In looking at the breakdown of the national debt one day, I noticed that most of the it was in public funding. Approximately $10 trillion out of the $14 trillion deficit. Most of that is tied up in education, healthcare, and social security/medicare programs.
We will start with social security and medicare. To start, the baby boom generation is exceptionally large. These are people born after World War Two to just before the start of the Vietnam War (1946-1964). The average family was having four or more kids after they got home from the war.
The following generation, known as Generation Xer’s, is significantly smaller, maybe two kids per family. Because of this, Social Security is going to hit a wall when all the baby boomers hit 70 and the majority of them are relying on it for their fixed income.
There is also a growing number of people with disabilities relying on Social Security because they are unable to work for whatever reason. Many of these, due to stressors in society nowadays, are mental illnesses ranging from Major Depressive Disorder to Bipolar I & II and Schizophrenia. This actually furthers the complications facing the government when it comes to paying out Social Security claims to the retirees and disabled combined.
Another avenue of public funding is in the Healthcare sector. Programs are set up to help people who are low-income who cannot afford their prescriptions because they either don’t have good jobs, are unemployed for whatever reason. Again, coincidentally, many of these programs are targeted at the mentally ill because their prescriptions are usually more expensive. The basic medical illnesses are usually generic scripts and don’t usually cost as much.
Lastly, we’ll talk about education. There are public funding programs for grants for low-income students and loans that are disbursed thru the Department of Education and lenders like Sallie Mae. The rise of online schools that are typically for-profit rather than nonprofit have seen greedy college recruiters target low-income and people looking for work convincing them of their need to “better themselves” by getting an education.
This is nothing more than brainwashing and creating a demand for education which drives tuition prices up so the government has to set aside more money for education funding, further putting a crimp in the economy which is already crumbling. Furthermore, many college students with business and technical degree are becoming more disillusioned upon completing college when they aren’t making $60,000 per year like they were promised. Because of all the students who were duped into enrolling, competition for the better jobs is fierce so many students end up working jobs as retail clerks and waiters upon graduation. Many of them default on their loans while all the while the headhunter that recruited them is driving around in his rolls royce and eating a leg of lamb in his mansion.
The only solution for all these problems is: 1) Better educate people who are considering going to school about being wise in regards to taking out loans, or better yet work hard and set up a tuition budget and pay your way thru; This would actually be a tax write off. 2) In the area of Healthcare we offer Health & Wellness classes as noncredit courses or thru clinics to teach people how to take care of themselves so they don’t have to rely on the healthcare system and modern medicine to make them functional, this could include looking into herbal supplements and vitamins. 3) The Social Security Administration should find ways to get their disabled recipients into programs to make them more independent so they can work full-time and save their Social Security for when they retire like it was intended in 1935 at the passing of the Social Security Act.
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Category Archives: Basic Economics
Building Wealth Biblically
I think I may have found the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme. Don’t try to get rich! Proverbs 23:4 says “Do not wear yourselves out to get rich, have the wisdom to show restraint.” Another verse in Proverbs says, “the diligent soul shall be made fat.” Not physically fat! There’s a prayer towards the end of this book of wisdom that goes, “give me neither poverty nor riches.” Although if God does bless you with material wealth He expects you to use it to bless others. And if you ever find yourself in poverty, look at life from the eternal perspective and beyond your circumstances. You may be in poverty in this life but you have an abundance of resources in your heavenly bank account according to the will of God. You will always have your needs met, and possibly most of your wants, depending on how close to Him and sensitive to the leading of the Spirit you are. Studies show you don’t have to invest a whole lot to be worth over seven figures by the time you retire in your 60′s. If you are a good steward with your finances and live below your means and give sacrificially, God will reward you. Even if you don’t make that much, He will bless you by providing you with good deals and resources most people can’t find on their own. The secret is living below your means and being a charitable giver, which Corinthians says God loves. For example, instead of making car payments, set up a transportation account and save so much a month and pay cash for a fairly new car ever few years. If you have cash you can negotiate. If you are faithful, God will reward you, for His glory not your own. Credit cards are good for emergencies if you can keep them paid off on a monthly basis. I was reading on Dave Ramsey’s site that it’s possible to buy a house cash. 1) Set aside so much a month and buy a fixer upper, then turn around and sell it for more than you paid for it (for example, foreclosures) 2) In one email, Dave was telling about one guy who invest $77K over a six year period to build his own house, then turned around and sold it for $250,000! Wanna get an education? Set up a tuition budget and pay your way through. If you honor God by living below your means and put Him first by giving to His Kingdom work, He will open doors you will never find on your own-unless you’re self-reliant which is the root cause of man’s sin.
