Godonomics | Liberty, Prosperity, and Generosity

Godonomics: Ant and the Sluggard.

cathy — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Will-E Coyote had incentive: a Roadrunner Stew, but he never had to face the consequences of falling off that cliff. Sure, he’d fall 100 stories and a puff of air would replace his outline; but in the next scene he was fine. He never learned to reap what he sowed (Galatians 6:8). The cartoonists rescued him from the pain of his actions. Socialism does the same. Throughout the proverbs are two characters: The Ant and the Sluggard. The ant works hard, gathers his food in the summer to prepare for the winter (Proverbs 6:6, 30:25) while the sluggard ooozes around. Socialism and corporatism tries to punish the ant (the saver, the wise spender, the frugal buyer) by taking from him to help out the sluggard (the poorly managed company, the corrupt union boss, or the “needy” political cause). And the sluggard learns that laziness pays. The ant learns that hard work is punished. So the sluggard hires lobbyist to petition the government to take from the mean ant with “all his food” to provide for the poor helpless sluggard shivering in his trail of goo.

For more information check out Session 1 of Godonomics: What Would God Say to Adam Smith?

Monopoly Money, IOU’s, and Quantitative Easing

cathy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:40:37 +0000

Here is a phrase that you don’t hear much but will soon dominate the news: quantitative easing. What does that mean? In laymen’s terms, one might say, “I’ll rob Peter to pay Paul” or “I’ll pay off one credit card by putting it on another one.” When you say it that way, it sounds like an unwise, short term solution, but not a sustainable plan.

America has bad credit. Terrible credit. We are almost 13.7 Trillion dollars in debt and we are continuing to spend more than we make. How are we able to do that? Most American citizens do it with the use of credit cards and lines of credit. The same is true for governments. The US borrows money from other nations. However, when someone is a good credit risk -meaning they make good financial decisions and have good chance of paying the bill in an agreed-upon time frame- they are offered a lower credit rate by the bank. When a person has bad credit or is making continual, habitual, bad decisions, the bank wants a higher interest rate to compensate them for the risker loan.

China is our Bank. America is the Bad Credit Risk. China is not impressed with our credit score and current trajectory, so they are refusing to keep lending to us unless we clean up our financial house. They also want us to raise the interest rate we give them for enabling our bad behavior. The US treasury doesn’t want to do either. So what does a government do who can’t find a new credit card, won’t stop spending, and refuses to compensate the lender for taking a risk?

Quantitative Easing. What? Yes. This is the proposed solution. The government loans money to… itself?! The US becomes it’s own credit card. Instead of borrowing from its citizens like we did in World War 2 and paying them back later, the government justs borrows from itself. How does that work? In short, it doesn’t. That’s why gold surged again this week to historic levels. The only way to borrow from yourself is to print money off the government printing press. Why is this a problem? It causes inflation which leads to rising prices. Look at gold. Look at the price of oil. Get ready to see it in your grocery store bills.

By borrowing from itself, the government is playing monopoly against itself. Do you remember the last time you played monopoly with one of your kids or friends? At some point one of them ran out of money, but wanted to keep playing. You first let them give you an IOU in hopes that one more time around the board might lead to some revenue. When that didn’t work, they sold you their property. Pretty soon, they didn’t have any property left for others to land on -so there was no hope of ever paying you back. Imagine your son is in that situation, but offers a solution, “Mom, it’s okay, I’ll write you another IOU for my IOU?” Huh? Your son continues, “My left hand is going to give a loan to my right hand. So even though my right hand has no money, my left hand is good for it.” You ponder this ingenious childish thinking and ask, “Does your left hand have any money?” He protests, “No, but I feel really good about the chances that it will soon.”

That is quantitative easing. It is nonsense. It stands in opposition to God’s commands.The irony is that the excessive printing is done to provide beneficial programs to help the poor and needy. The unintended consequences are ironic. The more you print and spend; the more you’ll need to print and spend. As the printing press saw blade spins, the prices for supplies go up. The more prices go up, the more you need to print more money. The cycle continues. This is a way of stealing from the public, like John Keynes told us, without the public ever seeing how it was done. The government is able to steal the citizens’ prosperity right under their noses.

