As a consultant technically on my last couple of weeks notice from my main (banking) client, I still say that the banks are only doing what their customers want them too, and are NOT inherently evil.
One real problem is people speculating on properties instead of just living in them. Without that there probably wouldn't be most of the credit crunch in the US (and UK) right now. And then spending the equity that they don't really have...
Another real problem is wasteful conspicuous consumption. Strangely, none of the very rich but hardworking people that I know well, including bankers and lawyers, throw their money around wastefully as much as stereotypes would suggest, or at least not while I'm watching. It irks me that if the richest lawyer I know could make do with a decade+ old car and equally old clothes, why people claiming to be poor feel they have to spend money they don't have on designer trainers more expensive than any footwear that I've ever owned for example. Celeb culture sets a bad example.
One of the reasons that I think RE is the right way to go is that it forces people to waste less. Needless waste angers me. Without any religious angle at all I see my role as a steward of limited resources, and I want to leave the world a better place in as many ways as possible when I go. And not by being miserable wearing sackcloth and ashes either.
Rgds
Damon
[ Parent ]
