GuidoWorld

When considering penalties which could be imposed on those found to be guilty in the Gulf oil spill I have a few recommendations. I want to preface the following by saying that I have spent over 30 years working with delinquent youth and their families. During these years I have witnessed and implemented many consequences for illegal and asocial behaviors which have been effective and even more that have been ineffective. It is with the knowledge gained from experience in these matters that I offer the following suggestions.

Corporations and commercial entities have rights under the law and in many ways are treated and protected as individuals. Yet, with rights usually comes responsibilities. One of the reasons that the people at the top of businesses make the money that they do is because they are ultimately responsible for the actions and decisions made by the organization they head. At the facilities I have worked at the supervisors, clinicians and administration are held responsible for what happens to the clients in their care. Those with credentials and position often are mandated to have liability insurance to help them weather any law suits due to negligence or bad judgment in the course of the execution of services provided by them or by those under their supervision.

With this in mind I’d like to apply these principles to the BP oil spill.

Monetary fines levied against BP does seem reasonable at this point, but would such fines, even if extensive, be effective consequences? First, I’ve read the monetary limits on law suits on corporations currently stands at 75 million. Now, even if this number is wrong, and fines and penalties were to rise into the billions of dollars I doubt if they would truly be effective as a punishment or a future deterrent.

First the fines would not even be equal to one years profit for a giant such as BP. This has one wonder if multinational corporations are too big to punish. Second, the fines would be absorbed by the corporation in general not directly affecting the wealth and comfort of the heads and decision makers of the corporation. Even if a corporation were somehow injured by the fines, those at the top would most likely be able to find similar employment at other major corporations.

My suggestion would be for the fines and punishments to be levied on individuals rather than the general corporation. The fines should have a direct effect on the wealth of the individuals in charge, such punishments would definitely send a message to business heads of all corporations that they need to act responsibly and act as an effective deterrent.

The fines and punishments should be levied to anyone who with decision making power in the realms of importance regarding the oil rigs. Anyone who is involved with the safety policies of the rigs and pipe lines should be evaluated on their level of culpability. Likewise, those who developed the insufficient back up plans and over all solutions to such a leak need to be held accountable. This would include the governmental agencies that license, supervise and monitor these endeavors.

In addition to fines I believe those found to be at fault should be ordered to give restitution for the damages their negligence and incompetence produced. I have a feeling that if they such individuals were mandated to work off the damage they inflicted on the entire gulf region they would change their ways and their cohorts would begin to act responsibly throughout all related industries.

Imagine how effective it would be if corporate heads were made to spend the next several years of their lives cleaning oil off shores and rocks. Imagine them doing the menial labor that will be needed to remove the oil, restore the local ecologies and ocean life. If these individuals are allowed to have the corporations they work for pay their fines and allowed to hire people to do the years of hard labor of cleaning up after their incompetence than nothing will change.

Will such measures solve the problem? Probably not, but my years of experience working with problem youth has taught me that effective consequences can make a substantial difference in people’s lives.

Many of my posts have dealt with my conviction that our society is in need of substantial structural changes. Our society has a tendency to promote and reward too many base aspects of human nature. Our society can only become as good as the system it functions under. This is not to imply that our society and its structure are evil or even bad, it is only to state that in order for us to move forward in any meaningful way, we need to build a better social structure.

If your goal is increased standard of living and quality of life for an increasing percentage of people across the globe our current economic and governmental structures are the wrong tool for the job. Therefore, though I have learned that incentives and success are always better tools than consequences and punishment, in our current structure I see the above punishments as the proper response to the current situation in the gulf.

When I’ve worked with kids and families I have been successful at helping them build healthy structures and habits in their lives where punishments are rare if ever needed. Yet, when healthy and effective structures are not in place, harsh consequences are often needed. Sad to say, that seems to be the current need of our society at this point in time.

