"A student from India had a question. What if, he said, one lives in a
society in which the religion says that a person's lot in life is
dictated by God, and thus it would be sin to change it in any way. The
poor, in this view, are supposed to be poor, and to help them would
violate God's will. In fact, a charitable person is committing a crime
against God.
"The speaker stood there in stunned silence.
Comment:
I love these contrived problems... a Christian from Seattle Washington could make that exact same claim about Christianity. St. Paul gave express instructions for slaves, assuming there would always be slaves, it is so ordered. Jesus himself said we would always have the poor with us (of course He obviously assumed change and redemption was possible... ) ... I've heard such "you are stuck in your position and it is a sin to change" arguments in Christianity all my life. The King of England cautioned Lloyd George how "one must be satisfied with one's station in life." What was the medieval guild system except a means to lock out and lock down? What does he think the AMA is? Dedicated to quality control? ha! His question is a slam on Hinduism. If this fellow had the slightest grasp of Hinduism or very recent Indian history, he would have recalled one fellow named Mohandes Gandhi. Ahimsa is a term that does not exist in any of the European languages that grew out of the the Indic roots, but it is still extant today in India. The problem isn't that a Hindu stood up and asked a goofy question, the problem was the "speaker stood there in stunned silence." The speaker should have pointed out, charitably of course, how every culture has such challenges, countless Christians argued the same thing as we progressed, and still do, but the good the true and beautiful are inherent in every human culture.
We are facing the same thing today, wherein the people we have allowed to arrogate power are busy assuring the pecking order does not change. Most of the congressmen who voted for the "no banker left behind act" are well aware that this is the path to economic disaster, and inevitably, war. Who of them cares? Our children may die from a scratch due to lack of penicillin in 5 years, but the powers that be will still have private jets, caviar, all sensual desires met immediately... the people we put in charge no longer believe in America, not the general officers in the military the congress has confirmed... not the professors, not the clergy, not the lawyers...not labor... they will be in their places no matter what happens... they even carefully outlawed shortselling, the only way to protect your assets, and will strike no more gold coins as this stock of blanks runs out. it is the rest of us that are locked into our castes now.
Radical comes from the word root, extreme means the far out edges. Radical good, extreme bad. Starting your own business is a profoundly radical act. Every religion encourages profoundly radical action. Every religion has charlatans who advise otherwise. Why concede religious practice and position to the charlatans?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Excerpt From An Exchange
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
What We Need Is More Regulation - Not
The History of a Financial Disaster
1997
. Fannie Mae is a GSE (Govt. Sponsored Entity) regulated by Congress.
. Fannie Mae buys mortgages from other companies.
. It is backed by the taxpayers for all losses, but keeps all profits.
. President Clinton loosens Home Loan Requirements.
1998
. Banks begin making thousands of bad loans, 0 down, no documentation, for
120%! (1998 - 2008).
. Franklin Raines and Jamie Garelick from the Clinton Administration are
appointed to run Fannie Mae.
. Executives at Fannie are encouraged with huge bonuses to meet loan
targets.
2003
. President Bush proposes a new oversight committee to clean up Fannie Mae,
but Democrats derail the effort.
. Rep. Melvyn Watt, (D-NC) Committee on Financial Institutions & Consumer
Credit. stated, "I don't see much other than weakening the bargaining power
of poorer families to get affordable housing."
1999-2004
. Raines earns $100 million in bonuses.
. Garelick earns $75 million in bonuses.
. In 2004, Enron collapses, congress investigates, Executives Skilling & Lay
go to jail, for fraudulent bookkeeping.
. Congress responds with the Sorbanes- Oxley Act, more heavy regulation of
corporations.
2004
. An OMB investigation finds massive fraudulent bookkeeping at Fannie Mae.
. False numbers triggered executive bonuses every year.
. Congress holds no hearings, no one goes to jail, or is punished.
1999-2005
. Fannie Mae pays millions to 354 congressmen and senators, from both
parties.
