Greed per Micheal

The six deadly sins
By Michael Rissman - 10/31/08
Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride: which doesn’t belong? Greed of course. Greed is good. The others are all deadly sins. Greed is not good, of course: not good for the economy and not good for the soul. Free markets and free societies work when individuals act in their enlightened self-interest. Greed is in no one’s enlightened self-interest. On that secular humanists and those of all faiths agree.Of late in the United States, greed has been used to justify obscene transfers of wealth, not among classes but among generations. What could be more craven than running huge deficits to make our generation wealthier at the expense of the next?Obama seems to be wakening young Americans from torpor induced by the notion that greed is good. I wish for them a return to the classic values: prudence, temperance, courage and justice.But if McCain wins, I’ll make my peace with his belief that paying taxes is un-American. I’ll get to have my cake and eat it to. I won’t be greedy when I stop paying taxes; I’ll be a super-patriot.Michael Rissman