Since raising the debt ceiling is all over the news let’s cut through all the bull and look at the reality of America’s debt. Raising the debt ceiling won’t in anyway stop the coming economic collapse, in fact it makes it more likely. The debt ceiling really has no reason to even exist since whatever government spends is decided by Congress anyway. The debt ceiling is just a political football that the two parties use against each other every so often to try to force the agenda of the ruling party.
The debt ceiling is not the problem, our present national debt and our future national debt is the problem. The majority Republicans in the House of Representatives wanted to use the debt ceiling to force government to live within its means before the American government bankrupts America and causes an economic collapse. That House effort to cap future spending and actually balance the budget failed in the Democrat controlled Senate because the political establishment that controls the Senate is not willing to make cuts in social programs and entitlements but instead wants higher taxes.
The politicians are now talking about reducing projected debt $1 to 3 trillion over 10 years but even the claim of making small cuts like that are not likely to actually happen. The cuts would only happen if all future congresses did not block the cuts and we do not have another economic downturn in the next decade and there are not any new wars. If all that unlikelihood actually took place, then these cuts could be made, but the figures they use when they tally the projected cuts do not reflect reality either.
In their projections over the next ten years for revenues and spending they use figures that come from the Twilight Zone. For example, they project that for the next ten years revenues and spending would increase for the next ten years at a rate of seven percent a year?? That figure is just plain nuts unless they are actually expecting to get over half of that 7 percent increase each year through inflation. If that is the case, it is still silly because government costs would also increase with inflation. So they would still have to cut government programs that time-and-again we see that they are not willing to cut.
Also, using their very own figures we should be able to see that the projected cuts would not really happen. As soon as inflation gets to the 3 percent inflation rate that they will be shooting for to achieve that seven percent revenue increase, interest rates on the national debt would also increase to 2 percent above the inflation rate, or to 5 percent. So all the cuts in the debt that they projected to make over the next ten years will be totally offset by the higher costs of borrowing. They do not use that fact in their projection figures.
Let me explain this further. The US Government says that inflation for the last couple of years has been running at 1 or 2 percent. Because of this very low inflation rate, the Treasury is only paying about 3 percent interest on its national debt. Now if we do the math on the 15 trillion national debt – ($15 trillion x .03 = $450 billion) – we get the interest payment this year. However, if inflation becomes the 3 percent projected to meet their 7 percent unadjusted for inflation growth target, the average interest rate on the national debt would soon climb to at least five percent. At 5 percent – ($15 trillion x .05 = $750 billion) – it will cost us $300 billion more a year than we are paying. So, in ten years that would add up to an additional 3 trillion dollars. Therefore, the $1 to $3 trillion in cuts they claim they will make (but won’t) are wiped out by the increased cost of borrowing by just using their very own inflation and growth figures and they never mention that fact.
So there are no real cuts in the national debt coming down the line. And the story still gets worse, because there also will not be the 3 or 4 percent real growth each year over the next ten years like they project. The growth over the last few years of this “recovery” has been about 2 percent and that is with the trillions in stimulus and money creation. With all the new government regulations and projected new taxes and the jobs that have gone elsewhere the economy is not going to grow at the historic rate; it might not even grow at all. Further, with the weakening of the dollar through quantitative easing, inflation will be much higher than they forecast unless there is another recession, but if there is another recession, every single projection that they made for the next ten years instantly goes up in the smoke because the tax revenues will fall.
So let’s get real here. Unless a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is passed by 2013 the following will be the reality ten years down the line (If we could even make it that far without a default and economic collapse). The reality is that we will continue to spend at least 30 or 40 percent more than what we take in. Using today’s dollars and our 1.5 billion shortfall each year, that means that in ten years there will be another $15 trillion added to the $15 trillion debt that we already have. That means that by 2022, in today’s dollars, our national debt will be about $30 trillion. Using that same 5 percent unrealistically low interest rate for 2022, we will have an interest payment that year of $1.5 trillion (in today’s dollars). That would mean that in 2022 well over half of the total revenues collected will be used to just pay the interest on our national debt.
