Alan Greenspan has coined a new phrase - "infectious greed." In a time of grand corporate scandal, it seems that the Federal Reserve chairman hit right on the money, no pun intended.
While the Washington Post reported U.S. President George W. Bush's approval rating at a steady 72 percent, he also is coming under the microscope for his own past business dealings while Vice President Dick Cheney, former chief executive of the Dallas-based Halliburton Co., is feeling the spotlight as well. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Halliburton. This all comes on the heels of financial scandals from large, influential corporations such as Enron and Worldcom, Inc.
Bush has vowed to crack down on this kind of crime while simultaneously defending Cheney and ducking questions about the 1990 SEC investigation of Harken Oil Corp. while he was a director.
"Infectious greed," indeed. Corporate scandal is no stranger, but the series of corporate downfalls has proven too much for the United States public to handle and demands to make somebody accountable for this are increasing everyday. Even the corporate big shots should be feeling more than a little shiver at the prospect of an enraged public with the spending power. So maybe some change will occur after all, but that remains to be seen.
Angela Williams
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