Saw this recently on newsrealblog.com and decided to share it with you. The video was made in 1948 by Harding College during the height of the Cold War. The quality is a little iffy and the overall effect a bit hokey, sort of like the old projectors I saw in the 70's. However, the message is a timeless one for all people regardless of their political affiliation. Please do give it a viewing!
Johnny Cash
Found this great WSJ article from Peggy Noonan. I have posted on the problems that America (and by logical extension, Western civilization). As America goes, so goes the rest of the free world. Those of us living here in the Union of Soviet Canadian Republic should take no comfort in the problems that are afflicting the U.S.. Indeed they are worrisome. Let us continue to pray for our nation - assuming it isn't too late!
Johnny Cash
(Please note the emphasis in bold is mine and not the author's)
The new economic statistics put growth at a healthy 3.5% for the third quarter. We should be dancing in the streets. No one is, because no one has any faith in these numbers. Waves of money are sloshing through the system, creating a false rising tide that lifts all boats for the moment. The tide will recede. The boats aren't rising, they're bobbing, and will settle. No one believes the bad time is over. No one thinks we're entering a new age of abundance. No one thinks it will ever be the same as before 2008. Economists, statisticians, forecasters and market specialists will argue about what the new numbers mean, but no one believes them, either. Among the things swept away in 2008 was public confidence in the experts. The experts missed the crash. They'll miss the meaning of this moment, too.
The biggest threat to America right now is not government spending, huge deficits, foreign ownership of our debt, world terrorism, two wars, potential epidemics or nuts with nukes. The biggest long-term threat is that people are becoming and have become disheartened, that this condition is reaching critical mass, and that it afflicts most broadly and deeply those members of the American leadership class who are not in Washington, most especially those in business.
It is a story in two parts. The first: "They do not think they can make it better."
I talked this week with a guy from Big Pharma, which we used to call "the drug companies" until we decided that didn't sound menacing enough. He is middle-aged, works in a significant position, and our conversation turned to the last great recession, in the late mid- to late 1970s and early '80s. We talked about how, in terms of numbers, that recession was in some ways worse than the one we're experiencing now. Interest rates were over 20%, and inflation and unemployment hit double digits. America was in what might be called a functional depression, yet there was still a prevalent feeling of hope. Here's why. Everyone thought they could figure a way through. We knew we could find a path through the mess. In 1982 there were people saying, "If only we get rid of this guy Reagan, we can make it better!" Others said, "If we follow Reagan, he'll squeeze out inflation and lower taxes and we'll be America again, we'll be acting like Americans again." Everyone had a path through.
Now they don't. The most sophisticated Americans, experienced in how the country works on the ground, can't figure a way out. Have you heard, "If only we follow Obama and the Democrats, it will all get better"? Or, "If only we follow the Republicans, they'll make it all work again"? I bet you haven't, or not much.
This is historic. This is something new in modern political history, and I'm not sure we're fully noticing it. Americans are starting to think the problems we are facing cannot be solved.
Part of the reason is that the problems—debt, spending, war—seem too big. But a larger part is that our government, from the White House through Congress and so many state and local governments, seems to be demonstrating every day that they cannot make things better. They are not offering a new path, they are only offering old paths—spend more, regulate more, tax more in an attempt to make us more healthy locally and nationally. And in the long term everyone—well, not those in government, but most everyone else—seems to know that won't work. It's not a way out. It's not a path through.
And so the disheartenedness of the leadership class, of those in business, of those who have something. This week the New York Post carried a report that 1.5 million people had left high-tax New York state between 2000 and 2008, more than a million of them from even higher-tax New York City. They took their tax dollars with them—in 2006 alone more than $4 billion.
You know what New York, both state and city, will do to make up for the lost money. They'll raise taxes.
I talked with an executive this week with what we still call "the insurance companies" and will no doubt soon be calling Big Insura. (Take it away, Democratic National Committee.) He was thoughtful, reflective about the big picture. He talked about all the new proposed regulations on the industry. Rep. Barney Frank had just said on some cable show that the Democrats of the White House and Congress "are trying on every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area." The executive said of Washington: "They don't understand that people can just stop, get out. I have friends and colleagues who've said to me 'I'm done.' " He spoke of his own increasing tax burden and said, "They don't understand that if they start to tax me so that I'm paying 60%, 55%, I'll stop."
He felt government doesn't understand that business in America is run by people, by human beings. Mr. Frank must believe America is populated by high-achieving robots who will obey whatever command he and his friends issue. But of course they're human, and they can become disheartened. They can pack it in, go elsewhere, quit what used to be called the rat race and might as well be called that again since the government seems to think they're all rats. (That would be you, Chamber of Commerce.)
And here is the second part of the story. While Americans feel increasingly disheartened, their leaders evince a mindless . . . one almost calls it optimism, but it is not that.
It is a curious thing that those who feel most mistily affectionate toward America, and most protective toward it, are the most aware of its vulnerabilities, the most aware that it can be harmed. They don't see it as all-powerful, impregnable, unharmable. The loving have a sense of its limits.
When I see those in government, both locally and in Washington, spend and tax and come up each day with new ways to spend and tax—health care, cap and trade, etc.—I think: Why aren't they worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse?
I think I know part of the answer. It is that they've never seen things go dark. They came of age during the great abundance, circa 1980-2008 (or 1950-2008, take your pick), and they don't have the habit of worry. They talk about their "concerns"—they're big on that word. But they're not really concerned. They think America is the goose that lays the golden egg. Why not? She laid it in their laps. She laid it in grandpa's lap.
They don't feel anxious, because they never had anything to be anxious about. They grew up in an America surrounded by phrases—"strongest nation in the world," "indispensable nation," "unipolar power," "highest standard of living"—and are not bright enough, or serious enough, to imagine that they can damage that, hurt it, even fatally.
We are governed at all levels by America's luckiest children, sons and daughters of the abundance, and they call themselves optimists but they're not optimists—they're unimaginative. They don't have faith, they've just never been foreclosed on. They are stupid and they are callous, and they don't mind it when people become disheartened. They don't even notice.
Bible prophecy is proceeding rapidly. Once the rapture hits, America's preeminence in the world will come to an end. An age of lawlessness (more on that later) and darkness will overcome the world in a seven-year period known as the Tribulation (Daniel's 70th week). Pray now to receive the free gift that Jesus paid for you on the cross. There's not much time left.
Johnny Cash
Read the article from The Independent in its original form here.
The Demise of the Dollar
By Robert Fisk
In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading
In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning - along with China, Russia, Japan and France - to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.
The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have taken place - although they have not discovered the details - are sure to fight this international cabal which will include hitherto loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against the background to these currency meetings, Sun Bigan, China's former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. "Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security."
This sounds like a dangerous prediction of a future economic war between the US and China over Middle East oil - yet again turning the region's conflicts into a battle for great power supremacy. China uses more oil incrementally than the US because its growth is less energy efficient. The transitional currency in the move away from dollars, according to Chinese banking sources, may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.
The decline of American economic power linked to the current global recession was implicitly acknowledged by the World Bank president Robert Zoellick. "One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," he said in Istanbul ahead of meetings this week of the IMF and World Bank. But it is China's extraordinary new financial power - along with past anger among oil-producing and oil-consuming nations at America's power to interfere in the international financial system - which has prompted the latest discussions involving the Gulf states.
