Play the game that people play?

Lucky Baskhar (Telugu; 2024)

Director: Venky Atluri

There are different rules for other players. The rich have it good. The system ensures that they stay wealthy. Money begets money. The law provides that the bulk of wealth remains within the confines of those with them. There are different rules for other players. The rich have it good. The system ensures that they stay wealthy. Money begets money. The law provides that the bulk of wealth remains within the confines of those who possess it. The legal system makes justice swifter for all the money that can be bought. The middle class stays put in a self-imposed restrictive loop. The middle class is trapped in a cocoon by concocting rules of morality as well as divine and social justice. Grabbing an obscene wealth escapes them and can only be an unattainable dream. 

The middle class is often used as a scapegoat to show society that the system is fair. By periodically using them as sacrificial lambs, society sets an example to others of what can happen if they flaunt the law.

The word scapegoat has an interesting origin. It comes from the Book of Leviticus. In the Jewish ritual of Yom Kippur, a goat is symbolically burdened with the people's sins and released into the wilderness. This was a practice of atonement. In modern life, the poor are left high and dry to sanitise the wrongdoings of the community's upper echelon. 

Gone are the days when people are judged by their virtues. Currently, man is assessed by the amount of wealth he amasses. It does not matter the means it was acquired. Once money jiggles in one's pocket, everything and anything can be sanitised. A middle-class person is no longer middle-class. He springboards to a different level and acquires a new set of rules. He is viewed as a success story. Society, hellbent on punishing him earlier, will now bend backwards to protect him. Anything friends in higher places cannot help; money will do that.

Lucky Baskhar is an interesting movie with twists at every corner. It is a make-believe story that shows how one can beat the system once one learns the trade of the game. Baskhar is a low-ranking bank teller who is springboarded to the post of Assistant General Manager after a minor scandal in the bank. 

Little does he realise he is a pawn in the big boys' game of interbank loans, middleman brokers, share market rigging, and swindling the Reserve Bank of India. Baskhar cannot be a hero and expose everyone as his good name is also dragged into the muck. Baskhar, too, has his own economic woes and pressures from his family, father, siblings and in-laws. So, how does he kill two birds with one stone? Baskhar devises a complicated web of deceit that beats the big boys at their own game, solves his financial woes and gives everyone a run for their money.

The viewers always like to watch the little men whip up the powerful man at his own trade. This is it. The audience will leave feeling satisfied as if they had watched 'Catch Me If You Can'!

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Money is never enough!

Money Explained (5 episodes, Documentary, 2021)

Netflix

Looks like the old adage 'there is no such thing as a free lunch' still holds true. The system is there so that the well-heeled is always at the top of the food chain at the expense of the poor. Whichever way one looks, the little man will always stay poor, and the rich man will always the last laugh. 

Money, wealth, luxurious lifestyle and aesthetically pleasing environment are dangled in front of those who can ill afford to own or even anywhere around it. Everyone wants to be rich as that is our measure of success.

The first carrot that is dangled upon us is the get rich quick scheme. Even as early as the time of the expeditions to South America, the designs have been going around. Gregor MacGregor, a professional trickster, managed to sell land and bonds of a supposedly heaven-on-earth kind of a paradise territory in Central America after their discoveries. The trouble is that such a place was non-existent. Gullible people wanting to be rich bought the story and bought stocks and got burnt. Such frauds never stopped and continue as we speak. Suckers are born every day. There are Ponzi schemes, Multi-level Marketing, info-commercial, pyramid schemes, and the list goes on.

Another way to entice people to spend and spend is via credit cards. Credit companies give the illusion, via their creative advertisements, that by possessing their cards, life will be so pleasant, leisurely and stress-free. They conveniently forget to tell that, unless the client is a serial transactor who does not bring forward any balance forward to the following month, the customer would be subjected to compound interest. This interest is high, and in the olden days, it would be termed usury.

It is said that the American government encouraged its citizens to attend college and delve into science and technology as the Soviets were making leaps and bounds in the space race in the late 50s. Private enterprises also joined the education race. College fees started escalating. School loans were becoming the best way to pay back after graduation. But then, the whole arrangement came to a tumble when the 90s crash came about. They had no jobs, and the students had to defer their repayments. Not only they had to pay compound interest to their outstanding balance, but they also had to pay interest to the interest. If it used to be that those who entered the labour force without attending college would be higher wages in the early stage of their lives, it is not so anymore. The low skill workers actually earn less now. 

Nobody becomes rich by gambling. Period. Despite knowing this, the enticement to give a go at gambling is becoming more difficult than ever to shake off. With flashes of advertisements flashing right in front of our faces ever so often and the ease of installing gambling devices apps, the one-arm bandit is literally at our fingertips. The system is rigged in such a way that the house never loses, no matter what the experts say.

