Trust is On Trial in Europe and the World
“It seems that if there was any truth to our language, ‘trust’ would be a four-letter word.”
Joel – “Risky Business”
Trust is the most important aspect of human endeavor. Without trust there can be no interaction. No communication.
No friendship. No love.
No Commerce.
The key to understanding economics is understanding people. The basis for all human interaction is the basic trust that a trade once completed will be honored.
The global economy runs solely on trust. Without the trust that contracts signed today can be fulfilled tomorrow and disputes settled with a reasonable degree of amity, there can be no iPhones.
No Amazon.
No oil.
When politics become toxic, when the sides refuse to cooperate on the very basic functions of government, uncertainty reigns. And uncertainty filters down to the people getting up everyday, going to work and providing a home for themselves and their families.
It’s like that great scene in the classic movie “Trading Places” where Eddie Murphy talks about the guy who’s worried he won’t be able to buy his kid that “G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu Grip” for Christmas.
That guy was the barometer for the market. That guy knew something about trust.
I had one of those G.I. Joe’s as a kid. My dad rarely let me down in supplying the most important things on my Christmas list.
It’s part of the reason why I loved him and trusted him completely. He was very human, but he kept his promises and I always knew where the boundaries were.
He and mom did what they could without making promises they couldn’t keep.
That example, despite the heartbreaks and the setbacks, shaped my approach to being a husband and a father. I don’t make promises to my daughter or my wife I can’t keep.
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