Question

Please read In It To Win: The Jack Abramoff Story and provide the answers to following questions.

Please follow the below link for the video.

http://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/video/in-it-to-win-the-jack-abramoff-story.

1. What are the key points that this documentary raises?

2. What did Abramoff do that was unethical, even if legal? Why were these actions unethical?

3. The documentary focuses on Abramoff’s role as a lobbyist within a system that is, he argues, more corrupt than ever. To what degree do individuals have a responsibility to act ethically within a morally corrupt system?

4. The documentary raises the point that white-collar crime is generally considered far less problematic than the hard crime. Do you agree? Why or why not? What are the long-term consequences of white-collar crimes for individuals, families, society?

5. Do you agree with the UT officials who decided to bring Abramoff to campus in order to speak to students and create this film? What were the ethical issues involved in their decision-making process?

Answer 1

1. Key Points that document raise are :

a. Power breeds corruption

b. In order to win, a person can go to any length even if it means using wrong means.

c. White collar Crime are equally dangerous as they break the very trust of the people who believe in the system.

2. Abramoff took resort to bribery & tax evasion while being as a lobbyist.These activities are unethical because it shakes the trust of the people in the institutions which govern us.

3. In my view, it is the individual who have to have to make sure that they would not let any unethical activitity get traction in any sphere of the society as it is the individual which form the society and if the individual resort to white collar crimes, the reach of corruption would only get bigger & bigger.

4. White collar crimes are equally dangerous as it involves an extremely higher number of affected people as such crimes makes their way through the system and end up making people suffer on variety of reasons. Those who pay bribes walk away with lots of successes on their sides unethically whereas the deserving ones get only disappointments. For instance, tax evasions result in lower tax revenues to the government resulting in lower benefits passed to the society, families and individuals who actually pay their taxes honestly in hope of better amenities in return.

5. I do agree with UT Officials to bring Abramoff to the campus to present to the students that short cut to success always fails miserably result in loss of name, fame as the trust people repose on you while you carry on your business through unethical means. I will put it this way " Be ethical and not greedy"