The problem with harsh consequences is they are often delivered in anger and anger begets more anger. Only when a parent is able to deliver a consequence as a learning experience and not in anger to punish then a child’s education can begin, and qualities such as empathy and responsibility can be fostered and adopted.

Maybe many of you out there think I’m a dreamer, or too idealistic. Yet, all I can say is that I have witnessed many kids and families make amazing changes and improvements and though not perfect, have developed ways of being in the world that produce happy and productive people.

Jim Guido

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a stock market radio program being hosted by two people who live on the gulf coast in Alabama. The discussion on the market turned into a general update on the national and local economy. This led them to highlight the potential impact of the oil spill in the gulf. I listened intently as I had not followed the story at all and wanted to be educated on the topic.

After outlining the backdrop of a poor real estate market and a slumping tourist industry they talked of how fragile and weak the local economic environment was. The spill was talked about as a potential fatal blow to the struggling economy as the devastation to the fishing industry might prove to be quite lengthy.

One of the men said that he was getting emails from people in Alaska who said the initial reports out of the gulf sounded eerily familiar to what happened up there during the Valdez spill. He said they expected the reports to become more and more devastating as time went on, for their early reports on the Valdez spill were rather tame and vague.

Well as time passes on these words have turned quite prophetic as each day new information surfaces which paints quite a bleak and dire picture of the spill. Estimates of damage cited by BP seem to be significantly undervalued and scientific calculations of oil flow are several times that given by oil industry spokesmen.

During times like this articles are released which at other times are ignored or buried. One article I read stated that the term “accident” is very misleading in that it gives the impression that spillage is a rare event. The article went on to quote sources which discussed the common everyday occurrence of minor spills which occur regularly in the drilling and loading of oil barges. According to the article day-to-day spillage of just business as usual operations does add up. In which every five years the amount of oil lost in our oceans is equal to the Valdez spill.

Even if that figure is inflated it does beg the question of exactly how much oil is dispensed into international waters each and every year. What is the damage to our sea life and our dwindling fresh water supply? Where can we find accurate information regarding water pollution, long term effects of pollution on the safety and quality of our seafood, and the long term prospects on the overall health of our oceans?

Shortly after 9/11 we were deceived and lied to regarding the air quality near the twin tower cites. Will the same thing happen regarding the safety of seafood in the gulf?

The current situation seems surreal to me.

Maybe I’m wrong, but when you see the videos of the broken pipe, and you read between the lines on the well orchestrated press releases regarding the spill it all seems so dire. Oil plumes the size of states and potential water flow patterns are scary for anyone brave enough to try and imagine their short term and long term impact.

The damage and harm done by this spill could rival almost any disaster we have faced for centuries. The Valdez spill, three mile island, Chernobyl, maybe even the ecological damage caused by our use of atomic bombs may be eclipsed by the death of a major waterway.

Given the length and intensity of this ongoing crisis, is the thought of the death of at least a portion of the gulf really that extreme or over reactionary?

I guess it is, for I don’t feel or hear anyone’s panic or even deep concern regarding this possibility. What am I missing?

Could someone explain to me how the gulf can shake this off and heal itself when the area of the Valdez spill is still hampered some two decades after the event?

Jim Guido


Money makes the world go round. The amount of truth of that statement is debatable, but the importance of money and currency in our functional practical existence is difficult to overstate. Each day and increasing percentage of the world population is being dominated by monetary concerns and realities.

Yet, money in all forms in this global economy is becoming increasingly arbitrary, and the more you investigate money the more fictional it appears. The fact that our lives are being increasingly influenced and dominated by fiscal concerns should be very alarming when you consider to what degree money is becoming a complete an arbitrary fiction.

Not many years ago most nation’s currencies were at least based on something tangible. First, coins in and of themselves, are/were minted in a metal which had inherent worth, even if it did fluctuate. The inherent value of the metal was an incentive for people to accept it in exchange for other tangible goods such as food, or for payment for work done or services provided.

