Posted by
Genna and Doug Wolkon on August 20, 2010 at 3:31 am
In a land called Nacirema, things are a bit backward from what you might expect.
Imagine walking down the street mid-day in Nacirema and a complete stranger stops and asks you to give him your hard-earned money. Not just all the money in your pocket, but all your life’s savings. He introduces himself as the “money-keeper” of the Nacirema tribe and promises you that he’ll watch over your money. He cannot tell you exactly where that is for security purposes and although you can’t see or touch the money once you give it to him, you are assured it will be safe. Since you’ve never met this person before in your life, he pulls out a small piece of paper and writes down three little letters “I.O.U.” to ensure you that he is good for it, and then asks you to sign it. He says you can present this piece of paper to him every time you want some of the money back or to give him more of your savings in the future. He further reassures you that he has possession of many, many Naricema people’s hard-earned money and again promises that your money is safe in his hands.
“This is crazy” would be an honest first reaction. How could anyone in their right mind give their life savings to a complete stranger? But as mentioned, everything is backwards in Nacirema, and if you flip the letters around you’ll learn that Nacirema backwards spells American. In America this complete stranger is better known as a “bank”. But unlike in Nacirema, we do not even get the privelege to meet this stranger on the street. However, we somehow accept this mysterious “bank” entity as being safe and secure, just because…
Perhaps it is time we reconsider this false notion by trusting and investing our money in ourselves and our communities so as to protect the very livelihood we’ve worked so hard to attain. Or would that be considered “crazy”?
Posted by
Doug Wolkon on January 7, 2009 at 8:51 am
So what is an Economic Detox? Raw green vegetables consumed through a straw is the food equivalent. Think diarrhea. I know what you are thinking, “yuk”. But as Wall Street has learned the hard way, we have no choice in the matter. Our economy is detoxing whether we like it or not; dropping our excess weight in order to regain our balance; flushing our obese corporate and government costs down the toilet in support of the long-term prosperity of the quicker, lighter, faster and more profitable Mom and Pop entrepreneurs. Continued »
Posted by
Doug Wolkon on October 28, 2008 at 11:05 pm
The American Dream once strongly stood for ideal freedom. For as a child in America, we are so fortunately nagged about what we want to be when we grow up: a fireman? an astronaut? or how about an entrepreneur? The American Dream meant career choices for everyone in America!
But somehow our freedom of choice that once so clearly encompassed the American Dream changed. Not sure when or how, but it clearly changed. For as I grew older, the American Dream became all about owning a home. What house, in what neighborhood, with how many bedrooms was all that we seemed to dream about. But then suddenly, the dream became a nightmare. Continued »
Posted by
Doug Wolkon on October 13, 2008 at 11:34 am
They say that believing and knowing are two different things. Believing may be exciting or hopeful, but it is without the logic of knowing. To figure out the difference, lets ask ourselves some questions about the economy?
Do you believe that our banks are lenders, or do you know that they are borrowers?
Do you believe that our money markets are risk-free, or do you know that funds were lent to Lehman Brothers and AIG?
Do you believe that solar energy is more expensive than “alternative” forms, or do you know that silicon, the natural resource used to make Solar Panels, is the second most abundant element on earth after oxygen? Continued »
Posted by
Doug Wolkon on August 11, 2008 at 3:15 am
So how much paper money is out there anyway. Does it matter that every time The Wizard of Oz (The Fed/government) decides to bailout a financial institution like Bear Stearns, Lehman, Fannie or Freddie, they have to print more and more money. What is behind this printing of money and how do they do it? Continued »