Brazil has shown interest in collaborating in non-dollar oil payments, along with India. Indeed, China appears to be the most enthusiastic of all the financial powers involved, not least because of its enormous trade with the Middle East.
China imports 60 per cent of its oil, much of it from the Middle East and Russia. The Chinese have oil production concessions in Iraq - blocked by the US until this year - and since 2008 have held an $8bn agreement with Iran to develop refining capacity and gas resources. China has oil deals in Sudan (where it has substituted for US interests) and has been negotiating for oil concessions with Libya, where all such contracts are joint ventures.
Furthermore, Chinese exports to the region now account for no fewer than 10 per cent of the imports of every country in the Middle East, including a huge range of products from cars to weapon systems, food, clothes, even dolls. In a clear sign of China's growing financial muscle, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, yesterday pleaded with Beijing to let the yuan appreciate against a sliding dollar and, by extension, loosen China's reliance on US monetary policy, to help re-balance the world economy and ease upward pressure on the euro.
Ever since the Bretton Woods agreements - the accords after the Second World War which bequeathed the architecture for the modern international financial system - America's trading partners have been left to cope with the impact of Washington's control and, in more recent years, the hegemony of the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency.
The Chinese believe, for example, that the Americans persuaded Britain to stay out of the euro in order to prevent an earlier move away from the dollar. But Chinese banking sources say their discussions have gone too far to be blocked now. "The Russians will eventually bring in the rouble to the basket of currencies," a prominent Hong Kong broker told The Independent. "The Brits are stuck in the middle and will come into the euro. They have no choice because they won't be able to use the US dollar."
Chinese financial sources believe President Barack Obama is too busy fixing the US economy to concentrate on the extraordinary implications of the transition from the dollar in nine years' time. The current deadline for the currency transition is 2018.
The US discussed the trend briefly at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh; the Chinese Central Bank governor and other officials have been worrying aloud about the dollar for years. Their problem is that much of their national wealth is tied up in dollar assets.
"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions," one Chinese banker said. "America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."
Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars. Bankers remember, of course, what happened to the last Middle East oil producer to sell its oil in euros rather than dollars. A few months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq.
That's probably the most profound lesson I learned last week. My paralegal studies are going well. I've finished with the Microsoft stuff (7 weeks), Bookkeeping Fundamentals (2 weeks) and Simply Accounting (also 2 weeks). On to the good stuff!
What was my teacher referring to when he said that? In the legal field, no lawyer or paralegal opens a file and begins representing that client until they get their initial retainer fee. Its all business which is how it has to be. Anybody in the legal field who started working for a client before receiving their retainer monies has lived to regret it. There can be no "I'll pay you later" or a pay-as-you-go system.
Why the rush for money first? I was shocked to learn that my lawyer teacher (who specializes in family law) charges $300 PER HOUR! On a per diem basis, lawyers can charge well over a $1500. A client on a working wage has to beg, borrow or steal to get the necessary funds. He might have to dip into your RRSP's or ask his parents (or family member) for a loan. He may have to take out a second mortgage or cash in his investments. Getting legal help can drain a man's financial resources rather rapidly.
Why Not Represent Yourself?
Seems like a good idea at first glance, particularly if you feel you have a strong case. Those who do are often bitten by the pride bug, thinking "I'll show this smarmy lawyer. I'm gonna put him in his place." This however is an astonishingly bad idea. Not only will you botch the case, your slam-dunk case can quickly go south. Having trained counsel on your side is therefore crucial. An untrained layman entering a courthouse without first doing the diligent legal research (and citations) is looking for trouble. Nor should you bring along any friend or family member to defend you if they are unlicensed. The presiding judge may not even consider your case if you're not represented properly. Please choose wisely if you need legal help. Get legal aid (paid for by the Ontario government) if need be but above all DO NOT attempt to navigate the judicial system on your own.
Rebounds and Appeals
Keeping with the basketball theme, it's critical to understand why you must retain competent and licensed counsel when you first enter the system. As I said, an apparent slam-dunk case can go quickly south if it is sloppy and disorganized. Appealing the decision of the lower courts is going to cost you even more time and money. Lawyers love it when they see prideful people crash and burn in a court setting. More money for them! In an appeal case, a client can use up twice as many hours for a lawyer at twice the rate of pay. Such services can quickly add up to a hefty bill. Sin is indeed expensive!
Life Isn't Fair: The Market System
Why is it that guys like Mark Texeira of the New York Yankees can make in excess $20m a year yet a medical doctor who saves lives gets 'only' a six-figure salary? Who's more valuable to society, a guy who swings a wooden bat or someone who saves human life? Subsequently, how is it that a lawyer (or paralegal) can charge a working man who makes a tenth of what he makes? How can anyone justify a $300/hr. rate? I'll tell you why. Because the free market says so. I know that sounds like a terrible answer and perhaps even a cop-out. Yet any system that doesn't use free market methods impoverishes all those who chafe under it.
I've no plans to bankrupt myself by charging rock-bottom rates to future clients once I get my P1 license. Nor will I gouge them either. But most definitely I will charge them what the market can bear. I've worked 11 years in what turned out to be a dead end job making $14/hr.. So I know what its like to be part of the working class. Indeed I still identify with them. When I got laid off I decided early on that I didn't want just any job. I wanted a career with a future, one that would dovetail with my personal values, abilities and interests.
Knowledge Becomes Power Only When You're Willing to Apply It!
So let me be clear. By no means has the love of money entered my heart. Jesus is still number one. But why not use my God-given gifts to further myself? Money to me has always been a means to an end (and therefore not an end unto itself). It buys you nice things. It allows you to travel to places you've always wanted to visit. It widens your perspective. Money is not evil. It is the love of money that is the problem. I have no plans to fall into that trap.
Father, I pray that I will be able to use my gifts wisely to help others. I pray also that I do not fall into the false worldview of materialism and humanism. Let all my efforts glorify your Son, Jesus Christ, who paid the ultimate price on the cross for man's sin. He is the Judge of Judges and our one True Advocate in the Heavenly courts. In His name I pray, Amen.
Johnny Cash
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
(Revelation 18:2-3)
Who will come to America's aid when the money runs out? I do not believe this will happen during the Church Age. However, once Jesus comes for His bride (the church) America's preeminent global reign will cease. Not something I personally wish for, yet this must happen in order to facilitate the rise of the Antichrist and a one world government. The link to the original Front Page Mag article is here.
Johnny Cash
The Worst is Yet to Come
By: Vasko Kohlmayer
Monday, August 31, 2009
"Today, we're pointed in the right direction... While we've rescued our economy from catastrophe, we've also begun to build a new foundation for growth,” said President Obama recently.
Unfortunately, the president's declarations and all the talk about the green shoots by his acolytes in the media are merely wishful thinking. Far from rescuing it, the Bush/Obama stimulus has dealt a damaging blow to the economy, and one which will exert its harmful effects for years to come. We only need to take a quick look at the big picture to see why.
