A cartoon of Edward Sorel reproduced in ‘ The Coming Economic Armageddon ’ by David Jeremiah (www.landmarkonthenet.com) is titled ‘The Four Horsemen of the Wall St. Apocalypse. “The cartoon pictures skeletons riding four horses in a wild stampede over the ruins of the New York Stock Exchange. Each skeleton is labelled with one of the four heart attitudes that contributed to our current financial situation: mendacity, stupidity, arrogance, and greed,” describes Jeremiah, before delving into a discussion of each of these qualities.
Rampant deception
The author opens the ‘mendacity’ (or deception) section by ruing that almost every day we read or hear of identity theft, mail fraud, hoaxes, pyramid schemes, extortions, and rip-offs. “Many of these scams are directed at the elderly, and authorities tell us that in times of economic uncertainty these crimes increase exponentially.”
Cautions Jeremiah that deception is rampant today not only among scammers and con men but also in business corporations, as when a major automobile manufacturer hides a flaw in its cars’ acceleration mechanism to avoid a massive recall. “Deception is rife in our own government and media as leaders and reporters spin the negative elements out of their explanations of political agenda, hiding costs and consequences in order to sell programmes that increase their power.”
Phantom earnings
As for stupidity (or foolishness, mindlessness, irrationality), the author cites the case of Bernie Madoff, who was reported to have stolen $65 billion from his investors, while in reality the total amount of money invested with Madoff was around $20 billion. “The $65 billion includes the false profit - the phantom earnings that were reported to the investors each month, which they were led to think was their growing wealth.”
The story gets stupid, in Jeremiah’s view, when the investors paid taxes on their supposed earnings, the money that never existed. “Some of the victims are trying to get their tax money back from the government – the only apparent beneficiary of Madoff’s scam. But filing under ‘theft deductions,’ as currently allowed by the IRS, they will be fortunate to recover a dime for every dollar they paid in taxes.”
Money power
In the section on ‘arrogance,’ the author counsels the wealthy that they should not let their riches be their life. Do not let your possessions be what you live for, do not allow your riches to make you haughty and arrogant, as if your wealth makes you superior to those who do not have it, he guides.
Alerting that money can give a person a certain amount of power and control over others – be they employees, vendors, debtors, or the community – Jeremiah reminds that power can tend to corrupt. “It can go to one’s head and lead him to assume a sense of superiority that leads to arrogant disregard for the rights, wants, and needs of others.” The alternative to such an all-too-common response to wealth is to do good with the wealth; for, the new global economy envisioned by the author would not prevail against the person who is rich in good works.
Ever-increasing craving
The author finds a simple definition of greed in ‘ The Screwtape Letters ’ of C. S. Lewis, as ‘an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure.’ Jeremiah frets that as people become dissatisfied with their houses, cars, and other possessions, their craving grows beyond their means until their personal economy both reflects the nature of the national economy and contributes to it. “Thus they become a part of the collapsing financial system.”
He also sees greed in the fat bonuses paid by bailed out banks to Wall Street executives. Alas, that is the unfortunate cost of doing business there because these were the executives with the talent to lead the companies back into profitability, adds Jeremiah.
Despite the grim scenario depicted by the cartoon, it is on a note of hope that the author wraps up the ‘horsemen’ discussion, by exhorting individuals to steer clear of these four destructive attitudes. “Not only will we retain peace in the midst of turmoil, we will stand as beacons to others who by our example may be drawn out of the current economic frenzy,” he assures.
For a reflective read.
