Story 25 Feb 09

Unfortunately I have a bad memory and today could not be bothered looking up what I wrote yesterday. So if the story doesn't fit do not be surprised.

It was unfortunate that Alan Greenspan (the last chairmen of the US federal-reserve), a free-market ideologue, was forced to go through an identity crisis by the American financial meltdown. I shall restrain myself and not mention here anything of the recently departed president Bush.

What is also interesting is comments I heard last night on the radio that denounced the concept of welfare. It was said that to share is to divide, and to grow is to share. To be forced in any way to give your wealth that you have worked so hard for to those who couldn't be bothered getting off their asses and doing something, is an outrageous indignity. Furthermore, it eats away at the free spirit of man and makes him feel like doing nothing at all.

Accepted that the person presenting this argument will not go easily into the category he is so despising. However with such a narrow-minded point of view, one day I wouldn't be surprised if he developed a mind-splitting mental illness. In which case, the character may be unable to work, and probably his stupidity would have meant he had very little savings to rely on. I would argue that there should be the notion of state support, however not for the person in question.

Accepting the obvious merit of his argument, the categories of people in financial hardship is vast. No doubt so many people really do need support in some way for some length of time. Obviously there needs to be a balance. It is good to discourage the quality of laziness that is often so tempting and ruinous of creativity and zest for life. However just the same it is not good to encourage the kind of blind financial obsession that has led to housing-stress, financial crisis, economic crisis, human depression, and possibility economic depression – with hence the possibility of further human depression. It should be noted here that I am not just talking about America. There are many other countries with similar issues, and many more that may follow suit.

However, taking me back to US financial gurus, on the radio this morning the current US federal reserve chairmen said that if all the stabilising and kick-starting measures actually work, then things will get better soon. However if they don't work, then guess what, things won't be getting better soon. Wow, thanks guru Ben, I don't suppose that president Obama was planning for his plans not to work!!!

That concludes the story for today.