I asked a friend once: "How do things get their price?" "The price of something is whatever someone is prepared to pay for it."
A false economy of credit is a house of cards. To me, in my simple way of thinking, money must ultimately come down to some form of barter for labour or resources. I just have the feeling that there are too many parasites, speculators, lifestyle gurus, interior designers, flim-flam and not enough people being rewarded for real work such as manufacture or agriculture - too much service sector. That bartering provides a means of living on the planet, right, at its most fundamental level? I break a leg then I need a medic, I need some food then I need a farmer, I need a house then I need a builder. I give something in return they decide if they need it or not. What happens when two pop music starlets need each other? - on a cruise ship imagine the cry, "someone is about to suffer a major rhythm defect, is there a pop musician in the house?" In times of economic collapse people barter skills or cigarettes. There's then a whole level of life's luxuries that we are willing to pay for - trans fatty acid cream buns, big SUVS, keeping up with the neighbours, sports stars or movie stars that inherently have no value. Therein lies the problem of credit card applications dropping on the doormat. -----Original Message----- From: OrionWorks [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 25 September 2008 18:52 To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [Vo]:Do do do doo. Do do do doo... Sobering and provoking thoughts from Remi, Ed, and Terry. Gives me the shudders. I find it curious that the consumer credit card industry doesn't seem to have been mentioned in this mess, or perhaps I missed that aspect. Considering the huge credit card debt load that our population has accumulated over the years, the practice of enticing customers to borrow more and more money to the point that a significant portion of the population is now barely capable of making payments on the principal, I can't help but wonder if that isn't a significant contributing factor to the mess we are in. I'm constantly receiving credit card offers in the mail, typically two or three a week. They only have one goal: To get me in debt with them. Unfortunately, too many people have done just that. It's absolutely disgusting. I wish there was better regulation of the industry. We will pay for this mess. Answering Remi's prior question, I hold no position in industry or academia. Walking the talk is a highly subjective matter. Having done anything worth recognizing is also a highly subjective matter. And what good works have I personally done? Also highly subjective. It would seem that the older I've gotten, the more I've come to a personal realization that there is so much I don't know, or understand. But it's a start. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
