I simply asked if he was making any money. Is that a criticism? Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman 2006 starring Xavarian Dramatic Society, Warren Able Theatre starring Daniel Valez & Amanda Magnavita & Michael Longo & Michael Maldonado et al
We live in a world where spending never stops. But why do we buy what we buy? And how is our desire to spend manipulated? Jacques Peretti, The Men Who Made Us Spend, BBC 2014
Yesterday’s desired item is tomorrow’s piece of trash. ibid.
Hard proof of planned obsolescence. ibid.
Logical reprogramming of the consumer – his name was Alfred P Sloan, the head of General Motors ... ‘The organised creation of dissatisfaction’. ibid.
The designer revolution of the ’80s and ’90s cloaked a tidal wave of cheap goods on to the high street we bought and discarded without shame. ibid.
Apple have perfected the idea of obsolescence. ibid.
They’ve exploited our anxieties to sell everything from cars to soap to the secret of eternal youth. Jacques Peretti, The Men Who Made Us Spend II
This notion of soothing our fears has almost endless potential to get us to spend. ibid.
We’re obsessed with Statins and Cholesterol. ibid.
A new word has entered the lexicon – antibacterial. ibid.
If fear could be invoked to sell us flavoured water, anything seemed possible. ibid.
Fear is at the very heart of why we buy. ibid.
In less than fifty years children have become prized consumers, with British and American kids worth £700 billion a year. Jacques Peretti, The Men Who Made Us Spend III
Children were targeted increasingly aggressively. ibid.
An entire shopping culture had been built around credit. ibid.
Now, we’re a nation of shoppers. ibid.
Welcome to Whitehall: to the heart of government … I’ll be finding out where billions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash is really going. And who’s policing the spending. From vast projects to what’s happening on our streets. Jacques Peretti, Who’s Spending Britain’s Billions?
The largest warship ever built in the UK … It’s now six billion pounds and they’re still not in service … ‘It could end up costing twelve billion for the two carriers.’ ibid.
When Boris Johnson was mayor … he brought three water canons from the German police: they were never used. ibid.
Why when they’re [Council] told to make savings they’re hiring expensive consultants to tell them how to do it? ibid.
What if the way we understand the world is wrong. What if it’s not politicians and world events that shape our lives but business deals? Deals made in secret high up in the boardroom or over a drink in a car in the dead of night. Our every waking hour has been transformed by these deals, re-programming us to think and behave in a different way. This is the story of these deals. Who made them, why, and what do they mean for our future. What if the way we understand the world is wrong? Jacques Peretti, Billion Dollar Deals and How They Changed Your World II: Money, BBC 2017
Is it to make us spend more? Who will ultimately control money in the future? … There’s a huge industry emerging that wants you to stop spending cash. ibid.
Punching in our PIN numbers was to be the single biggest change in the way we pay in the UK since decimalisation in the ’70s. ibid.
People spent more using contactless cards. ibid.
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. Exodus 22:25
The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the Lord: it was the priests’. II Kings 12:16
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. Ecclesiastes 10:19
Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the Gift of God may be perished with money. Acts 8:20
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out ... For the love is money is the root of all evil. I Timothy 6:7&10
Whether we can afford it or not, we must have superfluities. John Gay, Polly, 1729
Give me the money! Now! In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance 1992 starring Dean Stockwell & Michael Gross & Brent Jennings & Bruce A Young & Brian Markinson & Tina Lifford & Kathleen Robertson & David Harris & Shaun Baker et al, director Dick Lowry, opening scene robbery
In this life one thing counts,
In the bank large amounts … Oliver! 1968 starring Ron Moody & Oliver Reed & Shani Wallis & Harry Secombe & Mark Lester & Peggy Mount & Leonard Rossiter & Kenneth Cranham & Hugh Griffith & Jack Wild et al, director Carol Reed, Fagin’s song
Yes, money has been a little tight lately. But, at the end of my life, when I’m sitting on my yacht, am I gonna be thinking about how much money I have? No. I’m going to be thinking about how many friends I have, and my children, and my comedy albums. I mean, I have a yacht, so I obviously did pretty well money-wise. The Office US s4e7: Money I, Michael, NBC 2007
All that money – it needs to end up somewhere. We call it a drop bar. A bar the bosses choose randomly each night to be the safe for the entire city. The Drop 2014 starring Tom Hardy & Noomi Rapace & James Gandolfini & Matthias Schoenaerts & John Ortiz & Elizabeth Rodriguez & Michael Aronov & Morgan Spector & Michael Esper & Ross Bickell & James Frecheville et al, director Michael R Roskam
He thinks I care about the money. I care about you. The Hustler 1961 starring Paul Newman & Jackie Gleason & Piper Laurie & George C Scott & Myron McCormick & Murray Hamilton & Stefan Gierasch et al, director Robert Rossen
What is most vile and despicable about money is that it even confers talent. And it will do so until the end of the world. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The oligarchs and organised-crime bosses started colonising Israel for a number of reasons. It was the ideal place to invest or launder money. Israel’s banking system was designed to encourage atiyah ... Israel had embraced the zeitgeist of international financial deregulation and considerably eased controls on the import and export of capital ... It had no money-laundering legislation. Misha Glenny, McMafia
Israeli police estimated that these Russians laundered between $5 and $10 billion through Israeli banks in the fifteen years following the collapse of communism. ibid.
The global money-laundering industry was a few hundred miles away in ... the United Arab Emirates … ibid.
Iranian and Afghan traders moved to Dubai, bringing with them their businesses, thereby bolstering the local economy. With neither income nor sales tax, Dubai steadily developed a reputation for being a safe place in the Middle East to stash your money. Since then Dubai has always boomed during a regional crisis. ibid.
The new Bush team had a very different approach to money-laundering from its predecessor. Clinton’s global AML strategy was ridiculed by the Neo-Cons as a dastardly anti-competitive European plot. ibid.
The urgent need for greater financial regulation in the financial markets: in a world where legitimate institutions are unable to account properly for their dealings, the ability of criminals to launder their money through this merry-go-round of speculation is greatly increased. ibid.