We all want to believe that practicing good ethics in both our personal and professional lives is the right thing to do; that we should not wrong, cheat, or defraud others. The reality though is we have allowed unscrupulous ethical practices to creep into our lives like a vine that starts at the root and, if left unchecked, slowly climbs the tree and eventually strangles it. The current recession is indicative of how we are all having to pay a hefty price for ethical corruption, e.g.; companies are closing, people are out of work, houses have been foreclosed, retirement funds are depleted causing people to work longer and creating a crowded job market for young people to enter. Some would say the recession is a simple matter of economics and nothing else. Nonsense.