Business executives, especially those of large corporations, do bear a responsibility to the society. Nevertheless, I find the recent attack on "executive greed" by GE chief Mr. Jeffrey Immelt in somewhat bad taste. I guess with recession in full force it is becoming increasingly fashionable to air socialist views as panacea of all evil. Why, I think Hugo Chavez would be delighted. It is true that inequality has increased in the US and the corporations have played their part in it. However, to link the current problems directly (and only) to executive greed is both absurd and far-fetched. I think it is a demagogic effort to find an easy answer to a very difficult question. If US wants to find answers to its problems, it will have to do better than trying to throttle its bankers and executives.
The American dream is about the ability to make it big, no matter who you are, by sheer force of your brain. There in lies the magic of US. America's entrepreneurial spirit defines US and ensures its dominance. All the same, US does face a multitude of problems (to name a few: a hyper-active judicial system that can really sound funny, a broken medical care system, an increasingly bureaucratic structure of governance that may stifle creativity, lack of interest in education in youngsters, the weakening family structure, tense race & religion relations, increasing number of homeless, under-privileged & unemployed). People are living much beyond their means, consuming wastefully and getting into debt. The American dream is not about being irresponsible/lazy and not all its ills result from corporate negligence. Accountability is not the domain of bankers and executives only. Unless each citizen learns to take responsibility about their finances, the size of their family, their personal life and their education, it is useless to irresponsibly point fingers. As someone has rightly said, US needs a "Statue of Responsibility" to balance the "Statue of Liberty". Bashing bankers and executives is not going to solve America's problems. But perhaps they would make convenient targets for politicians so as the Government can hide its own failures and escape the public ire. Considering a career in politics, Mr. Immelt?
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