Greedy Leadership No More!

The top headline in the local newspaper at the time of this writing is about a $3 billion federal fraud investigation into the business affairs of Tom Petters, former CEO of Minnetonka-based Petters Group Worldwide.

The same paper had similarly disheartening articles: a top Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officer resigned after an audit revealed that his agency illegally solicited donations for a game warden conference; a Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services supervisor was under investigation for allegedly stealing $1 million by cashing fraudulent checks; and an Anoka County judge was charged with four gross misdemeanors for failing to file tax returns.

Practically every day, we hear about someone in a leadership position trying to better his or her own finances at the expense of others. From Main Street to Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, our leaders are quickly losing the right to be called leaders.

Business leaders on Main Street are committing fraud to take money away from employees and shareholders and put it into their own pockets.

On Wall Street, the executives of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, and AIG ran their companies into the ground and then were “rewarded” by the federal government’s bailout. AIG celebrated its success in getting bailout dollars with a $450,000 party, just to cite one example of excess.

On Pennsylvania Avenue and at the Capitol, the bailout plan was able to get enough passing votes only after a myriad of pork-barrel projects and tax breaks were added so that congressional leaders would have something to brag about back home while competing for reelection.

It Stinks Around Here

The stench of greed is making me sick! Unfortunately, wealth has become the number-one idol in our society. Greed permeates every aspect of our lives. Well, I say, “No more!” I am outraged by the lack of oversight and accountability in our business and political systems. Where are the corporate directors of these companies? Where are the checks and balances envisioned by the authors of the Constitution? We are being smothered by a glaze of gluttony, self-indulgence, and cover-your-ass attitudes.

Elections are supposed to make politicians heed the opinions of voters. The falling home values, 401(k)s, and IRAs, combined with the price increases of gasoline, groceries, and everyday items, are making the government react in its usual knee-jerk fashion. According to congressional leaders, the president, and presidential candidates, the answer to this problem is more regulation.