But, hold on it gets even worse. Those figures are based on the unrealistic optimistic assumptions that there will not be another war in those ten years or any economic downturn in those ten years. It also assumes that countries will continue to lend to us at a five percent interest rate when they know that there is a high likelihood that America will default.
Here is one reality that you can bank on. If interest rates any time in the next ten years spike to about ten percent we will have an economic collapse in fairly short order. Here is some food for thought. Under Jimmy Carter interest rates went up to 20 percent and during those days the Fed was not even creating new money and inflating the currency like they have been.
Those that rate US Treasury Bonds have flat out told us that if real spending cuts are not greater than $4 trillion dollars over the next ten years they will downgrade our AAA credit rating. Those spending cuts are not being made so it is very likely that our bond rating will fall within months. When it does, interest rates on our bonds will go up instantly. Interest rates will go up in any case because they can only be kept artificially low for so long. Those making investments in our bonds will demand higher returns as the dollar deflates through inflation and they also will demand a premium for the possibility of losing their money through the possibility of a default.
Even Liberals agree that the amount we are spending over our revenues is not sustainable but the difference between Conservatives and Liberals is how we get back down to a sustainable level. Liberals want to raise taxes and just cut defense and Conservatives do not want to raise taxes and they want to cut many domestic government programs.
The problem with raising taxes is that higher taxes cut production. Then revenues fall, so higher taxes at some level become self defeating. Also, massively cutting defense in this insane world is short-sighted. Liberals expect to realize some idealist world in the future but the world has never conformed to such Utopian idealism. Throughout history we get hit with the reality that there is evil on the earth and wars, so we do need a strong defense. That reality is not going to change before the second coming, so radical cuts in self defense are suicidal.
Knowing all these economic realities, it becomes obvious that the people of the United States must force government to live within their means, since most politicians are just out to please constituents that are never satisfied. Therefore, the only way to get government to live within its means is through a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution. In conjunction we also need a bill that will not allow any increase in taxes without a super-majority vote in both houses of Congress. If that does not happen they will just raise taxes, and thus they will create a contraction leading to less and less revenue, and higher and higher taxes, until the military coup d’état takes America over.
Such a balanced budget amendment and cap bill actually was recently passed by the House of Representatives but it did not get through the Senate. For it to get through the Senate and get to the States for ratification there will have to be at least 10 new Conservative votes in the Senate (The President is not in the loop for a constitutional amendment so he cannot veto it). It is not likely that the Democrats will change their position so that means that ten Conservative Republicans will need to be elected in 2012 for this legislation to pass the Senate. Only a third of the 100 Senators will be up for reelection in 2012, so getting ten additional Conservatives in the Senate in 2012 is a very tall order. It is not likely to happen.
It takes 60 votes for a filibuster proof majority in the Senate and with the Liberal states there is little reason to think Conservatives will ever get that many votes in the Senate. If they do it probably could not occur before the 2014 election when another third of the Senators come up for reelection. That means we could not even get this amendment to the Constitution to the States to ratify until 2015. Then it would take another year or two for that ratification to happen and it probably could not go into law until 2017. Even then the balancing of the budget would have to be phased in over a number of years.
Unfortunately by the time a balanced budget amendment became reality it would already be too late to save this nation from the coming economic collapse. Even if we could balance the budget right now it would require cutting government spending by forty percent. How can so much money be taken out of the economy without producing an economic collapse and massive riots? So I am sorry to tell you that I do not see any salvation coming to prevent this coming economic collapse. Getting our spending under control is just not going to happen. Therefore, this nation will be in default or in hyperinflation within the decade. Sorry, but the last train already left the station and your representatives in Washington missed it.
