As Wall Street Goes, So Goes

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  rschif0109/24/08 Report as spam
  1

  RE: As Wall Street Goes, So Goes

  Liberal or Conservative, it seems 'the ends justify the means' has been the rule far too long. How about 'the needs of others outweigh the needs of self' for a change?

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  hbizdr09/24/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: As Wall Street Goes, So Goes "Liberal Ethics"

  As one who has authored, teaches and coaches companies and execs on the topic of ethics, I am not surprised by this recent meltdown. As your car runs on gas for fuel and oil as a lubricant, Wall Street and money institutions run on money for fuel and "deals" to make money as its lubricant. When anyone tries to step in between the money idea and profit making, they are more or less seen as the cop pulling you over for speeding.
  
  With deregulation, ending welfare programs as being to costly and a "burden" on the economy, and very bad policies dating back to Reagan and every administration there on, financial incentives, programs and reducing of regulations have given us the S&L bailout, . com fiasco, Enron et, al., and now this mess. It was the accepted line that when the call came for more regulations and ethics reform, ie., SOX, the financial [guys] called "foul" and implicitly stated that the gov't needs to back off and sent their lobbyist cohorts to D.C. and got their way.
  
  It seems now, that the "masters of the universe" have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar and the jar is empty! NOW they "masters" are pleading for the gov't (you & I) to bail them out. Well, the car is out of fuel and the wheels are falling off because their is now a lack of lubricant to keep the wheels turning until the next fueling station can be found. The once maligned cop who stopped you because of your reckless driving habits is now the same on being called upon the help get you home safely. Add insult to injury, Tres. Sec.
  Paulsen sends forth his edict with Section 8 which, in effect, makes himself "Czar" and 1000% unaccountable for his actions, decisions, and results. WOW! What a set of
  you know whats he must have.
  
  Call it, welfare-for-the rich or corporate welfare at the tune of $700B (a low ball figure at best)the "masters" have now become the [thing] they once decried and railed against and some are even calling for MORE regulation and ethics be imposed.
  
  A year or two from now, all this will be forgotten as another scandal is upon us and the "masters" will once again be in control having learned nothing from this event and it will be business as usual as we continue to pay down the $700B debt and await for the next bailout to "take us by surprise" and be caught
  "off-guard."
  
  continued successes,
  R

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  psoucheray@...09/24/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: As Wall Street Goes, So Goes

  I first heard the proposition that benefiting the common good has always been a core tenet of capitalism this morning. It came at a faith-based breakfast at which a business ethicist offered that institutional sin is the direct result of fixating on specific goals, rationalizing the means for achieving the goal such that conscience is silenced, all leading to detachment from concepts of the bigger picture - common good. It seems to me that recovering pre-modern virtues is kind of essential. Duh!

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  David Hunkins09/24/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: As Wall Street Goes, So Goes

  Sure all the Teaching of Morality Correctness is a given...but lets talk about the only area that can fix our dilemma during and after we get our feet stationed correctly. It is really all about the focus and demands of the average american...can they really do it......??
  Here is the for sure way to do it.....
  
  ECONOMIC OPTIMISM FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN
  
  THE ECONOMIC SOLUTION MUST BE FROM THE BOTTOM UP......YES... THAT IS RIGHT! ECONOMIC SOUNDNESS IS IN THE HANDS OF THE AVERAGE PERSON. THE PROBLEM IN OUR ECONOMIC PICTURE IS THAT MOST MONEY BEING SPENT AND MOST JOBS THAT ARE IN OUR ECONOMY ARE DEALING WITH OVERHEAD COSTS IN OUR ECONOMIC MODEL.
  
  All of the suggested action listed below to improve our economy is fundamentally dealing two interdependent prime elements that control our economy health.
  1) Reducing our overhead costs starting with every individual.
  2) Focusing on Exportable Products and Services that are competitive in the world market to sell as Exports as well as using them here in this country. All other Products and Services are either necessary OVERHEAD or excessive OVERHEAD and both will negatively impact our Global Competitiveness.
  
  Here are practical elements of CHANGE required by each individual to bring about immediate results. These CHANGES will stimulate more lasting improvement features to our Economy.
  1) PURCHASE what you most basically need and save money as much as possible to reduce your personal debt and allow assisting in our National Debt. This step will slowly minimize our Import appetite and our Country???s excessive OVERHEAD economic element.
  2) BUY AMERICAN even if it costs a little more to start with. If there are large differences, then continue to buy the needed IMPORT. Buy quality to maximize the life of a product and minimize the buying/selling activity.
  3) RETRAIN/TRAIN displaced/new workers who were/would be in excessive overhead elements of our society and concentrate the effort on global competitive EXPORTABLE PRODUCTS and SERVICES. If these Products and Services are global competitive, then our society will use them.
  4) EDUCATE the adult public and the children the fundamentals of a healthy economic society. Educate by setting an example of correctness. It is obvious that the vast majority of people do not have a clue about the Import/Export balance or the true impact personal excesses in OVERHEAD have on our Global competitiveness.
  5) Strive to provide accountability of these economic conditions on each Community that is a legal entity such as villages, cities, counties, states and country to determine the health of these interlocking elements that make up the USA Economic Health. This is a good start...no excuses!

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  fowlbruce09/25/08 Report as spam
  5

  RE: As Wall Street Goes, So Goes

  There is a fair amount of anthropological data and study that indicates morals and ethics are emergent from culture - survival rules - and society. If we are to adopt an virtue based - absolutist - morality then we run considerable risk of tyranny. Whose virtue, whose morals get imposed? Business ethics vary with the azimuth of the business. Should be pretend that the ethics of lawyers is the same as the ethics of physicians? Or impose one on the other? Caveat Emptor!