I try to keep my posts on this blog site to the topics of peace, justice, and disabilities ministries. Thus, the title Peace-Ability. There are times, however, when I become so concerned about another topic that I cannot stop myself from writing about it. Perhaps it is a residual effect of having been a preacher for nearly three decades and no longer having a pulpit to speak from.
Few issues are as pressing and as serious at this moment as the negotiations over the United States deficit and the Federal Debt. I don't exactly have any answers that would completely solve these issues. Frankly, they are way beyond my line of expertise. That does not mean, however, that I am without an opinion. And since this is my blog site I will take the luxury to write about it!
I must begin by saying that the whole mess is nothing less than sinful. So, as an ordained minister, I have chosen to take that approach toward my analysis of this issue. (Let the reader note that I intentionally said "analysis" and not "solution"!). Using biblical language I will call these collective points Sins Of The Fathers, as they represent sins committed by those in authority both past and present.
The very first question I would ask is:
HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT WITH OUR NATIONAL FINANCES?
Man, what a complicated question that is. And yet, I believe it is necessary to ask it. Part of the problem with the Global Economy is the very fact that not enough people in authority are asking the necessary background questions.
If I went to the bank today to get a large loan - let's say, $300,000 to start up a new business - my finances would be scrutinized quite carefully. Just last week I had to take time off from work to go into the local Social Security Administration office (15 miles away) to report my son's financial history in minute detail for the past two years. This was necessary to renew his benefits from Social Security for the next 12 months. I went into the meeting thinking I was well prepared and fully documented so we might have a rather brief meeting. I was wrong. The SSA person I met with claimed he needed more documentation beyond what his initial letter asked for.
Sin # 1. Poor Planning
It is interesting how the government expects so much more from its citizens than what it expects from itself. While demanding a full account of what money my son received, where it is kept and exactly how it was spent, no one holds the government responsible for its finances. The U. S. Federal government can spend money at will. Budgets mean precious little, as they represent only a relatively small portion of what is spent. If a Congressperson or a President wants to spend more money for a pet project there are 101 ways in which they can do it without the constraints of a budget item. They use all kinds of terms to confuse the public, such as: Executive Order; Appropriations; Amendments; Riders and many more. I am not sure anyone really knows what they all are or even what they mean. But the result is the same. Money gets spent even though it was never budgeted.
I am a believer in budgets. As a Pastor I was very careful to spend significant time discussing a family budget plan with couples who came to me requesting marriage. I do not remember much from my high school classes but one thing that always stuck with me were the words of Mr. Weidman, my High School Bookkeeping Teacher. He said, "More marriages end in divorce because of disagreements about money than anything else." I never saw statistics to support that claim, but personally I suspect he was correct. A couple with vastly different perceptions about money management, credit, savings goals, and discretionary spending will face an almost insurmountable challenge to stay together.
The United States Government is a family without a mutually agreeable spending plan. Just as in a marriage the two sides manage to get by for a while, but as the situation approaches a crisis each side digs in deeper and begins to draw lines. One says any change to the tax laws, any increase of taxes or closing of loopholes, yes, any plan that would increase revenue is completely off limits and non-negotiable. The other says spending cuts alone will destroy the economy and endanger services to individuals who cannot possibly provide for themselves. Thus any plan that relies on spending cuts alone and does not include some form of revenue increase is completely off limits and non-negotiable.
In Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents. While not speaking directly to the formation of a budget this teaching does exemplify the need for good, wise planning and money management. According to Jesus those who plan well and are conscientious with managing other peoples' money will be praised and rewarded. Those who fail to do so are condemned.
On another occasion Jesus told the parable of the Shrewd Manager (see Luke 16:1-8). This is most fascinating because the manager was careless, sloppy and wasteful of his master's assets. Yet when he was caught and called to task, he immediately sat down and made the hard choices necessary to restore order and sanity to the estate.
One could substitute the Government for the manager and put the tax-paying public in the role of the master. After all, the government works for us, and they are to manage our money and our resources. Few would argue that they have been ethical and wise in their handling of our funds. Consequently, the day of reckoning has arrived. It is time to examine how the money has been used and make the hard choices necessary to restore order and sanity, as well as rebuild the public's trust.
Poor planning is indeed part of the problem we are now faced with.
Sin # 2. Careless Credit.
Here is perhaps the single most damaging element in modern economics. Careless Credit. Now, the bible says borrowing money and paying interest is always dangerous and ill advised.
· "Owe no one anything, except to love one another. (Romans 13:8)"
· "O Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He ...who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury [interest] and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. (Psalm 15:1, 4-5)"
· "Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts. If you lack the means to pay your very bed will be snatched from under you. (Proverbs 22: 26-27)"
These are but a few examples of passages in the Old and New Testaments that advocate the use of caution when borrowing.
Now I am not totally against the use of credit. Few people would be able to buy a home without borrowing some funds. Many businesses could not possibly survive without some form of revolving credit. There is a time and place for credit - - but only within certain well-defined parameters. And chief among these is the ability to repay the debt in a reasonable amount of time.
For example, a credit card is not inherently evil. A PIN number is not the mark of the beast (as described in Revelation 13). However, I am a staunch believer that when you purchase something - - anything - - with a credit card you should already have the ability to pay for it in cash. That's right, you should be able to pay cash at the time of purchase. Perhaps you do not have the cash on you. Perhaps you left the checkbook at home. But if you are using the credit card because you cannot pay cash for whatever product or service you are purchasing, then DON'T. Credit cards must never be viewed as a way to get things you cannot now afford. Yet that is precisely how way too many people use them. It follows naturally that when the credit card statement arrives at the end of the month, pay it off in full immediately. This way you will avoid any interest payment, you will end up purchasing the product much cheaper, and you will not find yourself in the mess that the shrewd manager was caught in (see again Luke 16).
It is this kind of careless credit that has caught up with the United States government. Add to that, the governments of Greece, Portugal and Iceland. All of these and in fact most nations of this world have considered themselves quite clever for spending other people's money and never give an accounting of it. No Balance Statements. No Statements of Profit and Loss. No honest report of any kind to inform the public of how public funds were being used.
Sin # 3. The Blame Game.
One party is just as bad as the other in this country. The Republicans love to frame President Obama as the irresponsible party who now has to raise the debt ceiling in order to pay the nation's obligations. Somehow, in all the rhetoric, Republicans conveniently forgot that their own beloved President Bush raised the debt ceiling 7 of his 8 years in office, and no one bat an eyelash over it. And who authorized the spending of so much money? Congress, in most cases.
"Let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt...(Colossians 4:6)"
** TO BE CONTINUED....STAY TUNED!
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