Posted 4:42 PM by Blah blah

I feel the government is treating Andersen and its employees, who may lose their jobs, as scapegoats for the sins of Enron. Another sad article:

Employees Indignant: This 'Just Isn't Fair' (Washington Post):

Young said he and his co-workers were disturbed by the attitude of government officials, which he termed "a little bit cold" in their disregard of how the indictment would affect the firm's 27,000 U.S. employees, including the 5,500 who work in the 28-story glass-and-steel headquarters building, its lobby festooned with huge American flags.The prosecutors' "hearts are with the investors and with Enron, and we're being held responsible," he said.

Andersen employees have been known for great pride in their affiliation with the firm, even for cocky self-confidence. But yesterday, when asked whether they worked there, many silently shook their heads no and walked quickly away, passing a row of newspaper racks blaring headlines about Andersen's fall from grace.

It's a dramatic, even radical change of events for Andersen. In the accounting industry, the 88-year-old firm, an institution in its hometown of Chicago, has long been the object of envy among its competitors. It was known for hiring the best of each season's crop of students, offering them the best training and helping develop them into the nation's most elite corp of accounting officials.

"They had the best reputation of any of the firms," said a 37-year-old Chicago accountant who stood watching the activity at Andersen headquarters across the street and asked not to be named. "They were like the IBM guys in the blue suit. They had a swagger in their step, and they deserved the swagger."

Some local restaurateurs said Andersen employees are avoiding many people these days, not just reporters. Steve Salameh, manager of a nearby restaurant called Beef 'n Brandy, said his eatery used to be a regular haunt for a group of Andersen workers. They worked long hours, he said, often quickly eating a sandwich so they could get dash back to work, with body language that bespoke confidence and a sense of mission. In the past few weeks, however, they've hardly come to the restaurant at all, and he doesn't know where they've gone.