Money has always been more of a fiction in that it’s stated worth was always much higher than the value of the paper it was written on. Yet, most currency’s paper money was backed by a tangible asset of value such as gold or silver, where if you went to a bank they could exchange your paper currency for a specified amount of gold or silver.

Most nations no longer have their currencies and money supplies backed by gold or silver, or any other tangible good. The worth of a dollar is truly arbitrary and just means that one can exchange that piece of paper for a dollars worth or food, services, etc. In practical terms all current US money is just an IOU (I owe you), a promise that your paper is worth something.

An IOU is a debt, therefore, all dollars are debt instruments rather than having inherent value. This fact is clearly stated on every dollar in the phrase “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private”. All modern currencies are debt instruments and IOU’s with no inherent value or only on an arbitrary stated value.

All current money printed and placed into our economy is borrowed from the Federal Reserve and other Central Banks which the US and other host countries have to pay back to these entities with interest. These entities such as the Federal Reserve are not governmental agencies but rather private banking institutions who our government contracts out with.

Modern money is now introduced into an economy though an act of borrowing. Money has become solely a debt instrument without any inherent worth, therefore, money would cease to exist or have value if all debts were paid off. Though that statement seems a bit exaggerated, it is functionally accurate because a dollar has no significant value (it’s paper), and is no longer backed by anything of value (such as silver or gold). It’s role and function is solely as an IOU or a promise of a stated value to be exchanged. People now only accept your money because they have faith in the promise made by the government and are willing participants in the great game of make believe called modern capitalism.

Yet, the above discussion only scratches the surface of the degree of the monetary fiction that we base our functional existence on. Even the total number of dollars in existence is a fiction. The percentage of the trillions of dollars theoretically in existence that are actually on printed paper is but a fraction of the total amount.

The actual number of printed dollars in the US economy is about 860 billion. Supposedly this number gets doubled when you add all the currency kept in bank vaults and other lending institutions. Yet, since we live in a world of “fractional banking” in which banks only have to keep a very small percentage of people’s saving accounts, etc. on hand (less than 1%) than 860 billion figure remains fairly reliable.

This means the bulk of the trillions of dollars supposedly in our economy is not even printed on paper. In essence the great sea of dollars that supports our economy is a fiction of a fiction, or a fiction squared if you will.

When considered this way it is easy to understand how when the stock market tumbled last year trillions of dollars just vanished into thin air. All those dollars weren’t even physically there in the first place and their existence and non-existence is just a statement or a result of theoretical electronic transactions.

The recent stock market tumble erasing an estimated trillion dollars in less than 15 minutes becomes understandable when you consider how arbitrary money is. Just think about that a moment in fifteen minutes the stock market lost more than all the printed dollars currently existing in our society outside of banks.

If that doesn’t bother you, then I guess nothing will.

I have spent the last few years educating myself on the history of stock markets. I have also spent time trying to understand the markets through pattern recognition and technical analysis. From both of these perspectives the events of the last two weeks and the last two years have not been surprising. Though I am incapable of predicting the day-to-day movement of the markets, from a historical perspective I feel quite confident in saying that the stock market has a long way to go before it hits its bottom. Even if it rose to new all time highs some devastating lows still loom in the foreseeable future.

Global economies are inherently complex organisms. With complexity comes danger. Yet, the danger becomes impossible to manage when you’re dealing with fictions of fictions.

Jim Guido

In my last post, Life Conscious of Itself, I highlighted some of the most positive aspects of having a sense of self, while in Components of Personal Growth and Development I noted the benefits of repetition and habit.

A rich life includes both personal growth and a healthy sense of self. A rich life thrives on a sense of history as well as a sense of growth and development.

Our forever shrinking planet with its improvements in communication and technology gives us ample opportunities to experience life in varied and intense ways. The amount of information for us to process and learn from is growing exponentially. The ability to correct, improve and enhance our sensorial and perceptual experience is likewise growing in leaps and bounds. Powerful and meaningful experience in microscopic and telescopic frames are readily available, as is our ability to have increased community and intimacy with people both immediate and distant to us geographically.

