Category: ethics

“Inside Job” The Director Speaks

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, ethics, Government Failure, Philosophy of Business, Teaching, White Collar Crime3 Comments

Charles Ferguson directed the documentary “Inside Job.” He writes about his thoughts and conclusions from creating the documentary.

One of the things he found puzzling (as do I), doesn’t doing serious long term damage to the nation’s infrastructure like roads, bridges and education become a concern for the financial elites since over time it damages their American investments?

Here’s the answer.  (from the article) –

The financial services industry and the most successful American multinational firms now obtain rapidly increasing fractions, often already the majority, of their investment, employees, and revenues from (a) other wealthy individuals and corporations and/or (b) outside the United States. Over the last two decades their political interests, contributions, and lobbying have gradually followed these larger trends. As a result, the political duopoly has overseen a massive disinvestment in the future of the United States and the American people, and a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom 90% of the population to the top 1%. Taxes on dividends, high incomes, capital gains, and estates have sharply declined, while tuition at public universities, hours worked per family, household debt, and government deficits have all increased.

They have no interest in the long term future of the nation. This nation is similar to the Wild West idea of Robbers’ Roost.

Robbers’ Roost is a town hidden in the hills where the outlaws go to hang out. There is no law there. They do what they feel like. They are safe from the sheriff and all those people they took stuff from.

The United States is going to be a great big friendly place for people with lots of money and few morals. One law for them. One law for us.

James Pilant

The trailer –

This Is Not A Recovery

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, Economic measurement, ethics, Government Failure

I wrote this back in August. I haven’t changed my mind one bit. Whenever I read this nonsense about an economic recovery, I’m struck by how far away the commentator is from actual American life and how close he is to Washington.

So says Paul Krugman at the New York Times. And he’ right. This is the New Great Depression, the second in American history. It will always be remembered by future generations as Great Depression II, the second great depression. Just like the first world war failed to solve the problems that would eventually lead to the second world war, the same problems bit us a second time. The humiliating thing is that if we had continued with the protections from the first great depression we could have avoided much of the damage. But the claims and promises of an irresponsible and incompetent economic elite have led America and the rest of the world into disaster, a disaster these same creatures do not believe is happening since it has no effect on them except a persistent worry that their profession is being “demonized.” Demons would have had serious difficulty in doing more damage to more innocent lives.

James Pilant

Gold Nanoparticles?

On By southwerkIn ethics7 Comments

Scientists from Taiwan have discovered that if you place gold nanoparticles in the leaves of trees they produce a luminous reddish glow.

From the article –

Street lights are an important part of our urban infrastructure — they light our way home and make the roads safe at night. But what if we could create natural street lights that don’t need electricity to power them? A group of scientists in Taiwan recently discovered that placing gold nanoparticles within the leaves of trees, causes them to give off a luminous reddish glow. The idea of using trees to replace street lights is an ingenious one – not only would it save on electricity costs and cut CO2 emissions, but it could also greatly reduce light pollution in major cities.

Gold nanoparticles are used in cancer treatment. They produce electricity in sunlight. Apparently the possible uses for them is enormous and we have only figured out a few.

James Pilant

Ho-Hyung (“Luke”) Lee – Realizing A Better World

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, ethics

One of the great pleasures of writing a blog is that you can say nice things about people. One of my friends on Facebook is Ho-Hyung (“Luke”) Lee.

This is from his web site, Realizing A Better World, –

In the Industrial Age, one plus one equaled two, using simple arithmetic. However, in the Modern Information Age, one plus one could produce 5, 10 or even 20, given the possibility of geometric progression. Such integration or synergistic effects can be achieved relatively easily with the increased communication capability that has resulted from the development of IT and networking technology. Moreover, the global information exchange enabled by the World Wide Web has made them more broadly realistic.
However, this increased communication capability has greatly influenced and brought major changes to all participants in the market. Almost all of the individual units on the supply side have greatly increased their productivity and efficiency. As a result, the ratio of employment to investment has been reduced. On the demand side, consumer knowledge and recognition have increased greatly, and this is directly linked to the abrupt escalation in consumer needs and wants. It is likely that this pressed the increase in consumer spending on the demand side.

He is a complex thinker, something of a specialist in markets. I enjoy his writing. I think you will too.

James Pilant

Foreclosure Judges Fight The Good Fight

On By southwerkIn business ethics, ethics, Government Failure, Philosophy of Business, President Obama, White Collar Crime

Alain Sherter (who I do not write enough about) has a excellent column titled, “How Local Judges are Putting the Feds to Shame In Halting Improper Foreclosures.”

