This is where I get a litte confused.
The ethics of the private sector are corrupted by government, not the other way around. Additionally, any ethics problem in the private sector is much easier to correct than ethics problems in Washington. Unethical businessmen who don't get protected by an unethical government end up broke and/or in jail. However, the politicians in Washington write the laws determining what is legal and illegal, so there are virtually no limits to their ethical depravity.
Standard Chartered Bank which settled with New York regulators on Wednesday for $340 million. The charge: allegedly engaging in illegal transactions with Iranian clients.
Unlike government, you actually have a choice as to where you put your money in the private sector. If you don't like Standard Chartered Bank, don't give them any of your money. If they break the law then arrest the law breakers and force the company into bankruptcy, problem solved.
J.P. Morgan Chase engaged in risky trades (derivatives) that grew from $2 billion to about $7 billion.
How is that any of the government's business? Why do you care what JP Morgan does with it's investments? If you don't like how they operate, then don't give them any of your money. Let them do whatever they like with their money, just make sure they realize they won't be getting bailed out at taxpayer expense if they fail. You'll find that companies are much more likely to act responsibly and do the right thing when there is no tax-payer funded government safety net to fall back on.
Several U.S. municipalities have sued Barclays as libor rates also have an effect on bond rates. Those municipalities believe that they were cheated out of millions. The world trades an estimated $315 trillion worth of derivatives using libor, according to the New York Times.
Again, if they broke the law those responsible should be arrested and the company forced into bankruptcy, otherwise simply avoid doing business with that company. Problem solved.
Knight computers purchased stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, artificially inflating some stock prices. Knight held onto $7 billion thanks to the error. They are calling it a "trading error."
Did they break any laws? If not, then you could push for Knight to be fired from the NYSE and let some other company take their place. That $7 billion can be their severance package and it would be a pittance compared to the billions they will lose after being kicked out of the NYSE. Problem solved.
The U.S. offshoot of ING, ING Direct, was recently purchased by Capitol One. The bank is accused of moving $2 billion in transferred Iranian money.
If they broke the law, arrest the people responsible and force the company out of business.Otherwise, don't do business with ING. Problem solved.
The ethics are taught, both in the academic environment and on the OJT Floor of business. It is to make money at any cost, whether you put US cities and counties in bankruptcy, trade with a hostile power, fix bond rates, Or, hold money that is not yours to hold.
Because there are no consequences to those actions... So long as you have friends in Washington. Eliminate the ability to hide behind an equally unethical government and return to a system where the government actually protects individual rights and companies will either become paragons of virtue or find themselves out of business.
So, what is the proper ethic. Where is the line between right and wrong when it comes to private industries efficiency in bilking the client and the nation?
The line: Individual Rights. If a company violates them, they should be punished. Thanks to our current system of Cronyism, they instead get rewarded, or at the very least protected from the repercussions of their actions.
Capitalism addresses the source of the ethics problem - Government. Eliminate government's power to confer political favors on it's friends and punish it's foes, i.e. regulate business, and Cronyism vanishes. Once again businesses would be forced to succeed or fail on their own merit, without government or tax payer assistance, and nothing is more terrifying to unethical businessmen than the thought of having to make an honest living.