Quotes by Kenneth Lay

• We don't break the law.
• The last thing I would have ever expected to happen to me in my life would be that, in fact, I would be accused of doing something wrong and maybe even something criminal.
• We see ourselves as first helping to open up markets to competition.
• I have to take responsibility for anything that happened within its businesses.
• I mean, our primary businesses in wholesale pipelines, utilities, retail, were all doing extremely well.
• I take full responsibility for what happened at Enron. But saying that, I know in my mind that I did nothing criminal.
• I've been a strong financial and political supporter of, first, President Bush Sr. when he was running for president, and even when he ran for president a time or two and failed.
• In the case of Enron, we balance our positions all the time.
• Investors don't like uncertainty.
• I don't think I'm a criminal, number one.
• Our liquidity is fine. As a matter of fact, it's better than fine. It's strong.
• Every market is in transition.
• The problems in California have been that it's been very difficult to site and build new power plants.
• The transmission systems are still regulated.
• There are absolutely no problems that had anything to do with Jeff's departure.
• There are no accounting issues, no trading issues, no reserve issues, no previously unknown problem issues.
• They can't do without electricity. They can do with less electricity.
• Trillions of dollars every day are being exchanged around the world in all of the financial markets.
• We use competitive markets to arrange for delivery of our food supply.
• We need someone who is a strong representative of our value system.
• Jeff knew full well what he was walking away from. Again, he needed to deal with this right away.
• When there's uncertainty they always think there's another shoe to fall. There is no other shoe to fall.
• Today, there are also buyers and sellers of all these energy commodities, just like there are buyers and sellers of food commodities and many other commodities.
• I have faith in the market when we get the rules right.
• You'd rather have a surplus versus a shortage in your position.
• You'll have lower prices under deregulation than you will through regulation.
• Well, rates would go up whether you deregulate or not, and of course, the rates that are going up right now on the electricity side are still within the regulated framework.
• We've tried to get as much supply into California as we can.
• Am I a fool? I don't think I'm a fool. But I think I sure was fooled.
• Any slots at the senior level, including CEO or other slots, will be filled internally.
• But certainly I didn't know he was doing anything that was criminal.
• But I can't take responsibility for criminal conduct of somebody inside the company.
• But indeed a market like California is not good for Enron.
• But the most important thing is, Enron did not cause the California crisis.