Ojai resident Rinaldo Brutoco gave a brilliant, fascinating keynote speech at the recent Earth Charter Summit in Ventura. He is a visionary economist, author, consultant, and founding president of the World Business Academy.
According to Brutoco, it’s one of those “good news, bad news” kinds of situations. He started out with the bad news (but hang in there and keep reading, because there is some good, very hopeful, news in all this). The bad news is that the economic collapse is far worse than most people can imagine: it is not easily reversible. We’re way past a recession; we’re right on the edge of a depression. The global debt is so huge that it can’t be paid back. At close to $600 trillion, the unregulated derivatives market is more than three times the value of the entire world’s financial assets. The $55 trillion credit defaults market is more than the GNP of all the world’s nations combined. Less than 2% of the currency circulated in the world actually buys something; 98% is speculation. Wall Street is basically a gambling casino.
Brutoco (along with many other economists) feels that the recent “bailout” is “stunningly bad.” He states that Treasury Secretary Paulson didn’t understand the problem, which is leveraged debt and overly expanded monetary policy. Paulson suggested more of the same, and then within a day or two the world leaders all agreed to still more of the same. Following right after that came the huge drops in the markets, as people around the world sensed that the leaders didn’t know what they were doing. The economy crashes because there is no trust in leadership.
Brutoco first made it clear that he is an Independent, and then went on to predict that if Obama gets into office in November that we have a pretty good chance of fixing things. If there is another Republican administration then we can expect tent cities and soup kitchens within six months.
So here’s the good news: the system is so broken that it can’t be fixed by fine-tuning it. The way we’ll have to fix it is to heal the Earth. People can make money with alternative energy technologies. Fossil fuels are ending. Nuclear is not a good alternative, but there are many other potential sources of energy such as geothermal. It’s good news because fossil fuel use will drop 5-10% in the coming year. If even a portion of the money we’re currently sending to the Middle East for oil goes into green jobs, then we can reverse the current trend and make more money than we spend for a change. He stated that what we do better in Western democracies is make hospitals, schools, etc. We can make money on exporting things we do well that are good for the planet.
He mentioned FDR’s strategies for pulling the country out of the Depression, predicting that we will put similar programs in place, and that rather than taking seven years as it did before, that we may be able to have a significant turnaround in two years. Right now we’re at “astronomically stupid levels of debt.” Basically, the U.S. is bankrupt. We all – every man, woman, and child in the U.S. – have $484,000 of debt right now. This situation requires us to stop spending money on foreign wars and military, and on so many of the things that have been causing such harm to the planet.
We’re standing in a new era. The reason this collapse is good news is that it’s the only way to heal the Earth. I think many of us have felt that we can’t go on this way, but have felt helpless to do much to effect substantial change. Having the economy come crashing down all around us, and all the suffering that entails, is not what any of us would have wished for or imagined, but according to economists such as Rinaldo Brutoco, this – painful and frightening as it is – may be what actually gets us back on track.
For more info, here are two of Brutoco’s recent articles on the economy, both of which Deepak Chopra posted on The Huffington Post:
“An Economic Solution Through Service, Not Greed,” and
“Saving the U.S. Economy Through ‘Trickle-up’ Economics.”
{ 8 comments }
THANK YOU Sally! I’m sending a copy to the Chamber…
Gloom and doom, man is evil. It’s really sad that uneducated people spew this nonsense. Please tell us what alternative energy is going to fuel our economy and our society? I’ve been hearing this for the past 30 years.
it is a wondrous ecstasy, Mountain Summit view, to awaken to a North America who seemingly has agreed to remove the bloody Cheney-Bush monster from office.
in this moment of emotional and relative honesty, it would seem prudent (for a few days or weeks at least, until President Oblama takes office in January) … prudent to side with this shallow continent-wide mental euphoria … and dance the dance of ‘victory’, of one power over another.
