And, from a purely egoistic point of view, we should have seen this coming. According to the ethics of egoism, individuals are supposed to act according to their own interests, even when those actions harm others. So if we apply this rule to everyone, why should we care when someone else gets ripped off? As long as I didn’t get fooled, why should I care? Because of Wassendorf and those like him, honest banks (if such things exists), businesses and non-profit organizations suffer the consequences of a skeptical public. As investments and consumption fall, the whole economy will begin to sink. Small business owners will face distrust from jaded customers and business will fall overall. As that happens, revenues will fall, and something will have to be cut, and that something is usually wages and other expenses. In more extreme cases, too many of Wassendorf’s actions could cause another Great Depression with all of the high unemployment that it causes. The consequences of Wassendorf’s actions affect everyone in some way, shape or form. I believe we should be more aware of frauds and embezzlements so that we don’t buy into them, not let the ‘bad eggs’ ruin the entire economy and apprehend those who and severely punish those who are caught embezzling funds. | To continue with the concept of investments, and he taken all of this same money and instead of taking it for himself he had invested that same money somewhere in the market with a business that ultimately tanked, all that money would have been lost, these people would be out of their money all the same, and no one would have had anything to show for it. This way, people might not necessarily know where their money is, but since Mr. Wassendorf was taking it for himself and putting a good chunk of it into keeping his business afloat during hard times and helping it grow by using some of the stolen funds like Miracle-Gro during the better times, it can be argued that he used a portion of his company’s funding to secure the remaining investments, giving everyone an opportunity to grow further. In other circumstances, the embezzler may not be at the top of the food chain, but could be a person in middle management. Maybe they have a family and a lifestyle they wish to maintain, but they don’t make the kind of money someone in their position with a little more experience makes, so they begin to skim off the top to supplement their lifestyle. Or perhaps it’s a woman who found out that a man who was recently promoted to the same position she’s held for years started at a higher wage than she currently makes, so to spit at her boss and find personal justice in the situation, she begins to embezzle to split the difference. I can’t fully say that these people would be (or are, in Mr. Wassendorf’s case) doing the right thing, but sometimes people get desperate and make decisions they know are wrong to maintain their lifestyle. Other times they’re just plain greedy. I’m not trying to tell anyone that embezzling money and other white collar crimes of such a nature are acceptable, or that Wassendorf should have received a lesser sentence. What I am saying is that there are situations in which someone could feel justified in taking other people’s money, or will do so out of their own desperation, even if they know what they are doing is wrong. |
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