Entries in the 'Crisis' Category

Obama’s Economic Consultant Says, “Wake Up, Gentlemen”

freeIn the News (from The Wall Street Journal): “Paul Volcker: Think More Boldly” Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker chastised the largely private-sector group for the timidity of its proposals:

“My overall impression is that you have not come anywhere near close enough to responding with necessary vigor or structural changes to the crisis that we have had. Every day I hear financial leaders saying that they are necessary and desirable, they are wonderful and they are God’s work. Has there been one financial leader to stand out and say that maybe this is excessive and that maybe we should get together privately to think about some restraint?

Wake up, gentlemen. I can only say that your response is inadequate. I wish that somebody would give me some shred of neutral evidence about the relationship between financial innovation recently and the growth of the economy, just one shred of information. I am getting a bit wound up here.

I found myself sitting next to one of the inventors of financial engineering. I didn’t know him, but I knew who he was and that he had won a Nobel Prize, and I nudged him and asked what all the financial engineering does for the economy and what it does for productivity. Much to my surprise, he leaned over and whispered in my ear that it does nothing—and this was from a leader in the world of financial engineering…”

My Comment: Mr. Volcker is stating the truth (a liberty he can allow himself due to being a “former” chairman). The crisis continues because it is not being corrected by the creation of improved connections in our global society.

Kabbalah forecasts further downfall until people recognize the root of the crisis – the human egoism, and until people will be forced to rise above it for the sake of survival.

The only question is: how much suffering and how many world wars will we all have to go through in order to recognize the necessity of building the right relationships in our interconnected, global world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: From 55 BC Comes The Timely Wisdom Of Cicero
Laitmman. com Post: The Need To Collectively Build The Method Of Correction
Laitman.com Post: The Same Law Rules The Whole Of Nature
Kabbalah Today Article: The Little Prince Explains the Financial Crisis
Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “Eradicating Egoism”

From 55 BC Comes The Timely Wisdom Of Cicero

Cicero“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC – Roman author, orator, and politician

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Need To Collectively Build The Method Of Correction
Laitman.com Post: Equality Is Based On Knowing Each Person’s Inner Nature
Laitman.com Post: Globalization Is The Unexpected Force Of Development
Kabbalah Today Article: Global Economic Crisis: Is It Over Yet?
Interviews: “The Reasons behind the Financial Crisis”. Michael Laitman’s Talk with Leonid Makaron
Video: Modern Laws of Global Life – Law of Success (1:48)

The Crisis Will Put Everything Into Place

When It Comes to the Global Crisis, We Cannot Afford to ProcrastinateA question I received: Based on the fact that they follow to the letter the latest political decisions concerning the financial market and its regulation, and after having received a few billion Euros from the French government, the bank, “Societe Generale” will distribute primes of up to one billion Euros to its traders! As you say, “as long as the printing facilities are operational.”

But isn’t considering any particular case just about acknowledging the illusion of the separation of the bodies, when in fact, we all want to reach the same goal? After all, anyone can, in his own way, “equate,” more or less on “love,” but few on “specialties” like banking or financial practices. Even a perfect financial system would not be very exciting, would it?

My Answer: The crisis will put everything into place. The alternative is war and other calamities. There is no other way. Relief is possible only through the explanation of how to correct ourselves.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Entire World Continues To Feel The Effects Of The Crisis
Laitman.com Post: The New Stage Of The Same Old Crisis
Kabbalah Today Article: The Financial Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure
Attaining the Worlds Beyond: 12.”Eradicating Egoism”
Video: Youmankind

Is Barack Obama Delivering The Promised Change?

Where to Defend a DissertationTwo questions I received on Barack Obama’s presidency:

Question: Barack Obama’s recent speech in Cairo stressed the basic message of all major religions: Love your neighbor as yourself. He spoke of the need for nations to cooperate on every level. This was the philosophy with which he came into office and which he continues to espouse. What is your opinion about the appearance of an American President with this kind of thinking at this point in the global crisis? Do you think the world is ready to begin this conversation?

My Answer: I don’t believe a word he or anyone else says.

Question: On numerous occasions you have posted remarks on “Obama.” My question to you is, in your opinion, how do you see the “change” in America, and President Obama’s new approach to the Muslim world and Israel?

My Answer: For the short term, this has helped America eliminate other nations’ hatred of it. But that’s all. In my opinion, this person is not yet the correct instrument of the Creator.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Creator’s Presidential Puppet
Laitman.com Post: Leaders Are Enslaved To The Public
Laitman.com Post: The Role Of Mass Media Is To Serve The World
Interviews: “A Conversation between the Kabbalist M. Laitman and the Russian economist, publicist, and political scientist M. Khazin”
Article: “Upbringing”


The Next Chapter In The World Crisis Book

Laitman_2009-05-28_8354_wMore stories in the news which give evidence to the continuing and worsening world crisis:

Drought Is Spreading in the World
In the News (from Jo Abbess): “Big Dry: Global Drought Update”

August 13, 2009: This spring, northern China experienced its worst drought in 50 years, The drought also left 3.5 million people and 1.66 million livestock with no access to drinking water.

