The Way Forward

I spend a lot of my time thinking about the problems in the world... mine, America's, and global issues that affect us.  We know about every disaster and tragedy that is reported, but we cannot solve every problem, as individuals or as nations. 

How do we help as many people (and other living creatures) as we can?  The previous charity models will not work for the future.  We can only reach out when we have enough to give.  We have to be financially healthy ourselves to reach out to those in need.  This is true for our own citizens as much as it is for the requests of other nations for financial assistance to deal with their problems

Without realizing it, this endless outreach has moved us into a government intervention model.  We have come to think of the government as the solution for every problem, especially the ones we cannot afford ourselves. 

Many think it is the poor that cause this imbalance in our financial status, but I think we would see a different picture if we really looked at government spending, if we connected the dots between elections and contracts, if we explored the supports for legislation that should never have been funded, and if we followed the trails of controversial court decisions.  Ending Welfare is not going to solve the core of our problems... attacking innocent immigrants is not going to solve our financial crises... and printing more money to meet our debt needs or fund generous commitments to other countries or programs will not make the threat of bankruptcy go away.

The taxes we pay collectively cannot support the desires of every organized group in the nation, it cannot support the healthcare we want it to provide, and it cannot support all the unfunded legislation that gets passed... taxes already cannot support the services they have been committed to.

Why is this important to the people of GOD?

Because all of these issues are leading us toward the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast, which is really just a money system, like a credit card. 

Those who don't know about prophecy, about the Antichrist, or about the Mark of the
Beast, have no idea what technology is heading into.  Computers seem to offer the way to the future.  The Mark will seem like a safety issue, a logical way to do business, a great way to function in a world of too many passwords, increasing crime, decreasing morality, and the ongoing effort to pretend GOD doesn't exist.

This election is showing us how far we have fallen from the values of the Bible.  Neither candidate is a model American or a committed Christian.  We can see the media controls our political conversations.  The issues we currently face are more than any party, or individual, can solve.  No matter who wins, the next four years are going to be dramatic, and critical to the survival of the US and its effect in the world.

Our biggest problem, in my view, is the debt.  As a new recipient of Social Security, I was alarmed to recently discover my very small allotment of less than $400 a month is paid to me as a credit expense... meaning that it is paid like a credit card withdrawal of cash, adding to the debt that threatens to destroy us.

How many more Social Security payments are made with a credit card every month?  It is my understanding that Social Security is broke, there is no more funding in the ransacked trust fund... so all of the funds paid to any Social Security recipient every month are cash withdrawals from the government's ATM machine.

The debt takes away our ability to meet the many crises that happen every year, like fires and floods and tornados, and unforeseen events like 9/11, Katrina, and the housing/bank crisis.

How can we hold the government accountable for its own bad decisions?  If we rise up and pay the debt down to a reasonable amount, what will keep our financially desperate government from replacing our efforts with another escalation of national debt?  We have to find a way... soon!!

Changing the mindset of government is the one thing I hope Donald Trump will accomplish if he wins the presidency.  We need to change from a government totally reliant on tax income to a government limited to ONE TAX that is invested for ongoing and increasing profits and savings and growth.  We need a government that is self-sufficient instead of always desperate for more money.

Our government has become a tax addict and withdrawals will be painful for everyone.

Reducing its tax income, reducing government paychecks and benefits, eliminating jobs by eliminating departments and programs, limiting its outreach to those most in need, will force the government to save money and eliminate wasteful legislation.

Changing to income-producing investments with tax dollars instead of grants and repeated program funding, organizing for rapid changes in jobs and industries because of increasing use of technologies that replace humans, moving social intervention efforts back to the community level, and bracing for the consequences of changes in laws concerning drugs like marijuana, will also take us into major social upheaval.

We must deal with these issues as Christians, as citizens of our country, and as global outreach providers.  Lives are in danger... near to us and beyond our borders.

I keep remembering something about the Great Depression that motivates me to prepare as much as I can for harder times than we have ever known.  I remember the stock market crashed in a relative moment in time... without any acknowledged warning.

I also keep remembering the Dust Bowl, caused by our ignorance and our belief that "science," or maybe it was progress, was infallible.

And I keep thinking of biblical prophecies about these days... wondering if there is anything we can do to stop this downward trend... if there is any way to prepare.

I wish the media would search for these kinds of answers, for solutions that will work for America and not just those with the power to manipulate the system.

We are in grave financial peril... who will be able to steer us through this swamp of debt and politics?