Wall Street Justice Obama Style

Over and over again, Americans see the same debacle unroll before their eyes, that is, if they are paying any attention. Earlier this year, billions in bonuses were paid to Merrill Lynch executives as the firm was failing. An agreement was made that Bank of America would pick up the pieces of Merrill Lynch with the support of the American taxpayer and later, BofA was bailed out as well. After a dance with the SEC, no wrongdoing was admitted.

After an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Banking wunderkind JPMorgan agreed to a $722 million settlement. Why? It all rises from a risky derivatives deal that drove Alabama politics to the brink of bankruptcy. As part of the settlement, JPMorgan neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing despite overwhelming evidence that the financial group did actually engage in acute wrongdoing.

What passes for justice on Wall Street? Regulators give a banking institution that they back a fine that taps the corporate bottom line for wrongdoing. The banks are eager to quickly forget the whole thing by paying a modest fine and getting on with business as usual. There is no admission to wrongdoing and business continues. The government gets a fine to pad their already overbloated budgets that the American taxpayer is already floating. We must be stupid because we keep doing the same thing over and over.

No one admits to corruption, much less to making a mistake. Meanwhile, nobody pays back the taxpayer, much less actually pays off a debt of any kind.  Reality is a round robin of funny money, usury and blatant dishonesty. Where is the outrage? Nowhere, because we are too wrapped in our small lives and/or afraid of reprisals or perhaps the boogeyman. Perhaps by our collective refusal to stand up against politicians and bankers, we are admitting that any American would do exactly the same thing; that not one American is any better. What do you say? Probably very little.

Global Economic Crisis: G8 and the Papacy

During the G8 economic meetings and debate in Italy, Pope Benedict released a new encyclical saying “there is urgent need of a true world political authority.” In that document, Pope Benedict XVI urged G8 leaders meeting in Italy to rewrite global financial rules and to defend the world’s poor from the effects of the economic crisis.

responsibility of the market

In and of itself, the market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak. Society does not have to protect itself from the market, as if the development of the latter were ipso facto to entail the death of authentically human relations. Admittedly, the market can be a negative force, not because it is so by nature, but because a certain ideology can make it so. It must be remembered that the market does not exist in the pure state. It is shaped by the cultural configurations which define it and give it direction. Economy and finance, as instruments, can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends. Instruments that are good in themselves can thereby be transformed into harmful ones. But it is man’s darkened reason that produces these consequences, not the instrument per se. Therefore it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but individuals, their moral conscience and their personal and social responsibility.

responsibility of business

Owing to their growth in scale and the need for more and more capital, it is becoming increasingly rare for business enterprises to be in the hands of a stable director who feels responsible in the long term, not just the short term, for the life and the results of his company, and it is becoming increasingly rare for businesses to depend on a single territory. Moreover, the so-called outsourcing of production can weaken the company’s sense of responsibility towards the stakeholders — namely the workers, the suppliers, the consumers, the natural environment and broader society — in favour of the shareholders, who are not tied to a specific geographical area and who therefore enjoy extraordinary mobility. ...business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference.

The papacy has taken an interesting step by inserting itself into the G8 debate framework and  by ordering the involvement of Italy in the process. Certainly, in much earlier times, the papacy was directly involved in such matters without better consequences in those times. History is the best  witness of that truth. Now, the pope indicates that we need a man in charge once again as if the G8 institution is really in charge beyond politics. The real charge has been given to multinational corporations including central bankers on a global basis. The central bankers operate as a global corporate fraternal brotherhood through none other than the Swiss and Rome. Is the papacy and politics going to ‘take authority back’ or have they really lost any authority? The reality is that the papacy already holds ’such coveted authority’ through the central bankers. Most of them have simply forgotten their moral compass in their need to service their clients. Pope Benedict is simply reminding his league that he holds them to a higher priority and that they need to exert a new influence as they continue to profit from money lending.

Pope Proposes New Financial Order

According to the Associated Press, Pope Benedict XVI has called for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good in the third encyclical of his pontificate.

Pope: Economy Needs Ethics

“Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot completely fulfill its proper economic function. And today it is this trust which has ceased to exist, and the loss of trust is a grave loss.” According to the Vatican, the economy needs ethics in order to function correctly, just as the implementation of ethical financing and systems of micro-credit and micro-finance indicate. In development programs, the principle of the centrality of the human person must be preserved, while international organizations might question the actual effectiveness of their bureaucratic and administrative structure. This is one of the central messages of Benedict XVIs new encyclical Caritas in Veritate that was published July 7th and signed by the Pope. If you have been following this blog, you know what is up right now. I don’t need to say another word. ~ E. Manning

American Employment Continues to Plunge

America continues labor freefall

It appears that the labor market in America is at an stupendous low, with 59.7% of Americans projected to be employed using traditional government statistics. As we have discussed on this website, the plight is actually much worse.

Jobs and Inflation: Bernanke Kisses Up

“…the Federal Reserve aims for maximum employment and price stability. To achieve those goals, we must formulate policy based on our best assessment of where the economy is heading. Clearly, the timeliness and reliability of your labor market and price reports are critical to us. Besides those monthly indicators, our analysis and forecasting of inflation and real activity require a number of BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)  inputs. We need to understand productivity because it is a key element in determining how fast the economy can expand without generating inflation. And we need to factor in trends in wages and benefits, in consumer spending, and in how U.S. wage, price, and productivity trends compare with those abroad. Indeed, the analysis, research, and forecasting that forms the foundation for our policymaking must be grounded in solid economic information, such as the BLS provides.” ~ Chairman Ben S. Bernanke at the Bureau of Labor Statistics 125th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C.

Economy: Good Prospects Beyond White Collar Jobs

Voices of reason have long proclaimed that the only key to a decent future is a college education as we trumpet excess, luxury and credit for all. The halls of academia do not suit every temperament, nor can the world operate only through the league of white collar employment and office jobs. Who will take care of the national infrastructure, manufacturing and all those green jobs that the nation has been promised? A sedentary, artery-clogging, boss-centered lifestyle is not a requirement to exist in America. Yet, hundreds of thousands of American youth have been or continue to buy into massive college loans if credit is available. Nearly half of students who start college will drop out before graduating. Our country has been facing major workforce shortages for years, which have been taken up by illegals in many cases. They are the latest attempt by big business and government to create a new subclass of American worker in which to found a new nation.

Without question, the nation has been suffering where jobs are concerned, brought about by nothing less than white collar crime. You can’t really talk about careers since corporates nip millions of so-called careers in the bud every year due to their own self-interest. That reality existed before the recession stripped the nation of what millions of Americans see as their only self-respect: the job.

America has been convinced working a corporate job is the only way to live. The white collar job has been sold as the American stock and trade. The federal government has been very happy with this campaign as corporations and big business are highly complicit with federal law and the collection of taxes. As a result of this nearsighted approach, the American labor force has been selling itself short and has allowed itself to be deluded about the future and personal potential for the future.

We are being told that only by following rules and leadership of big business, the corporate and the academic world, can Americans possibly prosper. Has this proclaimed fact proved to be true? Are you truly being prospered now? Has the nation prospered? Think for yourself. You are your own best friend and are fully capable of supporting yourself if you are willing to think outside the box that the government, big business and corporates have made for you. There is hope. Great personal success can exist outside the cubicle. You are not a slave…at least not per the founding documents of America. ~ E. Manning