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The Solari Report – 22 Jan 2009
Michael Corleone: “My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.”
Kay Adams: “Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don’t have men killed.”
Michael Corleone: “Oh. Who’s being naive, Kay?”
— The Godfather, Part I
A true family is a group of people who invest in each other’s skills and future. Within such a family, no person is expendable.
Throughout history, financial wealth has been organized around families. Many of the powerful institutions in our society, in fact, represent intergenerational pools of capital -– for example, the Bechtel Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Glenmede Trust Company
If we are to build a strong economy, it will be made up of strong families. Either families in the traditional sense, or families that we create. Many of us are members of families that, like the Corleone family in The Godfather series, have been torn apart by the manipulation of our ambition, greed, and naivete by powerful financial and business interests. Husbands and wives are turned against one another. Children and parents disappoint each other and grow apart. Sibling rivalry threatens family interests.
Most of us assume that The Godfather films — Part I, Part II, Part III — are movies about an organized crime family. The reality is that we all live inside The Godfather’s world. The Godfather series has much to teach us about navigating in our current environment:
- The double-binds that families and businesses face in the real economy
- The stresses that this places on marriages and children
- How we can reduce the risk of being manipulated and turned against one another
- The important role played by churches, foundations and tax-exempt organizations in controlling and managing intergenerational wealth
- The interconnectedness of street crime to the board rooms of global corporations to the financial markets that trade their securities
In this week’s Solari Report our focus is on “Let’s Go to the Movies.” I have prepared a special report on how The Godfather series can help you understand the risks you and your family manage today and what this means to building real wealth in your household and business.
Note: Solari Report subscribers can now listen to Catherine’s discussion of this topic via MP3 recording. You can subscribe monthly or annually here.
Resources:
Crac:
In my experience, the Mafia leaders were much more decent people and gave the ordinary guy a better deal than the “legitimate” leaders. They liked people. They were connected to them. They did not view people as livestock as many of the legitimate leaders did.
Times have changed, however, and we have new, more ruthless mafia. So hard to generalize these days.
Catherine
CRAC:
You asked:
“MY QUESTION IS: Do you think that the Global Financial Crisis is a gigantic game of “chicken” being played by the global bankers instead of a liquidity crisis or even bank solvency crisis?”
At the very top, yes. There are lots of wealthy players for whom it is very real. The reality is that the top players are enjoying significant consolidation, ownership and control of real things.
The mystery is where has all the money that has been stolen gone.
Catherine
Sorry if I accidentally double-posted this, but you might be interested in this article published today:
“UN crime chief says drug money flowed into banks”
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLP65079620090125
“The United Nations’ crime and drug watchdog has indications that money made in illicit drug trade has been used to keep banks afloat in the global financial crisis, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.”
Cheers!
Re: “UN crime chief says drug money flowed into banks”
I don’t look at many of the Yahoo CIADrug posts but one did catch my attention. A claim that the cocaine cartels might switch their banking to Europe and that if they did the United States would tumble.
I did not think that Dustin Hoffman film with him as a Cuban immigrant who got into the drug trade was that good. But it did have those scenes which showed that what took him down was not obeying where to bank the dirty loot.
Murdered CIA head Colby claimed that cartels now, (then so now), more powerful than states.
Things are different at the top. I worry less about what ‘they’ do. The greater the top consolidation the greater the responsibility. One way or another that cannot be hid for too long. Specifics of the money can be hid. Emperor can be hid. But not his clothes.
Catherine,
The book of James isn’t in my bible. I will have to find out why. Key points in the arguement seem to be.
James 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Beyond that in James II talks about saved by faith but also by works which I disagree with.
If a man is saved by faith and condemned by works what reason is there for faith. There is not one amongst us spotless before God and we all would die an eternal death.
Those who love Jesus will follow him. Like you’ve questioned in other articles. What would Jesus do? If it was his kingdom his people would fight. He would burn them with fire. He’s not here right now, it’s still Satan’s world but what does Jesus say to do. Be patient and pray that his kingdom comes. The new earth opposite from this one. The wicked who prosper and grow rich by fraud and bloodshed will be like worms in the next and eternal life if they even get that far. You who turn many to righteousness (love of God) will shine like the stars in the heavens.
Justice will be done.
Ok James isn’t in my Geneva Breeches bible because King James edited it. He thought it was too seditious and anti Catholic. Geneva Bible has “potent” interpretations on the sidelines and those in revelations point to the Pope as the anti-christ and ambassdor of Satan. It would be politically correct to say that he isn’t but here are some pieces to put together.
http://biblelight.net/index-mystery-babylon.html
http://sovereignsentience.blogspot.com/2008/12/trinity-of-global-empire.html (link broken)
Catherine – there is a game changing technology on the horizon re: energy.
Easy Low Cost No Radiation Fusion
Rick Nebel Updates The Latest News
It can be done in 5 years for about $200 million. The only backing it is getting is from the US Navy and the Navy has been starving it. ITER is all about putting off the day of cheap fusion for as long as possible and keeping the physics guys minds on something that is basically uneconomical. Obama’s Energy Secretary knows about this technology. We will see if he advances it or tries to keep it bottled up.