In the modern world, every individual works for the nation and in return, the country will provide for its people, including those in the twilight of their lives. The retirement fund is set for that and never meddled with even at the worse of crisis. Slowly we realise that the money set aside for the sunset era is gradually becoming insufficient. The elders, it seems, have to continue working even at their post-retirement age. The cost of living has increased exponentially, and people are just living longer. The cost of keeping a person healthy is just too expensive. The returns that they hoping for from their retirement saving just did not materialise. 

This short presentation of five 20-minutes episodes shows in simple terms some of the problems with managing money.

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Debt is money; Money is debt!

The Web of Debt

(The Shocking Truth About Our Money System And We Can Break Free)

Ellen Hodgson Brown, JD.

I grew up confused. On one hand, I was told to live within my means, to balance my income to my expenditure and to ensure that there is always something for savings. Being in debt was frowned upon. On the other hand, on the other side of my family, living on credit was a way of life. Nothing wrong to borrow, they would say. Even nations take huge loans.

In the modern world, it seems that one is deemed to be rich by his assets but the properties are leveraged by debts. In other words, he is only as rich as much as he can pay the interest on his debt. Money begets money and the poor get poorer. The divide between the haves and the have nots becomes more apparent as the days go by. One small hiccup in this set-up and the house of cards comes down crumbling.

 Nations that have secured high amounts of loans apparently have a higher credit rating on their credibility. Even our former premier was gung-ho in announcing that credit rating was so good that we can go on borrowing and borrowing; he did not talk about paying back!

That is what the world has come to. It is deeply intertwined in a web of debt. Money was initially utilised in change for goods, services and creativity when barter exchange proved problematic. It was working fine until international trade and imperialism came to the picture. Paper money used to be redeemable for gold, hence its value was the value placed by the people on the amount of gold it was backed with. 

The British Colonial masters decided on the value of money as the King printed it, deciding on its inherent value. The American colonies started printing their own money, which irked the British and that eventually led to the American Revolution. The Boston Tea Party and American Independence were all about money and taxes.

Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to control the value of money. In ancient times, tally sticks were used as a way to record money borrowed. Later, gold and silver were used to fix its value. Banks in past actually cheated by circulating more paper money than the gold they had to back them. Basically, the political game was who gets to control this issuance of money. Problems started creeping in when bankers started owning gold. They fixed the value of gold. Speculators who trade gold encourage transborder movements of this precious metal which then devalues the currency of a country. Its buying power then declines.

By the end of the 19th century, there was a call to take charge of the supply of money in the country. Bankers were usurping all the nation's wealth and were keeping the hard working general public in poverty. There were calls to clip the wings of these giant conglomerates. Unfortunately, things only got worse in 1913 with the establishment of the Federal Reserve Act.  The issuance of currency became the responsibility of a select group of bankers whose sole purpose of existence is not national interest but the profit of its shareholders. These bankers, with their tentacles of bankers across the Atlantic, were profiteers who had no qualms in profiting from both sides of the warring factions. In fact, war is essential for their existence as it generates income. 

The Federal Reserve is not quite 'federal' in its role. It is owned by an exclusive club whose activity is anybody's guess. Neither do they have any 'reserves' to save the nation from catastrophes. Its President decides the direction of the monetary system of the nation.

Over generations, the unholy unions of unscrupulous businesses and corrupt politicians have been balanced by the nationalistic spirit and the desire to do the right thing. Traditionally, printing of money has been viewed as dangerous which could lead to inflation. In practice, however, many US Presidents have shown that judicious issuance of Greenback has saved the nation from collapse. Lincoln did it to pay debt and win the Civil War. 

As it stands now, the world lives on credit. The Federal Reserve prints fiat money with nothing backing its value. They do not need to do it as the US dollar is backed no longer by gold or silver but by a piece of paper printed by them. Fractional banking, venture (vulture) capitalism, currency attack, off-shore banking, derivatives trading have brought populations to its knees. Nations' currencies are devalued and interests need to be paid in US Dollars. If they default, more loans are given. Citizens are taxed to pay for this.  People are enslaved through compound interests. They have to resort to double incomes and find means to tighten their belt further.

One of the founding fathers of the USA, John Adams, said that there are two ways to conquer a nation. One is through the sword and the other is through debt. This second option seems to be the modus operandi of the Cabal these days. The unholy union of political leaders and bankers spells danger to the country but resistance is just futile. A socialist minded, people-centric troublemaker leader would just be replaced easily. There is enough wealth to satisfy the needs of the people but not its greed. There is always another person anytime ready to sell his soul to the hydra-headed monster.