The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. ~ John Keynes

This is why God said that dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord. A just weight or standardized weight in our monetary system is a consistent value. That consistent sound money is God’s delight. God cares about money. Sound money is about helping not only the poor, but everyone. It’s about honest and impartial transactions. God has a lot to say about it:

Leviticus 19:35-36 You shall do no injustice in judgment in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah… I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 25:13 -16 13 You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small, You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

If our government doesn’t stop playing monopoly with our money, it’s the middle class that will see their savings and wallets turned into funny money. The government will then blame businesses for raising prices rather than looking in the mirror

For more information, Check out www.godonomics.com Sesssion 4 What Would God Say to Alan Greenspan Check out this video of Chad explaining why the Bible supports incentive and sound money

Shouldn’t Christians Consider the Cost of War?

chovind — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:55:49 +0000

Osama is dead. Obama is celebrating. Mother’s day is just around the corner. What a roller coaster of emotions. Mother’s day is a lot like this week. One moment you are laughing at a child’s funny moment, the next moment you are overwhelmed that you have no idea what you are doing. Imagine the challenges of being a mother to Osama Bin Laden. Imagine the complexities of mothering a known terrorist. Imagine the prayers, the pain, and the horror of seeing the world celebrate your son’s death. Imagine the smile and proud look of Obama’s mom, knowing her son caught the worlds most famous terrorist.

Jesus spoke of the complexities of both war and emotions of motherhood. He said:

Luke 14:28-3128 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

Jesus notes that a leader and wise builder will weigh the cost of battle before going into war. Why? First, to ensure victory. Second, to consider the huge cost in human life, financial commitment, and loss of young men and women.

The Bible takes a nuanced view on war which explains why Christ followers can disagree. While the Bible clearly teaches us not to murder, the word murder is different from the the Hebrew word kill. The Bible forbids murder: unjust killing. The Bible makes exceptions for self-defense and lays out ethics for war taking a realistic view of our broken world and the reality of evil.

I once spoke with a dear friend, a Quaker, who was a strong pacifist… Until he got married. His wife once asked him, “If an intruder broke into our house and attacked me, are you saying you wouldn’t fight him off?” My friend said, “No, I am a pacifist.” He told me the look in his new bride’s eyes will haunt him till the day he dies. She was horrified that her husband wouldn’t love her enough to protect her from evil. He made a decision that day to take evil more seriously and relook at his position on “just” violence vs “unjust” violence. He changed his position and provided his wife with the security she needed and hoped for.

War is terrible. My father in law still aches from the things he saw in Vietnam. My grandpa fought in WWII as a marine; my other grandfather was in the army. They fought the forces of evil and did “the loving thing” by serving in the military and fighting off Hitler. I know first hand the challenges to mothers and grandmothers who see the complications of war on their sons and daughters and long to hold them tightly. Jesus knew this feeling well when he referenced feeling like a mother and grieving like a mother hen seeing the coming war and destruction of his people in Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37-39

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! ’”

Should we rejoice in Osama’s death? Should we celebrate Obama’s military strategy? A follower of christ can have mixed emotions. They can celebrate that evil is judged and innocent lives will no longer be victims while grieving the lost of a human life. They can support a war that punishes evil while questioning the cost of it. They can support just war while questioning if this particular war meets the criteria.

If you want to keep up with godonomics blog, click the “subscribe” button on the rss feed to the right of this blog or go to www.godonomics.com

[bcvideo vid="867547677001" pid="96582452001" height="410" width="480"]

Why we need more Moms in charge?

chovind — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:02:00 +0000

My mom was brilliant. She still is. She has a relational I.Q. that is out of this world. She can sense when someone needs encouragement. She knows when there is something fishy going on. She has found a way to create family customs that unite our family to this day. She’s woven her heart into each of her kids and grandkids. Her grandparent days occur every Wednesday when she takes one of the grandkids on a date night to build relationship. As a kid, she used to have red, green, and blue days when we ate blue eggs with blue oatmeal with our blue orange juice. When I had kids of my own, she found ways to weave her special touch into family holidays, making Halloween cookies…. And on and on. Her wisdom, grace, and strength are some of my greatest assets to date. She also has a way of dealing with stress that seems to allude me daily.

