What Scares Me

It doesn’t scare me that our economy is experiencing a slowdown, recession or maybe even a depression. Our society has faced these crises before, and we have come out of them stronger than before.

It doesn’t scare me that there are businesses that might go bankrupt if the government doesn’t bail them out. Our history is rich with examples of businesses that have gone bankrupt – some of which rebounded after restructuring and others that have become obsolete or irrelevant and ceased to exist. I tend to consider this natural selection within the economic world. Businesses that don’t manage their debt structure or ride too high and spend too freely during the good times are vulnerable to service their debt when their revenues drop. Businesses that don’t keep up with changing market trends or technologies are likely to become obsolete. That is a good thing. Businesses should not be bailed out and rewarded for failure to run a good business.

What scares me is the total lack of any leadership in both government and businesses alike. I’m afraid that the most recent example of Gov. Blagojevich in Illinois is more of a rule than an exception. Lack of ethics is not exclusive to one party, because there are examples including Sen. Stephens (R) from Alaska who failed to acknowledge the $250,000 he received in gifts. Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Barney Frank getting loads of kickbacks from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae while repeatedly denying that there were any financial problems. There is former Governor Eliot Spitzer of NY who was involved with a prostitution ring. Now we have just named Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary with duties of overseeing the IRS. He has admitted to not paying $35,000 self-employment taxes for several years, even though he had acknowledged his obligation to do so, and had filed a request for, and received, a payment for half the taxes owed. He sounds like he is a very smart qualified individual; however, his confirmation sends a message to others that it is really okay to cheat on your taxes. Furthermore, why should we think that he won’t make decisions based on his own selfish greed, since he has demonstrated this in the past? Personally, I don’t think he can be entrusted to look out for the best of our country. Then there is Tom Daschle popping up with tax issues...at least he withdrew his nomination.


What scares me is that we have political leaders that are more interested in lining their own pockets and securing their own future instead of pursuing policies or legislation that secures America’s future.

What scares me is that we have business leaders that are more interested in how they can get bigger bonuses, more vacation homes, and nicer offices than they are in managing the businesses they run. These CEO’s have been entrusted by shareholders and employees alike to make decisions that build the business, not destroy the business. Bernard Manoff, former head of NASDAQ, is accused of a Ponzi scheme in which he took $50 billion from investors in his hedge fund. Reports indicate that this will be larger than the Enron scandal. Now you have all of these companies who recently took TARP money...every day it seems there is some new report of siphoning the money off for bonuses or trips or some other wasteful endeavor.

What scares me is that if this type of short-sightedness and selfishness continue...where will our country end up? Where are the political leaders and business leaders who are willing to step up to the plate and make decisions for the companies and the governments they are charged to oversee and lead. Where are the political and business leaders who can make decisions for their constituents and organizations instead of making decisions only looking out for themselves?