Last year the American economic system experienced major trauma as more and more banks, companies and individuals were brought to the verge of bankruptcy. In most cases their plight was caused by their inability to service their liabilities. Buoyed by the easy availability of cheap credit and loose monetary policy of preceding years, government, commercial entities as well as private persons had taken on unprecedented levels of debt. Paul Craig Roberts, formerly Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration, correctly points out that we lived in “a debt economy.” Writing in Journal Sentinel, John Torinus, a banker with experience in leveraged buyouts, described the astonishingly lax mindset that had come to dominate the whole sphere of borrowing:
The investment banks that crashed and burned were leveraged as high as 35 to 1. Their 3% equity base disappeared in a sinkhole of excessive debt... The excessive leverage went far beyond the investment banks. Home buyers could get insured or federally backed mortgages with 5% down or sometimes less. They were leveraged 20 to 1 or more. Credit checks were loose.
The cheap credit – which was made possible by artificially low interest rates – brought on the borrowing frenzy to a feverish pitch. Paul Craig Roberts observes:
The debt economy caused Americans to leverage their assets. They refinanced their homes and spent the equity. They maxed out numerous credit cards. They worked as many jobs as they could find. Debt expansion and multiple family incomes kept the economy going.
Toward the end of 2008 the overall debt level – public, commercial and personal – in the American economy was well over $50 trillion. This was three and a half times the size of the country's total economic output (around $14 trillion) and more than double the debt level of 2000. At over 350 percent, this made ours the most over leveraged economy in history. To put it bluntly, all of us – individuals, businesses and especially government – lived beyond our means. The American economy was over-leveraged through and through.
The racket held while the economy boomed. But once it seized, the over-indebtedness became unsustainable and things began falling apart. Describing this process, Nouriel Roubinini, one of America's leading financial commentators, wrote in Forbes:
Americans lived in a "Made-off" and Ponzi bubble economy for a decade or even longer. Madoff is the mirror of the American economy and of its over-leveraged agents: a house of cards of leverage over leverage by households, financial firms and corporations that has now collapsed in a heap.
Painful as the impending bankruptcies tsunami would have been, it would have ultimately delivered a remedy. In order for an economic system to remain viable, excessive indebtedness must be corrected and those responsible chastised for their misjudgment. It is for this purpose that the market evolved the institution of bankruptcy. Had it been left to unfold unimpeded, the process would have reduced the overall leverage and the economy would have eventually found itself on a sound footing once again.
The government, however, resolved not to allow the market do its work. In a misguided attempt to avert the necessary pain, it began propping up failing enterprises and individuals with more easy credit and direct cash injections. And even though it was initially advertised as a relatively short-term and targeted effort, the operation has been ongoing for nearly nine months while continually expanding in scope.
This approach is fundamentally flawed on a number of levels. To begin with, the government's actions interfere with the market's corrective forces. But the most obvious problem is that the government simply does not have the money to do this. It is ironic that even before it embarked on its “rescue” effort, the government itself was already more deeply indebted than the companies it sought to save. With some $65 trillion in total obligations, the federal government was, in fact, the most over-leveraged institution in America.
The rescue has unsurprisingly turned out to be a singularly expensive undertaking. So much so that the government's deficit at the end of this fiscal year will exceed the previous record by nearly a factor of four. At some 11 percent of GDP, this is also the highest peacetime deficit in American history when measured as a portion of the overall economy.
If the government's strategy – bailing out debt-ridden companies and individuals by enlarging its own astronomical debt – seems misguided, it is. There is an old truism that says you cannot get out of debt by running deeper into debt. And yet this is precisely what the government has been trying to do. This is why its approach will ultimately fail.
The authors of the latest Comstock Partners special report put their finger on the crux of the matter. Countering the conventional wisdom of the spend-and-stimulate Keynesians, they write:
We, however, don't believe that the U.S. massive stimulus programs and money printing can solve a problem of excess debt generation... If this were the answer Argentina would be one of the most prosperous countries in the world. This excess debt actually resulted from the same money printing and easy money that we are now using to alleviate the pain.
The bailouts reward bad management and irresponsible businesses practices and forestall the remedy the market is trying to administer. Contrary to what we have been told, all those injections of credit and capital do not contain a cure. Instead they are filled with the noxious serum of public debt whose toxic effects are slowly poisoning the whole system. The festering sores of the economic crisis have been only temporarily masked with government made bailout band aids, but those are no thicker than a dollar bill. The sickness will eventually break out again, but next time it will hit with greater intensity.
Our over-leveraged government can give out those lavish bailouts only because it can still borrow at low interest. But bond investors have been growing increasingly vocal in expressing their doubts about the government's ability to make good on its debts. It is only a matter of time before they start demanding higher bond yields. When that happens, borrowing will become prohibitively expensive. Saddled with an enormous debt and with no one to advance easy cash, the government will find itself in the same position as the companies it is trying to save today. When that moment finally arrives, there will be no one to finance the ultimate bail out. If you thought that letting a couple of big banks fail would have been bad, wait what happens when the federal government itself goes under.
Make no mistake: The worst is still yet to come.
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, even if you're not Irish!
I am both saddened and heartbroken over the loss of my dear friend. The memorial service at Richmond Hill Presbyterian on the 11th was good as good can be under the circumstances. I found myself smiling at the eulogy that the pastor gave. 'Sounds just like him' I kept saying to myself. I feel blessed to finally meet some of his family. Ian was a private man - as I am - so it was nice to meet his sisters Susan and Cindy. Funerals, like a wedding, does that to a family. The dynamic of a family dealing with tragedy or triumph is a marvel to behold.
On a personal note, my second career ambitions are moving along swimmingly. No confirmation from the school board yet. The process began on March 9th and it takes at least three weeks before the educrats look at your case. A bit of selfish prayer is indeed called for! God willing, I'll begin a full year of paralegal classes on April 20th at TriOS college Mississauga campus. June is the alternate start date. Soon as I get word, I'll post it here. I've not worked a minute since December and my funds are starting to dry up. My EI kicks in in May for 38 weeks. After that, Employment Ontario will hopefully bridge that 14 week gap for living expenses. It sucks being unemployed. Without working you feel like a dead weight.
I was pondering about this personal journey. Namely, you have to exercise patience to allow God's plan for you to unfold. Speeding it up leaves you vulnerable. Too slow and you miss out on God's best. This process of getting all you ducks lined up in a row is one that doesn't happen overnight. Yet like a cat with nine lives I've always somehow managed to land on my own feet. God's firm hand is guiding my situation. I'm now a licensed and certified security guard able to work anywhere in Ontario. Tomorrow I'll be dropping by three (or four) security companies in Toronto to drop off resumes. Wish me luck!
There's something to be said about keeping things simple. Simplicity equals sanity. Order over chaos. Today I went through every link in my sidebar. Faith Girl has not posted since May 2008 and so has been removed from my contributors list. I will try to contact her to see if I can get her back in the fold. Faith Girl's favorites, News Links and New World Order are no more. I am excited over my new addition 'Muslims Curious About Christianity'. I've noticed that I often get visitors from non-Christian countries such as India, Dubai and Malaysia (to name a few). What a tremendous gift it would be if a Muslim (or Hindu) chooses Christ as a result of my foresight. Islam is one of the major religions in the world and I believe it's vital Muslims hear about the promise of salvation that only Christ can offer. They may agree. They may disagree. But make no mistake! A face to face meeting with Biblical truth leaves one without excuse. Truth demands personal responsibility. No wonder so many despise it!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new and improved X-Def. If you know of any relevant links you'd like me to add (or reinstate) please leave a comment. Be specific! Saying 'your blog sucks' isn't going to be highly regarded as an effective form of communication. I've linked the Canadian flag and Johnny Cash picture too. They now lead to cbc.ca and johnnycash.com respectively. Links that were off-topic, obsolete, unreadable or not up to date have been deleted. It's amazing how far behind you get when you don't update your blog on a regular basis. I hope you like the result.