Psychologists have shown with the Holmes and Rahe stress scale that Christmas can be a major stress inducer on marriage and family today. They also noted that moving, divorce, and a death in the family can be equally stressful. The pressure to over-spend, live up to others’ expectations, and fulfill all your childrens’ wants can push anyone into unhealthy debt. Fighting over money is the number one cause of divorce in America. A recent study showed that 35% of spouses have a credit card they hide from their spouse. We are spending too much and hurting the things we care about most: our spouses, our families, and our own mental health.

King David knew all about the power or secrets to hurt a family. He also realized that secrets eventually come out and create collateral damage on a nation and a family. In Psalms 51, he calls out to God and says, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom.” We need the light of truth to shine upon the secret shadows that are lurking in both our country, and our marriages today.

The Chief Accountant for the United States for most of the past decade was David Walker. His foundation reports that our government is hiding some credit cards from its citizens. Although our leaders may admit we’ve overspent as a country– with over $14.2 trillion dollar tab to date, David says the reality is far far worse. (More like 60-120 trillion when you count up all the promises we’ve made to buy everyone -everything- this Christmas) Something tells me our nation’s leaders need a Big time out. Perhaps they need a loving mother or grandmother to grab an ear or wash their mouths out with soap.

In the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, the women realize that their nation is in trouble with excessive spending and continual superfluous wars. The women in the community all commit to a “celibacy strike”, until the men in the government finally turn things around. The leaders put the moms in charge -under “bedroom” duress. Not surprisingly, they turn the country around, resolve the budget woes, and get the nation back on track– in record time. There is great rejoicing by the men when the strike ends, but far more important: future generations are saved from excessive debt and never ending war because of the common sense pragmatic approach of wise mothers.

Today our nations’ leaders could use some motherly leadership. We need mothers and grandmothers to remind our senators and congressman of things they should have learned in kindergarten. “Don’t spend too much. Save your money. Don’t spend it all in one place. Be patient. Don’t let that money burn a hole in your pocket.”Jesus looked at the crisis in His nation one day and wept. He then used a motherly metaphor to express His deep concern and warning.

He said He felt like a mother hen who desired to pull her children up under her wing to protect them from the coming danger. His children refused His fatherly warning and motherly offer of protection and suffered the consequences. We need wise mothers more than ever to offer wisdom and warnings to our children, to our leaders, and

to the next generation. As Proverbs tells us to give our grandchildren reserves, not receipts.

Proverbs 13:22 ²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children

For more information, check out www.godonomics.com or Here is a clip

[bcvideo vid="867547677001" pid="96582452001" height="410" width="480"]

Godonomics Principles Transform Communist China

chovind — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:17:08 +0000

Godonomics teaches the importance of concepts like property rights, incentive, and liberty. As you search the Scriptures, you see constant references to these important pillars of freedom. God outlines them in the ten commandments as he teaches His people how to have a free nation. He teaches them not to steal “someone else’s property” because they own it. He tells them not to envy other people’s stuff. The Bible teaches the importance of incentive as well. The Ant prepares food for winter in summer in the book of Proverbs. We are told not to “muzzle an oz while he is threshing” as a reminder that the ox had incentive to eat of the fruit of his labor. Proverbs 31 tells us to give a worker the “fruit of her labor.” Profits are the incentive for this business woman in Proverbs 31.

NPR had an article this week about the way farmers in 1978 began to put these God given ideals into practice. In the same way that William Bradford rejected Socialism for Capitalism in the founding of America, so too, Chinese farmers began to reject Communism and implement God’s plan for work, incentive, and property rights. They risked their lives, found bounty, and began a revolution in China.

