On Wed, November 2, 2011 12:09, Craig Lalley wrote:
> I think the key is to be diligent in monitoring your bank.
>

While the phrase Caveat Emptor may resonate with some it
bears consideration that a astonishingly small percentage
of the world's population possess the practical means to
perform such close monitoring, especially with respect to
banks / lenders. Even those that have the means often have
limited choices as an alternative to resigned acceptance
of poor treatment.

Further, most of us are conditioned from childhood to
respect, defer to and trust in authority, particularly in
matters of money.  Banks are regulated by governments for
the specific purpose of engendering public trust so as to
support economic activity and wealth generation. Consider
that a banknote has exactly the value that one believes it
has and then only to the extent that someone else shares
ones belief.  That is how fundamental commonly shared
trust is to the present economic system.

Therefore I find it hard to accept that after such
extensive efforts are made to produce conformity in
thought individuals are then expected to simply throw this
conditioning off on specific occasions and act contrary to
how they have been taught.  This is simply not a
reasonable expectation.

However, whatever Wall Street or The City would prefer us
believe, greed is not good and it is listed among the
seven deadly sins with reason.  Social conditioning only
works while the basis premise of fairness is maintained.
What ever else it may be greed, by definition, is never
fair.

I have no doubt that the governing classes are well
compensated, directly or indirectly, to maintain the
current comfortable, not to say cozy, world-wide financial
(non)regulatory environment.  However, the fact is that
ultimately those whom govern us depend upon, not the
banks' money, but our acceptance of their legitimacy to
sustain their privileged positions.  There are but a
handful of banks but millions of citizens.

Cynicism has its place.  However, that is no excuse not to
use the political tools still in our possession to effect
change.  Write and complain. Encourage others to do
likewise.  Do not stop.  As the old saying goes, "Bad men
need nothing more to compress their ends than that the
good men should look on and do nothing" (John Stuart Mill,
_On Education_).

Written complaints to elected officials are all read and
considered, however perfunctorily. Voluminous written
complaints are necessarily given serious attention because
of the personal risk they pose to the comfortable position
of the recipient. Persistent voluminous complaints
inevitably produce serious attempts at effecting change if
only to preserve the privileges of those who receive them.

The 99% / Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement is on to
something long known if presently somewhat unfashionable.
Peaceful PERSISTENT protest is ultimately irresistible. If
such resistance to institutionalized mistreatment can
bring down brutal dictatorships and repressive
totalitarian regimes how then can a financial institution,
or any number of financial institutions, hope to prevail
against it in a free and open democratic society? One can
change many things if one is willing to first act and
thereafter persevere.

The U.S. is entering an election year with the presidency
at stake.  If the OWS movement sustains itself through
this winter of discontent then they can have no other but
a powerful influence on the coming political discussion.
It is a time ripe with possibilities and no-one can tell
what actions will have the greatest impact on the outcome.

Of course, first they will be mocked, then vilified and
finally strenuously opposed by those whose interests they
threaten.  But should the OWS protesters persist they will
eventually effect significant change.  And I believe this
will be change for the better for most of us.

--
***          E-Mail is NOT a SECURE channel          ***
James B. Byrne                mailto:[log in to unmask]
Harte & Lyne Limited          http://www.harte-lyne.ca
9 Brockley Drive              vox: +1 905 561 1241
Hamilton, Ontario             fax: +1 905 561 0757
Canada  L8E 3C3

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *