Does capitalism have a conscience?

I heard your decision on channel 13 this morning as I was dressing for work. I was not moved by your gesture to give your contractual monetary provisions back to the company who would be Dynegy when this is all said and done. If you are sincere about wanting to help Enron, then helping the people who have made Enron what it is today would be a more appropriate gesture. Clearly you know that Dynegy's employees will be given higher consideration for jobs than Enron employees will. The company will be dismantled and so will our lives.

The road to Enron was not an easy one, and my decision to seek employment here was difficult in light of the way Enron is portrayed in the back offices of the energy industry. Enron is said to be a sweatshop, a backstabbing work environment and that the executive levels of management at Enron fuel, foster and support this type of mentality. I have worked in various commercial capacities, and I came to Enron with the hope that times had changed, and that the thriving energy industry had taken Enron to another stratosphere, and I was right! I love my job because the work environment is conducive to a mature and intelligent exchange of information and growth potential.

Just when you believe you are among the most intelligent, there is always someone who comes along with more real world application, with common sense and integrity added. Hiring intelligent people is a great practice, but I've worked with the best and the brightest in many companies so Enron is no exception. Hiring the best and the brightest obviously was the downside to Enron's demise. It appears that there is a thin line between intelligence and arrogance and Enron appears to have stepped over that line.

Due to what you called "mistakes in judgement'", my future here is uncertain, as is that of my my co-workers. Many are agonizing about their families futures as well. I have survived a corporate merger, bankruptcy and buyouts with a number of companies specifically, Texaco, Columbia Energy Group and Amoco. During all of this I continued to hold my head high and to provide the same level of service during these transitions, so that at the end of the day my self esteem and integrity would be intact.

Yes, we can and will all find other jobs, just as the many other recently unemployed people in this hurting economy will. Everyone speaks to the loss of investor confidence, class action lawsuits and corporate losses, but who speaks out for the employees affected by the actions of a few. We were robbed of our hope, and the expectation of doing a good job and reaping the benefits. The investors and the employees here were kept in the dark, and the powers that be have just sold us down the river and for what? For a handful of people to get richer.

Rationalizing and trying to bargain the behavior of those who are at fault for this catastrophe is just wrong. Taking it to a level where you somehow convince yourself that everything that has happened to date is okay, is just wrong. Companies merge, are bought out and collapse every day due to mismanagement, industry nose dives and economic slow downs. But please tell me how a company in just a few weeks, can go from a powerhouse to a beggar on the streets of downtown Houston?

Truthfully,

Not just merely a whiner, but a long suffering Gas Industry Specialist.

Cynthia Boseman-Harris