“In 1978, the farmers in a small Chinese village called Xiaogang gathered in a mud hut to sign a secret contract. They thought it might get them executed. Instead, it wound up transforming China’s economy in ways that are still reverberating today. Here is the article:

The contract was so risky — and such a big deal — because it was created at the height of communism in China. Everyone worked on the village’s collective farm; there was no personal property. “Back then, even one straw belonged to the group,” says Yen Jingchang, who was a farmer in Xiaogang in 1978. “No one owned anything.” At one meeting with communist party officials, a farmer asked: “What about the teeth in my head? Do I own those?” Answer: No. Your teeth belong to the collective.In theory, the government would take what the collective grew, and would also distribute food to each family. There was no incentive to work hard — to go out to the fields early, to put in extra effort, Yen Jingchang says.”Work hard, don’t work hard — everyone gets the same,” he says. “So people don’t want to work.” In Xiaogang there was never enough food, and the farmers often had to go to other villages to beg. Their children were going hungry. They were desperate.So, in the winter of 1978, after another terrible harvest, they came up with an idea: Rather than farm as a collective, each family would get to farm its own plot of land. If a family grew a lot of food, that family could keep some of the harvest.This is an old idea, of course. But in communist China of 1978, it was so dangerous that the farmers had to gather in secret to discuss it.One evening, they snuck in one by one to a farmer’s home. Like all of the houses in the village, it had dirt floors, mud walls and a straw roof. No plumbing, no electricity.”Most people said ‘Yes, we want do it,’ ” says Yen Hongchang, another farmer who was there. “But there were others who said ‘I dont think this will work — this is like high voltage wire.’ Back then, farmers had never seen electricity, but they’d heard about it. They knew if you touched it, you would die.”Despite the risks, they decided they had to try this experiment — and to write it down as a formal contract, so everyone would be bound to it. By the light of an oil lamp, Yen Hongchang wrote out the contract. The farmers agreed to divide up the land among the families. Each family agreed to turn over some of what they grew to the government, and to the collective. And, crucially, the farmers agreed that families that grew enough food would get to keep some for themselves.The contract also recognized the risks the farmers were taking. If any of the farmers were sent to prison or executed, it said, the others in the group would care for their children until age 18.The farmers tried to keep the contract secret — Yen Hongchang hid it inside a piece of bamboo in the roof of his house — but when they returned to the fields, everything was different.Before the contract, the farmers would drag themselves out into the field only when the village whistle blew, marking the start of the work day. After the contract, the families went out before dawn. “We all secretly competed,” says Yen Jingchang. “Everyone wanted to produce more than the next person.”It was the same land, the same tools and the same people. Yet just by changing the economic rules — by saying, you get to keep some of what you grow — everything changed. At the end of the season, they had an enormous harvest: more, Yen Hongchang says, than in the previous five years combined.That huge harvest gave them away. Local officials figured out that the farmers had divided up the land, and word of what had happened in Xiaogang made its way up the Communist Party chain of command.At one point, Yen Hongchang was hauled in to the local Communist Party office. The officials swore at him, treated him like he was on death row.But fortunately for Mr. Yen and the other farmers, at this moment in history, there were powerful people in the Communist Party who wanted to change China’s economy. Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader who would go on to create China’s modern economy, was just coming to power.So instead of executing the Xiaogang farmers, the Chinese leaders ultimately decided to hold them up as a model. Within a few years, farms all over China adopted the principles in that secret document. People could own what they grew. The government launched other economic reforms, and China’s economy started to grow like crazy. Since 1978, something like 500 million people have risen out of poverty in China. Today, the Chinese government is clearly proud of what happened in Xiaogang. That contract is now in a museum. And the village has become this origin story that kids in China learn about in school. But the rest of the story for the original Xiaogang farmers is more ambiguous.Our first day in Xiaogang, we asked to talk to Yen Hongchang, the farmer who actually wrote the contract. The local Communist Party officials told us he was out of town. It turns out that wasn’t true: We went back to Xiaogang the next day and tracked Yen Hongchang down. He told us he had been in town the day before.Yen Hongchang told us he started a couple businesses over the years, but the local communist party took them away once they became profitable. He also said that the new new factories springing up around Xiaogang these days are largely empty, and haven’t created many jobs. Local officials say none of this is true. They say everything in Xiaogang is going great. ”

Here’s the link to read more.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/20/145360447/the-secret-document-that-transformed-china?sc=17&f=1001

