Ford And Enron

I think John Steele Gordon made a very poor choice in comparing Kenneth Lay and Henry Ford (“The Business of America,” April/May 2002).

First, the Ford Motor Company in Henry’s time was largely owned by the Ford family, not by public stockholders. Second, Enron existed mainly to sell IOUs to the public in order to create a cash cow for its leaders to loot. Third, Henry Ford had the toughest boss of all, the consumer.

To compare Kenneth Lay to Henry Ford is equivalent to comparing Charles Ponzi to Bill Gates.