A Response to a Discussion

This blog is in response to a discussion on BlogFrog started by The Redhead Riter. You can get to it here although you may have to join to read it. I was just going to respond to the discussion, but as you can see it was far too long a response.

I've been reading a book, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed. It is not about the recent financial crisis but about what led to WW I and then the "Great Depression" and WW II. What I find interesting about the book is that all of the banking names are the same - it is still Chase, JP Morgan, etc.... Amazingly, the reasons for separating investment banking from commercial banking because of how the combination fed into the "Great Depression" were totally ignored when "we" allowed the repeal of those laws back in the 80's, 90's and early 00's.

In my opinion, what we have forgotten as a people, as a country, as a society, is that capitalism is a tool. It is an amoral system used to create "capital". It is okay for a tool to be amoral. However, when you put an amoral system onto an altar and worship it, then as a human the best you can hope to be is amoral. Unfortunately, most people who worship at the altar of capitalism end up being immoral.

Thus, we have our captains of industry with obscene compensation packages based only on how they can "show" the company profited. It isn't based on doing or creating anything. Their pay and bonuses are not based on job retention or creating economic opportunity for this country at all. Their excuse is that they answer to their "share holders" and "board of directors" except that they  do not pay dividends to the share holders and the board of directors for the companies are simply their "friends" who are paid to be on the board and rubber stamp each others compensation agreements.

We, the consumers and electorate, deserve our own share of responsibility. We "blame" others, illegals, chronic poor, etc..., rather than own up to our own insatiable appetite to own the latest gadget. We cannot afford to buy the gadget if it is made by American workers because we all want to make "a living wage" that allows us to buy an iPhone, Android, smart phone/pad. Therefore, we buy from discount stores that buy their goods from China, etc... where the employees make less in a day than an American worker makes in an hour. Thus, our job and our neighbors' jobs end up being shipped overseas.

It is far too easy to blame things on our politicians and others. It is far too easy when we are scared to state that it is public servants, teachers, clerks, etc... who make too much money and have broken our civil budgets. It is far too easy to say that it is "the other" that is not like us who is using too much of something that has caused this.

"The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Unfortunately, we put the money changers back on their high seats and we now reap what we sowed.