RJA #2b: Research Topic

I would like to research if greed and materialism is the reason that the world is in the financial and economic crisis that it is now. The problem is, I don't know how to research greed and materialism on a world wide scale, or, even smaller, in the United States. Everything is motivated and influenced by money; even some people’s idea of spiritualism can be influenced by money and greed, but I don’t know how I would research that and prove it and remain objective. I will instead be researching if the change in government oversight of businesses financial records and the lack of a standard and logical accounting practice, something that all companies use, might have affected the downturn of our economy.

I already know a little about this topic, and I would like to stress I know VERY LITTLE. I believe there was a change in the government’s oversight of financial records in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s, and companies starting changing their financial records to reflect profits or losses that hadn’t actually transpired. I also know that there is a change in the accounting standards that will be implemented worldwide in the next few years.

What I don’t know about this topic could fill a research paper, and hopefully will! I want to find out when and how the government oversight changed, and how businesses were able to go for so long with false financial reports. I also want to look at if there is a correlation between the false financial statements and people filing for bankruptcy and the rising number of foreclosures. For instance, I wonder if credit card companies were saying they were making a profit, when in actuality people were using their cards, then not paying them off and filling for bankruptcy, which would show a loss rather than a profit. In a similar fashion, banks were showing a profit for having thousands of mortgages, but people weren’t actually paying the mortgages, so it was a loss, not a profit. I also want to explore if and how the new accounting standards will help stabilize the economy.