Johnny Cash
I've just read a great article from Chuck Norris. You can find the original in its entirety here.
In these tough economic times, some solid advice is needed to weather this adversity. Here now in her own words - from an 87 year old who lived through the Depression no less - is Chuck Norris' mother's economic survival guide:
-- "Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn't have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.
-- "Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where's that work ethic today? If someone's not being paid $10 an hour today, they're whining and unwilling to work, even if they don't have a job. The message from yesteryear is don't be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.
-- "Be rich in love. We didn't have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We've lost the value of family and friends today, and we've got to gain it back if we're ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?
-- "Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They've forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, 'Love thy neighbor.'
-- "Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. 'What's in it for me?' is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, 'What can I do to help my neighbor, too?' I love Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, and especially his thought, 'We were created for community, designed to be a blessing to others.' Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.
-- "Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn't just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It's been that way ever since Herbert Hoover's alleged promise of a 'chicken in every pot' and President Roosevelt's New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that's a reason why we're in this economic pickle."
Mr. Norris then concludes in a post-script:
'Now that's conventional wisdom that should be shouted and posted in every corridor of government, every community across America, and every blog on the Internet.'
Consider it done Chuck, consider it done.
Johnny Cash
President Barack Obama was in Arizona recently selling his mortgage relief plan. As stratfor notes, this 'concentrates an unprecedented amount of financial power in government hands'. It also dovetails perfectly with Bible prophecy. If more and more money can be funneled into fewer and fewer hands, then all the money (and all the power) can be bestowed to one man. Lenin (and Jesus) was right! Imperialism is the highest form of capitalism.
Johnny Cash
Yes, it's Friday the 13th. Well whoop-de-do! I've never put any stock in such silly superstitions anyways. It's late and I'm still wide awake so I've decided to post before I go to bed. To me there's nothing more satisfying than falling into bed completely exhausted!
Happiness vs. Joy
For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
(Deuteronomy 16:15b)
Did you know there's a distinct difference between the two? Happiness is largely determined by circumstance, joy is permanent. A happy person may not necessarily be joyful and joyful person may (or may not) be happy. Why do we fail in making the distinction?
The Growing Infantilism in Our Society
Aren't we not supposed to become wiser as we approach old age? The kids are alright; it's the adults that need constant supervision. We regard liberty as a license to do as we please rather than the serious-minded endeavour it was always meant to be. We are retarded in our thinking, never looking at the larger picture. We want to be 'happy' - never a bad thing in and of itself - yet how many of us have the joy of fellowship with God and those who love Him? So much superficiality, so little time!
A Mile Wide and an Inch Thick
Our happiness ought to have some depth and substance to it. Circumstances change rapidly as do our environment. Thus the question begs itself: What foundation do you base your happiness on? Is it a sure thing? Is it rock solid?
Facing the Inevitable: Death and Taxes
I found myself today walking past a kiosk with the usual sensationalist tabloid headlines. Cher apparently has three years left to live! That according to some expert who's looking at the stressful lifestyle Cher is leading. You know what I said to myself? We all gotta meet our Maker sometime. In the back of our minds we know full well our own mortality will one day betray us. Think about it. From the time I started this post to when I finally publish (plus countless edits to boot) somebody out there will have left it all behind. Death is no respecter of time, date or place. It's foolish to go 'all in' when it comes to our health. Nor do I have to tell you about the temporal nature of money. We all need it. It would be impossible to function without it. We know from experience money comes and goes. Placing all our faith, hope and trust in our financial portfolios is a mug's game.
The Key to Happiness
I heard from a preacher on the radio some time ago about happiness. You know what he said? Happiness isn't something you find, it's something you stumble across when you discover holiness. How then do we discover this holiness? It is found in knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Jesus came so that we may have life and have it in abundance. That's joy. That's a sure thing. That's a rock we can stand on, no matter what.
Johnny Cash
A lot of Americans are enamored of Ron Paul (R-Texas) and I can see why. The GOP should've stood behind this man (or Mike Huckabee) instead of John McCain. Rep. Paul is a free market advocate and a straight-shooter, a rarity in Washington. He's the man that George W. Bush always wanted to be but never was. Highly unlikely that President-elect Obama will give Rep. Paul the time of day.
Johnny Cash
Never has the number zero looked so beautiful. Had the landlord yell up to my bedroom as some mail had arrived addressed to me. It was from Wells Fargo Financial informing me that my minimum payment of $0.00 is due as of Jan 22, 2009. I'd been carrying around this small debt (under a $100) for some months now. While I was never worried about such a small amount, it was a burr in my saddle, a thorn in my flesh if you will.
As you may remember, I was recently laid off from my job of eleven years. From that, I received 19 weeks of pay plus my regular pay. Due to that minor windfall, I was able to pay off two small debts, one directly to Future Shop and the other one mentioned above. When I get a job in the new year, I hope to pay off my car loan as well (approx. $3000). In 2009 I will therefore be in a unique position. Full-time employment (hopefully!) with a better paying job and debt-free. I dare say I'll be in a privileged minority compared to most others in '09.
Not Only Debt Free, But Sin Free As Well
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)
Having your financial house in order is critical. Few would argue that point, whether they be money gurus or someone balancing the books for their family. Yet who amongst us has been set free from the bondage of sin? For most, we use greater diligence on our yearly vacation plans than we do our eternal destiny. How foolish it would be to gain the world yet lose your soul! Due to His supreme sacrifice on the cross, I know that my sin debt to the Father is paid in full. That my friends, is worth more that any money debt you will ever incur. Please start the new year off right. Heaven awaits your answer!
Happy New Year Everyone!
This is my last post for 2008. How time flies! In February the X-Def will be celebrating it's third anniversary. This humble little blog has come a long way from a lark that I started on a mere whim. In January I'll give my own 'State of the Union' address on what 2009 will be like (Hint: It's going to be volatile). However I'll save that till the new year. In the meantime, I'd like to wish everybody a happy new year and please don't drink and drive. Ciao, 2008!
Johnny Cash
'Permanently laid off due to a shortage of work' was the notice I got last Friday. Yep, I now join the ranks of the unemployed. To say I was emotional was an understatement. Angry, hurt, shocked, embarrassed, humiliated and frightened were just some of the feelings going through my head after I was called into the office. The last time I was this this low was when I totalled my beautiful Nissan Sentra after a mere three months. Now a decade of loyal service to the same employer has come to naught. If there's a silver lining to be found in all this is the fact that this is the best kind of release. A stellar ROE (Record of Employment) to be picked up on Wednesday with a glowing recommendation from my now former boss. What's left of my place of employment likely isn't going to last long. In a way, I've been given a head start over my former co-workers.
