In Brief... A Kingdom Built on Sand
World markets went into a near panic during the recent Thanksgiving weekend over news that Dubai World, a key subsidiary of the nation of Dubai, could default on $60 billion of debt. It appears that Dubai's oil-rich cousins in the Persian Gulf region will step in and prevent a total collapse of Dubai.
Dubai has become a major site for banking, real estate and other financial transactions in the region. Although the debt is comparatively small, it has wider implications in investor confidence, so Dubai is "too big" to let fail.
Dubai has become the luxury shopping mall of a region known more for its religious fundamentalism and ethnic sensitivities. By building islands shaped like palm trees and indoor ski slopes, Dubai has given a new name to conspicuous consumption. It is completely out of place, overbuilt for the neighborhood, and a magnet for envy and anger among the extremist elements of the Islamic world. Dubai has no oil wealth, so it is reliant on the kindness of the neighboring oil sheikhdoms, who will not let its materialistic excesses bring down the region.
Dubai will survive. But the temporary panic and concern from the major financial centers of New York, London and Tokyo should be a lesson not to look only at the weaknesses of a place like Dubai. The risks are even greater in the major developed nations. Bigger companies and nations, including the United States, face greater risk than that of Dubai. That this is not acknowledged by world leaders should send an alarm that not only are many financial structures built on sand, but that many of the wise have their heads stuck in the sands of denial. WNP
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: December 2009
Course Content
Darris McNeely
Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 43 years. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. He also is a resident faculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren.
Don Hooser
Don Hooser is a minister for the United Church of God. He lives in McKinney, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He and his wife Elsie had three children, and she died in August 2020. Don married Judy in January 2022. Mr. Hooser graduated in 1963 from Southern Methodist University with a degree in mechanical engineering, and graduated in 1966 from Ambassador College, Big Sandy, Texas. For most of the time since then, he served as the pastor of churches in Ohio, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. From 2011 until his retirement in 2021, his primary responsibility was answering the many letters written to the Church.
