What do Priests, Politicians and Bankers have in Common?...Money

[mobes]

Thu, 08/28/2008 - 09:18 — rich2010
What do Priests, Politicians and Bankers have in Common?...Money.

Generally they are comprised of groups of old men who preach against moral hazards that they themselves are unable to avoid, while making promises that they have no intent to deliver upon with the expectation that they should be supported by the general public on the basis of their beliefs rather than actions.

The question to ask yourself is, "Why are they so popular?" Let's start with the men of the cloth. In a constitutionally based democracy founded on the principle of the separation of church and state, do you ever wonder how churches garnered tax-free status? The Catholic church is arguably the first globalized corporation, and 500 years after it's peak influence, it is still the richest. The church is savvy enough to not trust any governments, thus the formation of Vatican City. The Pope commands through authoritarian rule, and protects it's own against the laws of lands that it operates in. Specifically after the Pedophile Protection Rings in Boston, Los Angeles, Spokane, Portland and virtually every other major US city were revealed, Cardinal Law was given a comfy job in the Vatican. Did anybody go to jail? Did anyone have to register as a sex offender? Is this a form of clerical clemency where priests are not subject to the laws of the land? Can anyone think of a reason why churches deserve tax-free status as a condition of the separation of church and state? Does anyone believe the organized religion would dry up and blow away if they were required to pay taxes or obey the laws of the land like the rest of Americans?

How about the politicians, why do they deserve our support? They are careful to maintain the appearance of a democratic two party system. But it is apparent to anyone with eyes and ears that the one party, the Money party has the fix in. The resulting grotesque system returns incumbents back to office 97% of the time with the help of the voting machine industry. Why not just call it the Incumbent Republic or more accurately Corporate Fascism? Does anybody honestly believe that politicians who have spent one billion dollars so far on a 20 month Presidential campaign, are unable to provide affordable health care to 49 million American citizens? Given that we have a health care system that provides coverage to the elderly, congressmen, and all federal employees, does anybody think that it couldn't cover poor children?

I propose the politician's zeal to provide for the public good is only exceeded by their wallet felt desire to support the greed of the insurance industry, as well as every other industry with enough money for a K street lobbyist capable of filling the private coffers. Witness the miracle of Alaska's Ted Stevens, who has already spent one million dollars defending himself against charges that he didn't divulge the details of a quarter of a million dollars in gifts from the oil services Vecco. Do you think that after doling out public pork to all their political patrons that there will be anything left in the coffers to serve the public good? Do the politicians' actions give you any reason to believe their speeches? Ask yourself, why do they deserve your respect or tax dollars?

Then, there are the bankers. Captains of industry, financial wizards, and fiscal and moral taxes on all American taxpayers. In the good times they extend credit to anyone who can fog a mirror, explaining the risks away with dizzying descriptions of their alphabet soup of "financial instruments" and charging 24% annual interest rates on your credit cards.

In the bad times, they refuse to admit that they didn't understand the opaque nature of their financial miracle products, or as Warren Buffet calls them "Weapons of Financial Destruction". They continue to charge ursurous credit card rates, while availing themselves of 2% loans from the Federal Reserve (which is neither Federal, nor does it have any reserves). Who is backing these loans? You guessed it the American Taxpayer. Does anyone go to jail for fraud?

So much for moral hazards, and for that matter, free market capitalism.

The reality is that financiers have been running the world's most profitable shell game since Meyer Amschel Rothschild invented fractional reserve banking in 1728 leading him to state "Give me control of a nation's money, and I care not who makes its laws." Despite the profitability inherent in a system that allows banks to print nine dollars for every dollar loan out, bankers need bailout. Add that to the latest news that the FDIC, which insures all US bank accounts up to $100K, is in need of a bailout of it's own. It's latest reports predict 100 bank failures per year for the next three years. Anybody have a guess who is going to the bailing? Get out your bucket.

Taken together the priests, politicians and bankers have cooperated to lead American into foreign incursions 201 times since WWII, or about three a year. Why would we do that? Because we are a peace loving nation? Or is it because it makes money for all those lucky enough to have their hand in the public till? Does it matter whether you have Moyers, McNamara and Johnson selling you on the war on communism or Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush selling you on the war on terrorism in the Middle East? As long as Billy Graham is there to pray with the President, KBR rips the taxpayer blind for fuel prices, everybody is happy and holy.

But enough about the past that has led us here. How about the future? KBR, Halliburton, Exxon-Mobil, BP and Chevron with the help of the CIA, MI6, and Mossad are engaged in the largest resource wars since the Great Game. Just switch Opium to Oil, turn the clock ahead 150 years, and voila, they bring you the war on terrorism. Central Asia morphs into the next Middle East. The modern Christo-Zionist crusade of Pipelinestan marches on. What's not to like? Certainly God has blessed our holy endeavors as the chosen ones worthy of driving 6000 pound pig mobiles.

America's history is a do-loop that follows the following pattern: 1) Arrive in unspoiled lands and discover abundant resources and native populations; 2) Exploit the natives in the labor of producing resources in excess of our own internal demand; 3) Search for new markets to consume our excess production. Invariably these new markets have resources and native populations and we're back to square one.

Our current problem is that we are at the end of the process, with the creeping sense that we need to find a new business model. I propose to you to change direction, that we must re-evaluate who is worthy of our respect and financial support. For the last 232 years we have entrusted our future to a privileged cadre of "belief salesmen". Viewing the results one might suspect that they also traffic in snake oil.

If we are to change the course of our ship of state, perhaps it is time to switch from these belief salesmen over to leaders who will level with Americans, and tell them the truth. I suggest to you that our future should not be entrusted to priests, politicians or bankers who have led us into our current unsustainable future.

"There will Peace only after the Last Priest is strangled with the entrails of the Last Politician" - Anon

http://www.depression2.tv/d2/