Eliot Spitzer - 2004 Commencement Speaker
C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer served as commencement speaker at the 46th annual graduation exercises of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Sunday, May 9, 2004. Eliot Spitzer became the state’s 63rd Attorney General on January 1, 1999. Named "Crusader of the Year" by Time magazine in 2002, Spitzer has compiled an impressive record, spearheading a broad array of initiatives that have exposed corruption and have safeguarded the common good. Spitzer was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws at the graduation ceremony.

His remarks follow:

Thank you all so much. Chairman Tilles, President Steinberg, Board Members Faculty Parents Graduates, good morning and congratulations.

Since it is Mother’s Day I feel it is appropriate to respond to all those kind words by observing that I wish my parents would have been here to listen, because my father would have enjoyed it, and my mother would have believed it.

To all the moms here today, from all of us who are not mothers Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for all the love and guidance you have bequeathed upon us.

In my case, I’m reminded of Buddy Hackett’s observation that his mother’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. Thank you so much for inviting me to share this special day with you. I know that you and your families, especially those responsible for paying tuition bills, have looked forward to this day for a very long time.

Half a century ago, Winston Churchill delivered a famous commencement address at Oxford. He walked up to the lectern with his trademark cigar, cane a top hat, he took off the hat slowly, he scowled at the audience, and then he delivered a three-word address: Never give up.

For dramatic effect, he said it again. Never give up. And then the great leader sat down.

It was perhaps the shortest commencement address ever given. And perhaps for that reason alone, the finest. My comments today will take somewhat more time than that, but not much.

I want you to think about the degree to which people continue to do things simply because that is the way they’ve always been done. To the extent that you have seen me before or heard about my office, it is probably because we have investigated some of the biggest mutual fund companies or other firms on Wall Street and revealed that these companies were misleading investors, touting stocks they knew to be poor investments, because of conflicts of interest that pervaded their business practices. Many people, perhaps you or more likely your parents and grandparents, were harmed. Millions of people lost significant sums of money when these investments collapsed. Retirement savings, college education funds, people’s nest eggs, were diminished, and in some cases, lost altogether.

Many of the individuals of these firms were good people. But they fell into the trap of simply doing that which others had done before them, without questioning why. Even after my office revealed emails, which showed that the business models of several of the larger firms were fundamentally flawed, some business leaders went on the attack rather than reflecting on their behavior and practices. They said, “Who are you to challenge the system?” Others said, “What’s the big deal? That’s the way Wall Street always operates.”

Indeed, one of the major institutions that came in to my office to negotiate with me had an interesting approach. The very sophisticated lawyers and executives did not dispute our facts, or allege that I misunderstood the industry. Rather, they said, very simply, “You’re right. But we’re not as bad as our competitors.”

A very fascinating defense, and, very frankly, one that I do not recommend.

When I heard this response I was reminded of three sentences that the great philosopher Homer once said would get you through life: one, cover for me. Two, that’s a good idea, boss. Three, it was like that when I got here.

I see quizzical looks on some of the more learned faces in the audience. No I wasn’t quoting the Greek philosopher Homer; I was quoting the Fox TV philosopher Homer Simpson.

What surprised me most about the investigation of Wall Street and thereafter the mutual fund industry was that virtually no one challenged the status quo. Nobody said, hey, this is wrong. Nobody on the inside questioned the way things were being done. Instead, almost all of them followed the principles of Homer Simpson, and the system never changed.

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, one of our great thinkers and political leaders, called this “defining deviancy down.” By that phrase he was referring to the increasing tolerance for the formerly intolerable. We witness this phenomenon during this past year of investigations of Wall Street; we learned that practices that were clearly intolerable had become acceptable to those who should have known better. One famous analyst who defrauded millions of investors has crowed, “What used to be defined as a conflict of interest is now a synergy.”

And no one at his company or in the industry stood up and said, “No, it’s still a conflict, and you’re robbing millions of people of their saving and their dreams.”

We are at a point in American history where there is a crisis of lower standards. A crisis of accountability is affecting many of our institutions. The public has lost trust in the institutions that we all depend upon, ranging from charities to government to business. This declining respect is played out most visibly and viscerally with respect to the private sector. But the problem is as real and challenging in other sectors.

How does all of this relate to you? Well, certainly you will be investors at some point. But much more importantly I want you to understand there are times when you have to challenge and question a structure that may no longer reflect the values you believe in. I’m certainly not suggesting you immediately begin to grill your new employer on business ethics. To the contrary, there will be a long period during which you have to put your head down and work hard to establish yourself. But there will come a time in your career when your ethics will be tested. There will come a time when the values your parents tried to instill, and which this fine institution tried to instill, will be challenged. How will you respond?

There are powerful forces in society that impose conformity. There is tremendous pressure not to rock the boat. I am dating myself, but there is a song by the Talking Heads that describes how the days go by. The lyrics include the following: And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile, and you may find yourself in a beautiful house, and you may ask yourself, “How did I get here?”

Trust me when I say you will get there. You will work hard and you will do well. You will make a home for yourself; you will be a part of the system. And it is a great system. In fact, there is no better engine for prosperity. It is imperative, however, that at times you question the system, that we collectively question it.

Allow me to recount a short story. A small fishing boat was docking in a village when a businessman turned and approached. He struck up a conversation with the fisherman. He asked, “How long did it take you to catch those magnificent fish?”

“Not long,” answered the fisherman.

“Well why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” asked the businessman.

The fisherman explained that the small catch was sufficient to meet the needs of himself and his family. The businessman asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman answered, “I play with my children, take a walk with my wife. In the evenings I go to the village and see my friends and have a few drinks, play the guitar. Sing songs. I have a very full life.”

The businessman became very excited at that point. “Look! I can help you. I’m a very successful person. I know what you’ve got to do. First, you start by fishing longer each day. Then you sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will let you buy another one; a third one and so on, until you have an entire fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you negotiate directly with the processing plants. Maybe even open your own. You can then leave this little village, move to Los Angeles or even New York. From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the fisherman.

“Twenty years, maybe fifteen if you work hard enough. And after that, afterwards, that’s when it gets really interesting. When you business gets really big, you can start selling stock, do an IPO, call your company Google; you can make millions of dollars. Millions! Really!”

“And what after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire and do whatever you want.”

At that point the fisherman scratched his head and he said, “But when I retire, I would like to live in a tiny village near the coast, play with my children, catch a few fish, take walks with my wife, and spend my evening playing music, and enjoying my friends. Why should I work for 20 years to achieve what I already have?”

The best advice I can offer is to learn from both the businessman and the fisherman. Use your education, work hard, and be ambitious. But also do not be afraid to question either the destination of the path you travel or the values of your fellow travelers.

And also, remember sometimes the thing that you are searching for may be right at hand.

Today you have a wonderful sense of accomplishment you are sharing with friends and family. You have found something that is indeed special. You don’t need to spend the next 20 years looking for it.

Let me close with the words of Homer, but this time it is the real Homer, who wrote more than 2000 years ago in admonishment to a student. He said, “Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man or woman who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.”

And so C.W. Post Class of 2004, I urge you to speak the truth from your heart. To question the system, and to always hold on to that which is good in your lives: your friends and your family.

Thank you so much and congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you.

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