The storm that keeps on storming

An article on CNN's web site this morning features the view of an economist from the University of Virginia, who sees the current financial mess as a "perfect storm" of money woes, created over the past decade and more by folks eager to make money by nothing more than making money. According to Peter Rodriguez, people investing in the housing market at its peak found new ways to increase their profits, while also increasing the chances of a meltdown.

Rodriguez reviews the run-up to the crisis, coming by a wild increase in housing prices and a decline in interest rates. As he puts it, "This encourages all sorts of risky behavior by individuals looking to buy homes, and it encourages banks to lend because, in an environment where prices rise, they're making lots of money." The whole house of cards finally collapsed when enough risky loans had been made to people unable to keep up the payments, and banks had more money out in bad loans than they could support in cash.

Now the storm keeps on stormin', and millions of ordinary people who would never think about risky investments are having their own bank accounts wiped out. It certainly brings to mind the Bible's warning about the "love of money", which is "a root of all kinds of evil", and sets men up for "foolish and harmful desires" (1 Timothy 6:9-10) Too bad more investors didn't read that first. But then, greed and love of money, like all sins of the heart, can blind a person to the consequences of his actions, so that such drastic outcomes are seen as something that only happens to "other people", or "careless people" or something.

Where this will all lead, with various bail-out measures and stimulus plans, etc., is hard to say, even for the experts. But no one seems to be talking about changing, not just the way banks are regulated, but the way the human mind should be regulated by the Word of God. Until a person experiences a true inner renewal, not of religion, but in the core of his heart and desires, the lure of easy money and the "American dream" will continue to deceive some people into taking their chances with a fast buck. Too bad it isn't just their luck that went bad, instead of bringing a whole bunch of bad luck to the rest of us.