The Secret Document That Transformed China

Profits are Good, Not Bad

cathy — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:18:42 +0000

The Bible does NOT teach that profits are bad. It is actually, quite the opposite. When we work, we should get the “fruit of our hands” (Proverbs 31:16). In fact, the business woman in Proverbs 31, buys, sells, and from her profits, she is able to invest in another vineyard. This provides jobs for others and a reservoir of savings that allows her to help the needy. Profit (making more than it cost your to produce) is not only a good thing, it is a great thing. It is the incentive of hard work. Paul says it should not only be encouraged, but commands that we pay people their profit in 1 Corinthians 9. He relates it to a proverb of the ox. 4Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Deut. 25:4 Translation: If an Ox works, treads, and plows, he should not have his mouth muzzled (the ancient equivalent of duct tape), but should be allowed to “eat as he plows”. The ox can eat of the fruit of its labor.

What about “obscene” profits? In a free market system, there are two factors that determine a purchase– Price and Quality. If you like a product’s quality and feel the price is something you’d be willing to buy, you engage. This is why the business woman in Proverbs 31, buys her vineyard and “perceives that her merchandise is good.” She knows that to make a profit, she must put the needs of her customer ahead of her own. If the quality and price is not serving her customer, she goes out of business or reduces her price. The only way a profit can be obscene is if the buyer doesn’t have the freedom to walk away, or is “forced to buy.” That is why the Bible is about liberty, as is inscribed on the liberty bell, a verse from Leviticus that reads, “Proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land.” Capitalism works when liberty, incentive, and property rights are all upheld.

Today in America we have a MacGyver economy, duct taped together with chewing gum and spitballs. The role of government is no longer limited to the words of the Declaration of Independence, which clearly laid out the function of governments: to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Instead, the government can now be lobbied to force people to buy things (health care) and steal from one group to give to another. Stealing violates both property rights (outlines in the ten commandments) as well as liberty. The King used to lobby the military to steal the profits of the farmer, because he was “in need.” Obscene profits occur when one group steals from another. When a corporation lobbies the government to bail them out by taking taxes from a taxpayer, it is immoral. When unions lobby the government to force companies to pay them a certain wage, it too is immoral. Why? Both groups are asking the “king” to violate the liberty, property rights, and incentive of the individual.

For more information, check out www.godonomics.com Session 1 “What Would God Say to Adam Smith?”

This Christmas we need more profits, not less. It’s hard to give away money if you’re broke. It’s hard to be generous to others if you can’t pay your own bills. This is why God wants his people to experience liberty, prosperity, and generosity. I don’t mean some “prosperity Gospel” put-your-hand-on-the-screen and send me a vow of faith nonsense. I mean working hard, making a profit, having savings, and using it to meet your own needs and help others as well.
The Bible does NOT teach that profits are bad. It is actually, quite the opposite. When we work, we should get the “fruit of our hands” (Proverbs 31:16). In fact, the business woman in Proverbs 31, buys, sells, and from her profits, she is able to invest in another vineyard. This provides jobs for others and a reservoir of savings that allows her to help the needy. Profit (making more than it cost your to produce) is not only a good thing, it is a great thing. It is the incentive of hard work. Paul says it should not only be encouraged, but commands that we pay people their profit in 1 Corinthians 9. He relates it to a proverb of the ox. 4Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Deut. 25:4 Translation: If an Ox works, treads, and plows, he should not have his mouth muzzled (the ancient equivalent of duct tape), but should be allowed to “eat as he plows”. The ox can eat of the fruit of its labor.
What about “obscene” profits? In a free market system, there are two factors that determine a purchase– Price and Quality. If you like a product’s quality and feel the price is something you’d be willing to buy, you engage. This is why the business woman in Proverbs 31, buys her vineyard and “perceives that her merchandise is good.” She knows that to make a profit, she must put the needs of her customer ahead of her own. If the quality and price is not serving her customer, she goes out of business or reduces her price. The only way a profit can be obscene is if the buyer doesn’t have the freedom to walk away, or is “forced to buy.” That is why the Bible is about liberty, as is inscribed on the liberty bell, a verse from Leviticus that reads, “Proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land.” Capitalism works when liberty, incentive, and property rights are all upheld.
Today in America we have a MacGyver economy, duct taped together with chewing gum and spitballs. The role of government is no longer limited to the words of the Declaration of Independence, which clearly laid out the function of governments: to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Instead, the government can now be lobbied to force people to buy things (health care) and steal from one group to give to another. Stealing violates both property rights (outlines in the ten commandments) as well as liberty. The King used to lobby the military to steal the profits of the farmer, because he was “in need.” Obscene profits occur when one group steals from another. When a corporation lobbies the government to bail them out by taking taxes from a taxpayer, it is immoral. When unions lobby the government to force companies to pay them a certain wage, it too is immoral. Why? Both groups are asking the “king” to violate the
liberty, property rights, and incentive of the individual.
For more information, check out www.godonomics.com Session 1 “What Would God Say to Adam Smith?”

