Greed, misuse of power puts America at risk

Pretend for a minute that you are the second richest person in the world. As such, you can live your life pretty much any way you wish.

So what will you do? Go on a spending spree? Travel around the world? Or, indulge yourself in luxury, acquiring the finest art, the finest homes and the fanciest cars imaginable?

We have taken you on this short flight of fantasy to put you in the shoes of Warren Buffett, the Omaha investor who is currently listed as the second richest person in the world, behind only Bill Gates, the Microsoft magnate from Medina, Wash.

In Forbes Magazine's latest listing of the World's Richest People, Buffett's net worth is listed at $42.9 billion, placing him in second place in the world's richest rankings behind Gates, whose net worth is listed at $46.6 billion.

Since he holds such an extraordinary accumulation of wealth, what kind of person would you expect Warren Buffett to be? If you ask his fellow Nebraskans, most agree that the "Oracle of Omaha" is a man of highest principles, dedicated to uplifting, not downgrading, the American free enterprise system.

And what a breath of fresh air that is. In a time when Enron investors and employees are still reeling from massive fraud, and when a billionaire, Martha Stewart, has been found guilty of insider trading, it's easy to lose faith in the way America does business.

But Buffett has shown us, repeatedly, that it doesn't have to be that way. When exercised fairly and openly, free enterprise is one of the great hallmarks of the American way of life.

We should not give up on a system which has served us so well. We should fix it.

In that regard, let's listen to Buffett, who says federal regulations are failing to protect investors against misconduct by the directors of mutual funds and corporations.

The Omaha investor is quoted by Steve Jordon of the Omaha World-Herald as saying, "I am on my soapbox now only because the blatant wrongdoing that has occurred has betrayed the trust of so many millions of stockholders." So what's happening? Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., says many companies have "trampled on the interests of fund shareholders in an appalling manner."

We agree. It may sound harsh to send Martha Stewart to prison, but the message must be sent: Clean up, Corporate America! You're putting the American free enterprise system in jeopardy with your greed and misuse of power.