When man minted the first money, he was clueless that he’d be forever held hostage by it. Then and now, money and all its trappings have become such a central force in the lives of men, driving them to commit the most grotesque crimes.
That man can’t have enough of money must be God’s subtle way of censuring him for his financial proclivities. But this must be a tad too subtle that it completely escapes him.
Money per se is not bad. In fact it does a lot of good things for us other than simply letting us get by. But the rub is, it has to be earned, and how one earns it becomes an ethical concern.
While others earn their keeps the honest way, some throw all moral caution to the wind and devise devious ways just to get rich. Like dream merchants engaged in pyramiding schemes.
As defined in RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines), pyramid sales scheme is a sales devise whereby a person, upon condition that he makes an investment, is granted by the manufacturer or his representative a right to recruit for profit one or more additional persons who will also be granted such right upon condition of making similar investments. This scheme offers nothing but false hopes that one day “investors” will reach the top position to qualify them to amass money beyond their wildest dreams. But the odds are great that entities or persons close shop before investors reach the top slot, leaving the investors holding an empty bag. Or that the whole operation collapses from over-saturation, leaving in its wake more losers than winners.
This stratagem is nothing but a variation of an old, tired theme. Remember the hullabaloo in Surigao City not too long ago that almost led to the death of the rapacious mastermind? Or the race to the post office a few years back for money orders? Or the promise of receiving so many panties in multi-colors and sizes?
What is beyond me is that persons lured by this financial mirage now are the same persons who had been victimized many times over in the past. It would have been pretty obvious to them by now. But it is when things get obvious that one becomes dense. Indeed, it is said that people who don’t learn the lessons of history are bound to repeat them.
And if like us you’re part of a government agency whose mandate included ensuring this get-rich-quick scheme doesn’t thrive, things can get herculean. We’re up against so many persons who think we are the line that separates them from their dream. And because their eyes are already ablaze with peso signs in pure, unmitigated monetary lust, no one is willing to come forward and aid us in nailing down the rogues. And don’t tell them it’s a badly placed investment because it’s their money not yours. Alright. But isn’t the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing? But guess who gets the flak when things clear up?
This ploy will always work for as long as there are persons whose all consuming greed goes beyond hoodwinking their fellowmen. For as long as there are gullible persons whose primal dream of making it big is fueled not by the value of hardwork but by expediency. For as long as the government is helpless to extend the long arm of the law because of lack of support from people who matter.
A friend once told me that if a thing is too good to be true, chances are, it’s not true. Yet many believe that dreams like these do come true. Well, not always. Oftentimes dreams like these become nightmares. In which case, one hopes to wake up with his sanity still intact.
And by the way, what’s a pyramid? It’s nothing but a tomb. For mummified dreams.
(Note: The ongoing furor over Aman Futures' get-rich-quick scheme drove me to reprint this article I wrote in February '98 for Aghat, the now defunct official gazette of the Department of Trade and Industry I edited.)
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