Ethics lessons from the Flint water crisis

Bad overall management, bureaucratic red tape, lack of accountability, lack of transparency, a cover-up gone bad, and a total lack of ethics and morals—the story behind the continuing lead-water crisis in Flint, Mich., touches upon many of the very same fact patterns and inexcusable behavior often observed in the most egregious corporate enforcement actions.

Except with the water crisis in Flint, we’re not talking about a company. We’re not talking stock prices. We’re talking people, innocent people—who just as easily could be anybody’s family, friends, neighbors, children in any part of this country—many who now suffer from irreversible lead poisoning due to the misconduct of others that can only be described as gutless, pathetic, unethical, immoral—fill in the blanks.

Yes, it is true that in cases of corporate misconduct, individual lives are also affected. People can lose their jobs, face financial hardship and reputational ruin, and even face jail time, depending on one’s level of culpability.