Spirit of Mammon Threatens Future

It may be a sign of the End of Days, or it may just be a harbinger of the hard times to come, but the ongoing financial scandals, corruption and culture of greed in this country threaten to bring down the way of life we've enjoyed for many years.

Bernie Madoff is just a poster guy for what's endemic in the financial system of this country. Not only have brokers, traders, bankers and other capitalists taken advantage of loose laws, but they've kept their attitude of making a profit at all costs to such a degree that people continue to lose homes, businesses keep going under because they can't get credit and the jobs market is still poor -- and could worsen before improving. The usurious bank fees and credit card rates remain more oppressive than ever. The banks' actions make Enron's escapades seem like child's play.

I'm reminded of all of this, once again, after reading a New York Times article on Goldman Sachs, one of the worst in-your-face examples of an institution that sneers at the public as it rakes it the cash. Their brokers are among the richest in the world, and their devil-may-care attitude is part and parcel of the lack of compassion and selfish motivations that will be their ultimate undoing as well.

Meanwhile, the government program meant to help people keep their homes is a complete failure, according to a story in The New York Times today. This means the waves of foreclosures will continue and the construction industry will remain dead in the water.

The truth is that unless the $700 trillion in derivatives -- the biggest financial pyramid scheme ever -- is wiped away and the slate is made clean, there will be no economic stability in this country. The cascading collapses will continue, in between period of false profits. The amount of unbacked securities adds up to $2.8 million per person in the United States or $116,000 for every man, woman and child in the world.

The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil, and so the financial world confirms this, to the nth degree, ad nausem.