|
by
Skip
Anderson
U.S.
Secretary
of the
Treasury
Paul
O’Neill
encouraged
Vanderbilt
students
yesterday
to challenge
economic
conventions
when
appropriate
in what
he described
as a
“challenging
time.”
“If
the
ideas
don’t
fit
anymore,
then
it is
time
to change
the
ideas,”
he said,
citing
his
relative
lack
of concern
over
the
U.S.
account
deficit
as an
example.
“I’d
rather
have
a stronger
relative
level
of economic
activity
in the
United
States.”
The
Owen
Graduate
School
of Management
hosted
the
invitation-only
event
held
at Langford
Auditorium.
O’Neill
said
he believes
current
economic
indicators
such
as record-high
new
home
sales,
record-low
interest
rates
and
strong
automobile
sales
point
to an
economy
that
is rebounding
after
three
huge
blows
sustained
during
the
past
18 months:
The
Sept.
11 terrorist
attacks,
highly
publicized
corporate
fraud
and
the
bursting
of the
dot-com
bubble.
He credited
President
Bush’s
initiative
that
returned
billions
of dollars
to taxpayers
last
year
with
helping
move
the
economy
forward.
“We
have
had
a lot
to endure
over
the
past
18 months,”
he said.
“With
that,
I think
we’re
doing
pretty
well.”
O’Neill
said
the
collapse
of much
of the
technology
industry
should
not
have
come
as a
surprise.
“If
a company
doesn’t
have
any
earnings
—
some
didn’t
even
have
any
sales
—
then
there’s
something
wrong,”
said
O’Neill,
describing
“fantasy
money”
as driving
much
of the
cyber-boom
that
began
in 1993
and
ended
abruptly
last
year.
“It
was
never
believable
that
dot-coms
were
sustainable.”
O’Neill,
who
served
as chairman
and
CEO
of Alcoa
from
1987
to 1999,
said
he was
surprised
by the
lack
of integrity
of many
of today’s
business
leaders.
“Frankly,
it never
occurred
to me
that
CEOs
would
do what
some
of them
obviously
did,”
he said.
He credited
President
Bush
with
discouraging
future
unethical
behavior
from
business
leaders
by quickly
enacting
stronger
laws
to penalize
executives
who
file
fraudulent
papers.
O’Neill
said
the
country
will
never
be the
same
after
the
Sept.
11 attacks,
and
encouraged
Congress
to pass
the
Homeland
Security
Act
heavily
promoted
by President
Bush
prior
to adjourning
later
this
year.
“We
need
Congress
to pass
the
Homeland
Security
Act
because
we don’t
think
terrorism
is going
to go
away,”
he said.
He encouraged
lawmakers
to give
Americans
more
control
over
their
retirement
accounts
—
such
as 401k
and
403b
funds
—
as a
means
to help
move
the
economy
forward.
He also
described
the
9,600-page
tax
code
as a
“forest
of abomination”
and
in need
of simplification.
Speaking
without
notes
or a
teleprompter,
O’Neill
was
optimistic
and
upbeat
when
discussing
the
future
of the
U.S.
economy.
“We
will
return
to a
time
of great
growth,”
he said.
“I
have
no doubt
about
that.”
He answered
several
questions
from
audience
members
prior
to the
conclusion
of his
address.
Posted
9/25,
2002
at 10
a.m.
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