A Brief Tangent Upon the Subject of Greed

I want to take a short break from the focus of these past posts and talk about the subject of greed because that has been on my mind of late, and I feel the need to write about it. During my next post, which will probably be tomorrow, I will return to the focus of Rhetoric, the Bible, and the Church, but right now, I want to talk about greed.

Where we are at right now with the economy is all because of greed. Greed and the pursuit of happiness through money have created a situation where everyone is in debt, including the government of the United States of America. Were it not for greed, risky mortgage loans would never have been purchased and traded in the stock market. You see, they were purchased because people knew they would make quick money, but they were not thinking about the long-term effects of their purchases.

Were it not for greed, mortgage lenders would not have taken advantage of unsuspecting homeowners who financed more than they could afford. These risky loans made these mortgage brokers rich very quickly, and they were only thinking about making money for themselves and not taking care of their clients.

Were it not for greed, realtors who knew the finances of their clients would not have shown them houses that were too much for them. They would not have pushed the McMansions, and they would have taken people to homes they could better afford. It's ironic that these McMansions are nothing more than facades anyway -- just a bigger and better cookie-cutter neighborhood with small lawns and no privacy. They provide the image of wealth without the quality of construction, yet they cost just as much as a well-built home. An effect of the builders' greed as well.

Were it not for greed, home-buyers would not have been trying to live a false life, seeking happiness in possessions that they could not afford in order to maintain an image and lifestyle that they were unable to pay for. Greed led them down a dark path in the decisions they made, and they overlooked poor quality and saw the size of the home and the pretty pictures painted by sales people who profitted off of their dreams of greed.

When I was in sales, I would go into people's homes. I walked into the McMansions with the BMWs and Hummers sitting outside, and I would walk into the halls of a faux-palace to find that there was no furniture in the house. I even went into one home where the wife confessed that they could not afford a washer and dryer, so they were taking their clothes to a laundromat instead. Yet, these people had a million dollar home and over a hundred thousand dollars worth of cars sitting in the driveway. Greed got them to that point, and there was no happiness in those households. They could not afford to keep up with home maintenance, and they also realized that the builders had duped them by building those million dollar homes with the poorest of materials. Mortgaged to the hilt, trying to heat a 10,000 square foot home, these people were forced to put plastic over new windows and patch rotting wood. They were trapped in their lives by greed.

During this time, I had a manager who preached greed. He worshipped at the altar of money, and he encouraged all of us to be "hungry" and to buy so much stuff in our own lives that we would be "hungrier" for more money. That was his philosophy, and I did make a boat-load of money at the time which was nice, but I fell prey to his belief system, fortunately, though, only for a short period of time. This manager owned two homes. One was in Pennsylvania, and it was decked out with the biggest and best of all things -- jacuzzi, underground concrete swimming pool, massive deck, playroom, large master bedroom, and the finest furniture around. He owned another home in Florida where he spent an enormous amount of time. He flew to Florida in his own twin-engine airplane, and he kept a brand new Corvette down there to compliment the Corvette he kept in Pennsylvania, along with another luxury car and a new van. He also owned a huge boat in Florida with a $100,000 pier. He bragged about all of this stuff, and it consumed him. Greed owned him, and he wanted us to follow his ways.

We always joked that he seemed drunk all of the time, and that he was a chain-smoker. It seemed that something was wrong in his world, and then he began to make bad business decisions, and money was being taken away from us in unethical ways. He eventually got fired. I haven't heard from him since, but a friend of mine who still works for the company has, and my ex-manager is in pitiful shape now. All of this greed has torn him down. I found out that he had mortgaged himself to the hilt to buy all of the things that he bought, and that he had credit card debt over $100,000. He had everything, but he owned nothing, and he was now trying to sell his airplane and house in Pennsylvania at bargain prices just to get by each month. On top of it all, his wife developed cancer during this time, and his medical bills piled higher. Greed put him in a position where he could not take care of his own family, and now I feel sorry for him. I don't know why. He built his own world, but he built it upon the wrong foundation. Worst of all, he tried to lead me down that path just like a drug addict tries to get other people hooked so they don't feel alone in their addiction.

Yet, he and everyone else caught in this trap, blame the economy for all of their troubles instead of looking in the mirror. The consumers blame the banks, and the banks blame Congress for the problems. Truth be told, our government is more to blame than anyone else. Our leaders have fostered this greed-mentality, and it is due to their own greed by taking money from companies who profit off of this never-ending cycle. I am working on a book, right now, that tells this story very well, and it proves that our society is trapped in a cycle of buy, charge, "own."

Congress mandated that the banks issue more loans to people who were low-income so that they could purchase homes, and the banks complied. These same people in Congress now point the blame at the banks for issuing loans to people who couldn't afford the loans. Thanks Barney Frank. Yes, I'm pointing a finger at this man, in particular, for the hypocrite that he is. He is a big part of the problem in this whole mess, yet he stands in front of the television cameras every day acting as if he's trying to save the world now. He is the one who pushed for the types of loans that fostered greed in the poor, and now he is bullying the banks about their greed. Shame on him!

The whole point here is happiness. Where does happiness originate from? Does it come from things, or does it come from within? Lately, I've been forced to think about these things. I've thought a lot about how I used to live my life, along with how others, such as my manager, live their lives, and I have come to the conclusion that happiness does not come with things. Happiness and peace come from within. Greed only produces evil, and this evil corrupts and destroys families and lives all of the time. It's an endless cycle.

The things that we need are food, shelter, clothing, and transportation. Those are the basic necessities in life. Everything else is a blessing, but you cannot enjoy those moments if they are purchased on borrowed money, and that is what separates greed from smart-thinking. So, beware of greed. Think about those things that you want, and ask yourself if you really need those things. It's OK if you say no. It's OK to not buy all those things even when your best friend or neighbor has them. There's no shame in waiting for the better moment. These decisions are what define us in life, and we want to be defined as being happy rather than being trapped by debt.

The good news is that the cycle can be ended. We have all cut back this past holiday season, or at least most people did. The government wants you to believe that this is bad because they are looking out for their donors. However, I know that, as far as my family is concerned, we had a great Christmas, and there is no debt to pay off because of gifts. It was one of the best Christmases, in fact, because we spent more time with family and less time shopping for things that we really didn't need. Sure, there will be companies that fall apart, and there will be jobs lost if we really stop our greedy practices, but new things will develop, and new opportunities will emerge. Imagine a United States where quality is more important than quantity. Imagine manufacturing returning to our country where things are made with care, and the value of those things is higher. Then, when we do need to purchase something, it will be made well. If we take greed out of the equation, then those things are possible.

You see, restoring our economy from a greedy economy to a need-based economy is like quitting an addiction. It will be rough going for a while, but when it's all said and done, things will get better, and we can prosper like we should -- in a true happiness instead of a faux-happiness like my former manager built around himself.