Recently in Financial Ethics Category

When is it time to cut the parental purse-strings? It seems these days that's happening later and later - or never, at least among some of the people I know. Maybe it's because our parents' generation earned more or saved more wisely than my own, but I seem to be part of a subset that's (at least partially) subsidized by loving, doting parents.

One friend I know uses her mother as her mortgage holder. Others accept help putting their kids through private school. I myself have been the recipient of my family's largess too often to enumerate. It's been an enormous help.

But is it wrong?

Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Polonius, Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 75-77

Dental plans are the worst, aren't they? Some of you may remember my worst-date story in which I also described an accident that resulted in a mouthful of broken teeth - after paying more than half those costs out-of-pocket, I feel traumatized simply walking past a dentist's office.

So I must admit there's a part of me that's a bit jealous of this dilemma - apparently a New York City dental office is overcharging insurance companies so that the patients will not have to pay their deductible or share. Case in point, the patient who passed along this dilemma had two cavities filled but discovered the office charged the insurance company for four fillings so that she would end up paying nothing. When she questioned the discrepancy, the receptionist admitted that the doctor did it "as a courtesy to patients" and it could be removed if she wanted.

Wow. A kindly dentist...or, a conniving cheat?

What should she do? After all, she's not the one committing the...fraud? (Not quite sure of the legalities) However, she is the one benefiting from it. Does the ball now lie in her court to correct the deception?

What would you do? Count your lucky stars for finding a guardian angel of a dentist? Or simply kiss those dollar bills goodbye in the name of honesty?

Happy Moral Monday! This morning I wanted to share a story that warmed my heart when I read about it on NPR last week -- a homeless man leaving millions to several non-profits, including NPR.

When NPR's Richard Siegel heard his station listing a funding credit in the name of Richard Walter's estate, he was curious who this mystery man was. Naturally, he Googled him. What he found was a surprising  story; Walter's (who died two years ago) had been an engineer from AlliedSignal Corp.; an honors graduate of Purdue with a master's degree; and a Marine. But when he retired, he gave up more than a career, he gave up all his material possessions -- he became homeless. He slept on the grounds of a senior center and ate at a hospital.

Walters didn't become an aimless, shell of a man we so often imagine homeless people to be. He was involved in investing, and paid his income taxes. He had friends -- good friends such as Rita Belle, a nurse he met at a senior center and who eventually became the executer of his estate.

And at the end of this material-free life, he split his $4 million between different causes. NPR received $400,000, as did several other non-profits, including the Catholic mission in Phoenix where Rita Belle works (Belle also received a bequest).

Growing up, I would read Hindu stories about shedding one's earthly confinements to reach Moksha, the final release from one's worldly conception of self. That sounds great, I would think, but what about those you leave behind? Wasn't it ultimately selfish to shed your responsibilities in order to achieve something solely for yourself?

I came across an interesting argument today by way of a friend, who sent me a link to an article in Fast Company magazine. I thought I'd share it because it asks an important question: are we ethical for logical reasons, or emotional ones?

And here we see the financial implications of ethics -- Sarah Palin says that she is more than $500,000 in debt due to "frivolous" ethics complaints brought against her by her fellow Alaskans. No doubt some of these charges are...

There's a lot of chatter on the 'net today about the lottery. Seems someone from South Dakota just won the Florida lottery, to the tune of 222 million dollars.Nice going. I'm sure that unnamed person will suddenly have a lot of...

So I'm sitting at home watching President Obama's Town Hall speech about credit card debt. Having just spent half the morning on the phone dealing with my credit card company, trying to get my card information straightened out, I'm fed...