| (Copyright) by Richard Markland (London, Ohio) |
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| If Americans were asked to give their opinions of the state of the economy, how each person has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis would in all likelihood determine what answers are given. Economic problems plaguing the country are not being reported truthfully. The mainstream media is not reporting the financial hardship Americans are facing. The loss of jobs, homes, vehicles, and other personal assets are barely given lip service. The number of permanent business closures nationwide is being completely overlooked. Why? It is a political hot potato that must be lied about and avoided at all costs because it reflects badly upon Washington and the nation’s governors who have been in shutdown mode. The unemployment figures are also falsely reported. The number of self-employed Americans who are unemployed are not included as well as people who do not qualify for unemployment benefits and those who are discouraged and no longer looking for work. Americans are being fed a constant diet of stock market gains and losses, GDP quarterly figures, economic growth or the lack of and statistical jargon with no relevance whatsoever to the true condition of the US economy. It is a deceptive narrative portraying Wall Street as thriving while Main Street is striving to stay afloat. How many Americans know how large the national debt is? How many Americans who do know are alarmed? Because the reported figure isn’t directly impacting the American people, the estimated $30 trillion price tag is simply viewed as the number thirty followed by twelve zeroes. While it is a staggering figure, far more staggering and mind boggling is the fact that it is far below the nation’s actual indebtedness. When considering the money confiscated from Social Security, the behemoth size of the welfare system, Medicare, Medicaid and other government subsidies, the country is approaching $100 trillion in accumulated debt. Paying the interest on the $30 trillion, however, is all that’s required. Americans are in a state of delusion because the country’s wealth is an illusion. The United States appears wealthy, but it is a debtor nation. Washington’s addiction to spending is unsustainable and an economic timebomb that is going to lead to the economic ruin of every single American. It’s not a matter of if, but when the economy collapses. A bleak economic future is rejected by most Americans. If considered a remote possibility, many people reason, “It may occur in 50 to 100 years from now, but not in my lifetime.” It is a pervasive mind set based on nothing more than wishful thinking. Americans are blindly accepting the crimes of larceny, embezzlement, money laundering and extortion by leaders in Washington. The country is being bled dry by out-of-control criminal activity that will bankrupt the country and turn it into a third world nation, but as long as the American people are able to maintain their daily routines of being busy with busyness, it is Washington’s problem. Defying the Odds Why are leaders in Washington permitted to write checks that never bounce due to insufficient funds? If the American people are overdrawn on their checking accounts, they are penalized by their banks, and it becomes a crime if continued. It’s a double standard without accountability and reeks of hypocrisy. Because there are not immediate consequences for the uncontrolled spending spree in Washington, the abuse will never stop. Break the bank spending habits is an act of financial sabotage. The nation’s economic future is being hijacked while the American people stand on the sidelines and play the role of mere bystanders with an attitude of “There’s nothing I can do about what’s happening.” Sadly, the nation’s leaders and the American people do not have the discernment and foresight to see where economic conditions are headed. Ezekiel 7:12-13- “The time is come, the day draws near (has arrived): let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath (God’s anger) is upon all the multitude (everyone) thereof. (13) For the seller shall not return to that which is sold (shall not return to their businesses), although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching (impacting) the whole multitude (every single person) thereof, which shall not return (will not be changed): neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life (no one with unforgiven sins in their lives will recover.)” A Worthless Currency The US dollar is mere notebook paper without the lines. A deluge of green ink has resulted in a balance sheet of deep red. The nation’s printing presses are operating nonstop and creating fiat currency, flooding the market with greenbacks which has devalued the worth of the US dollar. It is nothing more than a sophisticated version of the medium of exchange used in a monopoly game. The Danger of Hyperinflation America is looking at a future in which it will become a modern-day version of the Weimar Republic. Just as citizens of pre–World War II Germany had to use small wagons and wheelbarrows full of worthless currency to purchase commodities, the US dollar faces the same fate. With the American people already walking on an emotional razor’s edge, what will be the reaction when a loaf of bread is $5.00 one day, but quickly rises to $10.00, $15.00 and more per loaf until it’s financially out of reach? It won’t be just bread, if it is even available, but every commodity in the supermarket and beyond. Since the American people panic easily, it is a foregone conclusion that the coming chaos will only deepen the coming economic and social crisis. A $1.9 Trillion Boondoggle The $1.9 trillion stimulus package is the worst piece of legislation ever approved in US history, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (emphasis mine). The 628-page porkulus bill, averaging $3 billion a page is a complicated hodge podge of ludicrous spending that the vast majority of Americas will never see. While being called an “American Relief Package” by President Biden, the $400 billion in stimulus checks issued to Americans is not free money but must be paid back as well as the stimulus/package as a whole. The American taxpayer will soon find out there is no such thing as a free lunch. Only $600 million of the $1.9 trillion is COVID related. It’s a cash giveaway for teachers’ unions, special interest groups and rewards governors for reprehensible spending that has crippled state economies. Washington’s good old boys club of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours continues to thrive. By issuing the almost $2 trillion stimulus package, the House, Senate and President Biden have hastened the day in which America will experience an economic depression, which will be a nightmare beyond comprehension and a financial earthquake felt around the world. The Spending Dilemma Facing American Households Not only is the nation facing a dire financial future, but American household debt compounds the economic dangers ahead. It’s a two-edged sword that is a real and viable threat to the nation. Mortgage debt of $10 trillion, student debt between $1.5 trillion and $2.5 trillion and credit card debt of $500 billion is only a fraction of the overall debt plaguing Americans. Living paycheck to paycheck is a reality for millions of American households who are walking on a financial tightrope. Warnings have been issued for decades that personal spending habits must be reigned in, but because needs do not take priority over wants, household budgets are stretched to the limit and hanging by a thread. The Reason for Individual and National Debt God is not pleased with America’s financial state, and he holds both the leaders and the American people accountable for its tragic economic condition. There are physical consequences for disobedience to God, nationally and individually. National and individual debt is as a result of America’s poor spiritual condition. A spiritually healthy America would be a prosperous America, but due to the nation’s tragic spiritual condition, the country is paying an economic price for disobedience. Leviticus 26:19-20- “And I will break the pride of your (economic) power…” (20) “And your (economic) strength shall be spent in vain…” The American Condition According to the Bible Isaiah 1:3-6- “The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel (the American, British descended peoples and the Jews) does not know, my people does not consider (does not recognize God’s mercy), (4) Ah sinful nation (what a sinful nation they are), a people laden with iniquity, seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward (turned their backs on him). (5) Why should you be stricken (why should you invite punishment) anymore? You will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. (6) From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” There Must Be National and Individual Repentance Isaiah 1:18-19- “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; thou they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (19) If you be willing and obedient (have a heart of true repentance and obey), you shall eat the good of the land.” |
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