From the category archives:

Responsible Capitalism

Outrage of the Week: Democracy’s Muted Voice at Davos

January 26, 2008

How much further will it go to appease the non-democratic holders of oil wealth or American debt? After its major banks and corporations have succumbed to the influence that multi-billion dollar investment stakes invariably enjoy, will American foreign policy someday become a commodity to be bought and sold like offshore-made pieces of patio furniture at [...]

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Outrage of the Week: The Crumbling Pillars of Public Confidence

November 9, 2007

Merck pays out nearly $5 billion to settle Vioxx claims, Yahoo incurs the wrath of legislators, and another poisoned child’s toy made in China is recalled. The growing credit market implosion threatens recession. These are the predictable consequences of the subprime leadership and ethics in our boardrooms and in our institutions of government over the [...]

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The Autumn of Leaders Falling and the Rise of the Quiet Hero

September 14, 2007

An essay on icons of privilege and power in a skeptical world Here and there, the turning leaves of autumn have begun to fall. A few leaders, or those who would have the world cling to such notions, have already preceded them. Alberto Gonzales has finally ended the torment of his pathetically inept performance as [...]

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The Trial of Conrad Black | Early Verdicts Part 2: Legacy Squandered

July 5, 2007

If Conrad Black is a great businessman, what and where is his legacy? Is it a thriving corporate empire, or is it just a Napoleonic ego exiled to some kind of legal Elba? As Conrad Black awaits his fate at the hands of a federal court jury in Chicago, one can only hope that he [...]

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Yahoo’s CEO Pay Blunder Shows Wider Boardroom Folly

June 21, 2007

In too many boardrooms across North America, executive compensation has descended into the farce of rewarding CEOs for super-human abilities they don’t possess, on the basis of performance they frequently didn’t achieve, with money from compensation committees that is not theirs. Do a search on the Internet for the highest paid CEOs and shareholder outrage, [...]

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The Cerberus Deal: Chrysler in the Mouth of the Whale

May 16, 2007

Every few years, business needs to come up with a new savior. If only we had zero-based budgeting; if only we were driven by the search for excellence; if only we could stick to our knitting or follow the seven habits of seven successful people. If only… The newest addition to this grand litany of [...]

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Outrage of the Week: Record Highs for Dow But Still No Increase in Minimum Wage

April 27, 2007

It was a week where it was reported that hedge fund manager James Simons made over $1.7 billion for 2006, the Dow Jones set a new record high and CEOs as a group continued to make more than at any time in history. Yet amid such unparalleled wealth, the U.S. Congress is only now getting [...]

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And The New York Times Agrees —Again

April 4, 2007

Perhaps a little slow out of the gate, but The Times has an editorial today on the most recent evidence of a widening gap in U.S. wealth. It follows similar lines as those voiced last week by Finlay ON Governance in our Outrage of the Week. The Times includes reference to record levels of CEO [...]

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Outrage of the Week: 18,000 Children Dying Each Day from Malnutrition in a Time of Record Bonuses and Wall Street Profits

February 23, 2007

It is a number that haunts the human conscience at any time: 18,000 children die every day because of a lack of adequate food, according to James Morris, the retiring head of the U.N. food agency. But to have this tragedy happening in a time when the world has never known as many billionaires, and [...]

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