It's Only Money . . .

I remember hearing that saying as a child, but never at home. I awoke this morning to the announcer proclaiming more economic woes for some truly big money American entities. Monday, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. This company is 158 years old and was one of Wall Street's giants. This company clearly survived the Civil War and the Great Depression, but was unable to hang on through what the present administration lightly refers to as an "economic slow down!" I don't care what euphemisms someone uses, the facts speak for themselves in this. Merrill Lynch, didn't quite make the century mark, but the 94 year old company sold itself to Bank of America. As a religious fanatic, I've been wondering what financial institution would represent America in the global economy that Bush 41 called the New World Order. I'm not going to prophesy here, as to the potential finality at this time, but Bank of America does seem fairly clear and concise. This morning it's AIG. AIG is hitting all sorts of issues with me for a variety of reasons. Insurance companies that collect premiums for years and then make bad investment decisions don't have enough accountability, but who will hold them accountable? Our government doesn't have enough accountability and our government can't handle money either. And it's one of those acronym names that just screams transparent elusiveness! A company that promises to take care of me from cradle to grave with insurance needs, investments and retirement, but needs a loan to the tune of billions, should be facing some sort of false advertising claims on top of facing some true accountability. I'm tired of these big companies either getting government assistance or hiding behind bankruptcy while the CEO retires with a portfolio worth millions. Why is that all right? Martha went to jail for a questionable stock sale when she owned the stock! What's wrong with this bigger picture?
The feds are going to provide stability by not changing the interest rate, but they may later. If it gets much lower, we're going to have to pay the banks to keep our money!
Of course, this is becoming great fodder for the presidential campaign. None of these candidates have any idea what the American public is going through. And I realize that is a quirk of American politics that's simply a fact of life. No average ordinary person is going to be on a national ticket, so the candidates simply convince those they can, that they are in touch with their concerns. Obama says the economy is a mess. Really? And we all know his solution will be more taxes, mandatory health care, and required volunteerism. Yeah! McCain on the other hand says the economy is fundamentally stable because it is based upon the American worker. The American worker is a dying breed, and dying faster than the social security collectors!
The economy is not stable because it's based on the perpetual motion of paper and that's all. The stocks on Wall Street aren't real businesses any more, they are simply paper changing hands. Mutual funds are an absolute joke by now, and were nothing more than living large before the Great Depression. It was the best way to "invest" without actually owning anything except a piece of paper from a company that kept the investments rotating to never lose money. Mutual funds hit an all time high just a few years before this mess began to spiral down.
Once again what we learn from history is that we don't learn from history.
My recommendation at this point for the economy is to become more ecological and agricultural. If we're going to have an economy based upon the perpetual motion of paper, then let's save some trees and keep the motion seasonal. That way, rather than years of disaster in the making and years more in the attempt to repair, we simply replant every spring!
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; Holy Scripture