{Oblama wins right to remain on ballot, in Philadephia courtroom …}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMXnk16kiE
yet more power is not the answer, and continued immorality (hiding the truth) will serve no one.
certainly I understand my older brother Rinaldo Brutoco’s logic, and intention to become the Financial Kingpin for the new regime. and appealing to the middle class and homeowners could certainly accomplish that.
Rinaldo has always been an addict of the oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, science, aerospace, medical and media doctrine-state, and I have always been an addict of divine nature and world culture.
playing the card of the middle and ‘professional’ and working classes, over the larger poor and unemployed and immigrant communities, should certainly get the Democrats back in office, assuming they have the backing of the corporate media and the aerospace military — yet it is not likely to allow them to hold power for the coming eight year ‘term’. not even one year if all in the economic and environmental sphere is as it appears to really be. (the end of fraudulent corporate ‘democratic’ civilization).
‘trickling up’ the takings from the working classes, from the poor, from the migrant workers, will only bleed away the only remaining life in the world economy. Deepak Chopra’s glossy approval not-withstanding.
our ethical and economic reforms have to be ten times more thorough, and honest, than the continuation of the security-state government which Rinaldo speaks to, sells to us. yes, he has the Crown and Europe on his side, and China and all of the World-Corp(se) which has orchestrated this (long overdue) collapse of the US empire — yet the takeover of the US by the world gangsters, taking it from the US gangsters, will not bring about freedom and protection for the world’s people, the universal poor. nor our victim women and children and indigenous peoples.
nor (my) beloved Mother Earth.
the Al Gore-Democrat machinations of upgrading industry, and expanding consumerism, and continuing the decimation of the 95-percent-already-eliminated animals, forests, rainforests, wetlands, rivers, oceans — this sacrilege, this horror, cannot be continued (fortunately) and will not be continued … thanks to the honesty of Global Consciousness, our world heart/mind/body … nor the individual GrandMothers, the lightworkers, the spiritual leaders and voices of Mother Earth, Mother Creation, Mother Divine.
with and for all our holy sacred relations,
Millennium Twain
Goddess Moon, Califa,
Turtle Island, Mother Earth
Our culture has been obviously out of balance for a long time. We’ve created a belief system that the acquisition of a lot of things will cause us to feel abundant and happy.It’s caused many to live beyond their means and, of course, that is unsustainable.
The solution to our economic problems includes the stated global action of cutting back our military adventures but must also include the decisions we make in our local economies. Can we continue to build 1,000+ square feet of housing per inhabitant? Can we afford two or more new cars per household? Can we refuse to support local businesses even when they are competitive? Can we continue using pesticides that make us sick and run up our medical bills while reducing our productivity? Can we encourage additional housing when we don’t have adequate resources for our current population?
The good news is that it’s possible to live an abundant, joyful life that is based on simple living within our means. When we value the things that are really important and support our community, the macroeconomic issues will take care of themselves. If every one in our country was frugal with their energy use our leaders may not have felt that invading Iraq for oil was essential to our economic survival.
Integrity Now is a group that meets once a month to discuss connecting heart to community. We will meet this Sunday,Nov. 2 from 10AM to 12Noon at 207 N.Ventura St.. We use the talking stick and will ask each participant to share their favorite idea for simple living. We will also have free DVD copies of our Oct.10 event with Vincent Bugliosi where he talked about prosecuting George W.Bush.For more info, call John 640-3650
I’m a bit more of a pessimist than either Rinaldo or you, Sally. I’m not sure any change in leadership can head off the downturn in the growth of our economy. I think that Barack Obama offers exactly what he says he offers – hope. If we, as citizens of the US, can come together and elect a man who believes so fervently in the greatness of the American spirit, not to fight wars but to uplift people, then there is hope. There is hope that the next generation of leaders will all have been inspired by him to some degree or another, and that they will bring change to the way the country operates.
Summarizing Rinaldo Brutoco, Sally Carless writes:
— 1) they fund both sides of every war (and make a financial killing) and 2) depopulation.