Here’s a selection from it –

Consider this astonishing stat drawn from a WaPo story today: Courts in the area are estimated to be dismissing upwards of 50 percent of foreclosure cases against homeowners because of slipshod — or outright fraudulent — paperwork filed by lenders. Banks are appealing many of these decisions, a sign of just how afraid they are the rulings could embolden courts around the country to follow suit:

In millions of cases across the United States, local judges have wide latitude to impose sanctions on banks, free homeowners from their mortgage debts or allow the companies to proceed with flawed foreclosures. Ultimately, the industry is likely to face a messy scenario — different resolutions by courts in all 50 states.

Sherter puts his finger on what I try to communicate to my classes. Attorneys and Judges are not the Ogres portrayed on television. It is true that are some very, very bad attorneys. I hold them in contempt. But you would be astonished and impressed by the attorneys I’ve met who fight for their clients for little money, sometimes no money. This whole mortgage foreclosure mess would never have come to light, if it weren’t for attorneys working for next to nothing trying to keep people in their home.

He makes another point in both the title and inside the article.

Federal bank regulators are equally intent on keeping the foreclosure assembly line moving. That’s no surprise, given that they’re deeply implicated in the foreclosure mess. For instance, state financial supervisors turned to the OCC in 2007 after JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) stonewalled their investigations into improper foreclosures.

Not content to simply ignore the problem, the OCC actually made it worse. Protecting its authority to oversee national banks, a doctrine known as “preemption,” the agency shooed the state enforcers away. Then it asked the banks to look into the matter.

I said exactly the same thing in one of my posts – If you are waiting for the Obama administration to come your rescue, you are going to be waiting a long time.

James Pilant

UH HUH HER

On By southwerkIn ethics

“I’m always surprised when someone tells me they read the essays I post up here. I don’t know why I do it. Oh well, here’s another one.”

So says the author at the web site, UH HUH HER. (On each article the author is listed as “by the girl.”)

When I started blogging my first concern was if anyone at all was reading my stuff. The first month I blogged I got 13 hits. I didn’t know how to use the administrative screen so most of those were probably just me looking at it. I’m doing much better these days and it feels good. But there is also that thought, “Why are people reading my stuff?” I’m careful not to ask. It deforms your feedback. People almost always want you to feel good often when they need to say, “Stop doing that.”

I am not surprised that people read her web site. The writing ranges from academic to humor and sometimes it is … Well look at this –

I miss the smell of dog on my hands. The last two years have been the first in twenty that I haven’t had a dog. I’m not that person who pats dogs in passing when they’re tied up outside the milk bar—I’m the person who chats to them intently for ten minutes , and then labours in the oily smell of fur on my hands for hours afterwards.

It’s pretty. But she is quite willing to hit you a little harder –

In my first blog entry I highlighted what I saw to be a huge irony belying the notion that in order to fix the problems caused by excessive consumption, we need to consume more (albeit differently). I now know that this irony is representative of the difference between ‘anti-consumerist’ and ‘anti-consumption’. However, prior to acquiring this knowledge, I dared to point out said irony to my eccentric, long-time greenie, sometimes-activist father. His response was to inform me that he was ‘baffled’ as to the point I was making, and that there is a premium to pay in order to foster the development of sustainable and humane businesses. Having subsequently raised this idea myself in class, I was dismayed to discover that the there was a strong view that such practices will not encourage actual development, but rather just increase ‘ethical’ marketing. While I agree that the contemporary fetishizing of everything ‘green’ (and red) has resulted in a marked increase in products that appeal to the conscious consumer’s sensibilities without actually offering them anything, this stance implies to me that we should do nothing. It’s been pointed out that ethical consumption is almost exclusively a middle-class phenomenon, and is inextricably tied to notions of neo-liberalism and moral selving. I do also agree with these ideas to an extent, but I think we risk throwing out the baby with the bathwater if we take them on exclusively. Maybe I’m an optimist (for which I make no apologies) but I like to think of the middle-class as having an opportunity, nay, a responsibility, to use their spending power to demand better of big-business for the long term benefit of the economically impoverished. We broke it, we ought to at least try to fix it.

It’s a fun web site, often thoughtful. Be very sure that I do not share some of the ideas and beliefs discussed. Nevertheless, an interesting site with good writing.

James Pilant

What Blogs I’m Reading Today

On By southwerkIn business ethics, ethics, Philosophy of Business

There is no way to look at business ethics on the web and miss Chris MacDonald’s “The Ethics Blog.” A good writer who knows his subject backwards and forwards.

Lauren Bloom’s Ethics Blog is always a good read. She prides herself on practical advice and delivers.

The Week in Ethics by Gael O’Brien is another web site to stay with in the struggle to get intelligent moral sentiments on our modern culture.

