Greed is NOT Good

Putting the Presidential campaign aside for today we all need to know that there are bad, very bad, even bleak economic times coming. Friends, make no mistake that the failure of Freddie, Fannie, Lehman and company is only the beginning of the downturn.

And your government (Democrats and Republicans) is not being totally honest with us. Maybe they don't want to cause a panic, maybe they don't know how to be honest, but we aren't getting the whole story.

All I have seen and read tells me that things will get worse before they get better.

How did we get in this mess? One word, GREED. With all due respect to Gordon Gecko in the movie "Wall Street", greed is NOT good.

It seems to me that someone somewhere started to loosen the requirements to borrow money. Now, why did they do this? GREED. They wanted to make more and more billions of dollars. When other lending institutions saw that these "free lenders" were gaining market share, they didn't want to be left behind, so everyone jumped on the "subprime loan bandwagon". Disaster was just around the corner.

Now, with those who got these loans unable to pay back the loans, you can see how that can be a problem because now the lending institutions that borrowed the money to lend the money cannot pay back their loans and so on and so on it goes.

So, the government in its infinite wisdom will do what? Print more money to the tune of $700B (for now that is) and "bailout" these lending companies. Now when that happens, your dollars lose their value and you cannot buy as much tomorrow as you did today. You can't stretch something that is shrinking.

Many experts say that the bailout will not stop there and the $700B is more like $2.1 Trillion (yes, trillion). That all comes out of your pocket.

Words like recession and, yes, even depression are being bantered about in the economic circles these days. Conditions are very much the same as before the 1929 crash that sent this country reeling into the Great Depression.

You need to call your representatives and ask them what they are doing with your money. Demand information. Get smart on what is happening and prepare. Somehow prepare for the coming dark economic days.

Say what you will about Libertarian Ron Paul, but he got it right. He predicted this mess a long time ago and it's coming to fruition.

If you watch Glenn Beck you must have headache today. He gives it straight without sugarcoating it. How can you sugar coat a big heap of smelly garbage and make it palatable? You can't. That's how bad it is and how much worse it will get.

I think back to when my mother was alive. I miss her so much. I used to talk to her about her experiences during the depression. In some ways I envied her with those experiences because families were tight. Everyone pulled together. She had to quit school and help support the family. Not great, but you did what you had to in those days and I think we're headed that way again.

If you are a Christ follower hold on and stay close to God. He will sustain us through these times.

Remember the words of Isaiah in chapter 43(NIV):

1 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

These are promises we should cling to all the time, but especially in the times ahead.

God bless you and yours and may God bless America!