God Is My Provider
That's what 'Jehovah Jireh' means. It appears that God is going to have to be doing a lot of providing for me in the next few months. My regular pay plus vacation pay and severance pay are all due to me. It may give me a month or so before I find something. It may also mean the possibility of having to move back in with my parents. Good Grief! I'm closing in on forty and I'm still dependent on Mom and Dad. I had a feeling 2009 wasn't going to be a good year. Now I have the proof. I think of what's happened to me in the past six months and it hasn't been kind. A computer crash in August lasted for over a month before it was fixed. An involuntary move from my old place where I lived for twenty months - and now this. Strangely enough I've always managed to land on my own two feet. A 'temporary' job that lasted me a decade has come to a close. Will this be a doorway to a better job and a brighter future? I hope so. In the meantime, do pray for me. I'll need it!
Johnny Cash
I have a funny story to tell. Today as I was on my rounds in Newmarket I went into a Price Chopper (Leslie and Davis) store to buy a can opener (not the one pictured above). It was selling for a dollar so I bought it. I left it in the trunk of my car for about two and a half hours before I got it home. When I arrived at Casa Johnny, I went to open a can of apple juice using my new opener and the the thing promptly broke apart. No injury to report but I looked at this piece of crap in my hand and started to laugh. 'Figures', I said, 'You get what you paid for'. Turns out the cheap plastic handles were glued to the metal. As well, the metal itself was brittle to the point where I could bend and break off the lower handle. My one-piece can opener had disintegrated into three inoperable pieces in a matter of minutes. Here's the kicker: Made in China. Later on, I went to the local grocery store to pick up a replacement. Guess what? The exact same can opener was on sale there too! I decided I wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice so I kept looking. Two aisles over I found it. It was beautiful. All metal (with no plastic) and 'Made in England' to boot. Grabbed it and paid $3 for it. There appears to be a few lessons here:
I Hate Getting Ripped Off
Doesn't everybody? I mean, it was only a dollar (plus applicable taxes) right? I felt like a fool for buying such an inferior product. A company ought to stand by their product through thick and thin. In China, keeping the people employed is seen as the highest goal. Other business virtues such as quality assurance, efficiency, profitability and transparency (the enemy of corruption) are therefore relegated. If you have an inferior product, be it made in China or anywhere else, and it breaks on you well before it should - like on the first try for instance - you should go back to the place you bought it and ask to speak to a manager. In a polite tone, tell him (or her) your tale of woe and ask them to remove that product from their shelves. It is impossible for any store to vigorously check each and every item. They lack both the manpower and time to do so. In so doing, your complaint does them a huge favor. An inferior product is removed from circulation and future customers aren't inconvenienced by shoddy craftmanship. That's how a free market works. Individuals show the way, not government hacks or middle men who only care about their cut of the profits.
Entropy Is Very Much A Biblical Concept
Where are all these scoffers that tell us that science and Christianity are irreconcilable? Hogwash! The Second Law of Thermodynamics can be found here:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
(Romans 8:22-23)
That is, things - and people - get run down, get tired, break down and sometimes just flat out fail us. Ever owned a car or truck for an extended period of time? The brakes need fixing. The tires need changing. The battery could die at a most unexpected time. The muffler could be rusty and in need of replacement. The list goes on. So while we put up with life's little breakdowns, be they expensive or cheap, it's clear this world is in a state of terminal decay. Yet when we look at this marvelous passage of scripture we are given hope for a bright future. The passage reveals an inward groaning but ends in our glorious redemption. It's amazing how a simple can opener can show the way to God's truth when we're willing to listen!
Johnny Cash
Ah yes, the end of the baseball season. Not only does the first snowflake sighting remind me of winter, the real clincher is when the final out of the World Series is recorded. As of right now, Philadelphia leads Tampa Bay 3-1 with Game 5 going tomorrow. I've noticed however that it's been more than baseball players that've been getting chin music more than recently.
America: Land of the Free. But for how long?
There's a definite case of schaedenfreude going around the world as America's finances look a bit wobbly. The Chinese are a prime example. The Russians have got their mojo back and are bumping up their strategic nuclear capabilities. I do fear that however assumes the White House will be walking into a hornet's nest. As Pat Buchanan notes: With U.S. markets crashing and wealth vanishing, what are we doing with 750 bases and troops in over 100 countries? Good question Pat. More importantly, how does this fit into God's plan? It is becoming more and more obvious that America's power is receding. Daniel's vision of a revived Roman Empire must mean that America must fall.
Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
(Daniel 2:40-43)
'The people will be a mixture and will not remain united' is the perfect description of Europe. It appears that a new financial order is taking root amongst the EU. A second Bretton Woods (named after a town in New Hampshire) is being proposed that would put greater oversight on American finances. I feel for those investors who've been good stewards of their money only to get hurt in this latest catastrophe. They diversified their portfolio, they've not made hasty decisions and yet still they take it on the chin. Nobody said life was going to be fair! If there's any lesson in this, it is that God and God alone is the only thing that guarantees a return on investment. The things of Man can often fail, such as his monetary policy.
On a Personal Note
I'm moving - again! - to another place in Brampton. This post may (or may not) be the last post for October. As soon as I get my internet connection going at my new place I'll be back at it once more. Therefore there will not be a post next weekend, perhaps mid-week after the election. So much packing to do! I dread moving day. I remember my time as a university student moving from home to Hamilton in September only to reverse the process in April. I definitely feel like a foreigner in a foreign land. When God calls me home, whenever that might be, it will be then and only then I can truly say that I'm home. In the meantime I'm just going to have to suck it up and deal with it on Saturday. Wish me luck!
Johnny Cash
I was floored recently when I received my weekly update from sitemeter last Monday. On the 29th I had 389 visits (450 page views) and on the 30th I had 307 visits (354 page views). Now I know for a fact that my last post on the geopolitical tensions in Pakistan wasn't the reason for my recent upsurge in traffic. As you may recall, the Dow Jones fell 777.68 points when Congress rejected the $700 billion bailout. Naturally, people googled the number 777 to see what they came up with. Many came across this post I wrote on June 6th, 2006 (6/6/06):
The Number 666, 777 - Jun 6
In that post both Jesus Christ and the seven churches of Asia Minor (now Turkey) were represented as the number 777.
Was This Financial Catastrophe the Work of God?
Given the fact that the stock market took a precise beating to the tune of 777.7 if we round up, we come across some interesting parallels in the Book of the Revelation. There isn't three sets of seven judgements, but in fact four of them:
The Seven Sealed Scroll (Rev 6, Rev 8:1-5)
The Seven Trumpets (Rev 8:6-13,Rev 9, Rev 11:15-19)
The Seven Thunders (unknown) (Rev 10:3,4)
The Seven Plagues/Bowls (Rev 16)
So instead of a mere 777, you have four sevens to contend with. Taking into consideration that this just so happened around Rosh Hashanah, whose theme is judgement, I found an interesting thing about the date 9/29/08. By adding the numbers together we get 9+2+9+0+8=28. The number twenty-eight can also be represented as 7+7+7+7=28. Four sevens again!
So Deep It's Meaningless: An Academic Rebuttal
What does this all prove? Sadly, not much. No sane judge in a court of law would even consider such speculative line of thinking. Numbers, like language, can be manipulated to prove whatever an individual desires to prove. The truth of the matter is we have no idea whether God weighed in with His divine authority on September 29th. In matters of faith you will never find the bloody thumbprint or other hard evidence to prove your theory. Faith is not silly superstition. It is a mystery standing above and beyond simple human reason.
