“Houses of cards, chickens coming home to roost – pick your cliche. The new low in the financial crisis, which has prompted comparisons with the 1929 Wall Street crash, is the fruit of a pattern of dishonesty on the part of financial institutions, and incompetence on the part of policymakers.
We had become accustomed to the hypocrisy. The banks reject any suggestion they should face regulation, rebuff any move towards anti-trust measures – yet when trouble strikes, all of a sudden they demand state intervention: they must be bailed out; they are too big, too important to be allowed to fail.”
Joseph Stiglitz, The Guardian (16 September, 2008)
At the time of writing, the American stockmarket has just recorded its greatest one-day fall since ’9-11′. Merrill Lynch, one of America’s largest investment banks, has just been sold in distress to Bank of America. Lehman Brothers has sought bankruptcy protection – after a proud 158-year history. Earlier in the year Bear Stearns was picked up for a song by J.P. Morgan. The world-famous (and once world-leading) Citi had to be bailed out by Dubai financiers. AIG, one of the world’s leading insurers, is also in deep doo-da.
What is happening here? How have we got to a place of such high drama? Joseph Stiglitz, renowned Nobel prize-winning economist, pulled no punches in The Guardian this week: “The present financial crisis springs from a catastrophic collapse in confidence. The banks were laying huge bets with each other over loans and assets. Complex transactions were designed to move risk and disguise the sliding value of assets… as people wake up to the smoke and mirrors in the financial system, as people grow averse to risk, losses occur; the market as a whole plummets and everyone loses. Financial markets hinge on trust, and that trust has eroded.”
Sadly, the reverberations will be felt most acutely by those at the bottom. Layoffs by US banks are expected to number in the tens of thousands. Families are going to be stranded without income, and without any immediate prospect of new employment in the current climate. Job losses (and insecurity) will have an impact on consumption, leaving a demand hole in the world economy that is going to afflict many other countries and industries.
We in Kenya must watch and learn. The irresponsibility of a few hundred executives is going to lead to misery for millions. The abdication of duty by boards of directors is going to be catastrophic. And the willingness of regulators to look the other way while bankers play markets like a casino is an utter shame. The infection came from a few, but was allowed to spread unchecked.
It is not enough to have innovative strategies, set stretch targets, reinvent industries and create ‘blue oceans’. Those who designed the dangerous new financial instruments based on sub-prime mortgages (the cause of the contagion) thought they were doing all those things. Business needs an ethical core to be great, and this places a great burden of responsibility on CEOS and directors to do the right thing – whatever the circumstances. Without trust and confidence in the system, capitalism has no basis; everything falls like a house of cards.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sunny, I been following your articles for quite a while now. I must say they are very informative, interesting to read and most of all inspire change. In the light of the current US market credit crunch I tend to think that we lack awareness of a bigger scheme of things.
This effectively renders us ignorant to the root causes of our situations and as a drowning man clutching straw we are left clutching on to cosmetic solutions. Worst being that we perceive these solutions as ultimate.
“All the perplexities confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, nor from want of honour or virtue, so much as downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.” President, John Adams
An overwhelming majority of our population is completely ignorant of how money comes to be, effects of its circulation and how credit emerges. Basically we are downright ignorant of the banking system. A critical system in any economy.
Interestingly even in our education system the banking concept they teach is sharply inconsistent with reality e.g. purporting that the credit banks extend is derived from monies it holds for its clients. Interestingly these clients still have access to their money on demand!!
How can this be??
Further with the low interest rates the banks extend credit with, it just does not make business sense at all, even if they had assets generating extra money!!!
But lo and behold!!!!! Not only do banks make it, they make it big time reporting huge profits!!!
Just how do they do that!!!!
“Give me the right to issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who governs the country.” –Mayer Amschel Rothschild
“The few who can understand the system will either be so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its favours, that there will be no opposition from that class, while on the other hand, the great body of the people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantages that capital derives from the system, will bear its burdens without complaint and perhaps without even suspecting that the system is inimical to their interests.” –Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Fraud!!! That is how!!