Blessings & Peace,
E
How to recover from Economic Crisis & be a leader in the Free World
I’m very passionate about the study of Economics. It’s one of the classes I made good grades in without trying. But I have a lot to learn about how to stabilize an economy. 1) I know entrepreneurship is one way because small businesses are the backbone of the econonmy. So if you have an idea, research it. Knowledge is power. Most people are too lazy to do research-I used to be. Also if you’re content working for someone else you will never succeed on your own, although you could make your salary working half the time. The average American works 25-30 hours a week even though they get paid for 40. Think about it. You think you’re “overworked & underpaid”. Do you work your entire 40 hours a week? How much downtime do you get a week? In light of other countries you are loaded even if you only make minimum wage. You can do anything you set your mind too-as long as you have the gifts, talents, & abilities. Also if you know you’re in G-d’s will, you will prosper according to His plan (which are higher than yours anyway) and you will have more peace because you’re not striving against Him to lead your own self-directed life.
2) Don’t rely on welfare programs or Disability if you can work. 1 Thess. 5 says to work hard and keep to yourself, or mind your own business, so as to win the respect of outsiders. You should not be dependent on anybody but your Maker-including yourself. If Social Security is in trouble it’s because of people who are on it who don’t need to be. If you make good investments before you retire and are a good stewardship you don’t need Social Security just because you paid into the system. It’s not a retirement fund for you, it goes to pay those already on it at the time you were paying into it. Don’t claim disability if you can work at all. Don’t rely on food stamps if you are able to provide for your family without it just because you don’t feel like working.
3) Buying governement bonds helps the economy somehow. I need to research this some more. If you’re able to pay your way for postsecondary education, do so and don’t rely on the government grants & loans. Seek out private scholarships and work hard for them. In Proverbs it says the diligent soul will be made fat-especially if you seek His will above your own and don’t seek to glorify yourself.
4) Seek alternative medicine (herbs & supplements) rather than relying on Public healthcare if you don’t have insurance which is funded by the country. Although this may hurt the Pharmaceutical industry it could drive prices of medicines down-but then again, you can’t buy herbs & medicines for the same symptoms. A pharmacist told me the herb will pull from the “man-made” drug. Which one do you think is powerful? A college recruiter once told me that nothing man makes can outdo wonders of Adonai’s Creation.
5)Saved the best for last. In Psalms it says “Blessed be the nation whose G-d is Lord.” Is He your L-rd? He’s L-rd of your life or He’s not L-rd at all. All you have to do be right is acknowledge Him; Which means obeying His commandments out of love & devotion. You will never have a pure heart if it’s not out of L&D because love covers a multitude of sins. If you hearts not pure you won’t see Him, which means you’ll go someplace else with horned freaks for neighbors. A pure heart is a changed heart. You’re either being spiritually transformed (born-again) or you’re conforming to Satan’s evil world which makes you an enemy of your Creator (James 4) and anything you ask for you won’t receive because you’re not asking in faith but with wrong motives. The ten commandments are broken down into 613 Jewish Laws. Except for laws governing unhealthy habits, almost all of them have to do with loving Him and others over yourself. You don’t have to keep up with the Laws, although you should observe it and delight in it because G-d gave it to us to live by even though it won’t make us right with Him. Observing it is an act of Worship and frees us from our sins if we rely upon Him. But when you surrender yourself to Him, He makes you over into the image of His Son, Yeshua, and you obey the Law naturally. The Son was perfect but He didn’t try to obey the Law, He did it naturally because He was one with His Creator. You can only be one with your Creator by accepting His sacrifice and having sorrow over your sins and trusting G-d to forgive you, accept you, and love you rather than judge you for you sinful life. Being a sinner doesn’t mean you’re as bad as you could be, it just means if you break one of those 613 laws you’ve broken all of them. There may be degrees of sin but the consequences of unforgiven sin is the same-separation from the One you were made for if left unforgiven. Despite your sins, He invites you to receive the Sacrifice and commune with Him and when you seek Him, you find He is seeking you as Pastor Joe Wood at ReverbChurch said one time. Any good in you is merely a reflection of His goodness. Yeshua said no one is good but His Father. Apart from this life-changing relationship you can’t do anything good because it’s not done in faith (trust in Him) as an act of loving worship. To enter in you must fall in love with Him by getting to know Him through His Word and realizing how much He loves you.
Blessings in Hashem & His beloved Son,
E
Wealth & Prosperity
Wealth & Prosperity
Now that’s a title that usually gets people. I once saw a bilboard from a financial planner that said “Let me show you how to retire in less than ten minutes.” Wouldn’t you know it people got all excited because they thought he was going to show them some secret to coming into some money so they could retire within the next ten minutes! Typical Americans-no patience. Not that I’m any better. Anyway, I was kidding about the bilboard, although I think I did see it in a dream one night. Might make a good ad slogan for an actual FP firm.
“Ends, some people will rob their motherfor the ends, rats snitch on one anotherfor the ends, sometimes kids get murderedfor the ends, so before we go any furtherI want my ends.”-Everlast-”Ends” 1998.
