Business Ethics

I probably should not be writing about this, it's such a complicated subject. But I have seen it cause other people so much pain - I feel I have to say something.

I will start with Real Estate where these problems are the most severe. In the US, this business is regulated, so that the small realtor can't cheat very much. But the big operators make millions all the time, in the biggest markets.

But down here, there are almost no regulations - and people are eager to take advantage of this. When I first came down here, in 2001, I lived in the Central Metropolitan Area (called San Jose) - where most of the people in the country live - and where real estate developments are rampant. Everyone wanted to own a house in the suburbs. And they would buy almost anything - as long as it looked impressive.

The woman I was living with, kept moving, looking desperately for a better house. She ended up in a new house, in a new development - that started to fall down, as soon as we moved into it - and some of the homes were being robbed by professional gangs.

She couldn't understand what was going on - she did everything right (she thought) but ended up dead broke.

Real Estate, in this case, was clearly unethical - but this lack of ethics was so diffuse and widespread - no one could say exactly what caused it. Everyone was trying to get rich fast - but the only result was urban sprawl.