Friday, October 21, 2011

" Occupy Wall Street:" A Protest Against Fraud?

" Occupy Wall Street:" A Protest Against Fraud?

There has been much discussion about the reasons behind the growing movement originally labeled "Occupy Wall Street". Is this merely a situational reaction to the current economic crisis and its resulting high employment, or does it go much deeper into the ever widening class divisions in this country? The author of the attached article correctly presents another view: that the 'Occupy" movements, now spreading around the world might be motivated, in part, by the seemingly endless string of unethical corporate behavior that has contributed greatly to our economic problems. From the accounting scandals of Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, and Adelphia that happened almost a decade ago, to the stunningly bad decisions made by companies like AIG, Standard and Poors, Merill Lynch, Countrywide and others that led to our economic meltdown in 2008, the absence of ethical behavior in corporate America is finally stimulating a reaction across the country. While it is still unclear exactly what the movement is asking for, the common thread of terms used by hundreds of protestors interviewed involves words like "accountability", "transparency", "equity", "ethics", and "morality". Finally, it seems that Americans are viewing corporate ethics and compliance as more than some arcane requirement contained in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Hopefully, as the movement's leadership, goals, objectives, and strategies are better defined, the principles of corporate ethics, compliance, and accountability will emerge as concrete areas in which our government, and our society, can better focus its attention.

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