You'd be a fool or a deluded idealist to think ethics would be prominent on Wall Street. That is not a statement against people in the money business, just a fact.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
There are a lot of ethical firms on Wall Street.
To me, it really seems visible today that ethics is not something exterior to the economy, which, as technical matter, could function on its own; rather, ethics is an interior principle of the economy itself, which cannot function if it does not take account of the human values of solidarity and reciprocal responsibility.
Ethics or simple honesty is the building blocks upon which our whole society is based, and business is a part of our society, and it's integral to the practice of being able to conduct business, that you have a set of honest standards.
I'm proud to be associated with the value system at Berkshire Hathaway; I think you'll make more money in the end with good ethics than bad.
Having George W. Bush giving a lecture on business ethics is like having a leper give you a facial, it just doesn't work!
I'm not anti-Wall Street - I'm anti-distortions to free markets.
I'd be the last guy to tell a wealthy person what to do with their money. They're entitled to do whatever they want.
Business ethics has always had problems that are distinct from those of other professions, such as medicine, law, engineering, dentistry, or nursing.
The more moral the people are in their business dealings, the less paperwork you need, the more handshakes you can have, the more the wheels of capitalism work better because there's trust in the marketplace. Business ethics is not a joke. And, in fact, I think most businesses that I've dealt with encourage exactly that type of behavior.
One should not treat investors or a person who has set up an industry and is a successful businessman as criminals in this country. I am fully aware that everybody has a right to succeed, and success should be with ethics.