IF THE SHOE FITS; EWPD

The author of the following article may be on to something.

Rather than demonizing the super rich who hoard wealth to a fault and damage both the planet and it's inhabitants in the process it might be better to offer them help in treating what I'd call "extreme wealth psychotic disorder." EWPD for short.

The criteria has already been established so it's only a matter of applying it to wealth and the symptoms these individuals present with.

The following article get's the ball rolling;

OpEdNews Article: Article: Treating Extreme Wealth As a Disease

Narcissism. Narcissists are a**holes who think the world revolves around them They are similar to psychopaths but they have some, though not much empathy.
Hotchkiss identified what she called the seven deadly sins of narcissism: [7]
Shamelessness : Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
Magical thinking : Narcissists see themselves as perfect, using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
Arrogance : A narcissist who is feeling deflated may reinflate by diminishing, debasing, or degrading somebody else.
Envy : A narcissist may secure a sense of superiority in the face of another person's ability by using contempt to minimize the other person.
Entitlement : Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves special. Failure to comply is considered an attack on their superiority, and the perpetrator is considered an "awkward" or "difficult" person. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger narcissistic rage .
Exploitation : Can take many forms but always involves the exploitation of others without regard for their feelings or interests. Often the other is in a subservient position where resistance would be difficult or even impossible. Sometimes the subservience is not so much real as assumed.
Bad boundaries : Narcissists do not recognize that they have boundaries and that others are separate and are not extensions of themselves. Others either exist to meet their needs or may as well not exist at all. Those who provide narcissistic supply to the narcissist are treated as if they are part of the narcissist and are expected to live up to those expectations. In the mind of a narcissist there is no boundary between self and other.

U.S. Scores Low in Children's Well-Being

It's not surprising that the U.S. is way behind the rest of the developed world in the way we treat our children. Just like most other social priorities; the environment, financial security, and health care the U.S. places more emphasis on wealth, power, entertainment, sports, war, and individual success no matter the cost.



This is one of many alarming revelations about the course this country is on. Our children are our future and rather than cherish them we neglect them. We fail to provide the basic necessities such as food, education, and healthcare; while wasting billions on senseless wars, pandering the rich, and subsidizing those who don't need or deserve it.

U.S. Scores Low in Children's Well-Being

 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eighty percent of Americans in 2012 said most children in their country have the opportunity to learn and grow every day, while 66% said they are treated with dignity and respect. Although these figures might seem high, they are actually on the low end among 29 advanced economies where UNICEF studies children's well-being.

The United States' relatively poor performance on these two measures reaffirms its similarly poor performance in a recent UNICEF study of children's well-being. The UNICEF study considered five dimensions of well-being -- material, health and safety, education, behaviors and risks, and housing and environment -- with the U.S. ranking 26th in overall child well-being among these same 29 wealthy nations.

FINANCIAL TERRORISM

FINANCIAL TERRORISM

The world is on the brink of experiencing a financial Armageddon.



Both the Pope and some still sane world leaders have warned us of the consequences if we allow a small group to continue exploiting this planet and it's people for nothing more than personal gratification. What is more disturbing is the way the majority of Americans remain either submissive or passive about it with seemingly little concern about the legacy they are leaving to their children and future generations.



The middle class which was once the backbone of this country and what it stood for is quickly disappearing and Americans will soon be unable to rescue what will be only remnants of a once great nation.

This Is How Rich The Top 85 People Are Compared To The World

The world's richest 85 people own as much as the world's poorest 3.5 billion people, global development organization Oxfam said Monday.

"Wealthy elites have co-opted political power to rig the rules of the economic game, undermining democracy and creating a world where the 85 richest people own the wealth of half of the world's population," an Oxfam study entitled "Working for the Few" stated.

The group stated that some economic inequality is "essential to drive growth and progress, rewarding those with talent, hard-earned skills, and ambition to innovate and take entrepreneurial risks. However, the extreme level of wealth concentration occurring today threatens to exclude hundreds of millions of people from realizing the benefits of their talents and hard work."

This form of financial terrorism is much more destructive to our way of life than all other terrorist forces combined. This is a war we can not afford to lose.

Schools and theaters become favorite shooting ranges for NRA and 2nd Amendment fans.

Oh Hum!  This is really getting boring. 

