Reply #7: Why Moyers changed his mind and decided to speak out about money in politics after the 9-11 attacks [View All]

[Time for change]

Moyers speaks and writes a great deal on this subject. He had some speeches planned in the fall of 2001, but after the attacks on our country he had second thoughts about continuing his speaking tour:

It just didn't seem timely to talk about money and politics while the country was still in mourning. But I began to notice some items in the news that struck me as especially repugnant amid all the grief. In washington, where environmentalists and other public interest advocates had suspended normal political activities, corporate lobbyists were suddenly mounting a full court press for special favors at taxpayer expense.... Visions of newfound gold danced in the heads of lobbyists. And in corporate suites across the country CEOs were waking up to the prospect of a bonanza born of tragedy. Within 2 weeks of 9/11 the business press was telling of corporate directors rushing to give bargain priced stock options to their top executives... Stocks had fallen sharply after the attacks... As stock options grant executives the right to buy shares at that low price yor years to come, the lower price when options are awarded, the more lucrative they are... One company had begun laying off employees just hours before the terrorists struck; the chairman, nonetheless, helped himself to 602,589 options just two weeks later.