|
As the national economy and world economy spirals downward, a good question to ask is, “How did this happen?” The seeds for this economic disaster were planted in the early 90’s under the Clinton Administration. The Clinton Administration decided to de-regulate, less regulate, and /or no regulate the banking industry, especially in regard to loans. Part of this de-regulation allowed for leveraging. Leveraging simply means banks and other lending institutions could now “loan-out” up to ten times their cash assets. Many of these loans would require no down payment or collateral. Now follow this illustrative scenario to show you “what happened”.
I go to my bank (Bank A) and deposit $1,000 into my savings. Bank A – under the new de-regulation guidelines – can multiply my deposit by ten (10 x $1,000) and loan $10,000 to “John Doe” with interest. Bank A now has a note for $10,000 plus $3,000 interest from John Doe for four years. Bank A takes this note (IOU) and sells it to Bank B for $11,000. Bank B – if the note is paid in full – makes $2,000 at the end of four years. Bank A takes the $11,000 it received from selling the note and now multiplies it by ten (10 x $11,000) and loans Mary Jones $110,000. In 15 years, Mary Jones will have paid off her loan of $110,000 with $50,000 of interest. Bank A sells this note to Bank C for $130,000. Are you following the process? Bank A now has the ability to loan out 1.3 million dollars to Corporation Brown, sell the note to Bank D, and on it goes. Multiply this by thousands of banks across the world over 15 years and you can see the financial “house of cards” that was built. It is estimated that over 250 trillion dollars of loans was generated in this fashion with no assets to back them. When this ponzi loan bubble “burst” (early 2008), a rippling effect, like an earthquake, of defaults occurred. The defaulting on these loans has brought massive unemployment, multiple plant closures, insolvent banks, de-inflationary pricing, and a trillion dollar government “bail-out” to the banking industry. This crash will continue until something halts the slide – and it will not be an economic stimulus package.
Historically, when a de-inflationary crash has occurred (recession or depression), it has only been stopped and reversed by one thing . . . WAR! Sadly, tragically, war brings jobs, opens plants, increases spending, and drives up prices . . . all at the cost of thousands upon thousands of casualties.
As this global financial crisis and crash lingers, it would not surprise me to see wars spring up across the world. I foresee – based on contrived reasons and flimsy excuses – this country at war again soon as a means to salvage the economy. Russia, China, and even Iran will also be looking for a place to “pick a fight” as well. This escalation of wars and economic crisis sets the state for the last world dictator to come promising peace and prosperity.
In closing, 2009, 2010, and the years to come, are going to be challenging times for this country and the church. As patriots, pray for God to show grace to this nation that we might continue to be the “land of the free and the home of the brave”. As Christians, may we get serious about our Faith. The hour is late and the situation is urgent. What we are going to do for our Lord, we’d better do quickly. Today, let’s endeavor to walk in the truth, stay on the path of righteousness, and witness on the highways of this world until the “Midnight Cry”. Friends, our marching orders are simple: Speak-up, Pray-up, and Show-up ‘till we Go-Up!
Love,
Pastor Jim
|
|
Service Times:
Sunday Mornings:
8:30 AM & 10:30 AM
Sunday School:
9:00 AM & 10:30 AM
Sunday Evenings:
6:00 PM
Wednesday Evenings:
Adult Prayer Service
7:00 PM
Student Ministry
7:00 PM
Children's Ministry
(AWANA)
6:30 PM
 Contact Us
Find our Church!
|
|