Traditional economics suggest that the market forces will balance up the supply and demand conundrum. Modern economists, however, posit that the state needs to meddle to put things straight. In the post 1929-depression period, timely intervention by Roosevelt through infrastructure development and de-pegging of the dollar.

Conventional teaching tells us, from the experiences of Japanese Banana Notes, the post-WW1 Weimar Republic and Sokarno's Indonesia, that printing of money can bring about hyperinflation. There are instances too of countries who temporarily solved their monetary woes through this manner. It makes perfect sense for the state to print money for services. Instead of raising prices, it would increase productivity especially when employment opportunities are available.

The web of debt is made up of petrol, bonds, bankers and corrupt politicians. They create enticing Ponzi schemes to lure promising leaders of the rich nations to loans and investment plans. They would also rush to open up their currency markets to enable speculated manipulations. These countries, in time to come, would be strapped of cash. These same vultures will send their own agents via IMF and World Bank to further impoverish them with one-sided recovery packages to get the debtors to sink further into the quicksand of helplessness.

The author, through the 500 over pages of the book, highlights how the monetary mafia creates havoc in many countries around the world. She also discusses how many nations, including Dr Mahathir of Malaysia, have come up with ways to reduce the dependence on using US Dollars in international trade. One of the suggestions includes fixing currencies to particular 'basket of commodities'.

Word of appreciation to Prof Dr Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera





https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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No place like home!

The Wizard of Oz (1939)


Even though 'The Wizard of Oz' (the film) based on the 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz' (the book in 1895) played important roles in many people's childhood, I was always under the impression that it was one of those silly children stories that one can do without. Of course, the soundtrack of the movie, especially 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' kept ringing in everyone's ears to remind that the right time will come one day or was it a message just to keep the crybabies quiet?

Now they tell me that 'The Wizard of Oz' was satire through and through. Subtly hidden behind the outrageous storyline was the fight of the Populist Party in the 19th century USA against their monetary system. In 1895, there was an economic depression that affected most of the typical Americans. Part of the reason for that money was pegged to gold. The Populist Party, under the auspices of its leader William Jennings Bryan, a two-time Presidential candidate, campaigned for usage of silver and gold in their monetary policy. There was a fear of usage of Greenback to create fiat money. Gold was at risk of being controlled by bankers. 

The author, L. Frank Baum, was a journalist and a member of the Populist party. He bought over a Republican Party newspaper. To keep its readership (Republicans) happy, he wrote about many of the Populist agenda in a concealed manner. His book in 1900 'The Wonderful World of Oz' was one excellent example. 

Just like the 'Grimm Tales' which portrays living conditions in Germany and 'Alice in Wonderland' of Victorian times, 'The Wizard of Oz' is an allegory to the monetary system and of the American dream. It was all about people power, having a vision and finding it in your own backyard. 

In the 1890s, America had a severe recession. Farmers lost their land to greedy bankers. Industry workers lost their jobs. People were generally disillusioned. 

Dorothy, the average American, is blown off in her house in Kansas (Populist's stronghold) to Munchinland (short, dark, funnily dressed people - probably immigrants). Her house lands on the Witch of the East (Wall Street) and killing her. She is threatened by the Witch of the West (Rockefeller in Cleveland, West to NY). The kind Witch of the North is Populist Party who helps Dorothy with the silver slippers to pave the Yellow Brick Road to meet The Wizard of Oz. The silver denotes the silver that the party is campaigning for; The Yellow Brick Road being the Gold standard. To flaunt their spanking new Technicolour abilities, the filmmakers decided to substitute the silver slippers to scintillating red ruby ones. The Witch was the West is hellbent on removing the silver sandals.

Accompanying Dorothy in her journey are The Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. The Scarecrow needs a brain. It refers to the farmers who have the knowledge but lack the confidence to stand on their own. The Tin Man, referring to the workers in industries, need constant oiling (need oil money to keep them working) needs a heart because he has been dehumanised by modern machinery. He used to be made of wood but was soon replaced. He needs the heart to be human again. The Cowardly Lion refers to Bryan, the voracious speaker who does not have the guts to push his agenda all the way to Washington (Emerald City in the story).

The symbolism goes on and on. Oz refers to how gold is measured; oz being abbreviation to the ounce. The Wizard of Oz seemed like an unapproachable guy, but he ended up being a lovable guy controlled by buttons and gadgets behind the curtain. These complicated things denote the intricate contraptions devised by the bankers to entrap the people, and The Wizard (maybe the President) is dancing to their tune.

The take-home message here is that everything is there is the USA. It is up to the people of all level to grip it and chase their American Dream.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

http://www.themoneymasters.com/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-monetary-reformers-brief-symbol-glossary/

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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