Having said that, with a different administration, there is a very small chance that we could move to an entirely different consumption tax system and also cut costs by completely pulling out of the world and cut whole government agencies. That would take the creation of a new political party or completely taking over the Republican party by electing only Conservatives. But, how do you even get a majority Conservative party like that elected when all the populous cities of our nation are filled with Liberals and dependents of government?
There would have to be a radical change in thinking across-the-board for this nation to survive this inevitable coming economic collapse. I just do not see that happening – at least not before the next civil war.
Don,
Would it help our deficit if the government put a complete stop to the nonsensical grant money given to those research projects we read about ???
Like ‘shrimp running on a treadmill under water research’, ‘penis size research for gay men’, etc. (those are in the news lately but there are many, many more).
And, of course, government expansions, like the “kinder, gentler IRS”…which actually meant heavily increasing the IRS manpower.
If they put a stop to this nonsense, it would at least send a positive message to the people of the U.S., I think.
Not much… the real money is in entitlements, defense, Interest on our debt and the cost of government agencies. What kinder gentler IRS? I think it did not take long for Washocrats to do away with that concept..
Not true Don,
Now the IRS has an even bigger, kinder, and gentler smile on their face when they throw you in jail for tax evasion : )
Next steps… So, the government is building internment camps (‘er, “re-education camps”). In all of history, internment camps have always been filled to capacity and used for torture in various ways. It seems quite obvious to me that the government of the USA, and states thereof to varying degrees, is planning to war with its citizens. What’s worse, the government plans to use foreign troops to do so. This is conjecture, of course. I don’t have the time to do the research to glean and separate information from disinformation. But maybe others can post what they know or presume.
How soon do you think the government will declare marshal law and march tanks down main streets, either literally or figuratively? The “itching signs” of a government bent on tossing the constitution that limits its powers continue to becoming increasingly apparent. So much for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Corrupt federal judges simply refuse the even read the constitution for which it states. Everyone knows the other branches are corrupt.
Don mentions a military coup d’etat. That would be a “step in” activity versus a “directed by” activity, and a “step in” almost seems more sane than a “directed by” – since we all know the government is bordering on insanity. Reid quipped he’s an adult… Reid is a juvenile when it comes to sanity. He may be able to scheme, but he has no wisdom. Again, does the military have a foreign troop make up and would a foreigner want to submit itself to a command that is war’ing with it’s own citizenry?
I would presume that the cities would be the big priority targets.
I could be way off in the above, and that’s why I’m just throwing it out for others to step in and provide more factual / informed / educated / researched opinions and conjecture.
Live free or die (ironically a north eastern [i.e., yankee] state’s motto). It’s amazing how far this country has slid from a constitutionally binding limited form of government to a government increasingly readying plans to pounce on it’s own people and increasingly eroding and destroying it’s own constitution – a constitution that gave the government its basis for existence. Talking about biting the hand that feeds you.
Yeah Craig, your way off, you have been reading to many conspiracy websites and you’re sounding paranoid like usual.
The Government and the military are made up of people of this country they are not some alien race coming to take us away. Our government workers and our military are not against the people. Those that oppose the will of the vast majority of the people of any nation can only carry things so far.
There is some bad leadership in our government but government workers and the military know that, just like you and I. Government for the most part is made up of people just like you and I. Heck, I was one of those government people that your so afraid of.
Foreign troops are coming?? Yeah sure 🙄 They cannot even fight their own battles and they are going to come to the United States to help the Bankers, Masons and Mormons take over America. Give me a break!
The only time our government will declare martial law and put tanks on the streets is when it it is necessary to do so to keep order because people are rioting and out of control.
Yeah, our government is not abiding by the Constitution when it wants because people vote for people that don’t give a damn about our Constitution. The danger to our country as we have known it, is the people in it.