Here's What I Do Know
That through this God managed to give Himself the glory. Basing my assumption that the sitemeter stats are trustworthy, many now have been exposed to Christianity and the Bible's teachings. Imagine if ten percent of the viewers on Monday and Tuesday gave their heart to Christ because of me! That would amount to 69 new souls being added to the Book of Life by sheer accident! Again, I'll never know. Maybe nobody gave their heart to Christ. Perhaps my figure of 69 is but a fantasy. Yet for those who stumbled upon my blog they now have no excuse. None can plead ignorance before an omniescient Creator.
A Quick Update: 10,000 Visits and Counting
Actually, it's over 11,000. Keeping in mind that I added sitemeter later on it's hard to guess how many have seen this blog - or care to admit to it! I am encouraged greatly by the world-wide participation of those precious individuals who have perchanced the X-Def. As my computer troubles have finally passed I intend to post as often as time allows. So please be patient with me. Doing the Lord's work is never easy!
Johnny Cash
I've been having problems recently with my computer, hence no recent posts in the past two weeks. I intend to get it fixed sometime this week so I can get back to regular blogging. In the meantime, I offer you my humble assessment of the question of illegal immigration.
The Bone-Headed Assumptions of the Far Left
The likes of the ACLU drive me insane. The foundation these lefties rest on is that America is an inherently racist nation and that Americans are mean-spirited. This for not allowing Mexicans to flow across their southern border. Are Americans such horrible lot for depriving illegals of their freedom and a right to make a living? Absolutely not! Here are three reasons why the security of international borders in free nations is of utmost importance.
Open Borders Enables Criminal Activity
In the rose-colored world that leftists occupy, it is inconceivable that some would arrive here with less than noble intentions. The so-called freedom that these malcontents seek isn't a new life, it's often to flee a record or to proliferate their criminal activities. Commodities such as drugs, firearms and alcohol are part of the international trade that crosses our borders each day. And that's just the legal stuff! Rum runners, cocaine smugglers and the sale of military style weapons to thugs are mixed in with the legal movement of goods. Is it racist to suggest that this trade is one that ought to be rigourously monitored and defeated? The answer is clearly no.
Open Borders Enable the Sex Trade
Another dirty little secret the defenders of open borders won't tell you. I would bet with an absolute certainty that a significant number of strippers, massage parlour attendants, escorts and street prostitutes have arrived in the country illegally. Naive women from Asia or Eastern Europe are told they'll be working with children - a nanny for instance - only to be given the cruel 'bait and switch' treatment as soon as they arrive. I'm not talking about lands far away, I'm talking about this going in Brampton and Mississauga! So long as these 'erotic dancers' are young enough (some under the age of 18) and reasonably good-looking she's put to work - no questions asked. Is it mean-spirited to put this to a halt?
Open Borders Enable Human Trafficking
Whereas the sex trade exploits young women in particular, human trafficking is much broader in its scope. Stories of illegal construction workers in the 905 suburbs come to mind. What happens to these workers if they suffer a significant injury on the job? How does a worker refuse dangerous work when they aren't properly qualified or sufficiently equipped to do? Under normal circumstances, labor laws protect the worker from these dangers. In the case of illegals, they have no such protection and are completely vulnerable to predatory employers. Sweatshop owners have the illegal at their mercy with no recourse or appeal. No wonder so many business owners love unsecure borders!
Who's the Open Targets Then?
We are. So are those who come here thinking the streets are paved with gold. Open borders enable human misery, period. Of course, there's money to be made in all this misery. A lot of it. Where there's money, there's competition. Where there's competition, there usually is violence and truly reprehensible behaviour that no freedom-loving society should tolerate. The only thing we are depriving of anybody is dangerous and risky consequences. Americans are not mean-spirited. If anything, they are generous and trusting to a fault. So forgive me if I don't buy the leftist rhetoric on illegal immigration. Will they take heed of my sage advice? Not on your life.
Johnny Cash
What's good for the goose is good for the gander as they say. This is a continuation of my earlier post of the most beautiful woman.
Bond. James Bond. Aside from Clive Owen, what actor wouldn't want to be the famed British super-spy? Of course, this post isn't about the Bond franchise or Daniel Craig. It's about you men out there who want women to swoon over them. Or at least get a date. We guys want to be 007. Most of us end up like Don Adams from Get Smart instead.
First the Preliminaries ......
Get a job. Burn all your disco clothes. Learn to drive a car - preferably your own. Buy yourself a spiffy shirt and look sharp. Polish your shoes. Shower using soap. Freshen your breath. Cut your fingernails for the first date and your toenails for the second. Be polite. Open doors for her. If she has class she'll take it as a compliment. If not, forget about her. Clutching and grabbing may be appropriate in some sports but not on a date.
Five Key Points to Consider
One: Learn to Appreciate Women
Believe it or not, many gay men do a better job of this then their hetero counterparts! Be someone who genuinely appreciates women for what they are. Women want to be treated as a lady, not like one of your poker buddies. Many men think that constantly lusting after every pretty thing is appreciation. It isn't! It tends to be more like leering and regarding them as you would a piece of meat. Such crude behaviour should be put away. Loving women requires spiritual maturity, an ingredient most men sadly lack.
Two: Get Rid of Your Anger and Submit to God
I see this more often then I care to admit. Men who love their women but harbor bitterness and resentment towards them. Whether it comes from early childhood or a string of broken relationships, unresolved anger will almost always come home to roost. Sure, frustration will set in from time to time. However, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS UNACCEPTABLE IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. If you have anger in your heart, don't deal with it by yourself. Give your weakness to God and He will give you strength. A man with an angry spirit has no space in his heart for the Holy Spirit. A good man is always a godly man.
Three: Don't Be A Wuss! - The Glory of Meekness
Guys, women have radar when it comes to this. A weak and indecisive male is one that women will steer clear of. Understand that meekness isn't weakness! It's strength under control. Women aren't neccessarily looking for the proverbial 'Big Man on Campus' alpha male. What they're looking for is a man of principles who's willing to take a moral stand. A guy without a brain, heart or spine is someone that's going to be lonely for a long time.
Four: Avoid Mean-Spiritedness and Overt Cynicism
A lack of empathy towards your fellow man is a huge turnoff for most women. Empathy is not defined as being 'nice' to others when they're nice to you. That's easy! Empathy is showing grace and forgiveness to somene even though it's undeserved. By all means, a man should be a doormat to no-one (see above). However, a woman will not tolerate a man with a sadistic streak. For she knows full well that that cruelty will one day be visited on her. Not cool.
Five: Money, Money, Money!
Turns out you do have to have some to get by. Not all women are looking for someone who's filthy rich. What they're looking for is a man who is a good steward of their money, whether it be a little or a lot. A splurger reveals someone who is insecure and lacks discipline. In other words, they appear weak (Point #3). A miserly penny-pincher is someone hiding a mean streak (Point #4). Women want a guy with a generous spirit yet can still live within a budget. Where the heart of a man truly lies is where his money will go.
Johnny Cash
Good Friday everyone! Thought I'd share this little nugget from stratfor. The original link to this article can be found here. Another related article is found here too. Both require memberships to access. Or you can just listen to the stratfor free podcast on this subject.
