Group 8 — on Economy

Business says profits come first Every business for money must thirst From too much wealth will never burst But if with no income is curst Is carried by bankruptcy's hearse. This is business ' First Law To try with its tooth and claw Forge, or pave, or build, or saw; Yet with a single mental flaw Will open wounds, deep and raw. When bringing in lots of cash Grow, expand, compete and bash; But if faced with fiscal crash Down size, streamline, cut and slash Anything else must be rash. When prospects move to high from low Vanity businesses will grow Catering to those who must show Golden glitter, glitz and glow; Profits eaten by outflow. And when businesses go bust Parasitic businesses with lust Move in, take over, adjust, Reduce costs and build trust Business Law calls this a must. In this process, this routine Everything is legal and clean Or else it is unforeseen. In the normal business scene Anything else is obscene. Profits will always reign Supreme Whether done alone or in a team. In a case or two, as extreme Businesses walk the moral beam But in hard times for profits scream. With this cynical point of view Perhaps one day we'll review Whether the interests of the few In form of profits as we knew Are more important than me and you.

A long time ago we lived as hunter-gatherers Storage pots and hunting tools our only wares. We would kill a large animal and feast Binge, eat as much as we could of the beast; Then go for days on small berries and nuts Until the next animal our tribe to pieces cuts. Then the agricultural age was ushered in Replacing the old way of life with one wherein With a new mentality we would plough the soil Sow seeds, tend and harvest, go through much toil; Then gather fruits of our labor in store Subsist frugally, repeat the cycle as before. Yet in nature we see the bird and the beast Neither worry, nor fear, nor binge, nor feast; Neither sow seeds, nor harvest them in the fall They simply gather food when their needs call. Bar a few exceptions, this applies to them all No matter how short, how tall, large or small. We today live our lives in chaos and confusion Our mentality, morality and reality a mixed fusion. Our economic mentality is that of a hunter-gatherer On the look, waiting to pounce, no matter where Our morality glorifies the agricultural age What we sow we shall reap, that our cage. Yet to add to the chaos of this confusion Nature our reality, all else just illusion. Corporate raids, stock markets, hunter's voracity Downsizing, scams and frauds, lion's ferocity; We gather, hoard, and toil, farmer's mentality Fearing future shortage, eat with frugality; Live today, gone tomorrow, we know with clarity Nature provides just enough and no more, that's reality

We look upon vultures as if They won't touch that which is not stiff Scavengers, lowest of the low Only if dead, will strike their blow Yet in the food chain, the highest link Vultures that eat that which will stink Clean up the earth from corpses dead Care not if the meat is white or red Vultures are like fungi and mold Will devour what others can't hold. Vultures are good when their eyes glean Our Earth, to make it healthy and clean. In business, corporate Raiders Auctioneers, stock traders Are vultures preying on businesses stale Before they crash, die or derail Parasitic traders will gladly clean Dead corporations that are not lean. Vultures are not deadly or mean Only for the dead, constantly screen. In this process they find their food Though their eating habits we will find rude. The more corpses, the more they thrive Though for killing, they will not strive; To eliminate the business vulture Infuse life in corporate culture.

Every morn and every eve Some believe, some deceive, others just try to achieve; Every eve and every morn Some are torn, some scorn, others wait until reborn. With so much to give or lose Some refuse, some abuse, others turn it into news Such cynical point of view Some renew, some review, others preach pulpit to pew. With this mental tint and hue, Me and you, pay our due, in lieu of the vocal few. Instead of hiding in a flash Neither trash, and nor crash, in the river of life splash. In fiscal terms it is rash To stash, away cash, phoenix rises from the ash.