US Default:
1) on August 2, the White House will decide either to increase its debt's ceiling or not
2) if they do, the US deficit will expand. If not, the US debt will be default.
3) the US default would trigger another financial collapse as seen in 2008 - we're yet to fully recover from the 2008 recession, and thus, facing another collapse will make things even worse
4) if the White House decided not to increase the debt ceiling, there are still few options left:
i) the Federal Reserve will print "more" money, and thus increasing the inflation (goods prices will increase)
ii) raising funds through delaying salaries of public servants (power of purchase will decrease), or even
delaying payment to defense contractors
5) let's assume that the State failed to raise those funds (or printing more money). as a results, the State will go default. it's credit rating will be downgraded - hence, the borrowing activity would cost a lot more that it is today. companies would stall their growth, and thus won't hire new employees..the unemployment rate would be higher, and the economy would be in stake since people don't have money to spend..plus, the mortgage cost would also increase dramatically (note: this is called as "ripple" effect)
6) at worst, the credit markets all over the world would be frozen since US treasury has been used as collateral in most transactions.
7) you can read more on the following links: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8659658/What-happens-if-the-US-defaults.html
Islamic Thingy:
1) Kismis ( or Zabib in arabic, grape seed in English) is known for its multi-benefits, such as delaying aging process, quick 'energy' resource, and etc..
2) so, we are encouraged to include kismis into our daily diet.
3) but, what surprise me that there are many types of "kismis doa" in the market. and i bet, they're priced higher than the regular one
4) yet, i doubt these "kismis doa" are much better than the regular one, and thus don't have any added value
5) still, many Malaysian Muslims assume these kismis doa as prime products
6) well, initally, i don't have any problems with these "doa-thingy" products. but, aren't we told to make request directly to Allah, w/o going through "middle men!" what makes doa from Ustaz better than ours? nothing, right?
7) as far as business is concerned, i think this is a good marketing strategy. yet, things must be clarified especially to kids so that they may not be misunderstood (i.e. tell them every person's doa is worthy)
8) besides, recently i read about this so-called "halal" handbag..what happens to other handbags that don't carry such label. are we not permitted to wear those?
9) for me, Islam is very simple and easy to be practiced. for example, in daily affairs, everything is permitted except for those mentioned in the Holy Koran. if someone told you that you're not permitted to wear a tee because of bla bla bla, (s)he must be able to provide you proofs from Koran and Sunnah..you, otherwise, don't have the burden of proofs..see, how easy Islam is!
10) so, i'd suggest that we should start introducing "haram" label instead of the "halal" one since in Islam, there are much more halal thingy than the haram one! so, the task is much easier..ain't it?
11) yet, from different perspective, i think Halal Industry is very promising. creating Halal segment in the world market is pretty genius..yet, as we're making profits (that is good), don't make other people living in confusing state!
i think kismis is better referred to as 'raisins' instead of 'grape seed', dont u think?
ReplyDeleteOn that Haram label issue, i find it to be.. hmm.. INTERESTING! :P
Real good post tho ;)