Giants and pygmies

December 27, 2012

The Dec. 11 news related that the U.S. has settled with the British bank, HSBC, with a fine of $2 billion. HSBC had laundered money from Mexican drug lords, from terrorists involved in the 9/11 attack on America, from rogue states like Iran and had allowed access to the U.S. financial system.

This is a giant bank whose profits were $52 billion.

Any smaller bank would face losing its charter and receive jail time. But our government is too small to attack giants and kill them.

Rather, we accept a bribe of $2 billion and allow them to continue.

In doing so, we become "enablers" of rotten businesses. And we cheat ourselves out of billions of legitimate tax dollars to operate our democracy.

Since our government is too small to kill giants, we then turn to pygmies and demand solutions to our fiscal cliff: Kill the labor unions. Increase the age of retirement. Demand more from the middle class. Dismantle the safety net. Less funds for mental illness. Cut tax deductions for charities.

The Scriptures warn that God is opposed to such civilizations that protect the strong and trample on the weak.

My prayer this Christmas season is for a government that is big enough and wise enough to deal with financial giants and not just financial pygmies.