Friday, January 29, 2010
Smelly Quote
"When you hate someone, even his shadow stinks; if you love, even his fart smells good."
Alex Kee, 29Jan2010
Friday, December 25, 2009
Green Money
Reflecting on the November 2008 Global Financial Crisis made me research the origins of the US monetary and financial system and the uncovered facts, were to state the least: utmost illuminating!
The US Dollar, a.k.a. "Greenback" were IOUs (I Owe yoU) empowered by the Constitution to the Government of the day by the people, to issue payments for goods and services rendered.
There is not a need to borrow money with or without usury and then pay for goods and services rendered to the people through the Government, because the Government is precisely the people and it does not make sense to pay usury to private bankers when the Government is empowered by Law (the Constitution) to print legal tender money.
When Abraham Lincoln is President, he paid for goods and services rendered to the Government by printed Greenbacks and the Greenbacks were then used by the people who received them to buy other goods and services for other people and through this, money is circulated into the economy and the economy expanded.
These were "fiat" money, that is money issued in faith, without the backing of any gold, precious metal or even borrowings.
While the primary fear of fiat money is its continuous store of value and public acceptability, its integrity is not so much its intrinsic but confidence value.
In times past, tokens ranging from stones to corrie shells and even common table salt (that is where the term 'salary' originated) were used as money.
Usury burdens the borrower and it makes no sense that the Government, who is the collective "people" should indebt the people through borrowed money to finance projects that are needed by the people, when the Government is empowered by Law to manufacture as much money as they need to govern the people.
Borrowing from private bankers to finance Government projects for the benefit of the people will only enrich the private bankers at the expense of the people, burdening them with higher taxes to pay off the usury charged by the private banking entrepreneurs.
Printing money to pay for goods and services rendered to the people under the Government auspices, per se, will not drive up inflation, provided there are idling resources waiting for capital to stimulate their sustainable exploitation.
What drives inflation is when too much money is chasing after too few goods and services.
If the economy is undergoing recession because there is not enough money around, either because people do not have the money and/or or too cautious to spend, it is time for the Government to prime the pump by printing money and spending on projects that will benefit the people.
Only Governments have the right to print money and this power can be used for good or evil.
If deployed for good, the printing of money, unbacked by gold or even borrowings is not only benign; but necessary and beneficial.
The last thing the people want is an economy with not enough money when money could merely be printed by the Government with the backing of gold or the Government indebt the people with borrowings from private bankers to spend for the benefit of the people.
I say, plagiarizing Oliver Cromwell, "Melt down all the misconceptions and circulate all the needed printed dollars into the Economy"!
The US Dollar, a.k.a. "Greenback" were IOUs (I Owe yoU) empowered by the Constitution to the Government of the day by the people, to issue payments for goods and services rendered.
There is not a need to borrow money with or without usury and then pay for goods and services rendered to the people through the Government, because the Government is precisely the people and it does not make sense to pay usury to private bankers when the Government is empowered by Law (the Constitution) to print legal tender money.
When Abraham Lincoln is President, he paid for goods and services rendered to the Government by printed Greenbacks and the Greenbacks were then used by the people who received them to buy other goods and services for other people and through this, money is circulated into the economy and the economy expanded.
These were "fiat" money, that is money issued in faith, without the backing of any gold, precious metal or even borrowings.
While the primary fear of fiat money is its continuous store of value and public acceptability, its integrity is not so much its intrinsic but confidence value.
In times past, tokens ranging from stones to corrie shells and even common table salt (that is where the term 'salary' originated) were used as money.
Usury burdens the borrower and it makes no sense that the Government, who is the collective "people" should indebt the people through borrowed money to finance projects that are needed by the people, when the Government is empowered by Law to manufacture as much money as they need to govern the people.
Borrowing from private bankers to finance Government projects for the benefit of the people will only enrich the private bankers at the expense of the people, burdening them with higher taxes to pay off the usury charged by the private banking entrepreneurs.
Printing money to pay for goods and services rendered to the people under the Government auspices, per se, will not drive up inflation, provided there are idling resources waiting for capital to stimulate their sustainable exploitation.
What drives inflation is when too much money is chasing after too few goods and services.
If the economy is undergoing recession because there is not enough money around, either because people do not have the money and/or or too cautious to spend, it is time for the Government to prime the pump by printing money and spending on projects that will benefit the people.
Only Governments have the right to print money and this power can be used for good or evil.
If deployed for good, the printing of money, unbacked by gold or even borrowings is not only benign; but necessary and beneficial.
The last thing the people want is an economy with not enough money when money could merely be printed by the Government with the backing of gold or the Government indebt the people with borrowings from private bankers to spend for the benefit of the people.