Working Life by Jonathan Tasini is a site I strongly recommend. He’s good.

Julian Friedland’s blog, Business Ethics Memo, has a slogan, “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” Intelligent and tough, a good blog to read regularly.

PART FOUR ! Bankers Sometimes Commit Financial Crimes And Get Away With It – Now They Can Run Over People On Bicycles Too!

On By southwerkIn ethics, Government Failure

There is a web site called Abandon Your Car. It extols the virtues of using bicycles instead of automobiles.

Now, if you have the sad tale of the doctor on the bicycle being run over by the banker with the 2010 Mercedes, you may be outraged.

Trust me, you are not as mad as these guys!

From the web site –

Q: when is felony hit-and-run only a misdemeanor?
A: when a wealthy perp commits the crime in Vail
without a doubt, one of the most disturbing, and indeed digusting, miscarriages of justice in my recent memory is being played out a few short kilometers away in Eagle county, Colorado.
it seems that if you are sufficiently wealthy, you can escape felony hit-and-run charges after leaving a cyclist for dead and driving away from the scene of the accident- simple as that, and Eagle county prosecutor Mark Hulbert will be there to get your back.

This is the first paragraph. Now we’re going to work up some steam!

and again, i would like to point out that it doesn’t matter one bit if the motorist has hit a cyclist, pedestrian, skateboarder, homeless guy or any other person or pet out on the public roadways.
if the motorist leaves the scene, is drunk, drugged, impaired by cell phone usage or texting, or anything else for that matter, they should face the harshest possible penalties for their cowardly actions… no exemptions for wealth, social status, etc. will be considered.

being counted amongst the fabulously wealthy “1/2 of the top 1 percenters” does not buy a get “out of jail free card” from the consequences of committing a crime, no matter how rich and powerful the perpetrator is.

Eagle county D.A. Mark Hurlburt should be dis-barred. his actions are questionable and unethical, to name a few. to this outside observer, the whole thing reeks of a pay-off. i honestly hope that isn’t the case, but what is a person to think, given the shennannigans at the D.A.’s office surrounding this case?

This is anger.

The post concludes with (get this) Martin Erzinger’s email address, martin.j.erzinger@morganstanleypwm.com. That’s right. The accused perp is vulnerable to personal e-mailing.

In conclusion, the significant undoubted popular but not extremely popular web site, Abandon Your Car, is now very, very popular. This is what they have to say about this change –

before i get all fat headed about my newfound celebrity status and find myself with a real bad case of “Vail sunburn” (as they now call it down there in texas where this poor, traumatized skier is from) i would like to take a moment to welcome all of the thousands of new readers from around the world to ABANDON YOUR CAR, and shout out a hearty “ALLEZ! ALLEZ!” to our new followers as well.

whatever the heck “ALLEZ! ALLEZ!” is supposed to mean.

I give a hearty well done to the writers at Abandon Your Car.

PART THREE – Bankers Sometimes Commit Financial Crimes And Get Away With It – Now They Can Run Over People On Bicycles Too!

On By southwerkIn ethics, Government Failure

Would you like to sign the online petition asking the DA to change his mind about reducing the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor?

This is how the web site with the petition characterizes the current situation. –

On July 3, Steven Milo was riding his bicycle when he was allegedly struck from behind by wealth manager Martin Joel Erzinger. Rather than stop and call 911, or otherwise seek help for Dr. Milo, Erzinger fled the scene and called the Mercedes auto assistance service for help with his broken side mirror.

Now, Eagle County DA Mark Hurlbert is willing to drop felony charges against Erzinger, because he’s worried that Erzinger may be unable to keep his job, where he is dedicated to “ultra high net worth individuals, their families and foundations.”

Here’s how the petition reads.

Dear Mr. Hurlbert;

Traffic laws exist to motivate all drivers to act in a manner that is safe for other users of the road, including pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers. To those of us who rely on bicycles for transportation and recreation, enforcement of laws that ensure our safety on the road is vital.

The enforcement of traffic laws should not differ depending on a driver’s ability to write a check, but rather on the ability of the law to motivate drivers to drive safely. What Martin Joel Erzinger is accused of doing is clearly criminal, but dropping felony charges will set a message to drivers that the penalties for neglecting the welfare of others on the road, causing life-altering injury, and showing no concern for the victim might not be as serious as the law indicates.

While Martin Joel Erzinger would like to write a few checks and move on with his life, we must ensure that actions such as his are punished to the full extent of the law. Please do not drop felony against Martin Joel Erzinger.

 

Currently there are 1056 signatures.

