Problems in the U.S. Critical Sectors – Monetary & Banking, Energy, Healthcare, Food, and Government – The Cause
In the previous blog, Problems in U.S. Critical Sectors – Monetary & Banking, Energy, Healthcare, Food Production, and Government – An Analysis - the major economic sectors critical to the survival of a modern day society were identified and their long term problems addressed. These sectors include: monetary & banking system, energy production, healthcare, food production, and water distribution. It was also noted that a stable and reliable government free of corruption is necessary to ensure proper legislation and regulation. Finally, it was pointed out that if problems in these sectors remain unresolved they can have serious long term consequences for our economy even changing the lifestyles that all Americans have grown accustomed to.
Problems in these sectors are becoming obvious even to the general public. The causes are numerous but largely reside in a significant resistance to change from those who seek to maintain the status quo. This is understandable since it generates massive profits and wealth. These influentialindividuals and their associated special interests constitute many of our nation’s wealthiest investors and largest Multi National Corporations (MNC’s). They believe they have the expertise, resources, and global exposure necessary to ride out any detrimental scenario the future may bring, but what about the other 99% of Americans? Can they expect to turn to a government which has demonstrated repeatedly a definite lack of political will to realistically deal with any of these concerns? Campaign contributions and the best lobbyists’ money can buy guarantee it otherwise.
The real cause, the one underlying the resistance to change revolves around a new philosophy that has evolved over the past several decades, one that has replaced the American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and redefined what success and achievement means in our society. In truth, this philosophy is not new; it has been with humanity since recorded history. It is a belief system that promotes selfish individual / group gain and achievement over all else, and has little regard for long term public or environmental consequences. In today’s world its mantra is “economic growth at any cost”, and it favors and rewards those who strive for profit maximization, wealth generation, and the influential connections to political power that ensure ongoing control. The cause has many names greed, avarice, selfishness, and mammon – it is the love for money above all other things, and seeks power to ensure that goal. People and resources become numbers on a balance sheet. Decisions to pursue profit and guarantee a return on investment (material wealth) can then be justified and even encouraged despite however much damage may be done.
Since World War 2 the US has experienced massive growth and most Americans have prospered, at least up until recently. Our country came out of World War 2 with an immense manufacturing base due to the war effort, and we were one of the few developed countries not straddled with large scale reconstruction costs. We rapidly became an economic powerhouse with readily available access to natural resources. The pie expanded for all. Now, large MNC’s view the U.S. as a country in its maturity phase, consuming more than it produces, relying on debt that because of fiscal irresponsibility is becoming more restrictive and more difficult to obtain from International debtors. The pie is growing much slower. However, large influential financial institutions, MNC’s, and investor groups still demand increasing profits and substantial returns on their investments in order to meet their growth models and expectations, and they are getting them by any means necessary.
The result of these actions has been a shrinking proportion of “pie” for Main Street America. This is evident by a decade of stagnant wages, a relatively jobless recovery, having to bear the brunt of a financial collapse that bailed out the very players that created it, and a growing polarization of wealth towards the upper 1%. Warren Buffet one of our nation’s most successful investors has stated accurately that the current rising tide is raising only the yachts. To make matters worse large MNC’s are looking towards what they believe are the more profitable growing economies and emerging markets of Asia. We can all sense that something is wrong in our country with our growing debt, increasing inflation, and a lack of faith in our political parties, but we are not sure what we can do.
Einstein declared that it is impossible to solve major problems with the mindset that created them. Yet that is exactly what continues to take place and the result has been a further entrenchment into the very systems causing the problems. Our aforementioned critical sectors are more than just profit maximizing engines for big corporations and the wealthy; they are the required foundations of our modern society.
Maximizing profits and increasing investor wealth are institutions of American capitalism and have helped raise the country to where it is. But in our critical sectors it is beginning to limit progress and keep the country locked in archaic systems that are not only proving to be unsustainable but could result in a rapid decline of these sectors all at once. While the current paradigms are certainly financially beneficial to a select few, that benefit is not shared with the public. Quite the contrary, Americans are reeling from increasing costs and may soon have to prematurely deal with a tipping point that could result in an economic downturn even more severe than what we recently faced. The reality is that the playing field is no longer fair. Those with wealth and power have too much control over legislation, and that legislation is creating an environment that not only restricts the necessary change in our critical sectors, on a larger scale it is degrading the middle classes.
American’s are now being confronted with the reality that infinite growth and unsustainable debt models do not work in finite systems, and that an increased concentration of wealth into the upper 1% is taking away the very thing that makes America great, opportunity for all. We are allowing the insatiable appetite some have attained for profits and wealth to get the better of us as a nation. It is time for some of us to set aside the desire for personal gain and focus on more important things like fixing our critical sectors.
The greatest teachers and spiritual leaders of our past have all warned us against this type of belief system and what would happen when it is left unchecked.
Jesus Christ said “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Meaning that if the love for money is all one is concerned about then all actions regardless of the consequences to others can be justified. Are we not seeing evidence of this today?
The Hindu Avatar, Krishna stated in the Bhagavad Gita – “A person with demoniac tendencies thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more”. Buddha said in the Samyutta Nikaya. – “Were there a mountain all made of gold, doubled that would not be enough to satisfy a single man: know this and live accordingly.”
In these passages and many others are references and warnings about the addiction to wealth, how it cannot be satiated, and how we can lose our compassion and the very essence of what makes us human when the desire for personal gain takes over.
Over the next few years the issues facing our society need to be realistically addressed, hopefully by people with the vision and courage to step beyond the selfish profit maximizing goals of today. Our critical systems have for to long only been driven and motivated by personal gain and ambition. Protecting profits and individual wealth is limiting our society’s ability to move beyond the unsustainable systems in our critical sectors. It may be time to assess our current form of capitalism as it applies to our critical sectors and realize that these sectors aren’t sustainable and need to be pulled back to their entrepreneurial roots.
In the next blog, the effects of the current systems in our critical sectors on the American people will be discussed.