Jim Hightower: Obscenely Rich Bankers Claim to Do God's Work -- They Can Go to Hell

[marmar]

Hightower: Obscenely Rich Bankers Claim to Do God's Work -- They Can Go to Hell

By Jim Hightower, AlterNet. Posted November 18, 2009.

Top executives were initially hurt by the public's moral outrage. But their sense of entitlement quickly kicked in, and now they claim they're the good guys.




"Repent," the preacher cried out, startling those who heard him.

This was no street evangelist ranting at the passing crowd, but the archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England. His sharp admonition was pointed directly at a particular set of sinners, who undoubtedly had never given any thought to the morality of their actions: the barons of global banking.

As in our country, people in Europe are enraged at those hustlers of high finance who wrecked the world's economies, then flexed their political muscle to get governments to replenish their bankrupt vaults. Infuriatingly, these bailed-out bankers have now returned to business as usual, including grabbing monstrous bonus payments for themselves.

In Europe, such greed is not only being assailed politically, but it is also being cast as a matter of fundamental moral failure. As another of Britain's leading clergymen put it, "There is a general feeling that the level of bonuses we've seen have been obscene."

While top executives of Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and other big investment houses were initially puzzled and hurt by the public's moral outrage, their audacious sense of personal worth and entitlement quickly kicked back in. So Europeans are now witnessing the spectacle of bankers draping themselves in radiant robes of ethical purity. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/144026/hightower%3A_obscenely_rich_bankers_claim_to_do_god%27s_work_--_they_can_go_to_hell

[ixion]

1. and they will...

won't they be surprised. :evilgrin:

[Warpy]

2. According to screwball Calvinism, they are

After all, gawd put them into the position of being obscenely rich, so they are therefore blessed by gawd and doing gawd's work.

Dispensationalism was tailor made for obscenely rich thieves.

[Tansy_Gold]

3. I think you got that backwards.

Obscenely rich thieves tailor-made dispensationalism for themselves.



And unlike many DUers, I don't exempt the occasionally left-leaning bloated leeches like Soros, Buffet, and Gates. They have modestly campaigned for higher taxes on the rich but until they are giving, say, 90% of their income to charity and dismantling their obscenely huge estates, I label them hypocrites of the worst water.

As for the others, they should be stripped of 100% of their wealth. Every last penny. They've enjoyed it long enough.



Tansy Gold, who would remind them of Jesus' admonition about the rich man, heaven, the camel, and the eye of the needle but they wouldn't listen to her any more than they listened to Jesus himself.

[Warpy]

4. Not really, toadies created Dispensationalism

to curry favor with the obscenely rich by giving them a godly justification for robbing the rest of us.

Did you ever see a poor Dispensationalist preacher? Didn't think so. Neither have I.

Schlafly's spawn gave the game away completely when he started his project to write all the liberalism out of the babble. Bye bye, Jesus!

[Bitwit1234]

5. Letting their employees starve

and in some cases with no health care while they sit on top of the gravy train makes ME think they are doing the devil's work.

Isn't it funny. Whenever you are caught doing something wrong wrong wrong, all you have to do now is throw religion in the mix and expect to come out looking like a saint.

[TexasObserver]

6. Recommend

[bertman]

7. "While top executives . . . were initially puzzled and hurt by the public's moral outrage . . "

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Like hell they were "puzzled and hurt". They were saying shit like "fuck those stupid peasants. Who do they think they are questioning our ability to steal their money?!" and "Screw those little people. Don't they know who's in charge around here?".

It takes a conscience to be puzzled and hurt by anyone's moral outrage. Those fuckers have NO conscience. Period.

[quiet.american]

8. K&R nt