly, whether they’re safe? Many of us share this concern, especially since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is supposed to be the regulator which assures that drugs are both safe and effective.

Jonathan W. Emord , Dr. Charles Simone of the Simone Protected Cancer Center and author of Cancer and Nutrition is joined by , author of The Rise of Tyranny. In part one of a two part interview with Dennis C. McCuistion they discuss the effects of politics and bureaucracy on prescription drug costs and safety.

One would think that the FDA would be one of the least corrupt government agencies, as it’s dealing directly with the health and well-being of American citizens. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly well-known that what the FDA approves is often times based more on politics, bureaucracy and economics than health. The concern during recent years is that bureaucrats have been having an enormous amount of influence in what the FDA approves. In fact, the commissioner of the FDA has knowingly allowed unsafe drugs to enter the marketplace, in order to protect the proponents of those drugs so that they don’t suffer economic hardship.

Of the 19 industrialized countries, the United States is #1 in the amount of money we spend on health care and #19 in how much bang we get for our buck. The argument for the increased cost of prescription drugs is that it’s due to the FDA’s strict requirements on research. However, if you look at history you’ll find that members of the FDA have knowingly allowed harmful drugs to hit the market. Simone and Emord expound by giving several examples of times where the Commissioner of the FDA intentionally passed drugs that were undeniably confirmed to be dangerous. They went on to further site instances where the medical reviewers (with political managers above them) required well-respected scientists to rewrite their reports and threatened if they did not. Because of this type of treatment, scientists are required to spend more money to protect themselves, thus the cost of drugs increases.

***

03.29.09 – 1725