Another Floridian "stands his ground" against a popcorn throwing texter;

 

 The retired Florida cop who allegedly shot and killed a young dad who was texting during a movie "had every right to defend himself" after the man hurled a bag of popcorn at him, his lawyer said in court. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cops-friends-stunned-respected-captain-movie-theater-slaying-article-1.1578945#ixzz2qQbreYUm

 

Another kid (12 years old) mows downs classmates in New Mexico;

 

State Police said a shotgun-wielding boy in Berrendo Middle School's gym was apprehended around 8 a.m. after he fired off several shots at students. A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl is in serious condition after being flown to a hospital in Texas, according to a hospital spokesman.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gunman-arrested-shooting-new-mexico-school-police-article-1.1578987#ixzz2qQct781V

 

The NRA and 2nd Ammendment gun nuts believe the solution is MORE GUNS! 

After the shooting in Newtown that left 20 elementary school students dead, the National Rifle Association responded with a proposal for what it called National School Shield program. The idea, said the organization's leader, Wayne LaPierre, was that "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." The shield program aimed to put an armed guard in every elementary school in the country to protect children from the next deranged killer. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/21/167785169/live-blog-nra-news-conference

It's obvious that this kind of logic is just plain insane and, as long as the inmates are running the asylum we can expect more guns to be used by more people in killing more people. 

Those who advocate this twisted logic are doing nothing less than aiding and abetting shooters and should be considered a crime in and of itself. 

 

 

 

 

POPE to LANGONE; NO BILLIONAIRES IN HEAVEN

Hey Ken!  You can't take it with ya! Dummy!

For an 80 plus savy money man Mr Langone is about as naive as an 8 year old when it comes to a basic understanding of the Bible and Jesus' teachings. For example;

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;…MARK 12:42


The message is clear. There's no mincing of words or inuendo. What Ken and those the Pope is calling out for "worshiping" the buck are being reminded of is that Billionaires can't spend a few million here and there to get their names on the wall of a cathedral or a tax dedcution and consider that a ticket to heaven.

The rich play the "charity" card for all the wrong reasons. Tax write-offs and acolades are not charitable acts and more self-serving.

 

Billionaires like Kenneth Langone threaten to withhold donations if Francis continues his war on capitalism's ills

According to Langone, such criticism from the Holy See could ultimately hurt the sensitive feelings of the rich so badly that they become “incapable of feeling compassion for the poor.” He also said rich donors are already losing their enthusiasm for the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan — a very specific threat that he mentioned directly to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

Pope Francis is the "messenger" Ken. The message is from up above and it might behove you and your friends to heed the call; especially as the day of reakoning nears. 

The Pope's Criticism Of Capitalism Has One Wealthy Donor Very Upset

Some of the statements in question are from Francis' first teaching, or "exhortation," a 224-page document issued in late November. In it, the pontiff criticizes what he calls "an economy of exclusion and inequality," blaming ideologies that "defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation."

Just in case you and your friends missed it Ken here's what the Pope is talking about;

From the end of 2008 to the middle of 2013 the total U.S. wealth increased from $47 trillion to $72 trillion. And about $16 trillion of that is financial gain (stocks and other financial instruments).

The richest 1 percent own about 38 percent of stocks and half of are non-stock financial assets. So they've gained at least $6.1 trillion (38 percent of $16 trillion). That's over $5 million for each of 1.2 million households.

The next richest 4 percent, based on similar calculations, gained about $5.1 trillion. That's over a million dollars for each of their 4.8 million households.

The least wealthy 90 percent in our country only own 11 percent of all stocks excluding pensions, which are fastly disappearing. The frantic recent surge in the stock market has largely bypassed these families.

In 2009 the average wealth for almost half of American families was ZERO (their debt exceeded their assets).

In 1983, the families in America's poorer half owned an average of about $15,000. But from 1983 to 1989 the median wealth fell from more than $70,000 to about $60,000. From 1998 to 2009, about 80 percent of American families LOST wealth and they had to borrow as a way to stay afloat.

It seems the disparity couldn't get much worse, but after the recession, it did. According to a Pew Research Center study, in the first two years of recovery the mean net worth of households in the upper 7 percent of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28 percent, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93 percent dropped by 4 percent. And then, from 2011 to 2013, the stock market grew by almost 50 percent with again the great majority of that gain going to the richest 5 percent.

Today our wealth gap is worse than that of third-world economies. Out of all developed and undeveloped countries with at least a quarter-million adults, the U.S. has the 4th-highest degree of wealth inequality in the world trailing only Russia, Ukraine and Lebanon.

Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: