America’s Coming Fiscal Cliff of January 2013, Part II

America’s Coming Fiscal Cliff

Unless our lame duck Congress will act after their Nov. election to delay the provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011, in just 90 days or sooner, America will fall off a  fiscal cliff that has been in the makings for many past decades.  What have been feared by many leaders and economists, will become a reality on January 1, 2013.  The Bush-era tax cut would be phased out, sharp increases in taxes will occur, and sequestration (automatic budget cuts) will begin for military and civilian agencies, and for many of the nation’s social services program.  In addition, the 2011 and 2012 2% stimulus cut in Social Security tax contribution for 163 million workers will be phased out, and returned back to 6.2% vice 4.2%.  All this would cause a deep recession or even a Great Depression in America next year! 

Also, as the recently declared US National Debt of $16 trillion was not bad enough news already, the long awaited QE3 (quantitative easing) was recently announced by Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke on Sep 13, 2013.  The FRB will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed bonds a month from the big banks indefinitely, to liquify the US housing market and to further lower mortgage interest rates.  But whether this move is to help the housing market or to keep several mega-banks from going broke is being questioned.  This move will result in adding $480 billion per year to our already burgeoning money supply, and cause our national debt to further increase!  The FRB will fire up the printing press for as long as it takes to stimulate the economy, which will eventually cause runaway inflation, and end up destroying the US$ and the US itself!  America is like a drug addict hooked on destructive debt- ‘Can’t quit, can’t stop’, ‘Enjoy now, pay later’!  We will now look at the sad state of the United States, and the spiritual aspect of her debilitating debt problem in Part II of America’s Coming Fiscal Cliff of January 2013:

The Sad Economic and Fiscal State of the United States- Pending Economic Collapse

One reason for America’s great debt problem is that we have fought two costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, wasting vast amounts of money.  These no-win wars have saddled America with huge unrepayable debt.  Another reason is the sharp slowdown of America’s economic engine, causing high unemployment and increasing joblessness, and tax revenues to drop sharply.  Yet another reason is the giving away of financial benefits in social programs to multitudes of people, with monies that we do not have.  The 2008 major corporate bankruptcies, and the housing and stock market collapses requiring QE stimulus by the Federal Reserve Bank also contributed greatly to our national debt.  Here is a litany of economic and financial problems facing America today.  More stats can be found on the Economic Collapse Blog.  All numbers are subject to change monthly, but generally are expected to get worse as America’s economic engine is now broken!

• Nearly 89 million people above 16 years are unemployed and not in the US labor force; many are now being supported by the US Gov’t.
• Over 46.5 million people on US Gov’t food stamps.  Record social security and disability payments- 2012 $600 billion; 2007 $480 billion.
• Over 53% of recent college graduates unemployed/under-employed. Today $1 trillion student loans are  next to mortgages as the 2^nd highest debt area.
• US Gov’t unemployment rate 8.1, Aug 2012.  368,000 not counted anymore- no longer looking for jobs Shadow Gov’t Statistics– UE 23%.
• Unemployment has been over 8% for over 3.5 years already. The numbers are low because many gave up looking for jobs after one year.
• 58% of jobs created today are low paying ones.  Many jobs pay under the poverty line of $30,000 for a family of 5!
• Median family annual income fallen- 2007 $55,000- 2012 $51,000 despite 10% inflation!  Net worth fell 40% from $126,000 to $77,000!
• 2010 average college graduates debt is over $30,000- $25,000 in student loans, $5000 in credit card debt.
• Over 25 million adults are now living at home with their aging parents.
• US Gov’t spent $1.5 billion in 2011 giving away free cell phones to millions of people under its Lifeline program.
• States and municipalities are going broke.  Several cities in CA bankrupt… Stockton, Ventura, San Bernardino, Mammoth Lake..
• Many large cities are blighted, with increasing crime and gangs- Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Oakland, Cincinnati, Newark, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.  In Detroit, a 3-br home can be purchased for under $10,000
• US debt $16 trillion, with over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities.  America spends over $4 billion more daily than she receives, every day of the year.
• America must borrow 50¢ for each US$ spent.  Interest on US debt FY2011, $454 billion.
• The historic 2012 drought is being compared to that of the 1980s, 50s, and 30s; food prices rising; water and energy shortage looming.
• Not surprisingly, the Gallup Poll shows the US Congressional Approval Rating at only 10%, the lowest since 1974!  Only 1 in 10 people approves what Congress is doing!

The Spiritual Side of America’s Debt and Rapid Decline- Once Blessed, Now Forsaken

America has been increasing debt at an alarming and unsustainable rate.  If debt is created to improve income stream, then it would be productive debt and okay, i.e. such as to borrow to start a business to make money, and/or to make a living; or to leverage one’s  assets by borrowing to invest in an income-producing property or a value-appreciation investment to make more money.  But debt incurred for consumption, especially for conspicuous or lavish consumption, is generally unproductive, debilitating and destructive.  This is what happened to America- spending more than we can afford, and borrowing more than we can ever pay back, without any additional income stream to ameliorate or contain our huge unrepayable debt!  After many decades of uncontrollable debt, this is the reason why America will fall over a fiscal cliff of our own making in 2013 and take all of us down with her!

