J. Harrison
731 2nd Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94118
harrisonj@argentgroupltd.com

To Mr. Ken Lay,

I am personally disgusted by your willingness to profit from such immoral business practices.  As an actor in California, who typically earns less than $7,000 a year from my craft, I was personally affected by the major increase in energy costs last year.  And I am infuriated that I had to skip meals to pay my energy bill while you personally cleared over a million dollars.  I hope you spent a substantial part of your earnings supporting the arts in your local community, donating to public libraries, funding a scholarship program for low-income students in impoverished neighborhoods, or in some other way improving our community.

In case you were too selfish to consider building your community with your profits, I'm writing to urge you to donate the millions of dollars you made from selling Enron stock before the company declared bankruptcy to funds, such as Enron Employee Transition Fund and REACH, that benefit the company's employees, who lost their retirement savings, and provide relief to low-income consumers in California, who can't afford to pay their energy bills.  Enron and you made millions out of the pocketbooks of California consumers and from the efforts of your employees.

Indeed, while you netted well over a $100 million, many of Enron's employees were financially devastated when the company declared bankruptcy and their retirement plans were wiped out.  And Enron made an astronomical profit during the California energy crisis last year.  As a result, there are thousands of consumers who are unable to pay their basic energy bills and the largest utility in the state is bankrupt.

The New York Times reported that you sold $101 million worth of Enron stock while aggressively urging the company's employees to keep buying it.  Please donate this money to the funds set up to help repair the lives of those Americans hurt by Enron's underhanded dealings.

Who needs $100 million dollars?  Forbes ran a series a few years back about people who'd made millions, but lived quiet lives and donated substantial chunks of their money to charitable causes.  Remember Rockefeller, the Morgans, the millionaires of the early 20th century?  They built their community, recognizing that they benefited from a well-fed, better-educated populace.  Too bad the millionaires of today don't share their commitment.  We have a lot of people who could use a helping hand every now and then.

Sincerely,

J. Harrison