natty_dread wrote:BigBallinStalin wrote:Isn't the term "greed" a bit misleading? Too much of a negative connotation because it implies that profit-seekers are all motivated by pure self-interest. Is it truly greedy to strive toward earning more money in order to provide more opportunities for your kids? Or to pay off school loans? Or secure more money from donors?
How much money do you need for your kids? Sure, you can justify wanting to give your kids a decent home, food, education etc. but at what point is the excess just... well, excess?
Greed is a misleading term. "Greed
isgood" as Gecko said. Even excess is good, because without it, wed all be living in bushes and caves. There is no such thing as excess, because when you define that, you restrict freedom which is simply insane. Its also completely subjective in every way imaginable.
Greed is bad however, when it results in breaking laws and rules or corrupting the entire political system. That is the type of greed that people refer to even subconsciously when they use the term, or should. It is the greed that inspires illegal acts, illegal pollution, and corruption. The greed that results in illegal acts, illegal pollution and corruption. It is that greed that must be punished accordingly and is so frequently ignored, which enables more greedy acts of corruption to flourish.
Never punish greed, only punish unlawful acts. That is why we have set up the legal system, and actually enforcing it, instead of allowing the greedy to get away with actual crimes against it, which is the real problem. If greedy lawbreakers are held accountable for their actions, they will be no less greedy, but they will most likely be more law abiding, and we have plenty of laws that could have protected us against this crisis, had they been adhered to, and regulated.
The people that are to blame on wall street are not hard working people that happen to make lots of money. They are just ordinary people doing what everyone does and should be praised for their hard work. Actually, they should be in the streets with the rest of the people who are fed up with the real problem that contributed greatly to this crisis which was outright fraud.
If a doctor suggests you use his medication and earns a profit from that, when he knows it is toxic, and will cause harm, he is guilty of fraud. If a wall street firm suggested their clients they buy an asset, and knew it was toxic, they made billions of dollars, but is just as guilty of fraud.
Now, if the doctor truly believes that medication was good, that certainly is not fraud, unless he was telling his family and friends to stay away from it at all costs because it was toxic, clearly it was. That is what companies in wall street did. They told some clients to buy, based on their recommendation as experts, and told all close to them to avoid them. That is fraud. Its punishable by law, and if even dozens were charged and penalized, it could have helped reduce the amount in the future, but instead, the "crisis" made an environment where people were too afraid, and perhaps rightfully so to start throwing greedy lawbreakers into prison, especially since they were the ones crafty enough to take all the money first. So instead, all sins were forgiven, and our country was held ransom and we paid it, and again, perhaps rightfully so.
However, no the dust has settled and people understand exactly what happened and they are mad. Some dont fully understand the situation and think all rich people are the problem, but the majority very much have a real complaint, and they have the courage to stand up for that complaint, and are no doubt, trying to make the world, if not the planet a better place. History may very well call them heros. They may also call them quacks, but history is simply written by the winners so it in many ways is irrelevant.
To condemn a public meeting of Americans is Unamerican. It is the one, if not only power we have. Freedom of speech. I have no idea if they are correct, but I support, and admire their courage to voice their opinion.
Or at the funeral home... 
