Youthful Delusions

An Ethics of Delusion. While it describes the CEO and management ethics we saw when representatives of Detroit's Big Three and other institutions seeking bailouts testified before Congress, it also illustrates the ethics of America's youth.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles based ethics institute, more than a third of male students admitted to stealing (35%) from a store in the past year, matched by slightly more than a quarter of girls (26%). About ten percent fewer of each group also admitted to stealing from a friend (26% of boys and 14% of girls). Great.

Sixty four percent of the 29,760 students surveyed, from 100 public and private schools nationwide selected at random, admitted to cheating on a test. More than 30% acknowledged plagiarizing work from the Internet. More than 80% lied to their parents about "something significant," in the last year.

So, we're raising a nation of liers, cheaters and thieves. What's ironic about this is that 93% of the students surveyed said they were comfortable with their character and satisfied with their personal ethics. What's more, 77% confirmed that, "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Perhaps the 77% are among the majority that do not admit to stealing from friends, but the math doesn't work out as well when it comes to the 64% that cheat or the 83% that lie. Delusions of ethical behavior plague our society from the top down and from the bottom up.

The question remains: What are we going to do about it? If we continue to permissively dismiss the ills done at the top and financially reward such misbehavior, we will continue to send a message to younger generations that it's perfectly acceptable for them to be satisfied with their personal ethics and character despite their moral shortcomings and selfish motives.

Airport Travel & the Holiday Season

Holiday travel is lighter than usual this holiday season, with gas prices falling and economic uncertainty rising. I am sitting in Oakland International Airport, enjoying the free Wi-fi and waiting for my flight to board. The airport is no more crowded, in fact perhaps less crowded, than when I flew in July.

Central Market & the Blue Bottle Cafe -- San Francisco

San Francisco's Central Market neighborhood flies flags touting its existence and its status as a Community Benefit District. The flag flying effort began in July, in an effort for the Central Market Community Benefit District (CMCBD) to promote the district’s "diverse offerings while strengthening neighborhood identity." Classy.

Little more than a year after the district -- which runs from 5th St. to 9th St. along the south side of Market Street -- was born, it is still rife with street dwellers and the stench of urine. Ah, the inconveniences we endure in the trendy new district where boarded up buildings accentuate the urban chic of coffee houses and tucked away night spots.

Take the Blue Bottle Cafe, off Mission St., down Mint St. at the end of Jessie Alley, it is the epitome of self-important startup culture and the impromptu caffeinated chattiness on which they thrive.

Two walls lined with cheap gray cabinetry flow into pale, off-blue shelving. The shelves hosts an array of pricey coffee-inspired accouterments. A rounded black counter, topped with a high-end line espresso station faces the door.

The baristas wear black and look self-absorbed, inspired by their craft and their attentive, thirsty audience. They don't merely serve coffee here, they serve an experience. That may well describe most of the businesses within the CMCBD, but such an image may not survive an economy less impressed by the experience of service than the value of its price tag.

David Kittle is a Bad, Bad Man

I hate David Kittle, the chairman of Mortgage Bankers Association. He is smug and self-righteous. He talked about "personal responsibility" and his own "prudent decisions" when confronted with questions from Sen. Dick Durbin.

It's easy to be prudent with your finances when you make more than $2 million per year. Yes, that gives you the means to survive on your savings for 14 months and keep up with your multi-room penthouse, luxury vehicles and your annual charity donations.

I'm not sure how he can feel no responsibility (moral or otherwise) for the mortgage crisis that is overwhelming this country. I hope his mother is dead, so she won't have to see the monster her son has grown into.

Congress Hears Cries of a Bleeding Industry

The auto industry is critically important to America’s economy, but their business model is an obvious failure. Allowing the auto industry to implode would further destabilize the American economy; this isn't really an option.

That was the consensus of the Senate hearing on Government Assistance for the U.S. Auto Industry. Most members of the Senate committee, Democrats and Republicans alike, agreed that the 25 billion dollars Congress appears ready to hand over to the auto industry would only serve as a band-aid for an industry in the throws of death.

The auto industry’s plea for congressional resuscitation required a deathbed promise: the industry must provide a plan that proves how the industry will use the funds and a guarantee that it will not return for another hand out anytime soon.

Sen. Charles Schumer promoted bandaging the bleeding industry in an effort to save jobs and stabilize the economy. "While I believe that the auto industry is too vital to let fail...we must be assured that what ever aid we give you is accompanied by a plan that will prevent auto executives from returning for another hand out in the future."

Self Congratulations for All: Senators & Banks

Why did the Senate hearing on how the financial institutions used federal bailout funds sound like a lot of self congratulations? Maybe because that's what it was. The hearing gave representatives from big financial players (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs) an opportunity to tout their successes and marginalize their role in the recent financial debacle.

Of course none of the banks providing executives with bonuses paid for with money from Capital Purchase Program. Duh. The program explicitly forbids using money this way. It warrants no gold star.

Foreclosure Disaster: 20-30x Worse than Katrina!

Last Thursday, CNNMoney.com reported that another 279,561 homes sunk into the foreclosure abyss -- from foreclosure filings to notices of default, auction and repossessions -- in October. That's an increase of 5% from the previous month and 25% higher than October foreclosures in 2007. Yikes! And 56,954 of those foreclosures were in California alone!

New York Senator Charles Schumer wagged his finger at the Treasury Department for insufficiently regulating the money allocated by Congress to help stave off economic crisis and increase the liquidity in the market. He advocated that future mergers, aided by T.A.R.P. money, be approved by Treasury.

Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, oh my! Please, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., use your Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs to save America from a disaster that promises to be 20-30 times worse than Hurricane Katrina!