From the article: Causes of Economic Recession
In the 1980s movie Wall Street, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko said "Greed Is Good." Can the Great Recession be traced to Michael Milkin,Ivan Boesky, Carl Icahn - Wall Street traders upon whom the movie was based? Is the right wing, "leave us alone" ethic the cause all of this greed? Or is the left wing, "tax and spend" mentality the cause of our current economic situation? Or is the human drive for more - greed itself - the primary cause of bubbles that inevitably lead to recessions? What Do You Think?
what causes greed?
- The seven deadly sins: lust,gluttony,greed,sloth,wrath,envy,pride. Take a look at our current culture. How many of these sins are commonly broken and accepted. The core of our problems lie with "progressive culture" that does not like to "judge" others. Net result, people no longer feel pressure to be good. Many choose not to be. Nobody has taught them why.
- —Guest snorch
GREED GOOD?
- Not in a Christian Home or nation. It is anti-Christ. I love to see Tax & Spend Liberals. Funny! 1980 three Conservaitve Pridnets did this over 20 years of Spend & Borrow Took 600B Budget to3600 Took 1000B Debt to 10,000B Took 240B Surplus to 1400B Deficit Took 218,000 new job per month creation to 99,000. Took a Peaceful nation into 10 foreign conflicts Smashed a Housing Industry Smashed a Banking Industry Smashed a Middle Class Vote for anti Christ Smash Party Vote for anti America Smash Party Vote for anti World Smash Party
- —Guest CLARENCE SWINNEY
is greed good?
- Long-term, rational, self interest is good. Short-term semi-rational self interest is dangerous. Short-term greed is stupid. Long-term greed is self-defeating. Long term, calculated greed (truly rational and effective from the perspective of the truly, if well-intentioned, greedy) is nonetheless evil. A balance of short-term self-interest (short of greed) and calculated, rational, enlightened, long-term self interest is (at least) potentially moral and effective, public policy. {Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." He was not advocating the acceptance of poverty, certainly not the creation of more poor. Rather he was making a simple comparison between short-term, critical, support for a (human) friend and mentor (Jesus) who is experiencing a short-term sacrifice, unlike any other, serving a long-term good. For me this is not primarily a moral, or religious perspective. It simply seems wise and effective.
- —Guest ltg
Greed is not just the desire to succeed.
- Of course greed isnt good. In certain situations it might be viewed as a good thing. To the people competing for jobs, they 'need' to be greedy. To the nations competing for status and power, they 'need' to be greedy. But when civilisation is viewed holistically greed is definately a bad thing. It is greed itself that reduces the efficiency of the economy. when every individual is working to ensure they prosper more that the other, and taking steps to reduce their opponents progress then they both drag eachother down, thus reducing the efficiency of the same machine which they both inevitably have to be a part of. Only when we as a race can realise the self destructive nature of our hierarchical competitive ideoligies will we begin to improve our standards of living. But the fist step towards this way of living can never imaginably be taken unless civilisation is firstgrinded to a devastating halt. So for now mankind lives in a recursive system that is both driven by and incites greed.
- —Guest swaids
Avarice
- The popular right wing plea, "why play the blame game?" is the default position Conservatives take in defense of avarice. The history books clearly state that a straight line can be traced from Michael Milkin and Ronald Reagan's comprehensive deregulation of America's financial industry,including eventual repeal of Glass-Steagall, to our current Sub Prime dilemma, leaving little doubt about why the world is in this financial Intensive Care Unit. Avarice and closeted racism prevail in the Republican party. With the media under the control of Fox's Rupert Murdock, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, "our goal is to make sure he is a one term president" Mitch McConnell and weepy SOH John Boehner, President Obama needs all the help and cunning he can get.
- —Guest GAR
Heck yeah!
- Greed was a big part of the bubble that caused the recession. As Gordon Gekko says in "Money Never Sleeps," everyone had greed. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford, cashed in their home equity to buy TVs, etc. The economy was based on debt - which we've now got plenty of!
- —Guest Cre8iveForce
