See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil

In the lead-up to the last major economic contractions there were outbreaks of unethical behaviour, some bordering on the corrupt, some flagrantly criminal. In the 1920s prohibition led to speakeasies and gangsters like Al Capone. Then came the 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression. The 1991 recession was preceded by the 1980s boom and bust, accounting abuse of the late 1980s, junk bonds and the savings and loan (S&L) crisis. Similarly, the lead-up to the 2001 recession saw an outbreak of corporate corruption led by the likes of Enron, WorldCom and, in Australia, HIH. The latest recession was preceded by the selling of subprime mortgages to people who would never be able to repay them, and their securitisation in packages that nobody could understand.