Hi Don,
Thanks, much appreciated… I also appreciate you bringing me back from conspiracy land to reality 🙂
(on an aside, the emoticons… I can get the smiley face… I’m not sure how to get some of the others)
Actually, in this case, I’m sort of throwing things out there that others (not Christian) have passed my way. I don’t have the time to validate any of these various pieces of [mis]information.
Your response is actually a bit calming / reassuring. I am looking to handle various Christian persecution as we all can see happening before us, but some of these other things are a bit more than I can handle. It’s hard enough figuring out how to survive an EMP – which I view as highly probable in due time.
Although, a lot of the very real dangers (economic collapse, world/civil war) is a bit unsettling… And we have the hope of the rapture.
i read on a site that after the economic collapse the rapture will happen, as we can see the collapse is not far off. i see my self living in the garden of eden in the next 20 years or so.
Who really knows when the Rapture will happen? Don’t believe everything you read. There also is no reason at all to think that you will be living in the Garden of Eden ever.
Well Don it seems hopeless then. That seems to be your underlying message. This country will probably not get better before the rapture so we should just hunker down and prepare spiritually and physically. I’m more worried bout ww3 in the ME than Obama. He can only go so far before even democrats throw him out.
If the last superpower goes down the tubes war all over the world become much more likely. If the American people make the debt problem hopeless it is hopeless. There are ways to fix the debt problem but people in the United States are too divided to take the needed action and most would not put up with the sacrifice required to heal our land.
The great commission for Christians remains the same whither this country is in poverty or depression or even war. So hunkering down for Christians is not how I would put it.
It seems that the great nation of America has reached the other side of the tipping point. The problems are too big to fix in the time that is required and we have no unity what-so-ever in the mostly uninformed electorate and even within the political parties. Faith in anything else besides the Lord Jesus is going to prove fruitless, not to mention, probably idolatrous. As Christians we should be examining ourselves to make sure we are not spotted by the world and its systems. Like Jim said, prepare. Looking for the city whose builder and maker is GOD. Maranatha
Don,
If our debt future depends on government downsizing as one of the key components to bringing down the debt, we can rest assured, like you said, it’s not going to happen.
I am thankful and glad that so many who post on your site are aware like I’ve read above…your readers who post here are awesome people in my opinion.
David – agreed. Take care and blessings your way and to all in like dedication to the scriptures / Book of Revelation. Anyway, back to the topic at hand… I was thinking back…
During the 1980 election season, I was asked, as part of a college assignment, to assess the economic policies being proposed by Ronald Reagan. My assessment was debt. The simple math of increased defense spending, keeping taxes as is, and, most importantly, NOT doing anything about the rampant wasteful domestic spending. I was not saved back then (I don’t have a defining salvation moment, BTW) and I wasn’t a Republican, noting I was born and raised in an abysmal disillusion-frought “blue” state. I also recall Reagan having a desire to abolish the Department of Energy. Reagan also put out the flat-tax/postcard IRS idea, which I just love — the IRS is an agency capable of shutting down productivity like no other: you don’t squander three separate multi-billion dollar attempts to modernize without being really good at it.
Anyway, a key point is that even Reagan could not reign in this rampant abusive domestic spending. I can’t recall completely, but I think the DEMs were in charge of the legislature for the bulk of his terms. Reagan was unable to get Robert Bork on the supreme court and we as a nation had to suffer the likes of Sally Jessy Rapheal (or was that Sandra? [insert emoticon here] ).
If the period of Reagan could not reign in this rampant fraudulent domestic spending and the size of government, about the only solution I see is probably an EMP – and it’s forced shift of power back to the people, whether they like it or not.
Don is repeatedly right – it’s the people who are to blame. I call the people of America a “lot of spoiled rotten brats”; The USA and allies won WW-II and all we have to show for it is a “lot of spoiled rotten brats”; Yes, 70 year cycle is around the corner (like this is 1939 all over again).
