Dangers Of The ‘American Dream’

THE meltdown at Wall Street, and the domino effect it has had on bourses throughout the world, should concern us greatly as a developing nation.

The cause of the problem is the mortgage crisis in the middle-income group in the United States of America, which is the result of corporate irresponsibility. This, in turn, is a direct result of corporate greed, a common symptom of materialism.It is virtually impossible to maintain a decent standard of living with zero liquidity and credit-based lifestyles based on mortgage equity.The ‘American Dream’, however, is supported by this system and, when the crunch comes, the dream becomes a nightmare for the international community.The French bank BNP Paribas froze three of its American-based mortgage accounts because of foreclosures in the American middle-income housing sector, and this has had a knock-on effect for the rest of the world.The question to be asked is; why we should catch a cold when America sneezes? Foreign banks invest heavily in the housing sector in the USA with its attractive returns for the high risks involved, but when the bottom falls out of the sector, everyone else has to run for cover! America, Europe and the Far East have been compelled to inject billions of dollars into the markets to arrest the slide, but that is an ad hoc exercise, with little hope of precipitating any long-term solution.The real solutions lie with the Americans themselves.Most Namibians do not even have the possibility of acquiring a mortgage, but are affected, nevertheless! It is precisely economic realities, such as these that make the support of the ‘American Dream’ more dangerous than terrorism as we know it, because it will affect everyone.Economic irresponsibility in the housing sector and the negative fallout was predicted more than a year ago and little was done to correct the conditions on the ground.The long-term effects will be more poverty amongst already depressed communities worldwide, which, in turn, becomes recruiting grounds for a new generation of terrorists.Osama Bin Laden, a successful businessman himself, knows that it is not the ‘clash of civilisations’ that galvanises poor communities.It is poverty and the ever eroding capacity to feed, clothe, and educate families that propel marginalised communities into retaliatory actions, such as terrorism.The USA is, in reality, exporting to the rest of the world a much more insidious and dangerous practice than terrorism, and it is one that ordinary people on the street have no direct knowledge of, because they are too busy trying to survive another day of rising costs.Few people are concerned with economies at the macro level! It is time that the USA takes responsibility for its actions, focuses on its domestic problems, stops trying to colonise certain oil-rich countries and ceases to police the world.It has problems of its own, which, if not addressed, will continue to spill over into the rest of the world.There is no reason why we should continue to prop up the ‘American Dream’ at horrendous costs to ourselves.The stock markets, across the world, this week provided ample proof that we should not, and it is time to start looking at where the real threats are originating.Terrorism cannot flourish without its raison d’etre! John Sampson Via e-mailThis, in turn, is a direct result of corporate greed, a common symptom of materialism.It is virtually impossible to maintain a decent standard of living with zero liquidity and credit-based lifestyles based on mortgage equity.The ‘American Dream’, however, is supported by this system and, when the crunch comes, the dream becomes a nightmare for the international community.The French bank BNP Paribas froze three of its American-based mortgage accounts because of foreclosures in the American middle-income housing sector, and this has had a knock-on effect for the rest of the world.The question to be asked is; why we should catch a cold when America sneezes? Foreign banks invest heavily in the housing sector in the USA with its attractive returns for the high risks involved, but when the bottom falls out of the sector, everyone else has to run for cover! America, Europe and the Far East have been compelled to inject billions of dollars into the markets to arrest the slide, but that is an ad hoc exercise, with little hope of precipitating any long-term solution.The real solutions lie with the Americans themselves.Most Namibians do not even have the possibility of acquiring a mortgage, but are affected, nevertheless! It is precisely economic realities, such as these that make the support of the ‘American Dream’ more dangerous than terrorism as we know it, because it will affect everyone.Economic irresponsibility in the housing sector and the negative fallout was predicted more than a year ago and little was done to correct the conditions on the ground.The long-term effects will be more poverty amongst already depressed communities worldwide, which, in turn, becomes recruiting grounds for a new generation of terrorists.Osama Bin Laden, a successful businessman himself, knows that it is not the ‘clash of civilisations’ that galvanises poor communities.It is poverty and the ever eroding capacity to feed, clothe, and educate families that propel marginalised communities into retaliatory actions, such as terrorism.The USA is, in reality, exporting to the rest of the world a much more insidious and dangerous practice than terrorism, and it is one that ordinary people on the street have no direct knowledge of, because they are too busy trying to survive another day of rising costs.Few people are concerned with economies at the macro level! It is time that the USA takes responsibility for its actions, focuses on its domestic problems, stops trying to colonise certain oil-rich countries and ceases to police the world.It has problems of its own, which, if not addressed, will continue to spill over into the rest of the world.There is no reason why we should continue to prop up the ‘American Dream’ at horrendous costs to ourselves.The stock markets, across the world, this week provided ample proof that we should not, and it is time to start looking at where the real threats are originating.Terrorism cannot flourish without its raison d’etre! John Sampson Via e-mail