While I have a really good case of the ass about the state of the U.S. economy, let me pose a question: What kind of business schools do we have in this country that when I think of a stock broker or lender I think of a used car salesman with a really nice suit, an ethically impaired individual whose ethical compass was never properly calibrated when they got their MBA?
Just so I don’t appear to be a total naif, I note that economic downturns are cyclical and therefore inevitable. But the ongoing unraveling of the American economy – and the reverberation in world markets — as the U.S. hurtles into recession is substantially the result of greed by the players at major financial institutions that borders on the criminal.
The trigger for the unraveling is, of course, the inevitable collapse of the subprime mortgage market, which preyed on – and reaped obscene profits from — the people with the lousiest credit who could least afford to own a home.
The subprime greed merchants are now paying the piper and further fueling the meltdown. This means that they may miss a payment on their Porsche Turbo, but it leaves your neighbor wondering how the hell he can keep food on the table, his son in college and granny in that managed-care facility.
Did these business school grads forget what they were taught? Were they taught that it’s every Gordon Gekko for himself? Or are business schools blameless?
This is meant to be a discussion stimulator. With the focus on business schools.
Have at it.