I say, plagiarizing Oliver Cromwell, "Melt down all the misconceptions and circulate all the needed printed dollars into the Economy"!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Contemplations On the Mandatory Death Sentence
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind", Mahatma Gandhi famously said.
Perhaps, it is because we are spiritually blind that we endorse the reciprocity of sin disguised as deterrent punishment.
Is it logical to chop off the hand of a convicted thief who stole because he needs food to survive and condemn him to seek no other avenues of making a living but to risk his other remaining hand in order to put food into his mouth?
As Mencius puts it, all human beings endeavor to do good, but distractions are a plenty and the onus is on the strong to bear the weak.
Alas, there are few keepers around today, especially brother's keepers.
Let us work towards a more compassionate cultured society.
Progress in civilization had actually digress humanity towards monstrosity.
Let there be Love, Peace and Hope among us, especially at these trying times when almost every known systems seem to be broken!
May 2010 be a better year.
Perhaps, it is because we are spiritually blind that we endorse the reciprocity of sin disguised as deterrent punishment.
Is it logical to chop off the hand of a convicted thief who stole because he needs food to survive and condemn him to seek no other avenues of making a living but to risk his other remaining hand in order to put food into his mouth?
As Mencius puts it, all human beings endeavor to do good, but distractions are a plenty and the onus is on the strong to bear the weak.
Alas, there are few keepers around today, especially brother's keepers.
Let us work towards a more compassionate cultured society.
Progress in civilization had actually digress humanity towards monstrosity.
Let there be Love, Peace and Hope among us, especially at these trying times when almost every known systems seem to be broken!
May 2010 be a better year.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Moral Capitalist: Oxymoron?
This is a conversation between a "classically trained capitalist marketer" and a "reformed capitalist turned environmentalist":
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Thu at 11:15am · · Like / Unlike
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Venture Platform Pte Ltd "Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for. A product is not quality because it is hard to make and costs a lot of money, as manufacturers typically believe. This is incompetence. Customers pay only for what is of use to them and gives them value. Nothing else constitutes quality" Peter Drucker
Friday, November 13, 2009
Repent, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Mega scale solar thermal projects to generate “green electricity” is never going to be feasible because the constraints, limits and ethos are all stacked against it.
The maximum potential amount of solar energy falling on a square meter of land in the wilderness of Australia is 7 or even 8kWh per day.
Assuming a unrealistic 100% energy conversion efficiency rate and stack them against the amortized capital cost (assuming running input cost is zero, what will the cost-performance (returns) be?
Solar energy is not unlimited; it is constrained limits and this is one of the fundamental first principles that we should be aware of, always.
The ethos of converting solar energy into electricity so that we can continue to live our wanton energy guzzling lives and not making inconvenient adjustments to cut down our energy footprint will only get us back to square one.
Indeed, the Earth can supply all of our needs; never our greed.
If we, however, live within the Cycle of Sustainability and Renew-ability, even fossil fuel is a sustainable resource.
Alas, we are all caught up in the hurry to “progress” and “grow” our economies to the detriment of our larger meaning of quality living.
Fellow earthlings, Repent, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle before we reach the tipping point of no return!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A Response to Pure Capitalism
This is my response to:
http://www.myfreedompost.com/2009/11/video-of-jon-voights-speech-in.html
...an extract is stated below:=============================
Source: www.myfreedompost.com
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.4...
==============================
True. Both extremes of Socialism and Capitalism, in fact any "ism" are bound to fail because they are idealistic whereas human economic problems need pragmatic and real solutions. Unless we have more benevolent capitalist like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Colgate, Carnegie and the like, the only face of Capitalism that the People will see will just ... Read Morebe the Ugly. Throughout history, a hungry person is still a dangerous people who will risk the uncertainty of change in the hope of a better tomorrow. When Hope is all that is left, let's hope the change is the right.
==============================
True. Both extremes of Socialism and Capitalism, in fact any "ism" are bound to fail because they are idealistic whereas human economic problems need pragmatic and real solutions. Unless we have more benevolent capitalist like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Colgate, Carnegie and the like, the only face of Capitalism that the People will see will just ... Read Morebe the Ugly. Throughout history, a hungry person is still a dangerous people who will risk the uncertainty of change in the hope of a better tomorrow. When Hope is all that is left, let's hope the change is the right.
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Why do you think companies which encompass responsible manufacturing and end of life disposal issues, are able to sell their services at a higher price?
Corporate and social responsibilities are capitalistic concerns as well.
So do not blame capitalists for doing whatever you deem is harmful to environment.
Are consumers going to pay for it, the market is the final arbiter of it. Capitalists can only follow what the market needs. Contrary to what you may think, they do not dictate what the market needs.