Moral Hazards

#480

David Murdock is the 183rd richest man in the world, a billionaire, who came away from WWII homeless, living on the street. At a restaurant where he could get his meals free he had a chance meeting with a good samaritan who loaned him $450 dollars to buy a $1200 dollar restaurant. The owner, wanting to get rid of the restaurant allowed him to pay the rest in payments.

One thing lead to another, and very much like this writer, he bought one house, then bought a second house and now, at age 87, owns Dole Foods, owns one Island in Hawaii and is one of the worlds leading philanthropists. He has just given 1.5 billion to build a research center at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He said it was a matter of having the desire, the ethic of hard work and a healthy lifestyle. He is a vegetarian, never touches meat and attributes his long life and success to the opportunity afforded to him by being an American and learning to adjust his eating habits and his conservatism in acquiring and investing money.

This is just one example of the opportunity afforded anyone blessed to be born an American, willing to make the sacrifices necessary in lifestyle and financial exuberance. When I heard him interviewed, he kept referring to Napoleon Hill's book, “Think and Grow Rich”. He told about the books he had given out to young people. I remember the impression the book made on my own life and how many times I had told the young men who I met that I would give him ten dollars to read the book. Never once have I ever had anyone come back and tell me he read the book to collect the ten dollars, including my own brother. We have a country filled with young people who just want everything boxed up, tied with a pretty ribbon, and handed to them.

I once told one young man who worked for me that I would help him by teaching him everything I know about real estate and securities. I said, however, like me, you must read everything you can find about these markets. He said, “I would just like to get a check every month”.

Wake up, this is where we are heading. The time is rapidly approaching when the government is going to give you a check for subsistence each month, but that is all you will ever be able to accumulate. It seems that the thrill of accomplishment is gone. Your government wants you completely dependent. The schools are no longer teaching self development. The forerunners of our great American industrial empire who through their own efforts thrived with success. I have traveled through every Marxist country. The clowns in Washington, Raleigh, and even locally who control your life through their political power are generally n'er-do-wells whose only accomplishment was obtaining political influence by tail kissing or something similar to get elected to their jobs or, as is the case with John Edwards, John Kerry, George W. Bush etc. married a rich or smart wife or family money purchased their political office. In my lifetime, I have known people of several skin colors, particularly immigrants from other countries, who thrived on the American system. I knew a Greek couple who saved every dime possible to get to this country and then operated a small restaurant until they owned the entire block in which the restaurant was located. They both worked long hours and so did their children, all of whom were very successful in this country.

Yesterday, when we learned that the country of Greece is bankrupt, that the interest on their debt exceeds their GNP...the exact direction in which America is heading, I thought of the movie America America produced by Elia Kazan. In this movie, we have a Greek boy whose family saved their money and sent him to Turkey where he could work and have a better life. Selling in the markets of Istanbul (I have been in this market several times) he made money but still had a dream of going to America. He saved his money, came to America, and became the success story portrayed in America America.

Three of the richest men in the world were aboard the Titanic almost 100 years ago (April 15, 1912) when it at the owners directions, plowed through the North Atlantic icebergs because the owner said the ship was unsinkable. (Isa Strauss, Benjamin Guggenheim,and John Jacob Astor) These three men did not realize they were on their death trip, they were not a flash in the pan type. Each knew the value of hard work, intelligent investing, but still, the unsinkable ship, “too large to fail” is on the bottom of the Atlantic. We have heard this about America and American Industry, “too great to fail”.

When I walked down the streets of Athens, I thought of Plato and Socrates who had walked before me. Near Pella, Macedonia where Alexander The Great was born, a field was pointed out to me where a farmer was plowing and uncovered the great statue of Nike (which means victory), in 1863, a statue which was probably sculpted in 190 B.C. It is hard to imagine a culture as great and historic as the Greek's culture which was fearless and victorious being conquered by a system of socialism which has taken over the country where these ambitious people are now satisfied with a small government subsistence.

Incompetent workers arise from an incompetent education system. Parents, teachers, principals, school board officials, should hide in shame for an education system where almost 50% of their students cannot perform at grade level, where 1/3rd quit school before graduation, where even those who go to college spend much time in remedial catch-up. America should hide in shame, knowing that 50% of the American population pay no income taxes at all, but rather depend on the tax paying ability of the other 50%. Of course, it is the 50% who do not pay taxes who vote, in lock step, for Democrats, who put in these welfare programs.

Even in the military services (volunteer) the stranglehold of incompetence, lack of work ethic, inability to speak or understand the language are just some of the reasons we cannot win a war. All failures of young people are not just addictive (drugs, sex, family genes).

The greatest society of the Western world was the Greek civilization. Next to the Greeks was the Roman empire. Both failed because of Paganism and their withdrawal from the strengths found in Republicanism and patriotism.

No society has given more to the civilized word than the intelligencer of Germany. A small man with a 25” waistline, a glowing persona and ability to speak articulately lead this culture down the road of destruction. At Birches Garden, Hitler's retreat, speaking before large crowds, he would say, “Mr. Churchill, we are coming for you”, then, he would go to the back of his stadium, run forward and say again, “Mr. Churchill, we are coming for you”, then he would go back and run forward again and shout to the top of his voice, “Mr. Churchill, we are coming for you!” How many times must the American people be reminded that the disease of corruption and Paganism of Communism is coming for us...because we are blinded to it's symptoms. The state controlled news media, the umbra of political correctness has so distorted our thinking that we are unable to recognize entrapment. Even a non religious person recognizes hypocrisy and knows the value of conviction. The heathen want no part of deceptive immorality. I may not be right but I want my church to be right. I may not be right but I want my country to be right. The hazard of morality is becoming immune to immorality.