Everyone can agree that the U.S. has an economic problem right now . . .

The disagreement comes on how to fix it.

My perspective is one I have yet to hear on any news program.

The syringe I would inject into the arm of Wall Street to REALLY fix the problem, would NOT be money . . . or more regulation . . . it would be CHARACTER. 

A free market system only works if the people are people of character. Hey, I believe that SOCIALISM would work if the people are people of character. Don’t freak out though . . . I am not advocating that!

So - I am more deeply committed to what I am doing - helping parents use every opportunity to help their kids grow in character.

What is going on in Washington D.C. and on Wall Street right now provides a golden opportunity for parents to talk to kids about the importance of character in the marketplace. Maybe you have stories you can tell about experiences you had with bosses of character OR bosses without character and how that affected other businesses, employees or even you.

I have stories! I had a boss once who asked me to “cheat” for him many times. I always found a way to respectfully decline. He asked me once to repaint some old parts taken from a job and put them into new boxes and “return” them back to the supplier. Knowing the supplier would not look inside the boxes and notice the parts were not new. This was a thriving little business with 8-9 employees. I calculated how much money my boss would be making on the deal ($40.00) and respectfully went to his office, showed him my calculations and asked that he take that amount out of my paycheck rather than return the used merchandise as new. He waved me away and told me not to worry about it . . . but my next paycheck reflected a raise. I worked for this boss for only one year. Every time he asked me to do something I thought was unethical I respectfully declined and his response was always to give me a raise! In that one year I received 5 raises. I’m sure this was not to reward me for my character as much as relieve him of guilt.

I told this story and others to my children as they grew up and I encourage you to pull out some of your stories . . . the time is ripe to talk about character in the marketplace with your kids!

Some character traits that might be pertinent are:

Self-Control - Rejecting wrong desires and doing what is right

Truthfulness: Earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts

Sincerity: Eagerness to do what is right with transparent motives

Justice: Taking personal responsibility to uphold what is pure, right and true

Contentment: Realizing that true happiness does not depend on material conditions

*A SPECIAL thanks to Character first for the character trait definitions - you can see more at www.characterfirst.com