Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Let's set some parameters. What years do you include in the 'present' terrible economy?
But, for my part, I'd consider anything past, oh, say 2008 as part of the present "terrible economy" and lackluster recovery.
-- A2SG, but the OP article does include a wider timeline for its point, a couple of decades or so.....
I think the seeds of the present recession were sown in the early 1990's with the high flying stock market, which eventually lost 50 percent of it's overinflated value. The next wave of financial blunders was the overinflated real estate market which caused massive bank failures and catastrophic losses of personal wealth, some richly deserved i.e. speculators.
I prospered through all of it because I did the exact opposite of what everyone else was doing (yes, prudence and patience are Christian values).
As are helping the poor and treating your neighbor like you, yourself, would want to be treated. Still, even if those righteous traits were to become more common, while the would might be a more pleasant place to live, I fail to see the economic benefit to society, sufficient to curtail the power of money in politics.
How could righteous Christians have prevented the US from becoming an oligarchy? And further, if they could have, why didn't they?
-- A2SG, that's still the question.....regardless of how much either of us made in any given year.....
All societies are de facto oligarchies. The rich and powerful are the prime movers. Nothing new here. America was largely built on English money, even after independence.
Jesus asked, "Whose inscription is on the coin?" Caesars's of course. He also said, "Make friends (by use of) the unrighteous mammon." Christian charity, using Caesar's money, does this quite nicely.
Properly managing Caesar's money in your personal account also stabilizes Caesar's economy, if only to a small degree (although it's still doomed to fail from time to time).
In your comment about Yachts? Those huge boats do bring many jobs for the area. Good paying jobs. You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder over them even having yachts, so getting rid of the jobs they are create is no big deal. That's rather short sighted. It's a big deal to those that work on them.
Waitstaff, Food service and the like are needed right now...because of the lack of jobs. Remember all the protests for $15/hr? They say those are the only jobs around, and so they want a living wage for the jobs that are left. Now you are going to claim its only the illegals that take them? I mean which is it? When companies go off shore where do you think many of those many find work?
Maybe people need to look at the business climate overall, and realize there are more moving parts to the business environment than just corporate taxes. We have the one of the higher tax rates in the world, and we are having major issues with companies not investing here. There is more to it than just corporate taxes, but for some reason that is the only thing people want to talk about. If they can take their 'hoarded' profits, and grow their business elsewhere? They will. If the business climate is stagnate right now - due to all kinds of issues - they will hold off until something changes.
Why do people think if they raise fees, taxes, regulations fees, etc MORE it will bring more jobs - when the corporate environment is saying just the opposite? I mean its as if people think if they say it enough things will just magically change to their reality.
We need to find some balance, because no one seems to understand the whole picture. Company's aren't going to hoard profits elsewhere if they can make more profits here. Profit and growth is their goal. Growth means needing more employees.
Care to look at these sites and tell us how many yacht builders are providing good jobs in America?In your comment about Yachts? Those huge boats do bring many jobs for the area. Good paying jobs. You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder over them even having yachts, so getting rid of the jobs they are create is no big deal. That's rather short sighted. It's a big deal to those that work on them.
Maybe so, but the Constitution was intended to provide protection against that kinda thing. However, with rulings like Citizens United, and money interests driving the agenda of one political party, even as they control the other one outright, the move toward an actual, functioning oligarchy has become all but guaranteed now.
If so, then why is poverty and hunger still such a large problem? Seems to me, christian charity isn't sufficient to the problem of poverty in this country.
And, let's not forget, helping the poor was one of the things Jesus himself was very insistent that his followers do.
But it does nothing to stave off an oligarchy.
And, further, it doesn't seem to be working too well these days.
- A2SG, seems to me, if you're correct that "righteous (preferably Christian) people" can save this country, they're choosing not to.....
True Christians want God's rule, but most still want a 'king'.
Jesus, speaking through Paul, also said, "If a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat."
I guess there just aren't enough of us to actually save the country, but we are slowing the destruction down somewhat (salt of the earth and all that).
Oligarchies are not run by outside forces they are run by the actual group of rulers with the coercive power of government...The ones that write the the rules of the game are the ones in charge.
Then why do these "true christians" choose to live in the US, which is led by neither?
Jesus, speaking for Himself, said "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
How?
-- A2SG, and don't be afraid to be as specific as necessary....
Show us in the words in red where Jesus addressed the "malingerers". Not Paul's writings, but the words directly attributed to Jesus.There's a difference between the truly needy and malingerers. Jesus addressed both.
Show us in the words in red where Jesus addressed the "malingerers". Not Paul's writings, but the words directly attributed to Jesus.
I think Paul wrote what he wrote under whatever influence he felt. He did not write what are supposed to be the actual words of Jesus. That's why in at least one of my translations the words of Christ are in red. Do you have those verses or not?Don't you believe the Paul spoke for Jesus? I also think the Proverbs have something to say about laziness.
I think Paul wrote what he wrote under whatever influence he felt. He did not write what are supposed to be the actual words of Jesus. That's why in at least one of my translations the words of Christ are in red. Do you have those verses or not?
I have no idea what you are trying to say about laziness.
True Christians are 'spirit led' wherever they live.
There's a difference between the truly needy and malingerers. Jesus addressed both.
Take a group of 10 people who are less than honest.
One of them converts to Christianity and becomes honest.
Theft has been reduced by 10 percent (in that population).
Laziness is an invitation to oligarchy.
Take a group of 10 people who are less than honest.
One of them converts to Christianity and becomes honest.
Theft has been reduced by 10 percent (in that population).
No. The number of thieves has been reduced by 10 percent (in that population)
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?