We all — every man, woman, and child in the U.S. — have $484,000 of debt right now. This situation requires us to stop spending money . . .
With great respect for my friend Rinaldo, I offer another perspective.
I believe that the solution to the economic problems of the U.S. is to dismantle the Federal Reserve — a private banking cartel without reserves — which since its inception by massive fraud in 1913 has brought this country to its knees.
Clearly Rinaldo is right that spending is and has been out of hand for some time. But the debt Rinaldo mentions is the debt U.S. citizens have incurred largely because the private Federal Reserve LOANS us, at interest, every single dollar printed.
Not a penny of the federal taxes you pay goes to buying anything or paying for services of any kind. Your federal tax dollars pay only the interest on the money that is lent daily to the U.S. government by a private banking cartel — a cartel that shoved its way into power, through deceit and manipulation, on Christmas Eve in 1913, when most senators and congressmen had gone home for the holidays.
If we leave the control of currency in the hands of these private bankers, this country will fall like a paper tower.
We must dismantle the Federal Reserve and get back to a true currency — not fraudulent Federal Reserve notes.
Sincerely,
Jock Doubleday
P.S. My hope is that the above comment will not be deleted, as was my comment on Lisa Snider’s article. (It was deleted twice.) My comment on Lisa Snider’s recent post is reproduced below, for anyone who is interested. The issue is the same.
——-
[Comment -- deleted twice -- on Lisa Snider's recent post:]
Whether you’re voting for McSame or Obamahawk, you’re voting for endless war.
October 27, 2008
“Obama wants troops surge in Afghanistan”
Sounding presidential, Senator Barack Obama said Wednesday [Oct. 22] he would order a surge of U.S. troops–perhaps 15,000 or more–to Afghanistan as soon as he reached the White House. “We’re confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama, the Democratic contender and now clear front-runner to replace George W. Bush, said Wednesday. “It’s time to heed the call . . . for more troops. That’s why I’d send at least two or three additional brigades to Afghanistan,” he said in his most hawkish promise to date. “The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large and plotting,” he said . . .
current dot com/item/89453970_obama_wants_troops_surge_in_afghanistan
There is no political solution to a nonpolitical problem. The problem is the Overclass (or “Illuminati”).
The Overclass, which is comprised of the wealthy families who run the Federal Reserve (which isn’t federal and has no reserves) and who run all world politics, will see to it that Obama and McSame march-step to the same drummer.
Why does the Overclass want endless war? For at least two reasons (we can’t know their every agenda
Overclass Funding Both Sides of Wars:
youtube dot com/watch?v=aHJ2joOSSGw
Overclass Depopulation Agenda:
rense dot com/general62/ruppertendorses4billion.htm
Obama is right about one thing: “The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large.” . . .
Yes, they’re in the White House, holding the highest positions in the land, discoursing pleasantly on trivial subjects, eating duck shot accidentally by Dick Cheney as he aimed his rifle at whatever human beings were around.
So this year’s presidential election is between two persons who believe that nineteen Arabs with boxcutters performed the attacks of 9/11. Hmm . . . Check box A or box A?
Top Three favored distractions of the Overclass:
1) War
2) Elections
3) Celebrity
If you want to learn something about the world, watch Zeitgeist: The Federal Reserve –
youtube dot com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ
If you don’t want to learn something about the world, but prefer instead to “exercise your voting rights,” head on down to the polls, cast a vote, and feel prrrrrrroud!
Jock
Re: the Federal Reserve …
Rinaldo Brutoco today wrote:
“…it appears this current financial crisis may provide the opportunity to fundamentally re-examine the Fed’s mission and authority, and to offer options on how to curtail its unilateral control over the markets, the printing of currency, and the banking system.”
Thanks, Sally for posting this, and yes, I read it all as well as the links, and the comments.
The problem with both Deepak and Rinaldo is that they are Tweedle Dee Dee and Tweedle Dee Dum. One from the religious medical-psyche field and the other from the business world. Quite a powerful duo but they both appear to have a common godfather whose name is Midas.