A fellow Christian said to me that Satan had a great plan by assembling this two party system and pitting the right and the left. So, blame ultimately rests with the people for this utterly rediculous situation we are in. I think Reagan probably would have cut domestic spending / size of government if he could. Instead, he could only hold the line to some point.
Which brings me to another point – true Christian leadership would have saved the people from themselves. I think that’s called grace.
I am convinced that the leadership, particularly the DEMs, paying homage to Soros and globalism (which the REPs also do), are dedicated to the destruction of America. To sit on six times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and squander it, that is borderline manic depressive self defeatist. America, particularly looking at the history of this debt debacle, is certifiably insane. Either that or an enormous lot of spoiled rotten brats.
As for myself having to make some sacrifice to cough up a few hundred grand per person to pay back my share of this debt (that began before I was born), that I do take offense to. The IRS squandered three separate multi-billion dollar attempts to modernize – you don’t accomplish a feat like that unless your government is extremely good at perpetrating fraud waste and abuse. You don’t squander trust funds with IOUs, threaten to not pay up, and expect the people to be exacted a toll for that kind of criminal behavior.
Sorry Don et al… Rant over… No conspiracy theory above. I had/have to live through this insanity for which I never authorized (by voting record).
Yes, An EMP would solve a lot of our current problems, yet on the other hand, it will cause a lot of problems we can’t even begin to imagine. Just the same, I’d rather take my chances with the EMP and face the task of surviving it and rebuilding a smaller, simpler, more just society than continuing with the Fascist police state we currently live in. I don’t hold out much hope for and EMP, however, because the Anti-Christ is going to need a functioning electronic infrastructure to exercise his control.
As far as the IRS is concerned, it has little to do with raising revenue and everything to do with controlling the American people — like the TSA has little to do with safety and a whole lot to do with conditioning the American people to accept governmental control over their lives. This is why I don’t hold out much hope of the IRS’s demise and something like the Fair Tax ever becoming law.
I agree there is a possibility of fixing the govt financial problem but it would certainly cause short term pain, especially for those who have taken on too much debt and over extended themselves. Of course those people are already hurting along with the unemployed.
If our govt could make the necessary cuts to get to a balanced budget in a short period of time, say like over two years, then a couple of interesting things should happen. Obviously cuts would need to happen with ss/medicare in addition to other budget items. These cuts to ss/medicare are a form of bankruptcy or corporate reorganization if you will. In a bankruptcy debts are forgiven. So once we acknowledge we can’t pay these debts and pass a balanced budget the $4.5 trillion owed to ss/medicare trust fund is wiped out thereby reducing our nations outstanding debt from $14.5 trillion down to merely $10 trillion.
Hopefully means testing will be implemented so that retired people living on ss won’t get slaughtered in the process.
A balanced budget means reducing spending by $1.5 trillion or 10% of GDP, so it will cause a serious recession and home prices will continue to decline putting more pressure on an already bankrupt banking industry. (Of course the banking industry should have been forced into receiveship by our govt a couple of years ago, but that’s another issue). On the bright side oil and other commodity prices should decline helping consumers and the reduced national debt should boost the value of the dollar while also increasing demand for treasury debt as a safe haven once again.
The other great benefit this process would enable is for the $2 trillion of treasury debt the Federal Reserve is holding could be returned to the treasury and cancelled. Ordinarily the Fed would use those treasuries to sell into the market place as a way to withdraw liquidity from the economy when inflation heats up too much. However, with the recession a balanced budget would cause there would be no need to withdraw liquidity from the economy, in fact I think the fed could buy more treasury bonds, maybe a lot more and return them to the treasury to be cancelled as well. So once that $2 trillion is cancelled our outstanding debt is down to a manageable $8 trillion.
Before anyone complains that our fed has already printed too many dollars or monetized too much of our debt and the inflation monster is about to be released please first read this very thoughtful article.
http://www.kengerbino.com/articles/Hidden_reason_gold_stocks.html
Jason.
