QUESTION IS: If the ordinary Straight Guy was put into that position . . .woudl he eventually succomb to the temptations . .that these guys succomb to? Rocket River
I don't see why not. Guys like Madoff are not so far from ordinary, are they? How many guys cheat on their wives? Aren't those guys more or less ordinary?
Excellent question. It depends alot on the character of that person, I would think. That said, everyone has weak spots. Even a person of good character can and will succumb to certain temptations in life. Maybe it's the depth of that character that determines how low we go....
What's funny is my daughter has done the same thing. However, I am very involved when I am at home. It's about watching your children and making sure things you do don't have a negative impact on them.
I think you're creating a false problem in your head. Some guy wrote a book about the very wealthy ($10MM+ net worth) that I read a few years ago. He found that overwhelmingly they were honest and had high moral standards. Overwhelmingly, the people that dealt with them in business had great things to say about them. On the other hand, most scumbags that I know can't stay in business, make lots of enemies and otherwise have lousy lives. People who try to cheat the system usually lose customers, clients, suppliers before the government ever gets them. Billion dollar ponzi scheme operators and Chicago politicians are exceptions. The rule for even the most talented and motivated creeps is failure, lawsuits, and occasional investigations. (I have plenty of creeps in my extended family for examples.) To be fair, honesty alone won't make you wealthy, but it's generally a really important factor.
If everyone were corrupt, the system: social, political, economic, whatever, would eventually collapse.
Can either mean go the Henry Hill route or the Dennis Rodman route. Either way puts you in a different standing than regular working man standing. Lot of stuff said there. I'll say, I dont think there's anything wrong in saying I want what so-and-so's got. You dont have to keep convincing yourself you like beans and rice when you know you want some steak with it. And, sometimes your station in life is almost predetermined. And to get out of it or rise up from it, might have to do a little dirt...no one's stopping these people or you from doing it. Justice though we want it to be, (sadly) it isnt 100%, making life unfair like that from the get go. Playing it straight all the time every time, trying to keep a clean record can be just as nauseating, limiting, suffocating and stressful as when you're doing some rule bending. Like the cases we keep hearing of catholic priests. I believe in the moderate in between though. Dont be some high morality pure priest, dont be some low down petty crook either. Allow yourself to go out the boundaries once in a while. But if you're gonna do something, dont snitch. And expect to get some butt whippings as consolation for your choices. If none of that bothers you then...I guess you can be a rich, dangerous man.
It is all resolved by the fact that despite the greedy we can all be successful. If you simply follow the guideline of help people get what they want and you yourself will get what you want. The way I see it there is somebody always worse off that doesn't have a sense of responsibility in life. If you help that person discover direction, discipline and self worth they can in turn help you achieve your wildest dreams. This is all rooted of course in an entrepreneurial system but ultimately it never fails to work. If your goal is to deceive people this system will not work because the ones you are trying to help will eventually see that your system is based on lies.