Last Thursday, I was heartened to read news that my church, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, had collected $732,000 from its members (beyond its weekly giving) for tsunami relief in Southeast Asia. That partially offset news I had read previous Thursday-- as reported in Wall Street Journal-- that tariffs imposed on Sri Lanka were nearly $250,000,000 in 2003.

Nearly all of that amount was taxes imposed on Sri Lankan textile industry. And amount imposed on that one foreign industry exceeded all of tariffs imposed on all trade with all six Scandinavian countries-- despite fact that those countries export nearly 12 times more to U.S., have about 10 times more GDP than Sri Lanka's, and have people whose per capita incomes are far higher than those in Sri Lanka.

Why does this occur?

The textile industry in this country is one of many special interest groups that benefits from having their competition restricted. They and their politicians find it favorable to impose discriminatory taxes on foreign producers and American consumers.

Wall Street, probably best thing that ever happened to people of power and money. That was a place very rich people could go, invest their money and gain at expense of other people, and those other people were not of elite, ruling class where access to Congressmen or high level corporate heads was allowed. Big names on Wall Street then, are still with us today.

Wall Street --- a close chum of United States government, able to get laws passed protecting it, best thing that ever happened to world was America's Wall Street. Wall Street makes world go around as it ensures American dominance over world where Wall Street money is spent and that money can make or break a nation of people.

Up unto 1929, economic games played by big players on Wall Street in America (the corporations and very rich people), went unchecked. Games played well could make people very, very rich. It was a game even played by foreign powers. When there is only so much money within a economic system, to have a winner, you must have a loser. The economic games caused people to decide to buy or sell: mostly sell. Rumors spread by big investors, or friends of big investors, would cause panic selling of shares soon to be gobbled up by characters standing back in shadows, adding to their spoils, pennies on dollar. But then, in October 1929, game melted down. People will agree or disagree on how Great Depression started, but no one can ever deny effects rumors or scare tactics had then (or now) on Wall Street when it came to how and why stocks were traded.

In a few years, country's economy was on ropes. Not only did America's economy hit rock-bottom, it also brought down with it a good portion of free world. Economic recovery from First World War, for other countries, had not progressed enough yet to insolate those countries from effects of American Great Depression, so suffering was world-wide. The foundations of governments started dissolving as conditions worsened.