They've walked the walk of shame. Now it's your turn to decide which of these head-shakers is the worst of the worst. Check out the recaps of these Foolish Walks of Shame from the past week or so, and then pick the one you think deserves the dubious honor of being most shameful by voting in the poll below.
1. The Fed
Fool writer Alyce Lomax singled out the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. As she put it: "Is the 'fix' better than the disease? [Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke's Fed has lowered interest rates to record lows to rejuvenate the same terrible behavior that got us into trouble in the first place. To juice the economy, the Fed's encouraging banks to make new loans, even when there are still plenty of bad loans out there."
As Alyce reminded us, "Government stimulus may be getting our economy back on its feet, but it isn't real or organic."
2. Ayn Rand
Alyce came back on Wednesday and questioned followers of Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy. As Alyce put it: "Ruthless selfishness, on the other hand, is a path to destruction -- parasitic, maybe even sociopathic, behavior. We've seen far too much of it. Shame on Ayn Rand, and on those so enamored of her philosophy that they can't reject its weaker, less practical aspects. It shouldn't be hard to jettison the more dangerous, ill-conceived elements of a philosophy, especially when they threaten all that's good about capitalism, freedom, and our economy."
Alyce called out Chesapeake Energy
3. Cash for Carts
Golf carts, that is. A federal tax credit to promote the purchase of electric vehicles includes golf carts, with loopholes that seem to allow someone to get a cart for free. Ford and Toyota Motor probably aren't going to see the same boost they got from Cash for Clunkers, but any credit helps.
Fool writer/editor Jordan DiPietro painted a lovely picture in Thursday's Walk of Shame article: "So for those of you cruising at a leisurely 15 mph, sipping a late-day margarita, and chasing golf balls on a sunny afternoon -- here's your tax break from Uncle Sam. You just received a $4,200 to $5,500 federal credit for the purchase of your new electric vehicle." Shameful, isn't it?
4. Droid's Ad
Earlier today, Fool writer/editor Nathan Alderman took Motorola, Verizon
"Even if you ignore the ad's queasy combination of warfare and commerce -- I don't exactly want to buy a product being sold via a bombing run -- I simply can't understand how Motorola, Verizon, and Google think that positioning their product as a destructive, hostile menace is going to endear it to anyone. The iPhone's ads make it look cool, hip, and empowering. This Droid ad makes it seem poised to enslave us all."
5. The White House
Last Friday, Fool writer/editor Eric Bleeker thought it was a shame that insiders won't listen to former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker's plan for what essentially amounts to a modern-day Glass-Steagall Act. There's been push-back from Wall Street players like Bank of America
As Eric noted: "Not surprisingly, Volcker's calls for additional financial reforms have hit a roadblock. The administration isn't open to this line of thinking. Volcker's playing coy about the snub, telling The New York Times, 'I did not have influence to start with.' The chairman of the White House's Economic Recovery Advisory Board doesn't have any influence? Sounds like a problem to me."
Vote in our Motley Poll, and then scroll down to the comments section and let us know what prize the winner should get.