Chuck-E-Cheese Economics: The Biggest Tax Hike No One Knows About

chovind — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This spring break children and grandchildren will travel across the countryside to come visit grandma and grandpa. As we gather together, eat turkey, or vacation together; there will be a lot of down time as well. Often the challenges of keeping the family happy and entertained eventually leads to some kind of arcade, Chuck-E-Cheese, or video game family entertainment. As we watch our kids move from crawling through tunnels to driving cars, they seem to grow up right before our eyes. They seem oblivious to how fast the future is coming and roll their eyes when mom or dad say, “You are growing up so fast.”

Our children are racing into a future that is becoming increasingly uncertain. We want to pass the dreams we received from our parents on to our children and grandchildren. Will they have the same opportunities to thrive? Will they be given the same environment of liberty to pursue their own hopes as we had? Will they understand the importance of religious, political, and economic freedom? There are actually alot of economics to be learned at Chuck-E-Cheese.

The Bible teaches that God loves sound money. One of the roles of a just government is to protect its citizens from fraud. The most important financial protection a government can offer is to keep the currency strong. Consider how important God sees this issue:

Leviticus 19:35-36 You shall do no injustice in judgment in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 25:13 -16 13 You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small,

You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s. All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 20:23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good.

What does it mean to have honest scales? What are dishonest scales? Let’s look at the Chuck-E-Cheese store first. We arrive at the arcade and give our children $20 worth of tokens to play games. As they win certain games, they collect tickets. They are so thrilled and excited to have earned over 1700 tickets in one hour. The come up with a bucket of their children’s currency with high hopes of being able to buy some great treasures and exciting toys. They’ve seen the wall covered with giant stuffed

animals and ipods. They’ve played hard in hopes of bringing one home.

Then they count up their currency and discover something. Their tickets don’t have the buying power they hoped. Their tickets are so “worthless” that it takes 500 of them just to get a blowpop. It takes 1000 to earn a Chinese handcuff. The ipods and giant stuffed bears cost over 20,000 tickets. They are disappointed. You realize something is messed up since you you gave them $20.00; and now if they spend all their winnings, they can only “afford” cheap toys that cost less then $1.50 at any dollar store. What’s happened here? The people in charge of the currency (Chuck-E-Cheese) have tinkered with the number of tickets you win and the prices of the cheap toys in such a way that your children’s money has lost it’s value.

The US government’s central planning has done the same thing to the US dollar. It’s lost over 80% (Some Estimates have it up to 97%) of its value over the past 100 years. The government even provides us a website to measure how much they’ve destroyed our currency here. The result: An ice cream cone that cost 0.26 cents when my grandfather took me to McDonalds when I was a child, now costs over one dollar for my children. Is the ice cream that much more valuable now? Does it have alot more intrinsic worth? No. It’s not that the prices are rising as much as the dollars and cents are worth less. You now need almost four times as many “tickets” from the US treasury to buy the same dessert. Something is wrong. Very wrong. Gas prices have doubled. Food costs more. Insurance costs more. Healthcare keeps rising. Though there are many factors to consider, the biggest is the tax on regular folks called inflation: the increase in the money supply. God hates unjust weights because it hurts the entire society. Inflation is the most insidious tax that no one can even see, but they can feel. For more information check out www.godonomics.com Here is a clip from Bovine Economics:

