"Decisions on compensation and other actions taken and not taken, particularly at banks that rapidly lost a lot of shareholder value, look self-serving and greedy in hindsight".
Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd C. Blankfein recently stating that that the "appearance" of greed and self serving may not have been good. It is, however, just the "appearance" of greed and self serving that Chairman Blankfein sees as the problem. The Chairman of Goldman Sachs knows that it was the love of money that made this country what it is today.
It was Ronald Reagan, Milton Freedman, and TV Evangelists like Pat Robertson, Tammy Fae and Jim Baker, and Jimmy Swaggert that taught Americans to really Love Money. It was a marriage made in hell. Free Market big business, or modern day Social Darwinians, and Fundamentalist Christians joined forces in one common interest--money. Together they helped bring about another terrible event in disaster capitalism.
Wait a minute.
Americans have always loved money but over the last several decades it became an all consuming desire brought on by something seemingly more powerful than God--Greed. Or in the view of Fundamentalist Christians, it was the power of greed that served God.
Americans were taught that acting in self serving ways was what nature or God intended us to do. That was the message of our modern day Social Darwinians (Bankers, CEOs, and Market Capitalists) and their partners the Fundamentalist Christians.
Of course, the marriage might seem a bit odd since Social Darwinism believes in Evolution and the Bible believing Christians think that God created everything in 7 days or 6 or 7000 years (I guess we have a choice here).
It all gets confusing, I know. But let me try to explain.
Social Darwinian Big Business believe that humanity improves when there is less charity and only the strong are able to survive. They believe that our government actually interferes with human evolution by setting up welfare and governmental social programs because it allows the weak to live. To Social Darwinians giving to the poor is seen as a bad thing since it goes against competition, takes money away from corporate welfare, and negates the urge to accumulate vast amounts of wealth. The Love of Money is seen as a good thing because it makes people do anything to get it, which is of course a good thing (circular reasoning but it seemed to make sense to Americans).
Greed, according to the Social Darwinians, is what makes the economy and humanity work so well. It is important to note here that Social Darwinians do believe in charitable giving but only when it comes to bailing themselves and their business enterprises out. Still they can argue that they must be bailed out because they are greedy and that makes them special. Also Social Darwinians would like to help evolution along by getting rid of a few billion of the weak but that is another story.
The Bible believing Christians joined forces with the Social Darwinian business interests because they also think that social programs destroy society and they really love money. They don't like the idea of the government helping people survive because "God helps those that help themselves." God is the go to guy when it comes to getting all of the things needed for survival and much more. The Fundamentalists like the idea of the super rich getting super richer because they believe that the obscene rich deserve their fabulous wealth or "God would not have blessed them." To the Fundamentalists, God really likes you if you have a big house and lots of cars. In fact, God really loves your church if it is as big as a Wal-Mart Super Center. They firmly believe that God loves those that really Love money or else he wouldn't have blessed our "Christian Nation."
Now true Bible believing Christians want to make sure God is getting help in getting his "Will" done, so they do everything they can to make sure that the poor remain poor. They will be happy to offer a prayer for the poor (that doesn't cost anything). But when it comes to actually supporting a just society, Fundamentalist Christians will curse those that promote such anti-Christian views.
Fundamentalists see Greed as God ordained. They believe that God made man greedy and that is why we need capitalism. I guess they don't have much faith in Jesus saving anyone or they might be thinking people could respond to something besides greed. They also believe that if you interfere with man's God given right to be Greedy then you interfere with God's chosen economy--Capitalism. God developed capitalism because Jesus died for our sins. Or something like that. I guess it is all right there in the Bible or at least that is what I am told.
However, there is one thing that Fundamentalist Christians don't like and that is to be poor. So they love it when they themselves or members of their immediate family collect their social security or disability checks. But they get awfully unhappy when someone else collects a social security or disability check. That is because fundamentalist Christians are greedy and they see that as a good thing.
The only thing a Fundamentalist Christian loves as much as Jesus is money. Or at least if you really love Jesus then you will get lots and lots of money, they believe.
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