'Tis the season to make money, Fa La La La La, la la la la.....
(At least for some people, not the workers that's for sure)
A confluence of events this week. The Pope called for a "global economic system that puts people and not 'an idol called money' at its heart, Followed by Black Friday, the capitalists' wet dream where money meets desperation in this broken economy.
It is really a sad commentary on our economic system when our economic strength as a Country (capital C) rides on a religious holiday, built on the teachings of a guy who gave away all his shit? WTF?
Of course there are the usual
random vids of violence at these events to celebrate a holiday based on the birth of a man who loved his neighbor as himself, turned the other cheek, and told the money-changers to get out of the temple.
Conservatives have no clue as to who he really was. In their conservative bubble, the real Jesus has been left behind... like an
Education Program that I remember...
Republican Jesus...
But, this guy seems to have a clue:
"Pope Francis has hit out at unbridled capitalism and the "cult of money", calling for ethical reform of the financial system to create a more humane society."
"In an impassioned appeal, the Argentinian pontiff said politicians needed to be bold in tackling the root causes of the economic crisis, which he said lay in an acceptance of money's "power over ourselves and our society".
"We have created new idols," he said in a speech in the Vatican. "The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."
Attacking unchecked capitalism, the pope said the growing inequality in society was caused by "ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good".
... Ethics, he said, were too often dismissed as a nuisance. "There is a need for financial reform along ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit everyone," he said. "Money has to serve, not to rule."
But, can I still get my tax-break on my ridiculously expensive "Business Expense"?
Oh yes, the Church Exemption taxes thingy... but that's another post for another day...