Written by one very street smart rapper named Everlast back in the late ’90′s. I love music but I never pay attention to lyrics. It was actually a DJ that announced the song was about money, then the song made sense once I started paying closer attention to it. Sad lyrics despite a really good beat. People robbing their own mothers for money, or “the ends”, people tattling on each other or stepping on each other’s toes just to get ahead, even going as far as killing each other. The next part of the song I’ll summarize, the second half I don’t think Google would like me putting in a blog. The artist says he knew a cat named Darrell, who didn’t have a dollar, was Harvard material, an Ivy League scholar. Then he goes to to tell us Darrell was a Ph.d, an MBA, but now he’s waiting tables cause there’s rent to pay. (I actually know of a few intellectuals who ended up waiting tables after college just to make ends meet). Anyway, next few lines: “Companies downsizing, inflations rising, can’t find a job, he’s getting kind of stressed. Doesn’t even forget to feel the effects when he says forgot to count how many times he’s been blessed. So he falls off track, starts smoking the crack, once it hits his brain it starts to chain react. He sells the shirt off his back, the shoes off his feet, he’s losing all his teeth, now he’s out in the street, and all of a sudden he’s like Jesse James, trying to stick up kids for their watches and chains, but he’s from the business school, nervous with a tool, so he winds up on his back in a bloody pool.” Like Darrell, people have dreams, usually governed by society’s expectations to “make something of themselves”. So after high school some go pursue their education all the way to Ph.d or MBA while others land good jobs after high school or community college and work their way up a ladder of “success”, and still others go on to start their own businesses (the fortunate few who have the entrepreneurial genius to fulfill the dream most people want). Then reality hits to the few who don’t “make it” (reminds me of a few song off the Americana album by Offspring) and they get labeled “losers” by society, or so they see themselves. Some get back up, “by their own bootstaps”, some wind up stealing or doing/selling dtugs and wind up in the criminal justice system, and others end up in psychiatric hospitals due to nervous breakdowns. Why? All because of society’s expectations of what true success is. How does God view success? In Joshua 1:8, the Word says, “Do not let this book of Law depart from y our mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and you will have success.” Likewise, Psalm 1 says, “the righteous is like a tree planted by steams of water that yields it’s fruit in season, and it’s leaf does not whither. In all that they do they prosper.” There’s that word again. Prosper. You hear it all over tv today, especially in christian circles. Though it’s way out context. Yes God does want you to prosper and be successful; He wants to bless you. Only in His timing and in His way. Word Faith/Prosperity teachers focus on more on the rewards of being a child of God than how to become a child of God. But then of course, there’s the extreme of those that focus too much on how to become a child of God. Prosperity gospel v. Hellfire brimstone/doom & gloom gospel. One side scares people into a right relationship with God while the other produces false converts because as soon as adversity comes along they renounce their faith in God. Since faith is trusting in God and doing what He says, what does He tell us to do to be succesful and prosperous in His sight? Prosperous & successful in the Greek NT mean to be useful or to “benefit”. One site defined prosperity as “having the blessed resources & abilities to acomplish God’s will.” OT Hebrew means being well, or righteous, overcoming odds, and being profitable. So spiritual prosperity, as opposed to material prosperity that the prosperity preachers teach which appeals to the flesh, is simply overcoming and being made useful to God to be a blessing to others. Also known as following the “narrow way” of holiness & purity and resisting the urges to follow the flesh. To sum it up, biblical prosperity involves having the resources to serve God to the fullest and build His kingdom by introducing lost sinners to the Savior who died for them. The only thing we’re commanded to seek after is God and His righteousness. To do this you have to be broken, or realize your spiritual poverty. Then as you turn your life over to Him, He credits His righteousness to you by faith, or trusting in Him, and you become rich if you are in Christ. Seeking after anything else is a form of idolatry because it doesn’t involve trusting in God to provide. Trusting in God doesn’t involve just sitting back and waiting on Him to act though. It involves doing what He says. Only pursue those things you sense He’s calling you to receive through hard work (and His strength). Seeking anything other than God will drain you and wear you down and won’t satisfy your spiritual life (your soul) anyway. Psalm 1:3 says the righteous prosper in everything they do. They may fail a few times, in fact Pastor Bob Jeffras in Dallas, was quoted as saying that to succeed you first have to fail. I heard financial guru, Dave Ramsey talk about being a financial failure when he was younger. If you follow God’s will you will prosper (be useful) in everything you do if you do it for the Master’s glory. As you grow in faith, God transforms you into the likeness of His Son and you overcome sins and become even more useful (prosperous). In closing, remember most of the biblical patriarchs were wealthy back in their day, but wealth usually comes to you in accordance with whatever amount of faith you exercise in giving it out. You don’t have to make a lot of money to become wealthy, especially in these days. You just have to be a faithful steward and live according to biblical principles, below your means, invest for a rainy day (retirement) and primarily in the kingdom of God. I read somewhere if you made a median income of $30K a year and invest 10% or less, in your twenties, by the time you are eligible to retire in your sixties you could possibly be worth a few million. Even more of a blessing if your house and car and any other debts are paid off by then.
7/24/1