It seems that almost daily new horizons are opening up to us allowing us to experience life with more clarity and depth. Advances in communication networks are allowing us to make intimate contact with an increasing number of people from all over the globe. Our available menu of experiences is growing daily as is the number of options and opportunities for our personal growth and development.

The pace and variety of change is exciting. Entire worlds are at our fingertips, and our eyes can see sights in one day that it used to take a lifetime to view.

A rich life is not just one chock full of experiences but also one steeped in meaning, significance and poignancy. Life without a sense of history will have a hard time being satisfying. Experiences without heartfelt memories can become shallow and lead to a sense of emptiness.

Novel experiences can be powerful and meaningful. A rare vision or experience can be quite satisfying and endure in our memory for ages. Yet, most memories are born out of the familiar and are etched in our minds due to their constancy. Just as we learn through repetition, so do we create a sense of self and history through constancy and duration.

When I reflect on the richness of my life it is indeed littered with powerful and solitary events. I can remember a place I visited in a foreign city, a particular meal I enjoyed, or a concert I attended. Yet, by and large the memories of my life are filled with things that seldom changed and remained constant in my life.

The very possibility of seeing myself as being the same person through the course of my life is somewhat dependent on my remaining a constant. A life filled with consistency and repetition is more likely to be remembered than one with change and unique experiences.

The memories of my childhood are enriched and dominated by the things in my childhood that had duration and were repeated often. I have clear and emotionally powerful memories of my bedroom, friends, teachers and toys and belongings which were part of my life for years. They make up the very structure of my existence the very view and perspective of my childhood.

Individual events can make extraordinary memories, but repetitive memories make up the meat and essence of my existence. Individual and unique experiences add spice and flavor to my view of myself and the world, where the daily repetitive experiences make up the meat and main course of my existence. A diet that consisted of only spice would not be fulfilling and in fact would probably in the long run be very unappetizing. Just as the main course or entree make up the body of a meal which gives the meal both its identity and satisfies our hunger, so too does repetitive activities, experiences and surroundings provide our life with meaning and significance.

In today’s world of constant change, growth and consumerism meaning and identity can become endangered species. One can spend one’s time going from flower to flower, from fleeting experience to new encounter without sensing the garden or feel oneself the author of one’s own experience.

It is hard to imagine a life bereft of memories or a constant sense of self having as much meaning or emotional poignancy as a life steeped in a strong sense of personal history and sense of self. Therefore, it is important for us to cultivate constancy and duration along with change and expansion. It is important for us to find time to reflect and savor as well as expand our perceptual and sensorial worlds of experience.

Meaning is seldom found in the moment of experience, but rather on a reflection of its beauty and subtlety. The importance of memory is so powerfully demonstrated in the pain and anguish that often accompanies the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Many people report a loss of sense of self along with any decrease in their ability to remember.

Those of us who want to live a full and rich life need to stay mindful of the importance of memory and constancy in our emotional and intellectual constitution and identity. While desiring to change, grow and experience we need to take time to savor, reflect and revel in our daily rituals and habits. In our modern consumer world of change we often lose sight of the need and benefits of keeping much in our life constant.

Our fast paced technological and consumer world is becoming increasingly dominated by change, updates and new generations of almost every product we own or use. This makes it hard for us to keep constancy in the objects, activities, possessions, environments, and relationships which make up our lives. Anytime we endanger constancy in our lives we also have to be aware of the possibility that we are endangering the richness of our experience especially in the areas of meaning and identity which are forged through memory and emotional connection (love and friendship).

I will end this post with a question that’s been running through mind of late. Would a person whose life was full of constant change and short term relationships be more susceptible to developing dementia than one whose life was dominated by habit, ritual and long term relationships?

Jim Guido