Adam Smith and Ken Lay

Hey all,

As some of you know, I am currently engaged in two reading projects.

First, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Long regarded as the starting point for economics as a science, this is really interesting reading. Well, at least it is to me. I'm not sure if any of my regular blog readers would enjoy this text. Its tedious and dry, published in 1776. With that in mind, Smith was quite the visionary. He predicts several of our current economic puzzles (trade deficits) and fields of economic study (economic development). He didn't quite pronounce these thoughts directly, but he notes on numerous occasions that his analysis would have a different result if technology advanced to allow increases in productivity. Smith also warns of the evils of big businesses, and advises great scrutiny of any policy proposed by such a firm.

Which leads me to my second project, "The Smartest Men in the Room." All about the rise and fall of Enron. A very entertaining read, but disturbing in the same moment. I have decided the worst part of the Enron scam was that it was not secretive. This theft was conducted in public, for all to see! The accounting methods, lies, bad numbers, bad deals...everything was in the SEC filings, or published on page A1 of the Wall Street Journal. And nobody said ANYTHING! Very spooky to consider what else could be brewing out there. They got away with public theft for years on end.

Consider that next time you pick up a newspaper.

-Paul