Payday Loans and other things keep you accountable

Rules should apply to everyone

Accountability is a burden that has to be shouldered by every responsible adult, whether it is handling your finances well through payday loans or keeping up with your budget.  You also have to be accountable in the workplace.  If you don’t discharge your duties correctly and in the manner prescribed by policy, then you will be held accountable for your actions, just like in any other area of your life, like getting a ticket for speeding.

However much that your average person may be an upright individual that will do the right thing as often as not, there are some that seem to think that the rules just don’t apply to them, and a lot of them are the heads of the companies that so many Americans work for.

Bank of America holding up the standard

The banking and finance industries were hit hard in the past few months, with some of the largest banks and finance and investment firms collapsing.  One of the biggest shockers was the closing of Washington Mutual, later picked up by JP Morgan Chase, and then the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the investment and finance powerhouse.  One of Lehman’s competitors narrowly avoided the same fate by quickly arranging a buyout by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch.

Merrill Lynch’s takeover was put together by the CEO, John Thain, in a quick effort to keep the company going in one way or another and keep it out of bankruptcy.  He asked for a bonus of $10 million right after the buyout, claiming that it was his efforts that kept the company from closing, which he withdrew when it was made known that selling the company is not the same as actually running it well enough to make a profit, and the company could have used some payday loans to keep it from being sold.

After the takeover, Bank of America announced that Merrill Lynch had not disclosed just how heavy their losses had been.  Despite the $20 billion in bailout funds that Bank of America received, it was discovered that Merrill Lynch, which had been a finance and investment powerhouse, had lost over $15 billion in the last quarter alone, and was over $100 billion in debt.  After the takeover was completed, there was a mutual agreement between Thain and Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis that he should resign, which he did.

Accountability is Key for anyone

Look at it this way – if you have a $100,000 mortgage on your home, and you stop paying on it but take out payday loans to cover your credit cards instead, you are going to get hit with a foreclosure or seizure.  Not taking care of your finances leads to disaster, which having to sell an enormous firm such as Merrill Lynch is, and the fact that the books were somewhat fudged so he could pull a fast one is some highly dishonest stuff.

However, resignation is still preferable to what happens in other places – two people in China who were convicted of adding a dangerous chemical to watered down milk to make it seem quality were sentenced to death for the offense.  Just remember, if you come up a bit short due to a sudden turn of events, you don’t have to sell your home off – you can get payday loans to cover a temporary gap.