I found this article fascinating. The Bible talks about financial 'birth pangs' in the last days:
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" (Revelations 6:5-6)
My friends, we are not there yet. These are simply shadows of things to come. Take note of the massive gov't intervention used in both the American and the U.K. cases. Calls for greater regulation and oversight is always a portend to global government.
Johnny Cash
Global Market Brief: The Bear Stearns Bailout and Calls for Oversight
March 20, 2008
Bear Stearns Cos was the first major Wall Street player to fall under pressure from the housing and credit market crises. The Federal Reserve’s historic rescue — in which the central bank extended credit to investment banks and guaranteed up to $30 billion of the failed investment bank and securities trading brokerage so it could be purchased by JP Morgan Chase & Co. — marked a new level of U.S. government intervention in the financial markets.
The U.S. financial community will have new expectations and requirements. This is underscored by a March 20 announcement from Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the U.S. Congress House Financial Services Committee, that he favors the creation of a new regulatory body (or new duties within the Fed) to monitor credit institutions’ risks. However, what is taking place now is large-scale tinkering, not a fundamental shift away from the underlying philosophy of American financial markets — a philosophy designed to punish mismanagement and promote economic efficiency and returns on investments.
When to Bail
The Fed has heretofore reserved the use of the discount window (a monetary mechanism in which the central bank makes short-term loans to banks facing liquidity shortages) for commercial banks. But the Fed created a similar system for the much more complex world of investment banking when it announced March 14 that it would extend unlimited credit to investment banks and brokerage houses for six months. This move, which secured $30 billion in funds from the Fed to back up some of Bear Sterns’ assets as part of the JP Morgan Chase deal, prevented what could have been a domino effect across financial markets. If individuals and institutions could not make transactions from their Bear Stearns accounts because of the firm’s lack of cash, those individuals and institutions would have lacked the money to pay up on other liabilities, potentially triggering a wave of bankruptcies. JP Morgan Chase’s Fed-insured buyout guarantees that Bear Stearns’ trading obligat ions are met and prevents the start of a cascade of bank failures.
Whenever the government of a predominantly free-market economy makes such interventions, critics often say the government is “undermining capitalism.” Such interventions can bring about the so-called “moral hazard” condition in which investors make unsound and overly-risky decisions because they know someone or something will eliminate or soften the blow of unwise business decisions. In this case, laissez-faire advocates fear that banks will be less inhibited with reckless lending in anticipation of state assistance if there is a massive run on their funds. Some say that if negative consequences are softened or removed, investors eventually will only see the possible rewards of such behavior, resulting in a bubble that must eventually burst.
The United Kingdom recently experienced a dilemma directly related to the subprime meltdown. When Northern Rock bank was faltering, London decided to nationalize it rather than risk a cascade of failures throughout its financial houses. The government has pledged to sell the bank’s assets to the private market when the global credit crisis diminishes, but British taxpayers will ultimately bear any risks associated with any of the bank’s failings. This decision led to accusations that the Labor government was backing away from its decade-long commitment to more pro-market economic principles.
While the U.S. government did not nationalize a major private financial institution, it did intervene to back up the assets of a failing institution, insuring that investors whose money was managed by Bear Sterns were allowed to continue market transactions. However, this was not — and will not be — without considerable costs to Bear Stearns’ management and shareholders. Institutions and individuals who put their savings into or worked at Bear Stearns are not being “bailed out.” Half of the firm’s 1,400 employees could be laid off during restructuring. Bear Stearns shareholders are being offered $2 per share in the JPMorgan Chase acquisition; shares were priced at $50 each at closing the previous night.
Had the government supported the management and shareholders of Bear Stearns throughout this turbulent period, a fundamental change in American capitalism may have been abreast. However, those directly involved with Bear Sterns are profoundly hurt by the week’s events, and such harsh realities promote the efficiency of U.S. markets and high returns for investors.
Had the Fed bailed out a smaller firm whose failing would not have seriously affected global markets, as is often done in Asian economies, then fears that the Fed is not properly guarding against moral hazard would be well-founded. However, in the Bear Stearns case, the stakes were too high.
Why the United States Will Not Be Japan
In the United States, the financial system’s efficiency and robustness are maintained largely through self-regulation that often entails severe legal ramifications and little mercy for failing companies. This fear keeps managers in check. While the safety net exists for depositors rather than the failing businesses and shareholders, U.S. financial institutions will remain competitive. Were the United States headed in the direction of Asian financial markets — in which non-performing loans (NPLs) are a way of life and government bailouts are commonplace and not viewed negatively — then there would be cause for concern.
In contrast, the Japanese government often lavishly protects firms suffering from sudden bouts of illiquidity or insolvency, as well as the firms’ shareholders and management (such protection is often greatest for the worst-performing institutions). During the 1990s, Japan experienced a wave of bank failures, but the country’s banking regulator — the Financial Reconstruction Commission — was protecting the banks. As the banks were cleaned up, few managers faced charges of wrongdoing or corruption leaving the system open to further mismanagement.
Japan’s financial system is dominated by “relationship banking,” broadly defined as the nurturing of personal relationships that often trump sound financial decisions. The system also emphasizes maintaining social and political stability, a characteristic found in most East Asian financial practices. Ultimately, this prevents the markets from exerting discipline on bank managers and eliminating NPLs. In Japan, the expectation of bailouts means that policies and personnel do not change and problems are allowed to fester.
Japan can only continuously fund and bail out its financial sector by maintaining a stranglehold on the ultimate source of money: Japanese depositors. In order to fund the financial system, Japanese and many Chinese consumers are forced to deposit their money into government-influenced institutions. This does not occur in the United States, which does not prop up banks.
New Needs and Regulations
A fundamentally new development is unfolding, however. Until this crisis, the Fed had not opened up its credit window to investment and brokerage firms which are less tightly regulated and typically more speculative than normal banks. Now, however, the Fed is offering to be a lender of last resort to 20 major Wall Street firms. It is allowing investment banks to borrow money in return for collateral; thus, these firms’ assets could be put on the line. With the entrance of the Fed into their affairs, investment banks and brokerages could look back at this period as the point when they lost their full independence.
Most firms take pride in their independence. Outside assistance can indicate that their houses are not in order. However, the opportunity the Fed is offering could encourage more risk-taking and leveraging, ultimately leading to more bad loans. Now that the Fed has established itself as a safety net, its key challenge lies in determining how much collateral it will require to prevent firms from undertaking too much risk under the assumption that they now have access to easier money.
The House Financial Service Committee’s Frank addressed these concerns head on by calling for a reassessment of capital, margin and leverage requirements for the financial sector. Frank’s call for a “risk regulator” is vague at this point, but if it catches on, it could move significant oversight away from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to the Fed or lead to the creation of a new regulatory body. The Fed’s new role as a source of money for investment banks would never come without new restrictions and new government powers — and they are coming.
In the short term, new regulations could exacerbate the current credit crunch by creating more confusion and barriers to liquidity. But in the long term, the U.S. government will be obliged to regulate investment banks the way they do regular banks, as the former increasingly compete against the latter, and they all obtain similar insurance guarantees. If regulations are not extended to investment and securities firms, those firms would be able to access the Fed as banks do but without submitting to oversight and risk assessments.