Radio Interview Cincinnati with Emily Bauman Part 3 of 3

chovind — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:37:36 +0000

Click Here to Watch Interview

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Radio Interview Cincinnati with Emily Bauman Part 2 of 3

chovind — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:35:10 +0000

Click Here to Watch Interview

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Darth Vadar Meets Progressivism

cathy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:43:19 +0000

A Progressive Tax System Punishes Liberty

Many are surprised at how relevant the Bible is to modern day issues. Others are surprised to see that issues on the national landscape have been on the historic horizon many times in the past. Many nations have been at a crossroads of decision asking questions like: Should we promote more liberty or more control by a centralized government? Should we tax the people more to gather revenue or tax people less and allow them to take responsibility for caring for themselves and others?

There is no place in the Bible more “ripped from today’s headlines” than King Rehoboam’s cabinet meeting in 1 Kings chapter 12. His father, Solomon was a extremely successful leader who led the nation into incredible historic significance. His father was known for his building projects, national attention, and global influence; however dad had slowly eroded the liberty and love of the people through high taxation and high control. The people were ready for a new administration. There was buzz in the community about the high hopes for change and renewal under the new king. All of Israel came out to cheer on their new leader.

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

The nation was divided over political partisan battles from the past. A nation that was once the United Tribes of Israel was now in civil war setting the North against the South. Israel vs Judah. However, now was a time to change all that. King Jeroboam who had been in exile came to Rehoboam pleading with him to make this national defining point in history. A unifying moment for the entire nation.

2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

The question is simple. The decision will set out a whole new course. Jeroboam asks Rehoboam if he will reverse course. Will he take the tax burdens placed on the people’s backs from his father and lighten the load? Will he stop all the government projects and plans that have necessitated the heavy yokes. Will he stop coercing and forcing people to follow him and instead increase liberty and individual responsibility. Jeroboam must know this kind of thinking would tap into fear, uncertainty, and insecurity in a man who was living up to his father’s reputation -so he reminds Rehoboam that this new course of action would result in greater love and service to him, not less. “We will serve you voluntarily out of love,” will be the response.

Reheboam had a lot to consider. Would he lose control? Would he look like a failure for decreasing the size of government? What about all the programs and projects he’d been dreaming of?

5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

The king had enough wisdom to at least take three days to consider this paradigm shift. He called together his cabinet members and they were divided. Some who had served under his father saw the consequences of his father’s policies. This older wiser and mature advisors said to him.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

There is the call for the leader to serve their constituents. If you serve them, they will serve you. Speak good to them; and you will have their hearts forever. In other words, lighten the load. Take the yoke off them. Give them more liberty, individual prosperity, and responsibility. Apparently this exercise in getting advise was merely a charade because Rehoboam immediately responds:

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

The king goes looking for advisors who will tell him what he wants to hear. He turns to the young men: the educated theorists who haven’t been in the trenches of experience like his father’s advisors. They respond, “More control! More power! Show them who’s in control. Take away more liberty. Make sure the little people know who’s boss!”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’”

They suggest the king swap Whips for scourages. They suggest taking government control and coercion to a whole new level. This testosterone speech, “My little finger is bigger than my dad’s waste” appeals to the king’s pride and desire for power. So he rejected the ideas of serving his people, shrinking his government, and restoring freedom to God’s nation. He further risked this once-in-a-lifetime-moment to reunite the nation’s two bickering halves.

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people;

This sounds a lot like politics in America and every nation today. Leaders who “do not listen to the people.” One person gets in charge, consolidates power for themselves, and takes away the prosperity and liberty of others. And the audience begins a revolt. The delicate potential for unifying the country came crashing to a halt. Rather than appealing to everyone to have an impartial rule of law, liberty, and conscience, the King chose control. The tighter he tried to control his people, the more people he lost. He should have adhered to the words of God, the elders of Solomon, and perhaps that great line from Princess Leia to Darth Vadar in Star Wars IV:

Princess Leia Organa: The more you tighten your grip, Lord Vadar, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.

For more information, check out www.godonomics.com Session 4 What Would God Say to FDR or Session 6 What Would God Say to the IRS? Or check out this video clip