Reading a story that was posted recently on Facebook got me thinking about one of the most egregious consequences of the bank bailouts. These huge corporations with billions and billions of dollars of assets were handed $700 billion by the federal government to keep them afloat. Then on top of that they received trillions of dollars in loans and asset purchases from the Federal Reserve, much of which they're still sitting on today. And what did they do to the customers to whom they loaned money? They foreclosed on their houses. I never heard anyone make this comparison with regard to the foreclosures, but I'm sure that many people thought of the parable of the wicked servant.
Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one as brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow-servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came, and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him: and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
Matthew 18:21-35
A talent, when used as a monetary term, is worth anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 denarii. So 10,000 talents, as owed by the wicked servant, would be equivalent to 50 to 60 million denarii, or about $170 million at today's price of silver. That 100 denarii owed to him by the other servant is quite literally a drop in the bucket. The parable is intended to illustrate how we must forgive others who wrong us, not necessarily to encourage us to forgive debts, but the parallels between the parable and what is happening today are too similar to ignore.
The banks came running to the government, begging for money. If they didn't get a bailout, the whole financial system would explode, the economy would grind to a halt, etc., etc., and Congress bought that hook, line, and sinker. And then those greedy bankers turned right around and squeezed all of their debtors for every last penny, and they continue to do so. The Fed took trillions of dollars worth of worthless assets off the banks' balance sheets, but did the banks reciprocate by writing down mortgages? No. Did they extend grace periods for paying off overdue loans? No.
The only things they ever did to help homeowners was at the government's insistence, in programs in which the government promised to eat some of the potential losses. Privatize profits, socialize losses, that's the name of the modern banking game. Until we overturn this regime and establish a sound banking system that isn't in bed with the government, we can expect more of the same.