Rough Draft

This morning at 2:51 I finished my senior project on PTSD. I maximized my page limit by 3 pages so sadly was not able to include an economic stand point on my topic. As apart of the treatment for PTSD within war victims the government has 12 million currently invested, and 26 million more if benchmarks are met. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is being funded by the government to create a chip that can be inserted into military officers to reach within the soft tissue of the brain to record and predict PTSD. The chip will provide the ability to monitor electronic waves within the brain as well as transmit it's own electric currents to regulate healthy levels of brain activity. The chip creates controversy because ethically it can be viewed as an over-controlled/robotic form of medicine. The easy solutions is to state that playing God isn't ethical. However, i would like to question what is the difference between the chip and a pace maker placed within the heart. Is inserting technology into the brain any different from the heart? I believe that the government should continue to fund the project because the economical benefits will be reaped with great prosperity. The average individual has the opportunity and i would encourage to invest in the company's heading up the project.

DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is the head-runner for some of the greatest inventions of all time. For example the invention of thermal imagery in the late 1950's used to provide the military with the capability of using night vision. The company's who decided to invest and partner with DARPA such as Honey Well and Texas Instruments are now house-hold mulit-million dollar companies. ARPENET, DARPA's inside government network, eventually became the internet. This led to the rise of Google, a company which gave back to their investors 344 times their intial investment.  The reign of Google produced over 1,000 millionaires as the stock skyrocketed. DARPA's program , "Sketch Pad" with the construction of this program scientists produced the first PC containing a word processor, a printer, file folders, scroll bars, drop-down menus and multi-tasking. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates eventually commercialized the product which only led to a massive industry of stocks in the Silicon Valley such as Apple, Microsoft and Dell. Once DARPA's inventions take the leap of leaving the hands of the government they  have proven to make investors rich, and by rich i mean the kind that only produced by inventions that change the world. Examples of these inventions that have rolled out of DARPA's doors are the GPS, microchip, computer mouse, Cloud computing and the personal computer. Investing Daily states, "The bottom line is DARPA is the “invisible hand” behind some of history’s great financial growth stories. Most investors don’t know it. Most financial analysts don’t want to believe it. They’d prefer to believe Silicon Valley did it all by itself. No help from the government. But the truth is those who were privy to DARPA’s pipeline of innovation had the chance to claim a stake in the next wave of millionaire-making technology." 

The higher stakes involved in investing in a company the greater chance for a moral dilemma. If those investing in the technology of computers knew what computers would create ten years down the road would they invest? Its a question they still battle with today amidst drowning in stacks of cash.

When DARPA announced their new-found project in chips to treat and prevent PTSD one would assume that the product is a guaranteed success. I believe the product very much could be. Medically this is the first product that DARPA has pushed forward with full force. The question remains is placing a chip inside the brain of military officers "playing god" or reducing the value of humanity? I do not believe so. The military for years has forced officers to take pills to keep them awake and make them more aware. Snipers also take drugs to take away any "shakiness" and make them calm so they can accurately shoot. During the Vietnam war the military gave steroids and performance enhancing drugs to give the the extra push in combat. Whats the difference in a drug flowing through your bloodstream than a monitor sending out electronic waves?

However, could the initiation of brain chips within the military involve into a new world beyond simply those in combat. It was thought computers would only be used in the work force and communication but we can all see how that had an adverse affect. What would i do?  Econimcaly speaking HECK  yes i would invest! DARPA has a stellar record not to mention support and funds from the government to create a project that is bound for success. On the moral issue do I want to be one of the millionaires down the road sitting in a mansion surrounded by a population of people encrypted by computers with chips controlling their brain? Now both are extreme but i think before you support something financially you must be prepared to support it and stand by it when it fails or backfires. However this blog is economical so go ahead invest in DARPA and reap the rewards of the stock market.

Alexander Hamilton writing America, the Great Unfinished Symphony

How does a bastard, an orphan, the son of a whore, raised in the Caribbean grow up to be the most influential and powerful man dictating our nations destiny. The average American would not know the name founding father on the ten dollar bill. A name that was placed in charge of a trading charge at fourteen years old. He witnessed the slave trade and the effects on the economy of the world first hand. The young scholar longed to be apart of something significant proclaiming to the world his name. His father was debt ridden, a man of useless worth. Disease swept the life of his mother as she held him in his arms, he moved in with his cousin but his cousin committed suicide. Were many would loose the thrill for life Alexander decided to read every book upon the shelf.. The island recognized the young orphans potential and took up a collection to send him to the mainland. He began trading sugar cane and rum creating for himself a personal economic system that would soon be used by the most powerful nation to ever rule the earth. He rewrote the game of economics.  He was an immigrant who came up from the bottom, yet America forgot him. His names Alexander Hamilton.