A fraud that goes by the name of fractional reserve banking system working in concert with a central banking system. This in effect creates a very powerful banking cartel that dominates the political system of each country and the economy.
It seizes, our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection. It is for this reason banking is a mystery to the masses.
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.” –Thomas Jefferson
“The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than the aristocracy, more selfish than the bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes.” –Abraham Lincoln
You may choose to dismiss me as a conspiracy nut and ignore this altogether or walk the path of personal inquisition as I did and establish the truth for yourself.
“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody will see it.” Mahatma Ghandi
The information involved is beyond the scope of this commentary hence kindly allow me to extend a few resources that could be of help should you choose the latter option:
1. http://www.fdrs.org : Learn more on the banking history, money creation while disecting the fractional reserve banking system and watch a presentation named capitalists conspiracy that attempts to explain the role of money and banking in the larger scheme of things.
2. ( http://conspiracyrealitytv.com/conspiracy-quotes/ ) Read some thought provoking quotes from world leaders on money and banking some of which I have included in this commentary.
3. dprogram.net access the following streaming movies and more that you will never see on mainstream media.
a. Money as Debt: An animation film that reveals the fractional reserve banking fraud and its wealth transfer effect from the masses to a small banking cartel.
b. Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve: A very informative film giving the history of money and banking right to the contemporary times, the metamorphosis of the system and its effects.
c. America Freedom to Fascism: A film by Aron Russo who set out to establish if there was law requiring Americans to pay a tax on their income only to discover something more treacherous.
May I attempt to give you a snap shot of what you will establish.
“The drive of the Rockefellers and their allies is to create a one-world government combining super capitalism and Communism under the same tent, all under their control… Do I mean conspiracy? Yes, I do. I am convinced there is such a plot, international in scope, generations old in planning, and incredibly evil in intent.” –Congressman Larry P. McDonald, 1976, killed in the Korean Airlines 747 that was shot down by the Soviets.
A conspiracy is well underway to consolidate the world into a one world government. The government is reigning in on the populace with feudalistic fascism system coated with propaganda. At the moment the conspiracy is supported by two major pillars, ever expanding big governments in terms of sweeping powers and money control.
All this is shrouded by secrecy but not because these globalist are vigilant. No!! On the contrary they are actually blatantly audacious. It is simply because of the masses incredulity, ignorance, apathy and lack of inquisition.
“We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.” –James Paul Warburg 1950 to the U.S. Senate
“For more than a century, ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as “internationalists” and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.” –David Rockefeller from his own memoirs.
“We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nation will accept the New World Order.” –David Rockefeller
Solution??
Our situation begs for one to ask who am I. Once you know who you really are then you will understand your purpose and resources at your disposal.
Kindly may I recommend a book by Eckhart Tolle titled The Power of Now that I find has made a very good attempt at shedding more light on this.
[Reply]
Sunny, I need to make a small correction on the leads I gave for those who wish to do a personal inquiry to establish truth on banking.
Further I noticed that the site I recommended http://dprogram.net/ is quite cluttered and could be confusing for a new user hence I will provide direct hyperlinks to the streaming videos.
1.Money as Debt: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279 An animation film that reveals the fractional reserve banking and central banking fraud and its wealth transfer effect from the masses to a small banking cartel.
2.The Money Masters: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936 a very informative film giving the history of money and banking from the times of old right to our contemporary times. The metamorphosis of the system and its effects.
3.Fiat Empire: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5232639329002339531 reveals the fraud of central banking and fractional reserve system and it’s far reaching effects of wealth transfer effectively converting the masses unwittingly to slaves. The official homage is http://www.fiatempire.com/
4.America Freedom to Fascism: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936 A film by Aaron Russo who set out to establish if there was law requiring Americans to pay a tax on their income only to discover something more treacherous.
“Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits”.- Sir Josiah Stamp President of the Bank of England in the 1920’s, the second richest man in Britain
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