James Pilant

PART TWO – Bankers Sometimes Commit Financial Crimes And Get Away With It – Now They Can Run Over People On Bicycles Too!

On By southwerkIn ethics, Government Failure

My previous post, “Bankers Sometimes Commit Financial Crimes And Get Away With It – Now They Can Run Over People On Bicycles Too!,” received a lot of attention. I’ve found out some more neat stuff.

First, for those of you new to the story, a brief summary – Martin Joel Erzinger, who manages more than $1 billion in assets for Morgan Stanley in Denver, is being accused only of a misdemeanor for allegedly driving his Mercedes into a cyclist and then fleeing the scene, Colorado’s Vail Daily reports. The victim, Dr. Steven Milo, whom Erzinger allegedly hit in July, suffered spinal cord injuries, bleeding from his brain and, according to his lawyer Harold Haddon, “lifetime pain.”

Now, that is about how much I could find out yesterday. Take a look at this –

From the Vail Daily –

Milo was bicycling eastbound on Highway 6 just east of Miller Ranch Road, when Erzinger allegedly hit him with the black 2010 Mercedes Benz sedan he was driving. Erzinger fled the scene and was arrested later, police say.

Erzinger allegedly veered onto the side of the road and hit Milo from behind. Milo was thrown to the pavement, while Erzinger struck a culvert and kept driving, according to court documents.

Erzinger drove all the way through Avon, the town’s roundabouts, under I-70 and stopped in the Pizza Hut parking lot where he called the Mercedes auto assistance service to report damage to his vehicle, and asked that his car be towed, records show. He did not ask for law enforcement assistance, according to court records.

Erzinger told police he was unaware he had hit Milo, court documents say.

When Avon police arrived he was putting a broken side mirror and a bumper in his trunk, court record say.

You can always recognize a solid citizen by the way he takes care of his automobile particularly a new one. If you don’t report an accident, your insurance company won’t cover it. So obviously, that was a priority matter. He had to call. Cyclists are a dime a dozen. They are all over the place. But 2010 Mercedes Benz, now those are rare enough to get concerned, you know, German engineering and all that. That’s important!

Now, let’s read some more –

Court records say prosecutors expressed skepticism to Milo at a suggestion by Erzinger’s defense attorneys that Erzinger might have unknowingly suffered from sleep apnea, and that might have made him caused him to fall asleep at the wheel and hit Milo.

The original complaint included a felony count against Erzinger for causing serious bodily injury. Deputy DA Mark Brostrom is prosecuting the case and Milo says in court documents that Brostrom called Erzinger’s July 3 actions “egregious.” Prosecutors pleaded the case down to a misdemeanor later in the summer, then in August told Milo and his attorneys that Erzinger would face a felony charge, Haddon wrote.

But on Sept. 7, Brostrom told County Court Judge Katharine Sullivan that the case would be pleaded as a misdemeanor. That’s the first time Milo or his attorneys had heard of it, Haddon wrote, and they protested “in the strongest possible terms,” Haddon wrote.

See, he’s innocent. It was sleep apnea.

I read the wikipedia article on sleep apnea. That particular kind of incident is, well, rare. But just look at me! Such a doubter. Such a cynic. I’m really trying to reform and realize the good in people, even when they evade all actual justice.

This is a newer article on the situation.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert is taking some heat for his decision to charge hit-and-run suspect Martin Erzinger with two misdemeanors rather than a felony.

Hurlbert has received over 1,000 e-mails since news broke last week that he offered the plea bargain to Erzinger for hitting bicyclist Dr. Steven Milo in Edwards.

There’s also an online petition with more than 6,000 signatures being circulated to tell Hurlbert to keep the felony charge against Erzinger, and the case is receiving national media attention from shows like CBS’s “Inside Edition.”

Goodness, people complaining to a public official. What will the world come to next? Here’s some more –

Milo and his attorney, Harold Haddon, had asked that Erzinger plead to a felony with a deferred judgment, Hurlbert said.

With that, Erzinger would plead guilty to a felony, and as long as he met the conditions it would drop off his record in two to four years.

“They felt this was the best way for Mr. Erzinger to acknowledge the crime,” Hurlbert said.

Hurlbert disagrees, pointing out that Erzinger was not found to be using alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident, and that he has no criminal record.

See, he hit him without being impaired. That’s all the difference in the world. You have much better aim without drugs or alcohol.

Now, I don’t want you to get upset and add to the thousand or so complaining e-mails, the District Attorney has received. That would require you to go the Eagle County, Colorado District Attorney web site.

I wouldn’t ask you to do that. I definitely wouldn’t suggest you do that.

But should you disregard my advice, be careful, the city attorney is also listed and he’s okay as far as I can tell.

James Pilant