Stay on topic and keep comments under 1000 words, that is why you last comment was deleted
Jason,
I read most everything on this blog, however, your message above is way, way too long…I skip messages that long.
Tim,
Ugh…..
That is not correct. SS and Medicare are balanced right now and even running a surplus so there is no present debt to take off the books. It will not reduce our 14.5 trillion national debt at all.
Sounds like you think starting a even worse Treasury Bond Ponzi scheme is the answer to our over spending problem. In reality, what you are really suggesting is to let the Fed print all the funny money it wants to fund all our bills. The dollar would tank accordingly, there is no free lunch. That sounds like a great recipe for Hyperinflation. Oh,before you say that inflation does not occur when prices are falling in a depression, maybe not, but hyperinflation always comes when people lose confidence in a paper currency backed by nothing. The currency losses its value, that would be true even during a economic downturn.
Doug,
An effective EMP could kill 80 percent of our people through civil upheaval and starvation. That is your hope for solving our economic problem?? Is everyone losing it?
ok but it was a good article i think, i got it on the key of david site, the info seems true and i recommend you read it.
Jason,
Maybe so, but don’t just copy articles written by others and place them in the comments of my blog. That is copyright infringement.
Hi, sorry that my posts (rants) got a little wordy. I appreciate that I have a place where I can get a little frustration off my chest in a larger setting. I too do not want to see something like an EMP. I hope for the best, but I feel like we were given Revelation in this time for good reason. It’s a precious heads up to those of faith and believe God at His word. So, with the certain prophecy looming, I feel like I (we) should prepare as pragmatically as we can. I don’t wish for bad things, only that I want to discuss them, ascertain the likelihood and timing, and determine what kinds of rational steps I can take. Most importantly, if the to-be-determined-elect (to us) can be reached with these prophetic truths, including dear unsaved people close to me, let’s do our best to accurately and faithfully continue the works of our Lord as He commissions us. Jesus will wipe away all tears and we will have great exceeding and abundant joy. But, until then, in this current world, things are a little scary. Luckily, we have the truth of scripture and the great consoler.
Looks like, as Don suspected, the debt debacle will reach a deal. It won’t solve anything, as Don points out, the ceiling is sort of a bogus whipping tool anyway.
Don,
So you think our govt will honor the ss/medicare debts owed to the boomer generation that built up that $4.5 trillion surplus?
Tim,
I see, your talking about the government having robbed the money from the trust and put in Treasury IOU’s. The truth is that anyway you look at it something has to change because the long term problem is not $4 trillion it is #100 trillion. Frankly, the plan is to have higher retirement and Medicare ages, more contributions and smaller cost of living increases and no doubt health rationing. The rest of the cost they plan to gradually inflate away. Will it work? To some extent it already has for quite some time. The problem is that due to the downturn the debt is now going up at a much higher rate than the inflation rate and that means the debt becomes sustainable within a decade, as I pointed out in the article.
Don,
I’ve heard upward of 90%. I suspect those percentages are exaggerated. Sometimes I feel the situation is so hopelessly out of hand that only something like a massive EMP will stop the craziness and focus us on what is important. Just the same, as I said above, I don’t expect it to happen because the Man of Sin will need the infrastructure an EMP would take out.
My opinion. The Congress will keep spending as long as there are people willing to loan the money or we can print on paper and people have the illusion that it has value.
Eventually, the money well runs dry and the house of cards comes crashing down. Smoke and mirror illusions no longer will suffice.
What is the next scenario? States start erecting state barriers? Texas may even start charging Oklahoma a fee for all the football players that attend OU and OSU.
One more thought: I think Congress and Obama felt under pressure to make deal before Glenn and Rush came “On Air” on Monday morning.
They might think they have a deal but they have not voted on it yet. It won’t be a done deal until it actually gets voted on and passed in the Senate and House and I think the vote in the House will be after Glenn and Rush come on. They had to get something before the Asian markets opened.
