Speculative business investment is considered to be degrading

[Guest guest]

COM: Gauranga (das) ACBSP (AU) wrote:

 

> [Text 2054514 from COM]

> There are other people who are expert in trading systems ( analysts of

> trading patterns in the markets ) for the financial markets. Now they have

> tested their systems over fifteen years of back data and come up with

> results of profits and losses. So they make a business out of this. Without

> going into all the detail, these people setup financial institutions or

> trade privately with a few investor friends. Results are monitored daily,

> weekly and monthly and if facilitators are not happy they pull their funds

> if the returns start fallng below a certain percentage. So this is a little

> more speculative, just like a lot of regular businesses, where many things

> can go wrong, but as long as there is no huge speculation where clients

> funds are at huge risks, then this maybe a good investment.

>

> If you want to discuss these matter with me that is fine, but please be

> careful about what you say publically, for the way you present things seems

> to me that it sounds like, from although in one way, seemly open, but in

> another way, an absolute judgement.

 

This response still does not reassure me that this is not simply a pyramid

scheme or a derivatives investment scheme like the recent Long Term Investment

Management scheme, which almost destroyed the banking systems in several

countries. Their team included men who had world-wide fame and professional

acclaim as economists and investors. How is it that your team is superior to

theirs?

 

This still does not explain where the money actually comes from. The school

where I work has a beautiful new science building which was funded by the

investment scheme of one alumnus. I remember being in economics class the day

it was dedicated the other students were saying. "Such a nice building that

Mr.

D___ built." Another responded, "Yes, he made all the money speculating on

currency on Malaysia."

 

So now in the paper I see the Malaysian peasants breaking rocks with their bare

hands, and we have a very nice science building. Whose Krsna consciousness

does

a condition like that help?

 

The problem with large-scale capitalism is that it is the personification of

impersonalism. If I make a good profit, I will never stop to ask "Who am I

actually stealing this from?"

 

Even in the case of fractional reserve banking, the money, though artirficially

created, is stolen from the poorest people in society. Even John Maynard

Keynes admitted that when there is an increase of wealth in society it will

hurt

the lowest classes (unless specific redistributive taxes even things out).

This

occurs because increased wealth causes inflation, which the rich can afford

because they are the ones investing the millions of dollars, but the poor

cannot

afford it, because their wages are not significantly increased. Rather, often,

many of them are being laid off their jobs to provide better returns to the

stock-holders who do not have to pay for them any more.

 

The best thing about Y2K is that it will probably shut down most of the

large-scale capitalist speculation.

 

You mention that Prabhupada often praised people who made money by making a

clever phone call. Could you please show us some quotes?

 

Overall, your hazy response gives me grave doubts about whether this is indeed

a

legitimate investment proposal, and whether it is something that Srila

Prabhupada would approve of.

 

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I believe I should be frank in my response

when

the matter at hand is so serious.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

[Guest guest]

Morning Walk 12-31-73

 

Prabhupäda: Yes. God consciousness. Then everyone will be honest, and

everything

will be adjusted. Everyone can understand this is pure cheating. I give you a

hundred dollars, a piece of paper. That’s all. And you accept it. You want to

be

cheated. You thought, that “I have got now daily, hundred dollars. So let me

work

very hard.” He does not consider that “I am not getting a hundred dollars. I am

getting a piece of paper.” So people have no brain to understand even. “This is

not

hundred dollars. Give me cash, hundred dollars.” Then everything, solution will

be…

 

There will be no inflation. Because I know that paying you a piece of paper, I

can

cheat you, therefore I am printing notes, to cheat so many people. Therefore

inflation. But when there will be no possibility to cheat you, then there will

be

no inflation. Here I have got the opportunity, because I know that pushing

forward

a piece of paper, I can cheat so many people. So there must be inflation. Is it

not? This is not psychological? If I know that I can cheat you by this

instrument,

so why shall I not increase that? That is inflation. What do you think,

Karandhara?

 

Karandhara: That’s the basic principle, yes.

Prabhupäda: Yes. I am cheating you, and people accepting my cheating.

Karandhara: The governments actually started the whole thing. They instituted

paper

money and they instituted it because it is a cheating process. But everyone is

participating. So it is just going on and on. That is the real cause of

inflation.

Prabhupäda: Yes. That’s it. They are getting encouragement in their cheating

business.

 

Conversation 1-31-77

 

Prabhupäda: Whatever they do, when you receive money in the paper it has no

value.

Bad money. It is bad money. It is not good money.

Rämeçvara: Actually most purchasing in America is done on credit now. Even a

step

beyond paper money is credit, no money, buying on no money, loans.

Prabhupäda: That is in India also.

Rämeçvara: We don’t find these things in Vedic culture too much.

Prabhupäda: There was never paper money.

Hari-çauri: No. They used to…

Prabhupäda: That barter system. You have got rice; I have got something else.

So I

give you something; you give me something......

 

Prabhupäda: And besides that, if we concentrate in farm project there will be

no

need of exchange, because I’ll be satisfied with my products. That’s all. There

is

no need of exchange. Whatever I need, I get in my farm.

Rämeçvara: Weaving, cloth.

Prabhupäda: Everything I get. So I haven’t got to go outside for exchange. If

you

are satisfied in your farm—I am satisfied—then where is question of exchange?

There

is no need of artificial… So this banking, “fanking,” everything will collapse

automatically. There is no money, who is going to keep money in the bank?

Hari-çauri: Who needs it?

Prabhupäda: (laughs) So this artificial way of banking, that will be also

collapsed.

Hari-çauri: This is revolutionary.

Rämeçvara: It’s very hard for the mind to…

Prabhupäda: No, simply do this.

Rämeçvara: Such a dramatic transformation of society.

Prabhupäda: Yes. Whatever it may be… We should be satisfied locally by our

food, by

our cloth, by our milk. That’s all. Let the whole world go to hell. We don’t

care.

If you want to save yourself also, you do this. Here is an example. If you want

artificial life, city life, and hellish life, you do. But we shall live like

this.

This is the ideal life.

 

Conversation 9-16-76

 

Prabhupäda: Eggplant. And this banana. So whatever he’s grown he takes in a

basket,

goes to the market, immediately sold. And they’re all fresh. Collected in the

morning, and it is sold by eight o’clock. All fresh vegetables. There was no

export, there was no facility of transport. These rascals introduced transport.

Big

scale transport, this railway. There was no railway. So transport means this

villager, instead of selling locally or one mile away, he will dispatch in

Calcutta. The Calcutta people, they are sitting on table and smoking and

printing

paper money and exploit..........

 

Prabhupäda: A local man cannot get. He’s starving. And the man in big cities,

he’s

doing nothing, he simply has got paper to sign and paper money he’s attracting.

All

production. And they are starving. This is modern civilization. Everything,

milk,

vegetables, fish, everything, this chänä. Otherwise, within the village you can

get

everything. Village economy. Everything very cheap. And as soon as they got

these

transport facilities, the local men, they could not eat, and these lazy

rascals,

they are getting everything. Big, big cities like Calcutta, Bombay, they (have)

millions of population. They are not producing anything. The producer is

different

man. They are simply artificially cheating them by paper money and they take.

This

is modern civilization.