The ethics of gas-guzzling

Who is responsible for the consequences of our actions?

Somehow I lost about 9 hours yesterday watching Goldman Sach's testimony. Wow. What a circus.

Anyway, ethics was a big theme at the Goldman grilling, and subcommittee Chairmen Carl Levin essentially called Goldman's recent profits, and the bonuses those profits created, unethical. Since, Levin's focus on ethics has been ringing in my head.

For instance, as a staunch advocate of the Big 3 - and a protector of the gas-guzzler - I cannot help but wonder about the ethics of Mr. Levin. Was it ethical, for example, for Levin to habitually protect an industry that could only compete in the American market if it produced the biggest gas-guzzlers, despite very early and significant evidence that highly profitable SUVs would lead to outrageous road deaths, increased pollution, and much greater foreign oil dependence?

Furthermore, even after events like Katrina and 9/11, did the Michigan Congressional delegation, including Levin, begin to demand more of their hometown industry? Did they dare to lead America, to do the right thing, even if it meant a short term loss of profits? Of course not. Instead, companies like GM rolled out upgraded versions of their largest gas-guzzlers as survivors sifted through wreckage from the World Trade Center.

Ethical?

Obviously, this question of ethics extends far beyond Goldman and Michigan and onto the driveways of many Americans, for instance. And, Mr. Levin was right to hammer down on ethics. Yet, the real question seems to be, can you even legislate ethics, particularly when even most legislators, like most Americans, seem to have regular and significant ethical lapses.