At only nineteen years old Alexander Hamilton, a graduate from King's college, was a leading force in the Revolutionary War. He didn't want to throw away his shot and was willing to lay down his life if it set his country free. The young adult, immaturely bashed by the cruelty's of death carried an anxiousness to die for a cause that led him to learn the lesson that dying is easy, living and fighting for a purpose is harder. He became apart of the founding fathers, the hungriest brothers to ever live with the starvation to leave a legacy. It was a balance if they win their Independence would it guarantee freedom for the generations to come? Or would it arouse an endless cycle and vengeance and war? His survival of the revolutionary war placed him as George Washington's right hand man. he continued to read and write as he discovered and promoted that our nation's financial system could be what keeps our independence alive and breathing without the disease of vengeance flowing through the veins of our body.  Are we a nation of states? How will economics hold these states together? Were does freedom begin and governorship begin? These are the questions that the circumstances surrounding Alexander Hamilton's life gave him the ability to answer.

After the war Hamilton had became George Washington's right hand man the men began to grow closer each representing the country in a different way. George Washington stood for our nation in the "patriotic and heroine champion sort of way" he became a national icon for his beliefs, stances and passion for our nation. However, besides being an overseer to the building of our nation after the war George Washington didn't really attribute to much of the construction. That leading force nailing in the boards of our government and economy was Alexander Hamilton. Therefore, it could be said that Hamilton very possibly was the most powerful man on the earth at that time because he was handling the finances of a "group of people" who just so happened to destroy the reign of the British military. And as the saying goes, "Money is power" and Hamilton's hand was busy day and night, writing like he was running out of time to build this power.  This is the aspect that many do not have a clear depiction of. Washington was often seen as "the leading force of our nation", which is true, however without the help of Hamilton doing the labor Washington's ideas would've never survived the brutality of world economics. Both men continue to represent America today and the two types of people among us, those coming up with the ideas, and those putting the ideas into action.

"Villainous Business" describes it precisely as it states, "under the hand of Hamilton the government began to take shape". Hamilton introduced the idea of paper money to the states as he began to write out notes from the bank to pay custom's revenues. Hamilton's close relationship with the British government gave him the access to economic systems and writings. While many founding fathers acted upon emotions and were unable to preserve an cordial relationship with the British government Hamilton was able to set aside emotions and recognize the importance of good relations economically with another economic power. If the states were expected to survive and be a global force we had to "play with the big dogs" and use the British economy as an ally. If we offered our economic services to both Britain and France (enemies) it would ignite competition within the parties and unknowingly uplift the states to the higher power. This was recognized and utilized by Hamilton as the founding fathers continued to bathe in the pity disputes of emotions. While many rumored Hamilton to be a British spy because he relied on the British government for the construction of our own Hamilton was busy studying the British and French governments in order to use their methods to defeat them.

As the national debt began to rack up Hamilton's straight forward thinking caused controversy amidst the birth of the government. Hamilton recognized that our nation's debt was the price of liberty. Many scholars proclaimed to Hamilton that debt would only lead to our downfall but Hamilton had seen the effects of the war and recognized death was not the only cost of war. If the states handled the debt with utmost precision they would gain the ability to borrow and trade at low interest rates in future times. Because America was a country that had the ability and resources provided to become a "land of opportunity" the only thing lacking was a government debt that could supply a gaping deficiency. Hamilton's job was to figure out a way that the people could trust the government for repayment.While being a man of emotionless gaming strategy Hamilton recognized the importance of  considerate and trusting human interaction within a relationship between the government and those it governs. At the same time Hamilton laid the foundation that securities are freely transferable but buyers assume all rights to profit or loss in transaction. Hamilton created a financial system that forced the people to rely on it rather than turn on it in crisis, while at the same time allowed them the freedom of individual financial risk/gain. In reality the government was weak at the time but Hamilton created a system that made people put their trust in a government that technically didn't even exist in order to form a government. Their had to be a healthy rivalry within the balance of a state being independent in some aspects yet longing for the "affirmation" and support of the Federal government. It's like a college student, they strive for their own Independence yet still want to stay right in the eyes of the one paying their bills.

