Psychiatry vs Sound Money
There are no 'free bubbles'. Manias are fed with a multi-level tacit complicity. Everybody is interested in easy money to start with. While bankers and other financial managers are to blame, it is about time to acknowledge the danger of relying on individuals who are supposed to have the all degrees necessary regarded for their well established experience. In economics, there are no moral hazards besides those caused by man. Usury is the root of all evils and this is something that will never be taught at school, unless there is a radical and interllectual wake-up call. If you need an example illustrating the plague of ignorance, let's consider Japan, where the suicide epidemic is tied to an economy under strain. As a result, after a decade of reforms and weak growth many middle-age and elderly men unemployed chose to end their lives. While the Japanese system allows the beneficiaries to collect life insurances in cases of suicide, we shouldn't jump to any fast conclusions. Throughout India, more and more troubled farmers are killing themselves...
AMY GOODMAN: These descriptions of desperation, up to three farmers a day swallow pesticides, hang themselves from trees, drown themselves in rivers, set themselves on fire, or jump down wells, many of them plagued by debt, poor crops and hopelessness? ... (2006/more)
In the Western Empire, we've got counselors to treat and cure mental conditions. When glancing at the market malaise today, we can easily assume why shrinks still have many sunny days ahead. Last May, the USAToday ran an article related to the dire mental stress of many homeowners as they see the value of their home plummeting or have their home foreclosed:
The American Psychological Association (APA) and other mental-health groups are publishing tips on how to handle the emotional stress triggered by the real estate meltdown... "They're depressed, anxious. It's affected marriages, relationships," says Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych, a Chicago-based employee-assistance firm that is counseling homeowners over mortgage fears. "People tend to catastrophize, and that leads to depression. Suicide rates go up. We see an increase in drinking, outbursts at work, violence toward kids. Before, their houses were like ATMs," as they rose in value. "Now, they feel trapped like a rat in a corner.... Historically, research shows, rates of depression and suicide tend to climb during times of economic tumult..."
But even the top 10% of society is getting hit. Bankers, CEOs of companies, traders, high-end business guys, use secret clinics and nurses. It is estimated that 40,000 people in the U.K. financial sector will be become jobless over the next three years. For this year alone, the bigger picture shows that from Tokyo to London to New York, financial firms will shed more than 83,000 jobs. Wall Street Exodus is causing fear, panic and anger. Unless the PTB start blowing another mother of all bubbles, jobs will not come back any time soon. To compare, in the wake of the dotcom crash investment banks and brokerage firms laid off nearly 90,000 people. New York City is bracing for the biggest single-year decline in pay on Wall Street in history as bonuses for employees based could shrink by $10 billion or more. This doesn't bode well to say the least: many people will soon discover that they can no longer afford their luxury condos.
The usury deception goes indeed global: the Bank of Korea confirmed that payments using 'plastic' accounted for 57% of total private spending in the first three months of this year. In South Korea, three years ago, a spike of defaults set off a national crisis. Now industry pundits observe similar dangers in Turkey and China, where there are more than 100 million cards. If you do not hear the alarm bells, and sorry if this hurts your ego, you are probably deaf. In a not so distant past, Turkish people were regarding 'Honor Killings' as the only solution to avoid being labeled a debtor. This did not prevent a fierce outcry, in 2006, prompting the country to crack down on credit card marketers. But there too, it doesn't seem that the new rules have help avoid the inevitable.
We did not listen to our ancestors’ proverb,” Mr. Kaya said. “ ‘Stretch your leg only as far as your blanket (NYT/08/08/08)
So, the one million dollar question now: will you let Wall street handle your pension plan, do you still trust them enough after the mortgage mess and the ensuing hedge fund blowups, busted buyouts, and credit market gridlock - ???
Don't get mad, get educated. Debt based economies always end up losing their 'magical' effect and when they do, culprits are countless. But the root cause is 'usury' and it starts at the very beginning with paying an interest on the banknotes in circulation and creating money out of thin air. The central bankers do not have the money in the first place, they invent it electronically. All of which means that they sell an illusion whose price are the boom and bust cycles, inflation, currency crisis and depressions. This fraudulent concept may appear mind boggling to many but understanding the trick is vital to move toward the betterment of Mankind, enhance prosperity and eradicate wars.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).