America Has a Cheating Crisis (Why Leaders Should Worry About It)

“What would it be like to live in a world without integrity?”

The annual festival was happening in a small village, and each villager was asked to contribute by pouring a bottle of wine into a giant barrel.

One of the villagers had this thought: “If I pour a bottle of water in that giant barrel, no one will notice the difference.” But it didn’t occur to him that everyone else in the village might have the same thought.

When the banquet began, and the barrel was tapped, what came out was pure water.

That’s the problem with cheating: by trying to win at all cost, we miss the long-term consequences. Even if we don’t get caught, you’ll experience the aftermath taste.

Cheating lowers the bar for everyone — we all get to drink water instead of wine.

Rewards promote the wrong behaviors

“A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for.” — W.C. Fields

Who cheats?

Almost everyone, if the risk is worth the reward.

There’s a cheating crisis in America’s schools. 74 percent of high-school students admitted…