By Cole Sander and Kayleigh Smith

Inside Job

The Wall Street industry has increased in wealth and power leading to fraud. The criminal acts have improved the financial industry, but it was only reached by degrading their integrity. Many industries’ innovations have produced an assembly line of financial crises leaving the citizens feeling as though “there is nothing they can trust anymore”(Gillian Tett). Samuel Hayes, chair of investment banking at Harvard Business School, believes that Wall Street industries knew that they were doing something perpetually harmful, but they did not want to acknowledge the fact that they were putting other people in jeopardy as they were achieving their own dream. For example, Eliot Spitzer stated that, “the regulators had the power to do every case that I made when I was state attorney general they just didn’t want to.” The industries of Wall Street have become powerful by achieving their “dreams” through means of lying, cheating, and deceit,“and you know, when those dreams turn out to be nightmares, other people pay for it” (Andrew Sheng). Wall Street companies are building up their power by degrading their integrity through lying, cheating, and disregarding morals. Even though these companies are expanding and gaining more wealth their lack of integrity still impatced allowed their dreams to succede and everyone's in America to fail. Our country is being run by the decisions that are made by those top industries. “It’s a Wall Street Government” (Charles Ferguson).

In Goldman Sachs We Trust

Goldman Sachs was a major company that greatly impacted the American economy and financial crisis. They lied and cheated, so that they would increase in wealth and power. Goldman Sachs bought their own company stock to fake the value in order to get the public to buy their stock. Out “of the five million shares of common stock in the initial offering, two million were taken by the Trading Corporation(Goldman Sachs)” (Galbraith WWW). They created companies that did not generate any revenue or have any real value. All of the major economic companies were backed by each other. One company, “Blue Ridge, had a capital of $142,000,000, and nothing about it was more remarkable than the fact that it was sponsored by Shenandoah, its precursor by precisely twenty-five days” (Galbraith WWW). Goldman Sachs and other companies on Wall Street were backed by each other, so that they could continue to prosper even if their company began to fail and financially crash. Goldman Sachs had not integrity because they were creating companies with the purpose of generating stock market revenue. In reality the companies had no value, because they did not make or sell anything. When Goldman Sachs experienced the financial crash all of their investors lost money, however they gained wealth. They had a lack of integrity but they did not care, because they were able to gain more money. Some of the workers did not gain money they lost their wealth as the company collapsed. Their dreams began to flourish as they lost their integrity. The idea of prospering in wealth begins to override how people used to think, because people always want money and will do anything to get it.

The Great Gatsby


Jordan Baker has always been one to exaggerate the truth and rely on lies and discrepancies in order to achieve her goals. “At her first big golf tournament, there was a suggestion that she had moved the ball from a bad lie,” she chooses to undermine her chances of success by constantly throwing away her integrity (Fitzgerald 57). Jordan was not able to understand that at some points she may encounter an obstacle in her life, and was unwilling to change. It lead her to be “incredibly dishonest” but she was able to achiever her dreams due to her lack of integrity. (Fitzgerald 58)


Integrity is something that is needed in everyone's lifestyle; honesty, morals and principles. Nick Carraway seems to be the most honest, moral character in The Great Gatsby. He observes scandals, secrets, and dishonesty unfold. However, he still believes that he is an upstanding person, as he states “I am one of the few honest people I know” (Fitzgerald 59). But, in turn not acting upon those improprieties impacted Nick’s integrity towards the people in his life, and the decisions he made. For example, when Gatsby talks to Nick about the hit and run on Myrtle, all Nick does is stand there. He does not seem to be concerned about doing anything to help the conflict. Nick believed that moving to West Egg would fulfill all of his dreams, but his lack of integrity cost him the way of life he used to live and made him realize that he did not need to be associated with people in West and East Egg.

Tom and Daisy

Tom and Daisy are surrounded by money. They have built their lives on lies, not caring about how they are affecting the people surrounding them. Just as Gatsby describes them, “their voices are full of money” they only cared about wealth and will do anything to get their way (Fitzgerald 120). Tom is a very careless person, he gives no regard to his wife, having an open affair with a mistress and letting everyone know about it. He moves on to the next thing and disregards having integrity. Tom and Daisy "were careless people, they smashed up things and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, and let other people clean up the mess they made.” (Fitzgerald 179). The lack of integrity of Tom and Daisy enabled them to have get everything they wanted and fulfill their dreams.

Newsman Urges Integrity

Integrity is a major characteristic that needs to be had not only in one’s life but in a workplace as well. Lack of integrity can cause someone to gain all of their hopes and desires or lose their job and everything that they have worked so hard for. Dan Rather, the “CBS Evening News” anchorman, lost his job after people began questioning his reports. He learned that integrity is a must for the type of job he had. Even though his lack of integrity cost Rather his job he has learned from his experience. Now “he demands citizens to want more integrity and accuracy from the press” so that events are being broadcasted appropriately and “the country is being run properly” (Burgard WWW). The news needs to be portrayed correctly and viewers need to “‘make sure they are tuning into quality news of integrity’” and ‘“must decide whether you want real news or entertainment or advertising posing as news’” (Burgard WWW). Having a lack of integrity will not only impact one’s own job, but also the viewers that want credible news. Many news stations are beginning to change their true vision because “most news organizations are now owned by large corporations who see the role of the press as less of a public service and more of a source of entertainment” (Burgard WWW). Integrity can not only impact one’s job but also can affect the person that is watching the news. In contrast to other sources a lack of integrity can cost someone their dream that they’ve been working so hard for.

Courage, Character And Integrity Can Counter 'Corrupticut'

Political parties, issues and industries are built up on ideas of power, wealth and prosperity. When corruption hits it is because of the people. Politicians who decide that the wealth and power that is used to build up nations is used for personal profitability. In Connecticut, this same idea occurred, not only did the Speaker of the House, “Chris Donovan become arrested by the FBI for allegedly participating in a money laundering scheme” but, “Republican Lisa Wilson-Foley, another candidate in the 5th District, was mired in questions about financial dealings between her husband and former Gov. John Rowland” (Trimble WWW). Political scandals are occurring every single day, business advisors and politicians working their way to the top by lying, cheating and even bribing, their integrity is completely lost. “If only the party leadership steps out of the box, there can be solutions.” (Trimble WWW) In Ethan Cannon’s novel in 2008, he states that “power begins to grow from its own essence, rising no longer exclusively from the man but from the office itself” (Trimble WWW). It provided evidence backing up the scandals that occurred in Connecticut. In the case of Connecticut, new standards of integrity, character, and morals are warranted in order to change and benefit for more than just themselves. Their lack of integrity cost them their jobs and they ended up in jail, because they wanted to benefit themself. Eventhough a lack of integrity may allow some people to reach their dreams and can also cause people to lose everything.