If policymakers begin to demand that the Fed or another body have an active role in investment banks’ activities, the final critical question will be the degree to which these houses will have to open their book to regulators, as other banks already do. In the past 10 years, most have opened their books a crack in order to list on the New York Stock Exchange — a move that many insiders fought. Any increased Fed support will require more openness than just a crack.
A word from the prophet Daniel, a servant of God:
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
What astounds me about Bible prophecy is not just the intricate detail, but the pace at which things are happening. We are not inching forward, we are hurtling by leaps and bounds.
Fun and Games in Toronto
Yesterday, my Dad and I went to the Toronto International Auto Show. There were three things that struck me. First, the move towards 'hybrids', that is the combination of electric power and gas. The idea of using only 4L/100 km without sacrificing power is a trend that will only increase. Second, there is a greater standardization between domestics and imports in terms of ergonomics and driver comfort. Third, options such as navigation systems, tailgating alarms and satellite radio (XM and Sirius) are no longer a clever fad. No other generation can boast of such a technological explosion.
The Time of the End
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:10,12)
Many Biblical scholars will easily recognize the 22nd chapter of the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ as the final chapter of the Bible. So what does this little nugget of scripture tell us? Simply put, when you see things come quickly the time is at hand. I used the car industry as an example. Such advances in car technology were not even on the horizon a decade ago. I can personally attest to this because I've been going to the car show every year! But not just cars. No sir! Here are some other examples that prove my point about things moving quickly.
Mass Media and Roman Roads
It is next to impossible for authoritarian gov'ts to be able to filter out what they don't want their own people to see. If you have a satellite dish or an internet connection the world is at your fingertips. As I've stated before, what Roman roads were in preparation for the First Advent, mass media and the world-wide web will be for His return. The Romans were building their roads for the use of trade and military use lest some of the colonials get a bit uppity. Even the harshest of critics saw the obvious commercial value of Roman labor. Nobody in that day was suggesting 'Let's rip up these roads!'. Not one. Is any one of America's enemies saying that we should get rid of mass media? NO! The longer the rope to hang us with the better! See the modern-day parallel?
As a sort of Arab CNN, Qatari-based al-Jazeera is growing in popularity. With the proliferation of Arab satellite channels, the cat's already out of the proverbial bag. In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, attempts are being made to muzzle AJ's efforts. One has to take this with a grain of salt. Does 'free speech' actually mean free speech or is it an enabler of jihadist ideology? I think in this instance it's the former and not the latter. Which is good. Gotta be careful about that.
God Will Be Victorious!
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22: 13-14)
While our fear of the future grows, we can rejoice in the promise of victory that Jesus Christ gave us. The gospel was not given to us to save the world, but to deliver the individual from the world. Despite all the evil and doom and gloom, here are some GFA missionaries making a difference for the coming Kingdom:
Reaching the islands of West Bengal, India
A missionary faces stiff resistance in Madhya Pradesh.
Six young men of God's faithful army in Andhra Pradesh work from dawn to dusk to glorify Him.
A Quick Word
I'd like to thank CottShop of Sacred Scoop for his comment he left on my previous post. You'll notice that SS is now a forum for his art work. Which is cool by me and I still consider him to be a friend. Should his devotionals increase I will reconsider putting his link back on my sidebar. Also, I've been in touch with Faith Girl and she's promised me a post for tomorrow. Yay! May there be many more FG posts to come in 2008.
Johnny Cash
What Roman roads and Alexander the Great's military successes were for the First Advent, the rise of the internet and global regulation coming out of the EU is to the Second Advent of Christ. Expect this trend to continue and accelerate in the coming years. Please note this is not the full article. I have pasted only those paragraphs which I thought were relevant for this post.
Johnny Cash
Global Market Brief: Europe's 'California Effect'
The European Commission launched a new antitrust investigation into Microsoft Corp. on Jan. 14. This comes four months after Microsoft lost an appeal on a commission ruling that the firm was engaging in anti-competitive practices by protecting the source code for the Windows operating system. EU antitrust regulators also are looking closely at Google’s recent acquisition of DoubleClick and U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp.’s business practices.
EU antitrust regulators’ focus on these technology companies foretells Europe’s emergence as the world’s primary regulatory authority. The European Union’s strategy to take the regulatory helm is evident in issues such as climate change, chemicals regulation, genetically modified organisms and antitrust regulation, for which Europe has adopted legislation or enforcement regimes that are stricter than those of the United States — and that, through the “California effect,” are forcing changes globally.
This drive has benefited from (Europe would say it was necessitated by) the deregulatory mood that has prevailed in Washington for the past decade. Issues such as the health effects of chemicals and global warming have evolved in ways that have open the door for new regulation, while increasing merger activity has dramatically increased the chances of anti-competitive business practices. The U.S. federal government, meanwhile, has maintained a deregulatory posture in the face of these changes. This posture reflects the majority view in the United States that regulation is a brake on innovation and productivity, and that government should regulate as lightly as possible.
Because of the continued integration of the global economy, the U.S. deregulatory posture also has allowed Europe to step into a vacuum and define the regulatory parameters for global commerce without facing a competing U.S. regulation built in response to contemporary business pressures. (The most powerful U.S. regulations, save Sarbanes Oxley, were drafted before 1991.) The change of U.S. administration in 2009 almost certainly will bring with it a more active set of regulators, whether in securities, environment, consumer protection, telecommunications or antitrust. The question is whether this change will slow the European Union’s emergence as the de facto global regulator.
The Californization of Brussels
Brussels has become the city to watch on regulatory developments, not because EU regulations are necessarily the best but because they increasingly are the strictest. In part, this is because of Europe’s culture and its voters’ priorities, but it also is a result of business and government officials seeing opportunity through regulation. This opportunity is amplified by the common perception that the United States largely has turned its back on regulation over the past decade. Europeans see this as an opportunity not only to step in to “fix” things where the United States is lagging but also to find real advantage in the U.S. abdication.
As if climate change and chemicals policy regulations — or the lack thereof — were not enough, the subprime mortgage crisis’ impact in Europe has heightened Europe’s perception of the United States as a laggard. Bankers and regulators in Europe argue that lax U.S. regulation of mortgage-backed securities is responsible for the problems in Europe emanating from the subprime crisis (even though Europe has its own regulators looking at the same securities).
Were Europe a small economy with a tiny population, its strong regulatory system would spell disaster for its populace, as global business would abandon this market; however, the EU bloc is the largest economy in the world — it has a consumer market near 500 million and a combined gross domestic product in excess of $14 trillion.
Europe is, in effect, becoming the new home to the “California effect,” a reference to the phenomenon in the United States in which the largest U.S. state has, at various times, dictated national policy by adopting a stricter regulation than the federal government, forcing corporations to choose whether to follow California’s law or give up on selling goods in the country’s largest market. Just as few major U.S. companies can afford to ignore California’s market, few multinational corporations can compete without maintaining a presence in the EU economy.
Looking Beyond 2008
The next U.S. administration is almost guaranteed to bring the U.S. and EU economies closer together on regulations, and it will mark the end of a period in which Europe perceives the United States as strictly opposed to regulation. But the United States is not likely to move very far, since the prevailing view of regulation in the United States remains overwhelmingly negative.