Ps33:12 states ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance’.  In all of recorded history, there has never been a country so blessed as America the beautiful, with great mountains, lush valleys, long flowing rivers, natural harbors, rich agricultural land, food in abundance, great natural resources of gold, silver, copper, iron, oil, etc., with friendly neighbors Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south, and two mighty oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, to protect her from any invading enemy.  America was settled by a people seeking religious and political freedom from the oppressive religious and monarchial systems of old Europe.  Later people from other lands came to America for the economic opportunities she afforded.  Here, people found God and the freedom to worship Him.  America was truly a land of golden opportunity.  God had truly blessed America so greatly such that by 1945, America became a world superpower, and the US$, the world reserve currency, giving us great economic and trade advantages!  In 1938 Irving Berlin memorialized how God blessed America by writing in his heartwarming song God Bless America.  This song often brings misty eyes whenever sung!

But something terrible happened to America.  America seemed to have lost her Way.  That Way is Jesus Christ!  Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’ Jn14:6.  During the 1776 revolutionary war, in defiance to King George III of England, the slogan ‘No king but Jesus’ was coined.  America, once a Christian nation founded on biblical principles as evident in our historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and Bill of Rights, is no longer so!  Over the past 50 years the Christian biblical influence in America’s culture has greatly waned.  The US Gov’t and Congress have deliberately shown their disdain for God by becoming increasing secular and anti-God.  They kicked God out of our public schools, when prayers and the Bible were disallowed.  The 10 Commandments monuments were removed from the US courthouses.  Since 1973, in legalized abortion, nearly 50 million unborn babies have been killed. Pornography runs rampant and homosexuality is widespread due to the removal of sodomy laws against it.  Along with Wash. D.C, six states have already passed laws allowing same-sex marriages, and 11 states, civil unions!  Recently, Pres. Obama became the first president to declare his support for same sex marriage.  As God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and fire from heaven for the practice of sin of sodomy Ge18:13-29, so will He do the same to America.  The Bible declares ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but a sin is a reproach to any people’ Pr14:34.  The decline of the American economy is no coincidence, as God has removed His hand of blessings upon us!

America’s Historical Parallel With Old Israel

America has a historical parallel with old Israel, as no nation in recent times was so blessed than America!  Though God chose the nation of Israel to be a great nation Ge12:2, Israel had to go through severe chastening and punishment for her sins of disobedience and idolatry.  So will America be chastened.  God spoke to King Solomon in a dream,

‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land..  But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments..and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them..’ 2Ch7:14,19.

While these scriptures referred to old Israel, they also apply to once blessed but now backslidden America.  Israel, once a great nation under Kings David and Solomon, fell under foreign dominations and her people were scattered into different parts of the world for over 2600 years, for sinning against God.  America is now at the same stage of rejection by God as Israel was.  We have forsaken God and have gone a whoring for the gods of money, sex, and pleasure.  America must repent or will surely perish Lk13:3,5!

America the Great is Fallen, Is Fallen- America, Commercial Babylon of the Endtimes

While the Bible does not specifically mention America, or for that matter, any of the other great nations like China, Russia, England or Japan, many Bible scholars believe that Revelation chapter 18 refers to endtime America, and more specifically, to New York City!  Today, the commercial Babylon of the Bible is believed to be New York City, where the world’s most important stock and commodity exchanges reside.  It states

‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils..  For All Nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies’ Re 18:2,3.  It speaks of the destruction of that great city in one hour of judgment ..  ‘the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more..  gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls.. iron.. wine.. oil.. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing’ Re 18:10,12,13,15.

But on the other hand, today, all that remains of the original and ancient city of Babylon in Iraq is a mound of broken mud-brick buildings and debris.  So it is very unlikely this scripture above is speaking of present Babylon in war-torn Iraq or even a future Babylon to come!

America has succeeded to pollute and poison the entire world with her enormous debts- her IOU US treasury bonds and her nearly worthless IOU US$.  The kings and merchants of the earth who have committed economic and financial fornication with America, by selling their goods and loaning us vast amounts of money, will mourn and weep, and bewail her as they see her go up in smoke ^v9,11.  America is no different from many of the great nations of the past. To think so, is to be ignorant of the Holy Bible and of the history of nations.  There is no such thing as America’s exceptionalism.  Our only hope for survival is in God, but we need to repent of our pernicious ways, or soon we too will be history!  A New World Order will soon emerge out of all of this, with the Antichrist reigning supreme for a short season till Jesus Christ returns, and utterly destroyed him in a lake of fire burning with brimstone Re 19:20!  America is surely heading for the Fiscal Cliff of January 2013, of destruction and doom, and because of her great debt, she will take many nations of the world down together with her.