NOBLESSE OBLIGE

noblesse oblige [no-bless oh-bleezh] Noun Often ironic the supposed obligation of the nobility to be honourable and generous [French, lit: nobility obliges]

In this instance, the reference is to the modern nobility, the obscenely rich.

Let us begin.

First, take a deep breath.

Now we can begin to untangle this needlessly complex construct of economic legerdemain.

I must start by saying with absolute sincerity that it is not my intention to be facetious or condescending. I am a simple person with a rather simple mind (and certain that many will seize that opportunity to display their own ignorance). I err as we all do, the preceding sentence being an outstanding example. Now the invitation is open for the ranters, ravers and jingoists who would have come in any case. Some may feel that the following opinion is simplistic. I would counter that the subject being discussed has been, through artifice and with malicious intent, made ridiculously convoluted and esoteric. It has always been my practice whenever possible to adhere to the K.I.S.S. principle. I suppose there may be a few who are unfamiliar with this acronym so I will elaborate. My preference has always been the cruder version, which is "Keep It Simple, Stupid". Keeping that in mind, let us talk about "economics".

The Birth of a New Religion

Begin with two columns of numbers. One column contains the amount you have earned. The second column contains the amount you have spent. At the end of the quarter, week, month, year or whatever period you prefer, you add up these two columns and compare the totals. If all has gone well, the total you have earned will be greater than the total you have spent. That is economics in its entirety. All other products, derivatives, formulas, all manner of obscure jargon and outright chicanery are nothing more than the machinations of a long line of thieves and swindlers that can be traced back at least to ancient Egypt. The advent of what is known as "Representative Money" was probably the seed that grew into the monstrous weed called free market capitalism, which is now strangling the entire planet. It is the religion of those who worship Mammon.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/economics/discpapr/DP0102-08.pdf

"Overvaluation did not depend on coinage. Banking is one form of such representative money. In the ancient empires of Egypt, Babylon, India and China, the temples and palaces represented important centers of production and they quickly became the centers of storage of grains and the precious metals, typically under the control of palace administrators and the priesthood. When commodities were thus accepted in the centralized warehouses, it would have been natural for the stewards of the palaces to issue some kind of certificate of deposit that would certify the evidence of debt. Probably these certificates from the temple-banks would be readily accepted in generally payments and could circulate as a form of (overvalued) money."

The evidence is much clearer for the goldsmith bankers of seventeenth century England.

http://freedom-school.com/truth/10/missing13th.htm

Sir Josiah Stamp, president of the Bank of England and the second richest man in Britain in the 1920's, speaking at the University of Texas in 1927

"The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented."

"The goldsmith bankers quickly succumbed to the temptation to issue "extra" notes, (unbacked by gold). Why? Because the "extra" notes enriched the bankers by allowing them to buy property with notes for gold that they did not own, gold that did not even exist."

http://www.mind-trek.com/reports/tl17a.htm

Congressman Wright Patman of Texas

"In other words, the goldsmith wrote receipts for people who were not depositing gold. These receipts too circulated as money. So receipts for more gold than the banker actually had in his vaults were circulating. The goldsmith had only a fraction of the amount of gold needed to meet the claims [receipts] against him. They were issuing $10 in receipts for each $1 in gold. This is the fractional reserve system..."

So, here we have the beginnings of the shenanigans that have metamorphosed into unbridled corporatocracy, globalization, free market capitalism and all the rest of the deep "economic" shit we now find ourselves in, up to our collective nostrils. The stench has finally become insufferable.

For centuries, greedy individuals have been manipulating, conjuring and creating "economies" out of nothing but their own greed. Today we are confronted with virtually immortal "corporate persons" acting in the same felonious manner but with nearly infinite resources and without constraint by any governing agency. Instead of impacting only a few villages, townships and perhaps several hundred or a thousand people, they are laying waste to most of the Earth and bringing poverty, suffering and death to millions. For the first time, feudalism has attained global proportions. Few people seem willing or able to accept or even acknowledge the magnitude of the damage this pursuit of personal aggrandizement is causing.