August 6, 2009: Mexican authorities facing a drought-weakened sugar crop.

August 11, 2009: Serious Drought in Africa Drives Cattle into Wildlife Parks.”

August 06, 2009: Drought expected to cut Ugandan tea output.

August 13, 2009 [India]: Drought fears rise, soybean crop on brink.

August 11, 2009: Russia may have to face a food crisis next winter. Whole fields of fodder and cereal crops have been withered by scorching sun.

Japan’s unemployment rate hits record high
In the News: (from The Telegraph):Japan’s unemployment rate hits record high” – The jobless rate rose to a worse than expected 5.7pc in July, up from 5.4pc in June, the government said. Deflation also deepened last month with core consumer prices dropping 2.2pc a year earlier – the fastest pace on record.

Alan Greenspan: ‘This will happen again’
In the News (from BBC):Market crisis ‘will happen again’” – The world will suffer another financial crisis, former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has told the BBC. “It’s human nature, unless somebody can find a way to change human nature, we will have more crises and none of them will look like this because no two crises have anything in common, except human nature.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Painless Birth In The Spiritual World
Laitman.com Post: The Same Law Rules The Whole Of Nature
Laitman.com Post: The Entire World Continues To Feel The Effects Of The Crisis
Kabbalah Today Article: The Key to Change (of Heart)
Bail Yourself Out: “Achieving Equilibrium”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace in the World”

The Same Law Rules The Whole Of Nature

birth

In the News (from Physorg.com): Dead Ahead: Similar Early Warning Signals of Change in Climate, Ecosystems, Financial Markets, Human Health What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth’s climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes,  asthma attacks and epileptic seizures have in common?According to a paper published this week in the journal Nature, they all share generic early-warning signals that indicate a critical threshold of change dead ahead. “It’s increasingly clear that many complex systems have critical thresholds–’tipping points’–at which these systems shift abruptly from one state to another,” write the authors.

My Comment: After all, the Law is the same for the whole of Nature including all of human civilization. This is just the first of the discoveries of the global and integral dependency of all Nature’s parts.

When it obliges us to unite into one integral system, then negative changes will stop and everything will come to harmony, even the “irreversible” changes in the Earth’s climate.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Have A Perfect Life In Store For Us
Laitman.com Post: We Can Come Out Of The Crisis Without The Influence Of Suffering
Laitman.com Post: Organizing Our Lives In The Changed World
Laitman.com Post: A Request To Return To The Source
Article: “Soul as a System in the Model of the Universe”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Building the Future Society”

The Entire World Continues To Feel The Effects Of The Crisis

progressTo all  questions about the crisis, I answer that I have not changed my opinion: I still believe that the crisis continues, and that it will end only when people correct their nature. The crisis is happening due to the disparity between humanity’s global, integral egoism and Nature (the Creator).  The following news stories demonstrate the ongoing crisis worldwide:

The Skies Are Not Clear In Spain
In the News (from The Financial Times):Spanish unemployment rises as tourism suffers” The labour and immigration ministry said the number of jobless claimants rose by nearly 85,000 to 3.63m, 1.1m more than in August last year, with services and construction recording the heaviest job losses.

Unemployed Chinese Have Nowhere to Go
In the News (from SecretChina):Over 24 million people unemployed in China!” The Chinese government indicated on August 23 that total unemployment in the country will exceed 24 million people in 2009. In 2008, many manufacturing plants were shut down, leaving about 30 million migrant workers jobless.

Americans Committing Suicide In The Workplace
In the News (from BusinessInsurance):Employers grapple with rise in workplace suicides” There was a 28% increase in the number of suicides committed in the workplace last year—251—compared with the prior year, according to a census by the U.S. Department of Labor. Those who commit suicide at work may have felt significant stress from their increased work load as well as worries about job security…

Is It The End Of The Crisis Or Just The End?
In the News (from TruthOut.org):Unemployment Jumps to 9.7 Percent, as Economy Loses Another 216,000 Jobs” The 10.1 percent unemployment rate for adult men equals the prior post-war high. The number of discouraged workers is almost exactly double the August 2008 number. And the U-6 measure of labor market slack rose to 16.8%. Hours for production workers have been reduced by 8.5% over the course of this recession. This is the largest percent reduction of hours during a recession since the Great Depression.

