Organizer: Pacific Research Institute. Robert L. Bradley, a former speechwriter to Ken Lay, Enron founder and chairman, and a 16-year Enron employee, argues that Enron’s Achilles’ heel has been wrongly indentified as “capitalism.” Rather, Enron’s boom and bust is the story of how Ken Lay developed a sophisticated business model based on government rent-seeking (political capitalism). More important, the company tried and failed to leverage political and social momentum for “energy sustainability” into business viability.

Bradley’s unique insider view of Enron has direct implications for today’s debates over business and energy policy. Current examples include the recent government bailouts of Wall Street and the automakers, and Google’s proposed $4.4 trillion government spending program for renewable energy. Bradley discusses how businesses can manipulate politics by exploiting America’s most salient issues, such as a failing economy and energy insecurity, to solicit government subsidies and taxpayer funds.Join us for a discussion of Capitalism at Work.

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