Greed & Business As Usual

GREED. Almost every day there seems to be another example of greed in the headlines. Recently, we've seen Bernie Madoff, a swindler extraordinaire, exposed for bilking his clients out of some $50 billion dollars in a Ponzi scheme. Another investment expert, whose name escapes me at the moment, arranged for his plane to go down, while he parachuted out of it, hoping to stage his death, and thereby avoid being caught and punished for his misdeeds. Other cases have been reported nationally, and worldwide, but without as much fanfare.

Even here in the Heartland we are not bypassed. In our local paper today, news broke about our city's Public Works department, and two of it's employees taking bribes to steer business to specific contractors. There were four individuals named representing companies who offered the bribes, accepted by the public works employees. In all, it appears that over $4.5 million extra was spent by the city - and, of course, it's taxpayers - to fix roads because of these bribes paid by the contractors. Our Mayor is visibly upset.

Greed is running rampant in the world. It is one of the 7 deadly sins, and it pervades throughout our society more than I've seen it in my 62 years on the Planet Earth. Defined, Greed is the self-serving desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others.

It is also one of the main problems behnd the economic situation we are in today.

BUSINESS AS USUAL Reality is setting in in Washington, D.C. Regardless of President Obama's attempt to operate in a bipartisan way - and, I might add, his opponent John McCain's pledge to do so - it looks like Congressional Republicans don't want to hear anything of it. McCain, to his credit, heard the voices of the American people too, who are tired of the bickering between the parties and simply want something done to improve things. Yesterday, at the hearings for Hillary Clinton to be approved for Secretary of State, Senator McCain, stood up and asked for swift passage of her nomination.

On other items, though, both House and Senate Republicans are content to revert back to obstruction, and criticism. It really won't matter what the new President brings forth, they will oppose it. He is simply from the wrong party. Until the citizenry lets their representatives know this can't go on any longer, it, unfortunately will continue. It is time for a change. That's why Obama was elected.

Old Fart Mike