Asian Countries To Work For Themselves
In the News (from VOA): - “Nobel Economist Says Asia’s Economies in ‘Remarkable’ Recovery” Joseph Stiglitz says Asia’s economies are in a good position to reduce their dependence on exporting goods to the United States and Europe. He said, “You have a robust large economy here in Asia and so you have the basis of developing a regional economy.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Changing The World Starts With Changing Yourself
Laitman.com Post: A World Without Money
Laitman.com Post: Specific, Practical Methods To Combat The Crisis
Laitman.com Post: Instead Of Seeking To Change Our Economic Systems, We Should Draw The Upper Light Of Correction
Bail Yourself Out: Chapter 12:”Money, Money, Money”
Rabash Article: Shlavey HaSulam: “The Importance of the Association”

Countdown To Doomsday In Philadelphia?

Laitman_2009-05-28_8348_wIn the News (from The CW Philly):Devastating Cuts Expected Under Doomsday Budget” – Mayor Michael Nutter said the clock is counting down to the implementation of a devastating ‘doomsday budget’ in Philadelphia.

Under the “Plan C” budget, nearly 3,000 city workers will lose their jobs, including 1,000 police officers and 200 firefighters.

On Wednesday, Mayor Nutter said Philadelphia’s court system will face a “virtual shutdown” if the cash-strapped city does not get state approval for a sales tax increase and changes to how it makes its pension payments. Philadelphia is facing a $1.4 billion five-year budget deficit.

My Comment: Looting and robberies will soon begin, just as we see in the movies that show our “bright” future.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Are All Guilty Of The Global Crisis
Laitman.com Post: Let’s Build A Bridge Through The Economic Abyss
Laitman.com Post: An Honest Deal Brings The Greatest Profit
From Chaos To Harmony: “Obeying Nature’s Law. Life’s Purpose”

Even Weapons Manufacturers Are Feeling The Effects Of The Crisis

A Crisis Is a CrisisIn the News (translated from MIGnews.com): The largest manufacturer of the “Kalashnikov” machine gun has stopped production of this weapon at the Moscow Metallugical Plant, “Serp i Molot” (hammer and sickle).

My Comment: I don’t believe it and I don’t understand!  Last year, military expenditures rose 27% worldwide!  They can’t even sell machine guns?

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Record Arms Sales Are Nothing To Be Proud Of
Laitman.com Post: 10 Big Recession Surprises (Clue: One Involves Sex)
Laitman.com Post: Everything Unnecessary Will Vanish!
Kabbalah Today Article: “The Divine Conspiracy”
Video: Law of Necessity & Surplus

The New Stage Of The Same Old Crisis

Laitman_2009-05-xx_ny_6618A question I received: Despite the numbers and facts you believe that the world economy is not getting out of the crisis, and this is the opinion of Kabbalah?

My Answer: I am not an economist and Kabbalah doesn’t do market forecasts. But here is my personal opinion:

We observe rising oil prices, rising market indices and rising stock prices. That’s why people talk about the end of the recession and the beginning of world economic growth.

However, it is not a reflection of real economic growth,  but an artificial stimulus of demand and new market speculations as a result of the infusion of government funds into the economy. Speculation in the oil market has caused a rise in oil prices, triggering a rise in prices on other goods. So new bubbles are being created, which will eventually burst and thus bring a new economic collapse.

The governments have provided funds to stimulate consumer demand and thus trigger economic growth. However, these funds have landed in the banks and instead of generating economic growth, layoffs continue, which in turn causes further decline in demand.

Governmental debts of the world’s leading economies are higher than their annual GDP, military expenses are on the rise, and the printing of money doesn’t stop.

Conclusion: We are in the next stage of the same crisis and we are heading towards the bursting of an even bigger bubble.

1. The cause of the crisis lies in the fact that we have reached the limit of our egoistic development through many centuries and we have now formed  a global, integral system.

2. The law of behavior of such a system is based on the common inter-connectedness of its elements. It is like the organs of the body, where each organ is working to support the whole system, and by this, insuring its own existence.

3. But in order to form such a connection (to love your neighbor as yourself), there must be a very evident revelation of our interconnectedness. Only in this scenario, will our personal egoism allow the possibility of taking the concept of caring for the whole system into account, .

4. Out of all doctrines, philosophies and religions, only Kabbalah talks about the revelation of the global connection between people – the Upper World, and not about suppressing the ego. Only the revelation of the concealed connection between us (which is the same as revelation of the Creator) will bring us to prosperity, according to His thought and our desire!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Those “Fixing” The Crisis Are Like Poker Players Who Just Can’t Stop
Laitman.com Post: The Real Crisis Is Not In Finance, But In Our Attitudes
Laitman.com Post: Instead Of Seeking To Change Our Economic Systems, We Should Draw The Upper Light Of Correction
Kabbalah Today Article: Navigating Through the Financial Storm