Friend and reader Loren Platzman alerted me to the article, “Walk Away From Your Mortgage!” in the Sunday Times Magazine ( the magazine was, in fact, sitting unopened by my desk at the time. Some days, I just know that reading Randy Cohen’s “The Ethicist” column is going to ruin my weekend.) The thrust of the article, an installment in the “The Way We Live Now” series, is that American cultural tradition has reinforced the belief that there is something unethical and shameful about voluntarily letting the bank foreclose on a property when falling property values have placed the mortgage “under water,” meaning that the home is worth less than the amount still owed on it. Continue reading
Business & Commercial
Internet on the Dashboard: When Ethics is Impossible
What rationalizations does a computer company use to justify the development of a new dashboard device that is certain to cause accidents and take lives? The same ones, I suspect, that are employed by auto manufacturers to justify selling cars with the feature. Continue reading
Lies, Scams, Fiascos, and “Saved By the Bell”
Some diverse ethics observations while living the lonely existence of a traveling ethics trainer… Continue reading
Ethics Dunce: PETA
PETA has a new poster out, announcing with approval that Carrie Underwood, Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey and the First Lady are “among the most stylish and influential women in America,” and “they all refuse to wear real fur.” Continue reading
Letterman’s Extortionist Tries A New Theory
I suppose you have to give Joe Halderman’s lawyer some credit for coming up with a creative defense. If you don’t think too hard about it, it almost makes sense. In a variation on the “everybody does it” ethical rationalization, Halderman’s bid to avoid prison for hitting up David Letterman for two million dollars in hush money (Halderman’s ex-fiancé was one of the female employees Letterman used in workplace harem) is based on a “Tiger does it” theory. Or to be accurate, “Tiger’s girlfriend did it.” Continue reading
Reverse the Curse of Norman Mineta
The aftermath of the failed underwear bomber has profiling up for debate again, with all the predictable participants taking their predictable stances. Meanwhile, the U.S. has finally crossed the divide into a form of profiling, designating travelers from specific hotbeds of terrorist activity as subject to a “full-body pat down.” Over on the “Newt Gingrich Letter at Human Events.com, Newt Gingrich proclaims that “it’s time to profile.”
Gingrich is wrong. It has been time to profile for nine years. Continue reading
The New York Times vs. Freelancers: Who’s Unethical?
It is a relatively narrow issue of journalistic ethics, but it illustrates how complicated apparently simple ethics issues can be, especially when it involves appearances.
Let’s let Clark Hoyt, the Times’ internal ethics watchdog, tell the story: Continue reading
Ethical Conflicts and Dilemmas in the N.F.L.
Last week, my esteemed colleague Bob Stone took the Indianapolis Colts and their coach Jim Caldwell to task for choosing to protect the health of the Indispensable Man, Quarterback Peyton Manning, for the play-offs by resting him in the second half of a meaningless game against the Jets, rather than go all out for a record-setting defeat-free season. The Colts lost, fans booed, the season was marred, columnists howled, and according to reports, significant numbers of Colt fans tore up their season tickets in protest. Was Caldwell unethical, as Bob argued, violating the integrity of the game and cheating the fans who had paid good money to see their team strive for an undefeated season? Continue reading
Ethics Quote of the Week
“A lot of our folks have second and third homes and alimony payments and other obligations that require substantial current cash.”
—-A banker quoted anonymously by Stephen Brill in his essay, “What’s a Bailed-Out Banker Worth?” in the Jan.3 New York Times Magazine. The article discusses that financial industry’s rationale (or rationalizations) for its compensation culture.
Michael Chertoff’s Ethical Dilemma
Is it unethical to promote something in which you have a financial or other personal interest even if you would have advocated it anyway? When one is a respected and credentialed former public official, this situation can pose a real dilemma. You sincerely believe it is critical to take certain action; indeed you believed in the importance of this action before you had a stake in it. Continue reading
Ethics Alarms 