All this deceit, chicanery and economic hocus pocus falls under the purview of a priesthood, Libertarians, Capitalists, Corporatists, that has sold the religion of the "Free Market" to a very large percentage of the world population. They literally worship money and power. It is their goal to "convert" everyone to their particular brand of devotionalism. All that is required from the members of the "flock" is the surrender of all their worldly goods, their dignity and personal freedom in exchange for a glorious life of servitude to the almighty Market.

The acolytes of Mammon like to speak in awe of the mystic powers of the "Invisible Hand of the Market". This magical hand, which is currently crushing the American middle class and strangling the global economy, is alleged by its proponents to be capable of curing any and all economic woes provided it is never interfered with. No matter what gruesome events may unfold from time to time, not to worry. As long as the hand is left unslapped, all will be well in the end. Simply put, let the wealthy, or nobility, do whatever they please and they promise that everyone will benefit. It was called Noblesse Oblige back in the day. There is, however, one rather large, noisome fly in this illusory ointment. The success of the plan hinges on the flawed assumption that the nobility are, in fact, noble. A quick review of history as it pertains to the rise and fall of nearly every empire that has ever existed will give a clear picture of how well that particular strategy has worked. Centuries of evidence prove that the direct opposite is true. The unrestrained acquisition of wealth inevitably leads to systemic failure of the society in point and/or bloody rebellion. It always results in untold suffering and death for large numbers of people.

http://plus.maths.org/issue14/features/smith/

When Adam Smith conceived it, the invisible hand was to be an instrument of incidental benevolence. Sadly, it has not quite worked out the way Mr. Smith envisioned it. Many of his assumptions were flawed or based on a "perfect world" where the honesty and integrity of individuals involved in "industry" was above reproach. Oddly enough, Mr. Smith was perfectly aware of such shortcomings as greed and dishonesty.

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

Nevertheless, he put forth his theory as if he expected god to intervene in bringing about his perfect world.

"Smith was profoundly religious, and saw the "invisible hand" as the mechanism by which a benevolent God administered a universe in which human happiness was maximised."

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Invisible.htm

Unfortunately, today's conservatives have corrupted the meaning of Smith's term. They use it to suggest that the pursuit of self-interest in the economy will always (or almost always) result in group benefit, and that individuals should feel free to pursue it.

This brings us, at last, to the tax wealthfare payments that George W. Bush has bestowed upon his favorite kind of people, rich white folks, not to mention monolithic mega-corporate persons. That a few members of some other ethnic groups may have benefited is purely incidental and unintentional. The Bush wealthfare swindle is allegedly the realization of Adam Smiths' vision or so we are expected to believe. In actuality, it is something quite different. It goes something like this.

K.I.S.S.

Take money from people who barely have enough to get by and give it to people who already have more money than they could spend in five lifetimes. This will encourage the second group to invest in new businesses that will employ the first group and enable them to earn back the money that was taken from them in the first place. Even if this made any sense, it assumes that group two will do a specific thing, which, in fact, they rarely do. Most often greed increases exponentially to the amount of wealth accumulated. If you give money to the rich, they will use it only to make themselves richer with no thought of ANY other goal. If that means investing the capital in a foreign market where labor is cheaper, that is what they will do. They will do anything to assure that their wealth continues to grow endlessly no matter how much they have or what consequences befall others as a result. When American labor has been forced to accept the same wages and working conditions as those in China or the Philippines, only then will the worshippers of Mammon bring their factories back to the U.S. and hire American workers.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_27/b3739133.htm

"The average percentage gain in aftertax income for those in the top 1% will be about three times larger than the gain for those in the middle, and about seven times larger than for those in the bottom 20%."

Are the Bush wealthfare tax cuts beneficial? You bet, to a very small percentage of the population. His rich white buddies. Would you not just love to sit down and have a beer with that guy?

This welfare program for the ultra-rich should be stopped immediately and that would just be the start.

Learn.

http://members.shaw.ca/theultimatescam/index.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0102-05.htm

http://jtoddring.blogspot.com/2008/02/money-banks-and-democracy.html

http://politicsofmoney.net/banking1.htm

http://cardhouse.com/2008/mar25.htm

http://www.depression2.tv/d2/comment/reply/42/181

http://www.webofdebt.com/excerpts/introduction.php

That, as they say, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.