Sponsored by the Clemson University Capitalism Institute, the format was to give a short opening statement and engage in a discussion with John Allison, the CEO of BB&T Bank, a large regional bank in the Southeast. Three hundred people filled the meeting room at the Greenville Westin, anxious to hear what Marre and Allison had to say about morality and capitalism, especially with the bailout credit crises looming, and they were not disappointed. Marre and Allison had plenty to say.
The supposed tension between Marre and Allison stemmed from the fundamental differences of their views on capitalism. While Allison believes capitalism is inherently moral, Marre does not. "I believe capitalism is like a shovel," explains Marre, "You can use it to dig an irrigation ditch to grow organic food or swing it like a baseball bat and kill someone. The majority of it is the leader — not the system."
Even though Marre and Allison have strong differences regarding capitalism, they both adamantly agreed on one thing: the wild greed machine of Wall Street and the huge mistake they view the bailout to be. Allison said the core problem is not a so-called credit crisis. It was an illusion caused by the investment banks themselves. In fact, he said his bank had just borrowed a billion dollars for less than 1%. Marre said, and Allison confirmed, the problem is overvalued real estate that has been used as the personal ATMs of the American consumers.
Market Crisis from ProPublica.org explains the cause stating, "The current market crisis... is rooted in the subprime mortgage crisis. The subprime mortgage crisis, in turn, is the outcome of unscrupulous lending by the mortgage industry, banks who bought those loans without doing the requisite research, deceptive credit ratings, and the government's increasingly relaxed regulation of the banking industry."
Of the bailout, Marre stated, "We simply cannot electric-shock our economy into resuming consumer spending when consumers don't have the income to support credit-based purchasing. The problem is the nation's net-worth has been hammered while our debt has soared." Marre continued, "Leaders of the past 30 years have dumbed down business to a mad pursuit of materialism rather than value creation." Allison even offered a solution of his own to the housing crisis, a 10% government tax credit to buyers, based on the purchase price of a home. For more details visit www.thoughtrocket.com/blog
The discussion was well received and it seemed that Marre and Allison left with a deep respect for one another. Marre concluded, "At least the Wall Street crisis and bailout has shone a positive light on one thing, the desperate need for true Corporate Social Responsibility."
About Will Marre
Will Marre is an Emmy Award-winning writer, CSR Expert, CSR speaker and Leadership Coach. He is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). He is currently the CEO of the REALeadership Alliance where he helps leaders implement new socially-strategic business and branding models, and Consulting Director of UC San Diego Extension's Responsible Enterprise Forum. Located in San Diego, California, ThoughtRocket can be reached at www.thoughtrocket.com or phone 866-876-6596.
