Nader '55 makes tour stop in New Jersey, speaks on corporate ethics

Trenton — Two years after running as the Green Party candidate for president, Ralph Nader '55 stopped here last Saturday as part of his nationwide tour addressing corporate responsibility, "People have the Power."

Just as members of the press and public began to gather at the steps of the N.J. Statehouse, awaiting a press conference to kick off the day's events, Nader and his political associates were asked to vacate the grounds for failure to present an official permit.

Nader, stunned but still resolute, moved the press conference across the street.

"What happened half an hour ago," Nader said in reference to the forced departure, "is part of the problem the Green Party has been facing. Efforts are made to exclude Green Party candidates."

Nader also addressed corporate scandals. "Millions of Americans who saw their trust betrayed must reassert popular sovereignty over corporate homogeneity," he said.

He outlined his ideas for corporate reform in a 12 point platform dubbed, "The Congressional Candidate's Pledge to Crack Down on Corporate Crime." His initiatives include strengthening pension reforms, protecting financial consumers, expanding disclosure, and reining in excessive executive pay.

Peter Hegseth '03, publisher of the Princeton Tory, said while Nader's ideas seemed plausible, he was skeptical about Nader's intentions.

"While the 12 points on Nader's 'pledge to crack down on corporate crime' seem reasonable at first glance, based on his history, they are surely backed by a vicious disdain for corporate America," Hegseth said.

"Ironically, without the ambition and ingenuity of these same CEOs and corporations, the workers for which he advocates would be jobless," he said.

President George Bush, whom Nader depicted as a "giant corporation running for president, disguised as a human being," introduced his own 10-point corporate reform plan on March 7, in response to an unpredictable post-Enron economy.

Bush signed into law a Corporate Corruption Bill on July 30, a bill that passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming margins. The law provides for a Corporate Fraud Task Force to investigate alleged fraud, an independent board to ensure high ethical standards in accounting and higher fines and prison sentences for corporate offenders.

In addition to these mandates, Nader also suggested the creation of a National Commission of Corporate Crime Reform, similar to the Temporary National Economic Committee, which was created in 1938 to foster discussion on regulating economic power. The committee was dissolved after World War II.

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"We need to make the fundamentals for the reevaluation of state and federal laws," said Nader, "Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia — these are just [corporate] pronouns. Although this has been a front page issue, corporate crime has not resulted in the arrest of one crook."

Nader is in favor of reaching out to struggling, under-the-canopy businesses. "The marketplace is supposed to give small entrepeneurs a chance."

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Princetonian, Nader recommended an inquiry into Princeton's own financial matters.

"Why shouldn't the University put contracts online?" he asked.

According to information on the University's Purchasing Department website, Princeton has contracts with various businesses from waste disposal to uniforms to chemical supplies.

University treasurer Christopher McCrudden and Vice President for Development Brian McDonald '83 could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Nader also noted that the University has a rule limiting outside consulting work by faculty members. "Princeton's faculty can only spend one day a week under corporate commission."

Corporate ethics also came to the forefront within the last week when it was revealed that Meg Whitman '77, trustee and eBay CEO, who contributed $30 million toward the construction of a new residential college, is currently under suspicion for unethical financial affairs.

Whitman, an emblem of corporate success and capitalism, would certainly be affected if the initiatives in Nader's pledge were to be enacted.

Actions taken by the Bush administration to encourage investment and ensure financial security have not appeased all concerned Americans. Joe Conley GS, who attended Saturday's rally, showed enthusiasm for Nader's proposals.

"Nader's fundamental message is one of economic justice. Economic inequality is eating away at American democracy; this is lost on those who seldom leave leafy enclaves of wealth like Princeton," he said.

Nader's concerns do not begin and end with corporations.

"What is it going to take to wake up the American public?" he asked, "Trillions of dollars lost by millions of families?"

Anastasia Frank '06, who also attended the rally, said, "I found myself moved by the passion with which Nader spoke, and actually left the building that afternoon convinced that I, too, was a Green Party member at heart."

Frank was not alone in feeling inspired. In front of a "Crack Down on Corporate Reform" banner, various politicians stirred the crowd, several hundred strong, with rally cries and aggressive political commentary. One woman in the audience sat quietly, absorbed in a magazine article entitled, "Can you lend a CEO a dime?"

Meanwhile Ted Glick, Green Party candidate for Senate, in calling for "a shift in resources", said, "We need a wealth tax on millionaires to recoup what they've been taking from us."

Carl Mayer '81, Green Party candidate for congressional district 12, and Greg Pason, Socialist Party candidate for Senate, were also among those to share the stage with Nader, who received a standing ovation. Patti Smith, poet, singer, novelist and activist, provided an artistic expression of her commitment to the cause. Local progressive organizations and regional branches of major organizations such as the Sierra Club were also present to support Nader and promote their own causes.

Larry Hamm '78, chairman of the People's Organization for Progress in Newark, also spoke at the Trenton rally on need to eliminate racial profiling, instate reparations for the descendants of African-American slaves and establish a strong people's movement.

"Talk to people different from us and build a real grassroots movement. We should not be afraid. History is on our side," he said.

According to Nader, corporations are not for the people. "We need a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Not a government of the Exxons, for the General Motors, by the DuPonts."