Ethical Considerations of the 2008 Recession
Prompt: Write an informative reflection on the 2008 economic collapse. Choose and explain one ethical case. Your goal is to analyze the ethical implications of the 2008 recession using the CARE method.
This ethical essay will fulfill the ethics requirement in English 205.
Ethical Cases
1. You know a landlord who applied for a mortgage with his dog's name and is taking rent while being delinquent. This landlord owns 8 houses. Do you report the landlord? Do you tell the tenants? Do you remain silent?
2. Your friend is the head manager at a mortgage bond company and is selling NINJA loans. This friend tells you it's a sweet deal to target immigrants, strippers, and anyone who is cash-heavy but has a poor credit rating. Do you take the job your friend is offering? Remember that adjustable rates can go up by 200-300%.
3. Your boss at Standard and Poor's Credit Agency is telling you to overestimate bond ratings. Banks want a AAA percentage. If you don't give the ratings, the banks go to the competitors. So it's overvalued and you know it. Will you give it a AAA rating when it's more like a BBB or even CCC? Remember that there are no laws governing bond assessment.
4. There are serious budget cuts at the SEC where you work. Would you apply to a banking job if you work for the SEC and your job is to regulate such banks? Remember that there is no law that prevents people from working in both.
5. You are a manager at a major bank and you are aware that the housing bubble popped. Your bank is out millions if not billions of dollars. You need to pay for all the shorts and the CEO gave the order to sell them first before people realize they're worthless. Would you give the order to "short" the "shit bonds" so other people will buy them? Remember that this means the bank won't get stuck paying the worthless bonds. And they're also able to pay back bonds by moving the responsibility to average citizens.