Yeah, I think it will pass the House with a lot of support from the Democrats but that just might cost Boehner his job not to far down the line.
Sounds to me like the cuts are going to hit defense pretty hard and the rest will be smoke and mirrors and some great unknown “cuts” 6 months down the line. But let’s see what Rush and the rest have to say about it after their staff gets the scoop on what the bill contains.
Don, with the coming economic collapse being as imminent as you astutely depict, what wise counsel could you give to a fellow Christian who is looking to allocate his modest investment portfolio and be a good steward with the financial resources God has entrusted him with?!? The bleak financial picture you paint leaves me thinking there is really no place to hide in this regard.
Textbook asset allocation and diversification teaches you to create a coherent strategy and stick to it through inevitable market turmoil, with the logic being that it is impossible to predict short-term gyrations, but that long-term the overall trend will be upward within a durable free capital economy. That is what recent history obviously tells us, but it sure doesn’t seem to jive with your forward looking expectations, and my guess is that you don’t personally practice such an approach.
I lurk on your site a lot and have learned a lot, so thank you for your work.
Invest in the Kingdom of God if you want treasure in Heaven.
Before the Rapture and the tribulation if you want tangible wealth on earth invest in land that produces something. Nobody is making more productive land and yeah I am invested in land with the little I have.
Don,
How much farther are they going to cut our military? Last time Obama cut our cutting edge warplanes and our largest warheads. I guess they will do the same again this time. Why are they cutting advanced research but not scrapping our old outdated planes weapons etc.? Am I missing something or are we being run by outright traitors who want us subservant to Russia and china?
Good advice from Don. I must add that I personally think that the Rapture will be the straw that breaks the world economy’s back. Can you say chaos?
Most people truly dont understand how bad it will get here on earth prior to the rapture. We have seen nothing yet. And here in the U.S. we are more vulnerable than we ever have been thanks to all this debt ceiling garbage. Our military is spread thin all over the world and even our National Guard, part od a States defense, are also all over the world. At home our law enforcement are overworked, understaffed, and under paid. Yet people are still blind to what is going on or think that what happens else where could never happen here. I had a friend who used to be my squad leader in the Army. He now works at the Pentagon. He said stock up on ammo and food. But he would not explain further. I told him that I am pretty good on both. All he told me was…get more. That made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I have been trained in urban assault and survival. The time for worry is over..its time to prepare and try to spread the Word of God.
Honesty, I am growing very weary as I’m waiting for the storm to overtake us. There is not much I can do to prepare, and we are working on the things we think our Lord wants us to concentrate on: He will simply have to make-up for what we lack. I can’t even say that we have and are doing 100% of all we could, just that, all things considered, we are making-way as good as we may – He is our God and judge and it is on Him we depend.
I think I can understand how the deciples could fall asleep when Jesus asked them to watch and pray in the garden. I can understand how His children can grow weary of waiting and even turn to other things…As bad as this sounds, I think that I will feel better even in the midst of chaos, as we are engulfed in the malestrom for better or worse. He is our “life-vest,” there is no hope in any other, and this life is as nothing measured against His eternity with Him.
Let the cold winds and rains begin to sting my face and arouse me to the nearness of His Day!!!
Abba! Prepare us, we pray, that we would live and die to bring You praise!
Good Morning Everyone ,
There are no illusions on my part that I have the answers to our current crisis. Everyone is
likely to disagree with me , but if I have the power I would do the following : Raise Social
Security and Medicare elgiblity age to 70. Cut current benefits 10% across the board , that
would affect me personally. 47 to 49 % pay NO income tax , everyone should have to pay some
amount. Capital gains are now taxed at a lower rate, tax ALL income as ordinary income at the
same rates. Get rid of all deductions, all tax credits, all subsidies, everyone pays a flat tax
rate, everyone has to pay, NO exceptions. Cut spending to year 2000 levels, no spending increases until debt is completely paid off.
