http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/30/weekinreview/30NORR.html Floyd Norris writing about WorldCom: "That sum is more than seems to have been involved at Enron, and larger than the amounts of revenue that Xerox arbitrarily moved from one period to another to make its numbers. The amounts at all three companies dwarf the more than $500 million in overstated profits at the former CUC International, which only two years ago was being described as the largest accounting fraud ever."
As Doug has pointed out, the upshot is that capitalism didn't perform as well as advertised during the post-Cold War era. And unemployment was so low because Greenspan was forced to keep rates low to prevent the rest of world from becoming even a greater mess. What if it's the case that the low unemployment rate of the 90s helped create the consumer demand which is keeping the economy afloat in spite of corporate corruption? The revelation of this "corporate crime wave" is certainly a blow to American exceptionalism. And I've witnessed the anger of your average Jane and Joe.
Peter