[Posted March 5, 2010]

Riding the Money-Go-Round

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

It's Ponzi

Financial Sense Mar 4, 2010 - GORDON T. LONG

Sultans of Swap

For those of you having troubles understanding any of the above, let me relate a story. I was explaining swaps to a New Yorker who appeared to have no financial background. When I finished my ‘swaps in 100 words or less’ dissertation he simply nodded his head without any questions. He then looked me straight in the eye with a knowing expression and explained. “In New York if I owe the Mob $100 dollars and I can’t pay, but my best friend Bob owes me $100 and hasn’t paid me yet, then Bob owes the mob $100. A swap, right? Well, when the mob collects the $100 from Bob, and Bob now has a broken leg and refuses to ever talk to me again, I still owe the mob $50 for collection fees plus the ‘vig’ on the original $100. The mob is now up $150 and I desperately need more friends. A swap, right – yeh I understand!” go to story

Related:

Our world balances on a sea of debt

Telegraph Darius Guppy Feb 21, 2010 - Clearly, the most crucial part of our scheme is to create a culture of confidence. The bearers of our pieces of paper must feel secure about our ability to convert their paper back into their gold, or real wealth. Best therefore to give names to our institutions such as ‘prudential’, ‘guarantee’, ‘trust’, ‘security’, ‘fidelity’ and so on.”

The reader will appreciate the beauty of the scheme: for now, instead of earning interest on a single piece of paper our banker can earn interest on ten such pieces of paper! Moreover, whilst charging interest on these ten pieces of paper, he has only to pay out a reduced rate of interest on the single gold bar that has been deposited with him!

And, incredibly, this is indeed exactly what happens.

Currently the average fractional reserve requirements for banks amount to under 10% which means that for every dollar (or equivalent) the banks have on deposit they can lend out at least ten such dollars – virtual dollars which they summon from nowhere – and on which they charge interest.

The Bhaktivedantas World Sankirtan Party and Inside Nam Hatta are hosted by Hansadutta das, a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada and trustee of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Participate or learn more about World Sankirtan Party.

Worthless money

Counterfeit and Inflated Money Hansadutta das

The most ruinous practice to the government and the economy is COUNTERFEIT and INFLATED MONEY. Both are a way of CHEATING. BOTH ARE WITHOUT AUTHORITY, because both have no gold backing. Counterfeit money is printed without authorization of the government, therefore worthless, and inflated money is printed by the government but does not have any actual gold reserves to back it up. Therefore it is also worthless. more

These people are demons

Bhagavad-gita 16.13-16, text & purport

TEXTS 13-15
The demoniac person thinks: "So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice." In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.

TEXT 16
Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, one becomes too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and falls down into hell.

PURPORT
The demoniac man knows no limit to his desire to acquire money. That is unlimited. He only thinks how much assessment he has just now and schemes to engage that stock of wealth farther and farther. For that reason, he does not hesitate to act in any sinful way and so deals in the black market for illegal gratification. He is enamoured by the possessions he has already, such as land, family, house and bank balance, and he is always planning to improve them. He believes in his own strength, and he does not know that whatever he is gaining is due to his past good deeds. He is given an opportunity to accumulate such things, but he has no conception of past causes. He simply thinks that all his mass of wealth is due to his own endeavor. A demoniac person believes in the strength of his personal work, not in the law of karma. According to the law of karma, a man takes his birth in a high family, or becomes rich, or very well educated, or very beautiful because of good work in the past. The demoniac thinks that all these things are accidental and due to the strength of his personal ability. He does not sense any arrangement behind all the varieties of people, beauty, and education. Anyone who comes into competition with such a demoniac man is his enemy. There are many demoniac people, and each is enemy to the others. This enmity becomes more and more deep-between persons, then between families, then between societies, and at last between nations. Therefore there is constant strife, war and enmity all over the world.

Each demoniac person thinks that he can live at the sacrifice of all others.

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