About the budget passing. I heard Glenn beck say in November there will be some sort of vote over 1.3 trillion I believe, and if it doesn’t pass the money gets taken mostly out of military budget and Medicare/aid providers. The congress can’t even agree on 900 billion in cuts let alone 400 billion on top of that.
And almost all the cuts are toward the end of the decade and future congresses are simply not going to ever make them. The cuts in this debt limit rise are totally meaningless they just kicked the can down the road. The only thing that can save America from default or hyperinflation is a balanced budget amendment with a cap on taxes.
By the way, if you think the economy is weak now wait until the tax increases hit us on Jan 1, 2013, and if they keep the Bush tax cuts after that date to prevent more economic downturn it means massive cuts will have to be made to defense and entitlements. If they cannot make the cuts the debt will jump another %10 trillion even over what they are now projecting for the next ten years.
We are not going to get the cuts needed because we have two different countries with two different worldviews, The only solution is to separate and form two countries or else there will be massive civil upheaval and tyranny.
Interesting that the Bush tax cuts expire 7 weeks after the 2012 elections. If Obama isn’t re-elected there may not be any reason for him to cave into Republicans and extend them again. The Bush tax cuts are bound to be a campaign issue. Does Obama go more moderate like Clinton did to get re-elected? Of course gasoline could be $6/gallon by election time and the economy in the tank, so Obama may not stand a chance anyways.
If we go back into recession Obama might have to ask for even more money to stimulate the economy. Republicans might even be running against Hillary in 2012.
My concern is that an attack on Iran could give Obama a spike six months from the election. The fate of our country is really in God’s hands we will get what we deserve and that is a scary thought. Even if the Republicans win in 2012 chances are that they will elect RINO’s. The chief being a Mormon cult leader and the other an opportunist, that claims to be Christian but privately gives almost nothing to Christian Charity and his Church and sees nothing wrong with homosexuals marriage in New York and with hobnobbing with the global elite.
The economy is not doing very well. There are actually fewer cars going to work in the morning in our neighborhood. My husband is a military veteran. During his work day he observes a lot of people who are doing poorly. He wonders about the future of our country with people who have terrible manners, awful health, little money and inadequate educations. We notice in our area that there are many able bodied males who cannot find work or refuse to work. If you qualify to own a weapon, you should discreetly add more amo to your stock.
One additional comment, every time that you are able to tell a young person about Jesus Christ and the free gift of salvation–DO IT. The time may come when we as believers will be unable to freely tell others about Jesus Christ and that could be a short time or a long time….Anyway, the time you tell them may be your only opportunity.
I have an idea….I will collect all Don’s money and give it to rosebud’s neighbors. Then, I can tell everyone what a compassionate guy I am.
They won’t believe you since it will not be enough for them.
Don ,
You said if we go back into recession , are you of the opinion that the recession was ever
really over ? Everytime I read the business news another company is announcing layoffs.
Speaking of Iran, I’ve been reading that several scientists involved with Iran’s nuclear program have been assassinated in the past year or so by Mossad. Seems like it shouldn’t be too much longer before that sort of activity provokes Iran to war. I’ve read that the US has no defense against the Russian made Sunburn missile that’s been supplied to Iran.
Don,
I was just using the government benchmark. The government says were not in a recession but it looks like even the government will soon have to admit that we are back in a recession. I personally think that the whole recovery is phony and we are in a depression or what might become a hyper-inflationary depression.
Don ,
I think we are quickly approaching a full blown depression and economic meltdown. The politicians will run out of gimmicks at some point. The current debt limit deal is a phony as
a 3 dollar bill. I expect substansial tax increases at some point.
If anyone is interested in some of the Washington elite spending habits, see these two articles from WorldNetDaily & Mail Online…
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=337833
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029615/Michelle-Obama-accused-spending-10m-public-money-vacations.html