Hello C3 Family!

Weekly Rant - Please read to the end!!

The people living the monastic life are supposed to be an example to the rest of us on how to live. Of course we should pray, attend Mass, serve the needy, and have reverence for the Sacraments and the Holy things among us, but we should also adopt poverty drive lifestyle. 

Much of our economic woes come from a "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality and the constant looking for a savior in the material world. We need to actively fight these temptations every day, hence why I am repeating it for the umpteenth time now. It is more of a reminder to myself than anything else. 

If we have extra, then give it away prudently and freely. Let us not be fear-mongered by financial gurus into saving for a retirement that may never come. We need to choose to eat out less, spend less, and be content in the luxuries we already have.

Yes, I know some people reading this may actually be poor and struggling to put food in bellies. And that is why those reading this that have the extra cannot just hoard their money and spend lavishly on themselves. We must, as Christians, foster the Gift economy of Heaven here on earth. That is the only path forward. 

I write this rant this week because I am sick and tired of hearing about political and economic solutions that the world offers. Some say we need to overthrow the government; some say they want a monarchy; the other side of the aisle wants socialism and free everything. We know these things won't work, because we know all governments consolidate power and power corrupts. The only way forward is if we become Saints, give freely, and detach ourselves from the circus and bread the world is constantly offering us.

Now please hear me out. I am not recommending that everyone sell their home, quit their job and give all they have to the poor and live the rest of their days praying in the woods. I find nothing wrong with this scenario but I am certain we are not all called to it. Some of us are called to live in the world and evangelize are communities by being a part of our communities. By being a part of our communities that may entail us indulging in certain luxuries like patronizing the local pizza shop or going to see a good movie when it is released in theaters. 

I suppose the point I am trying to make is...Pray about what you should do with your wealth and be open to the assuredly radical answer that you will be given by our Lord. And trust me you have some form of wealth...I mean you just read an email on what generations past would consider a super computer!!!

Top Stories

• Florida has lots of problems right now. FL is recovering from hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton could hit and be even worse. This of course has sent staple insurance companies plummeting on the stock market but the bigger economic issue for Fl is that home sales are dying. Builders incorrectly assumed that the mass migration from CA to FL would continue forever. The result is that home supply in the sunshine state is up 58% and demand is down 10% compared to a year ago. Yet, home prices are not coming down, as they typically would with the current supply-demand ratio, because insurance is skyrocketing and causing everything else to rise as well.

• Google must let Android users download apps outside its store. The courts have decided. The decision to let third party developers create their own app stores for androids came down from a California federal judge.

• Pfizer, the pandemic darling, has been struggling since 2021 and now activist investors are taking a $1B stake in the company in hopes of turning it around. The firm behind the activist investment is Starboard Value and they are bringing back former CEO and CFO of Pfizer to help get the giant pharma company back to its financial glory.

• The "Non-Partisan" (Cough-Cough) Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that Trump would raise the national debt by $7.5 Trillion and Harris would only raise the national debt by $3.5 Trillion. So, the person who wants to expand Medicare, give free childcare to all, and increase the overall welfare state will increase the federal deficit by less than the person who wants to cut taxes and implement tariffs on foreign goods from China. Makes perfect sense, and that is not sarcasm, it actually makes perfect sense is Trump does not axe certain welfare programs but does cut taxes. 

• Both candidates for President see podcasts as a way of influencing undecided voters, but they are both going on the wrong podcasts. Trump is going on people who more or less agree with him and Harris has only really gone on one podcast that gave her loads of softball questions. They should just swap their itineraries for scheduled appearances. But alas the people already believe what they believe and changing one's mind is a tough task to complete. Sop pandering to the base may be the best either candidate can do.

• Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the heinous October 7th attacks in Israel that sparked this tragedy taking place in the middle East. Please say a prayer for peace and God's will to be done.

• The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated its heartbeat bill. This may hurt the GOP in a battleground state just a1 month before the presidential election. 

• Joker: Folie A Deux was thought to be a highly anticipated Blockbuster, but it completely flopped at the theaters. The film had a budget of $200M and it has only grossed $114.8M globally. Many have speculated as to why the film was a bust but I think people just aren't up for depressing and twisted in the theaters. They get enough of that in real life.