You’ve got to look closely past your liberal bias or you’ll miss it. The only way to tell is to be in love with truth. Money just won’t cut it. If you want the truth, check out Jock D. who just commented on your thread.
The tweedlededums don’t represent radical truth like Jock; they work for the patriarchal overclass but in spiritual and business terms. If they were into love of truth, they would be calling US on the truth of 911 and now the economic collapse. Liberals don’t want to know that kind of truth because it doesn’t deliver money or good-feeling payoffs.
Feeling bad is the appropriate truthful emotional state for the reality of our times. Promising even more money + God with their system is a con.
“It doesn’t take a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows.” A new power group will probably come to power under Obama, and liberals will be partying because they now have power, or so they think. The partying has a trickle down effect and here in Ojai we will be dancing in the streets too. We will be happy because the system will be saved, or so we think.
The only criteria for love is in its object, and that is chiefly love for the poor. Even if Obama turns out to be another FDR, the system will be saved, the very system that crushes the poor, steals their land and even their souls (hence, the business and spiritual pincers). The point of the system is not to raise the poor but to make sure the rich do not fall.
Obama is just the ticket for that and you can count on both tweedles to be there to partake of the emotional glory feelings and monetary kickbacks.
I won’t be voting, much less partying. I can’t stomach the system, much less support it. My abstenence will be my vote. I wrote Red Brown and Blue party on my registration form for party of choice. They changed it to “decline to state.” Typical of the system at every level: liars and thieves.
If Tweedle Dee Dee and Tweedle Dee Dum were really businesslike and spiritual, they would condemn the patriarchal system, not condone and support it. They can’t do that because they are part of it. They are part of it because of the money. Follow the money.
Ojai is caught in the middle between tough truth and tweadle truth. Tough truth is related to tough love. Tweadle truth is related to feel-good love. Money, security, success and power make you feel good so guess which is the easier choice?
Jock once posed as the Jesus of 911. Jesus was poor and was born in a stable. He died on a cross because he opposed the very things the tweadles push. By tweadle standards, Jesus was not spiritual nor is Jock.
“Look out your window, baby, there’s a scene you’d like to catch
The band is playing Dixie, a man got his hand outstretched
Could be the Fuhrer
Could be the local priest
You know sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace
He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Well he catch you when you’re hoping for a glimpse of the sun
Catch you when your troubles feel like they weigh a ton
He could be standing next to you
The person that you’d notice least
I hear Satan sometimes comes as a man of peace
He’s a great humanitarian, he’s a great philanthropist
He knows just where to touch you, honey, and how you can be kissed
He’ll put both his arms around you
You feel the tender touch of the beast
You know sometime Satan comes as a man of peace.
I don’t know what the Poet had in mind, but I’m thinking of Pa Patriarchy, the Father of Lies.
Don’t let me be a party pooper. That’s not my intent. Take MT’s advice, and throw a big party if Obama wins, and if the tweadles do make ten times more money and spiritual success. Just don’t forget truth while you party.
As for me, I can’t party any more. Not while the planet and the poor are not invited. I’d rather spend a minute with the poor than a year with the rich. They’re more real and interesting, even if they burn with envy. The rich are usually just burned out.
I know. I’m painting with broad strokes but if an editor can do it so can a fool like me.
“Clinging to things is a crazy addiction, bringing in rings of a hazy affliction. Vanity of vanity and all is vanity; your undying Love is my only sanity. Everything I have will be taken away; even your Love is another step on the way.”
“We live in a political world
Love don’t have any place
We’re living in times where men commit crimes
And crimes don’t have a face.”
“Heavens and earth will all pass away but the words of the Heart forever will stay; against them there’s no power to gainsay; not even God can stand in their way.”
There is no truth without love and no love without justice. As for love:
“You’ve never learned to read or write
There’s no books upon your shelf
And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark.”
Comments on this entry are closed.