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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TiQuinn" data-source="post: 243641" data-attributes="member: 4871">There are similar stories in most households in America.  How many people cheat on their tax returns?  How many people spend more than they should given their credit card debt?  How many people lie on their resumes to get a job?  How many people have accountants who "creatively" manage their finances?  Ever try to talk your way out of a speeding ticket?Now suppose your household is a public company that has a million individual investors, and all they care about are that the earnings go up every year, and the dividends go up every year.  Whenever you look at the bottom line of your 401K or your IRA and get upset when it's not doing as well this year as it has last year, you are...in a very small but crucial way...contributing to the reasons that some companies try to doctor their books or hide bad information.  There's a fine line between greed and self-interest, and typically it's in the eye of the beholder.  Right now, everywhere people look they think greedy and dishonest companies.  However, what many of these companies are doing is not criminal, not negligant, and not deceitful.</blockquote>