Three reasons - in bold above - to plough my own furrow…..
Eve decided that, if she went ahead she (in reverse order) –
3) would have authority over others;
2) would be seen to be much better off than others; and
1) would live a life sustained by herself and not in reliance upon others - living by her own choices and not by God’s abundant provision in the garden of Eden.
When Eve went ahead she found that she now needed to cover herself up from Adam’s gaze (and vice versa) and both needed to hide themselves from God, from the totally-altruistic-by-nature giver of all good things to his created human beings.
What then would be Eve’s economic viewpoint regarding the taxation of all her future gains? Would she minimize her taxes? Would she avoid them if at all possible? Individuals make abundant use of tax havens, including such havens operating semi-covertly within major nations and groups of nations, e.g. the City in the UK, Delaware in the US, Luxembourg in the EU. Epi-economics (the prefix epi- means above-) is the study of factors that influence economic actions – in this case a fulfill-MY-desire strategy.
Welcome to the world of epi-economics.
The cult 1980s icon Gordon Gekko put it like this: “Greed – for lack of a better word – is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Corporates (governed by humans – by Adam and Eve’s descendants) understandably follow the same path. They make use of tax havens. Theyn pursue Eve’s epi-economic strategy.
What about governmental authorities among all the nations in today’s global village? Rulers who achieve totalitarian governmental authority (Adam and Eve par excellence) make sure that they themselves accumulate their own wealth first of all.
“Democratic” governments follow the epi-economics of their own people. They desire the “good” of their own people most of the time - although UK MP’s showed their own epi-economic bent when claiming “expenses”.
Jersey governmental epi-economics arises endorses Eve’s three motives. 3) Jersey must have authority over others (also known as “seeking independence”). 2) Jersey must do better than Guernsey and must not be left behind. 1) In short, Jersey must “live” even if others die.
This last statement 1) seems outrageous. Surely Jersey’s epi-economics does not countenance or bring about the death of others? What about the destruction of lives overseas through on-line gambling? (“We’ve got to live.”) Yes, a government’s desire for the good of their own people damages others – even to death.
Epi-economics indeed. This world’s economic system is driven by epi-economics. As the cockneys say, “Would you Adam-and-Eve it?” Who wants this to last forever? |