Hamilton was thinking ahead as he created the financial system he knew that because we would be the first nation to attempt a democracy rather than a monarchy he needed to form a system that would survive throughout the varying political and financial stances of future seats in the office. So Hamilton created the sinking fund in which 5% of the debt would be paid off each year. This ensured that the debt would be paid off, and it provided that outstanding bonds would benefit the government as securities rose in value. Hamilton was not only a financial genius but some how established the ability of knowing the physiology of the human brain's response to finances and government. He twisted the minds of Americans into putting financial security into a government that was 79 million dollars in debt. He was a master manipulator. How did a man who couldn't keep a friendship for more than a few years, was unfaithful in his marriage, killed because of a disagreement with Aaron Burr and the most controversial founding father manage to gain the trust of a nation?
 
Alexander Hamilton was the neck of our nation. For many he goes unrecognized yet he his accomplishments were ones of a sheer miracle. He created a financial system that couldn't be undone if we tried. He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity. He doesn't get enough credit for all the credit he gave us. People still try to make sense of the thousands of pages of writings Hamilton wrote, he left behind more words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and books than all the founding fathers combined. He may have poisoned the political pursuits of many along his way up but he created the solitude in which debt could be used for prosperity. When Hamilton was shot he left seeds in the garden of America he would never get to see. He was an orphan immigrant who used his shot and left his finger print on the very government used today.

Morality in the form of Socialism

Liz Moyer, a journalist for the New York Times recently published an article discussing the Biblical approach to the stock market. Throughout this heated, teeth gritting article Moyer discusses the effects of every mans desire to serve both God and Money. As one looks into the surface of the stock market one could empathize with Christian investors and their undesired urge to invest in so-called “sin-stocks”. Sin stocks include resources such as tobacco, alcohol, guns, gambling and etc.. Up until the recent decade graciously avoiding “sin stocks” has been simplistic for Christian investors.  However, according to Moyer, “two new exchange traded funds offer a conservative evangelical — what is called “biblically responsible” — tilt to that investing approach. The funds explicitly say in their regulatory filing that they will avoid buying shares in companies that have “any degree of participation in activities that do not align with biblical values,” including what they call the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender “lifestyle.” Okay, fair enough, Christian investors don’t want to be associated supporting a cause they don’t agree with morally. This all sounds fine in a moral perspective but when one takes the legalism of an evangelical Christian mindset and mixes it with the factual economic world it is bound to ignite a fire of war concerning Matthew 6:24, “"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The article states, “The approach is squarely at odds with that of nearly all of corporate America”. Is this because the evangelical church is ganging up on the LGTBQ community? No, it is because through the successful economics moral beliefs and feelings cannot be mixed. Wow. Does not sound like a Christian perspective does it? Its not supposed to, this is economics. I belief that an investor should not steal, cheat and lie his way through his career, but is it a sin to support investors who sin? No. If each investor was too concerned with the personal life and moral beliefs of the other the economic system would fail. Why would it fail? Because we are all judgmental sinners. Every employee would find something wrong with a potential client. Matthew 7:1-5 backs this idea up, ““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Besides the Biblical perspective on well… a Biblical issue there is an economical stand point to this debate. Throughout “Crash Course Economics” I learned the difference between Communism and Socialism. Much to my surprise I found a parallel within Socialism and this very article. If Christian investors continue to support and live out the idea that they can only support those whom moral beliefs line up with their own, they are creating non-government form of socialism within themselves and the economy.

A rough 10% of the American people identify as LGBTQ. Now scatter that number across businesses, and ultimately as a result it is going to be rare for a Christians investor to find stocks to invest in that have absolutely no connection with the LGBTQ community. 100% of humans are sinners. Now scatter that across businesses. Now find a stock you can invest in without supporting sin. IMPOSSIBLE. Morality is generally based around economics. Whatever can produce the most money receives the most support from the people. Yes, this is a sinful way to live and run business. However, the most dangerous from is when economics is run by morality. If economics is run by morality NOTHING would ever get done because not one individual agrees with every moral viewpoint of another. As Adam Smith states, “All money is a matter of belief”.

         On an end note one should never allow economics to dictate their faith. As Christians we cannot avoid sin in our business lives, however through our actions and response to ungodly circumstances we are given the opportunity to both minister and be servants of Christ. Above all the Bible states in Isiah 30:21, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”