Frankly, I never expected business attitudes from arrogance and indifference to unethical behavior to break out in the rash it has.

This time it's Coca-Cola. It seems like they were "cooking the books" for a pretty good while. The Securities Exchange Commission has found them guilty of stacking sales in Japan to appear to meet certain financial and market goals.

Here's what's peculiar about this revelation. It took place for two to three years from 1997 to 1999. Why did it take the SEC so long to nab them?

While Martha Stewart is still in electronic custody after serving time for messing around with securities, Cola-Cola and its executives skate free. That's right, no prison time for anyone, no fine, not even any sanctions. Martha's misdeed represents a fraction of the Coke total.

Now you might say there must not have been too serious an infraction, or maybe they didn't have the goods on Coca-Cola. How about this? In just one quarter, three months in 1999, they reportedly manufactured $209 million in not so real sales to boost stockholder expectations. Let your mind wander how much this could have totalled for two or three years.

$209 million in one quarter? Martha must be wondering how she allowed herself to be so shortchanged, especially when she is serving a sentence the executives of Coke have escaped.

The real culprit here seems to be The Securities and Exchange Commission for no indictments, no prison, no fines, no sanctions. In fact, the news reports say the case is closed.

Coke stockholders during that period of time had to be viewing their holdings through rose-colored glasses. No wonder things came crashing down.

We review the shenanigans of Atlanta based companies such as Mirant Corporation, a spin off off The Southern Company, along with several others who have done some funny things with their numbers. Is it possible there is something wrong with the water in Atlanta? Could it be all those pipes they have neglected for over 40 years have affected their collective integrity?

It's ironic that we note these same corporations are always on the lists of those to contribute strongly----with stockholders' money----to anti-Southern causes, including millions to race-profiteers like Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. That may be a point worth considering. South-bashing and dishonesty in business may be a synonymous requirement for the Atlanta business elite. Why not? Apparently for certain elites, there is nothing to fear.

Jeff Davis is a retired radio-TV journalist living in Gainesville, GA. Active in civic and political affairs, he is past president of the Georgia Jaycees, former vice president of the US and the world Jaycees, former campaign chairman of the Georgia Republican party. He voluntarily serves as chairman of the Georgia Heritage Council. He is a collateral descendant of President Jefferson Davis.

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