Letter: Pervasive greed, corruption mark selfish Bush era

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 | 9:03 a.m.

I have been watching "Lou Dobbs Reports" on CNN. Each night he scrolls a list of U.S. corporations that have shipped American jobs overseas. Next we are told, on CNBC, how good the economy is based on the statistic that fewer workers are applying for first-time unemployment benefits. There is very little mention of the total unemployed nor the numbers not covered by these statistics because their benefits have expired. This is followed by the latest disclosure of corruption at the highest levels of corporate America. What is even worse is that Wall Street and the banking community are co-conspirators aiding and abetting these immoral activities.

When one muses about this pervasive attitude by the business community in our society, you can only come to the conclusion that America has been infected by a germ called "greed." You see it everywhere, beginning with the advertisements on every TV station, the frivolous lawsuits to find quick riches, to exorbitant salaries paid executives, entertainers and star professional athletes. There is little said of the homeless and derelicts of our society. I always viewed our country as a champion of the less fortunate and the underdogs of our society, but I guess I was wrong.

Nothing in the makeup of the current Bush administration, whether it be the makeup of the key personnel or the policies they have formulated, gives me hope that they give a damn what happens to the little, less fortunate guy, gal or child in this country.

RAY HARBERT