Sinful Economy Sinful

Pope Benedict called on Tuesday for a "world political authority" to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.

Parts of the encyclical, titled "Charity in Truth," seemed bound to upset free marketers because of its underlying rejection of unbridled capitalism and unregulated market forces, which he said had led to "thoroughly destructive" abuse of the system and "grave deviations and failures."

The pope said every economic decision had a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises.

Benedict said "there is an urgent need of a true world political authority" whose task would be "to manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result."

Such an authority would have to be "regulated by law" and "would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights."

"Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums," he said.

The pope's call for a supranational body to tackle global economic woes disturbed some Catholic capitalists.

The encyclical was addressed to all Catholics and "all people of good will" and was released on the eve of the start of the G8 summit in Italy and three days before the pope is due to discuss the global downturn with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Profit was useful only if it served as a means to a brighter future for all humanity. He said the current economic crisis was "clear proof" of "pernicious effects of sin" in the economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had rebuked the pope earlier this year at the height of the row over a Holocaust-denying bishop, welcomed the encyclical as important encouragement for world leaders ahead of a G8 meeting in Italy.

"Pope Benedict has encouraged the state leaders to create rules so that this sort of worldwide economic crisis isn't repeated," Merkel told reporters. "I also saw this as an order to work toward a social market economy in the world."

---------- Hmmmm. The Vatican’s portfolio of stocks, bonds, and real estate comes to roughly $1 billion, and this doesn't include the art and artifacts which are listed at 1 euro because they are priceless. I wonder how much of that portfolio profit was made on the pernicious effects of sin in the economy (minus the alter boy payoffs).

The social market economy originated in Germany and was the model used in Europe during the cold war, and is not to be confused with socialist market economy which is the Chinese economic model implemented in 1978. Basically both are supposedly "mixed" economies, combining private enterprise and "collective bargaining" which is done on a national level not between one corporation and one union, but national employers' organizations and national trade unions.

The Pope's formal declaration of his opinion sounds like the same old new financial world order scheme to me, i.e. warm-fuzzy economics not based on profit but on humanitarian justice, run by a management body, or that "world political authority," a management team who will make the final decision on where, when, and how 6+ billion people will live, work, and die. And national boss organizations and trade unions will make it all seem legit and "structured." There will be lots of "structure."

Sort of a Hitler and Benito, Hoffa and Bill Gates, Frankie Roosevelt and Joe Stalin, Marx and Mao, Jesus and Allah and Yahweh ... all rolled into one global authority ensuring security for all, and the whole caboodle will be "regulated by law" where the mega-rich powerful folk will never again be above the law, and appropriately there will be fewer super rich once the redistribution begins.

Apparently, we have all forgotten and forgiven Pope Benedict the Ghoul for his mandatory Hitler Youth membership, or not a member depending on which lie you swallow, although I'm not certain the Islamic world has put aside comments the Pope made in 2006 at University of Regensburg. The Popester cited "an obscure medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam’s founder as “evil and inhuman." Personally, I feel the pro-pope spin men did an excellent job backpedaling on this one.

Don't you love it Bubba when folks intentionally say what they mean and then pretend it was not what they meant but the message got to the audience they wanted it to and then everyone is satisfied they heard what they wanted to hear? And now we're going to put all these geniuses and experts in charge of the world.

The Pope said every economic decision had a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises. Forms, eh. What forms would those be? Imagine the fraud, abuse, and corruption of your local/state welfare and social service system, or HUD, or FDA, etc. going global. World wide welfare, structured and managed by meatheads far away with names you cannot pronounce and faces you do not recognize - but they love and respect you because you are an asset in the family of man. And if you do not like the structure - who do you petition for redress of grievance? Why, your national labor union and/or head of state who also love and respect you because you are you, a little brother in a world of big brother hoods.

Just as our local, state, and national politicians love us - so too will the supranational shepherds of the flocked and fleeced. Monetary peace on earth, a goodwill store economy toward men, the idea is downright Biblical.

They will build monuments to the government heads, at least to those governments who freely agree to this b.s. (peacekeeper armies will handle those nations who hesitate to join).

Geeeezus Bubba, we can't even keep our local politics clean - what makes anyone think a world authority board of directors will be more ethical and moral? Sounds to me as if the German and Italian are still dreaming of being boss of empire. Didn't the US kick their wicked ass over that once already?