. Top 4 recipients:
#1 Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-CT) Chairman of the Banking, Housing, & Urban
Affairs Committee
#2 Sen. Barack Obama, (D-IL) Federal Financial Management Committee
#3 Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D-NY) Chairman of the Finance Committee
#4 Rep. Barney Frank, (D-MA) Chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee
#325 Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ) Armed Services, & Commerce, Science, &
Transportation
2005
. Franklin Raines & top execs are forced to resign from Fannie Mae.
. They do not go to jail.
. There is no media "perp. walk."
. They keep all of their bonuses
. They finally pay $31.4 million in civil fines.
2005
. The Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act is sponsored by: Sen.
John McCain, (R-AZ) "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will
continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as
a whole."
2005
. None of the top 4 recipients support the legislation.
. The reform act is blocked by Democrats, never even making it out of
committee.
. None of the politicians return any of the money, tainted by fraud.
2008
. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac go bankrupt and the govt. takes them over
completely.
. Lehman Brothers, goes bankrupt from investing in bad mortgages.
. AIG get $85 million in loan guarantees, after insuring bad loans &
projects.
. Taxpayers will ultimately pay BILLIONS.
. Franklin Raines is now an advisor to the Obama Campaign which wants the
govt. to take over more of the economy.
. McCain favors revising regulations & loan standards, selling off Fannie &
Freddie.
Sources:
Congressional Record, 5/25/06
Fox News, 9/16- 9/17/08
Herald Tribune, 4/18/08
New York Times, 9/13/03
www.govtrack.com, 9/17/08
Very Strange News On Gold
The US Mint today announced it will cease producing gold coins as its stock of blanks run out this year.
I've mentioned before the gold coin shortage, and how that ought to force prices up, but it has not. Now the US Govt announces it will cease production. When there is a shortage, prices go up.
I have no idea what is going on, and there are conspiracy theorists galore out there, but those never interest me. One thing is for sure, this will be a lesson for all when whatever is going on becomes clear.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Riba-free Banking
If you want to see how banks can make money without violating the biblical injunction against usury, check out this website. Check out the website headline: Islamic banks avoid mortgage crisis. Indeed, they did. It explains how.
They have a USA branch, and the difference between what they do and good old fashioned interest may be subtle, but the fact is structurally their system keeps people from getting hurt in booms. Perhaps that is all the Bible was talking about.
Tikinomics
I started shorting the indexes at about 14,000, and my guess is the DOW will get to 8200 before this levels out. One might guess these are hard times. There is a subset of economics that I am interested in, and I don't know what to call it, so I will call it TIKINOMICS for reasons that will become clear in a moment.
If you think about the wonderful and delightful things we have, what we consider exotic and sought-after, these items often emerge in dire times. Think of the truffle, which would not be in our diet if at some point in time a starving human stole food from a pig. Think of the starving Chinese fisherman who cracked open a sea urchin to eat its roe. (Uni... uggh!) Rocky mountain oysters? Eeeew! But these are all food, these things happen in every field. In a land of earthquakes and fire, the Japanese developed a unique architectural style. With the energy crisis all electric cars that can go zero to 60 in under 4 seconds are not only possible, you can order one for a 2009 delivery!
Why "tikinomics"? Because out of the depression came the tiki bar, something still around to this day. Drinks mixed to hide booze during the prohibition, then add food shortage so sever in the depression and then rationing during WWII that little scraps can be renamed puu puus and people enjoy themselves. Of course, a south seas decor helped people forget about their dreary homes. The grandad of the tiki bar is Trader Vic, his story here...
But it is more thasn just the new, it is the attitude behind it... quotes from teh abovce aerticle,,,
During the war times he says, "...we were rationed on scotch, bourbon, and gin. Well, the liquor dealers tried to pull a fast one on the bars and usually it worked. The dealers would try to make the bars buy a case of rum for every case of bourbon they needed. I didn't go for that kind of a deal. All of the other restaurants had hundreds of unused cased of rum in their cellars, but I didn¹t.
and...
Unfortunately the attitude of making a buck at all costs has crept into our wonderful American heritage and has hit every phase of our social structure. Whether it's an individual or corporation, the only question asked is: How much can I get? Regardless of what effect it has on the economy or on the people, money is the most important thing to consider."
Anyone have examples of tikinomics?