2012 National Research Survey

Americans for Prosperity (AFP)
2012 National Research Survey
and
Donation Request

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Source of the Question

No, it’s not the Association for Financial Professionals annual survey.  It’s another one of those aggravating political instruments disguised as a public interest issue.  This one was obviously from Republicans.  Let’s go over the survey together.  Perhaps it will help those of you who don’t yet believe that our nation is in financial trouble to arrive at a well-informed and reasonable opinion, either for or against.

Before we begin, let’s be perfectly clear about one thing: namely party politics.  I’ve got no use for either party whatsoever.  As far as I’m concerned, they’re both a bunch of crooks that don’t know how to stop stealing.  The fundamental financial policy of the Democrat party is “TAX and SPEND.”  The fundamental financial policy of the Republican party is “SPEND and TAX.”  Both parties are selling the utopian lie.  Neither party is willing to go for the throat of the problem.  Both parties work together to hide their deceptions and lies behind elaborate smokescreens.  Chronic obfuscation is the order of the day.

No, I did not make this up.

·        http://americansforprosperity.org/oklahoma/

·        http://www.capfederalspending.com/donate (This is an electronic version of a slightly different survey I got in the mail.)

·        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Prosperity

The Survey

Part A: Question 1

How much out of every dollar you earn do you think is fair for the federal government to take?

My Answer: 10%.  That’s the limit placed on the Israelite/Judaic king in the Old Testament.  Three tithes or tenths were required of Israelites and Jews: one for the Church, one for the poor, and one for the king.  While we have no right to be legalistic about this, I believe that this describes a well-balanced and well-ordered society: one in which necessarily parasitic factors are not, and cannot be allowed to overtax the general populace and reduce it to a state of slavery.  Pick your own number.

This is a misleading question.  It hides the fact that our debt will be resolved, one way, or another.  The usual method is to print more money and inflate the dollar.  Inflation is a hidden and insidious tax amounting to much more that 10%.  It is an uncontrollable monster as long as the dollar’s value has no worth in real property: for example, gold, silver, land, etc....  The American dollar is a cleverly devised myth; it has no value whatsoever; it’s not even worth the paper on which it’s printed.  It only works because of the faith its users have in it.  That faith is on the brink of destruction.

Question 2

If politicians in Washington continue this spending frenzy, how long do you think it will be before we see a total economic collapse in America?

My Answer: Less than 5 years.  Actually, nobody knows.  However, it is a well-known statistic that federal bailouts are occurring roughly every eight years and increasing exponentially in magnitude.  This is not hard for you to research on your own.  Just type, “federal bailouts,” into your search engine and see what pops up.  Statistically, we are due for another Tsunami of financial disaster within another 5 years or less.  The next one will probably sink us.

This question is deceptive because it is misleading.  It puts up the smokescreen of “spending frenzy” instead of dealing with the real problem.  The real problem is debt.  Granted, “spending frenzy,” is a problem; but it’s more of a symptom than a core issue, and harping on it is little more than a Band-Aid.  Worse yet, the Band-Aid looks like a cure, but is actually a smokescreen covering up the very real wound.

Question 3

How would you rate Barack Obama’s performance as President in terms of handling the economy?

My Answer: Other.  This is just another misleading question designed to create a smokescreen.  It is obfuscation.  Obama is not the problem.  National, state, business, and personal debts are the problem.  Don’t be misled by these sorts of sidetrack questions.  Stay on point with the real problem, debt.

Our federal government has been promoting and selling these bad loans for decades, perhaps nearly a century: farm loans, school loans, business loans, home loans – all bad.  We were gullible enough to accept them.  These are just the tip of the iceberg that we’ve been creating for a century.

Question 4 (Question 2 on-line)

Do you think America's standard of living is being lowered because of Washington's failure to control its spending?

My Answer: Other.  The question should have read, “because of Washington's failure to control borrowing and lending.  This is just more obfuscation.  The “issue summary” suggests that the federal debt “is now worse than Greece.”  For those who have not been following the issue, Greece is now in total financial meltdown or bankruptcy, and Greek’s bad debts are being written off as a loss.  The key operative word is bad.

Question 5

How concerned are you that the U. S. economy will soon look like Greece or even a banana republic if our federal government fails to control spending?

My Answer: Very concerned.  However, I’m even more concerned that the question distracts and again misleads by diverting attention away from debt and toward spending.

Questions 6 through 9

These are not questions.  They are promotions for a “Spending Limitation Constitutional Amendment.”

My Answer: Other.  The points made are all moot because they fail to address the fundamental problem of debt.  Sure, it’s nice to have a responsible budget.  Every family should have one.  But, the federal government has been promoting fiscal irresponsibility for a century.  Our own government has promoted the idea that money grows on trees in a dozen ways: mostly cheap federal loans to gullible citizens, but also peddling utopia alongside the loans.  What the government has promoted it has also practiced, government by debt.  The debt has been covered up by removing gold and silver backing from the dollar and by inflation caused by printing empty worthless money.  Nowadays, they don’t even bother to print it; they create it electronically.  So, it’s out there, in “cloud computing” somewhere, and you don’t even get a piece of useless paper in your pocket.

This should not bring us to despair.  We have each other.  We have our houses, farms, and factories.  What we must do is kill the debt snake and put these real tangible assets back to work.  Doing that will require a lot of faith and love.  However, we can work for nothing if it produces real food that our children need to eat, and real products that shelter us from the elements, and real transportation that gets us where we need to go.  So we should not despair.  We need to trust each other, not the government, and love each other, instead of blaming and hating each other.  Politics will never be redemptive.  Jesus Christ alone is redemptive.  We need to follow Him.

Exactly what spending are we going to cut?  Are we going to cut military spending?  We’re at war for Pete’s sake.  Do you want your child to go into combat with a bullet shortage?  I don’t.  I don’t want to fight, but if we have to fight, I want plenty of top quality arms and ammunition, and lots of soldiers with real moral fortitude (guts, stones).  It’s time for America to grow a set.

Oh, let’s cut education spending.  Well, education spending is a lot like pounding sand down a rat hole or shoveling against the tide.  Fact is that teachers are already grossly underpaid, while administrators are overpaid, do nothing productive, espouse silly utopian causes (like no child left behind, and college for all), and wield near dictatorial authority.  Squirrels cannot be taught to fly and eagles cannot be taught to climb; it is the teacher that deals with this priceless individuality on a daily basis.

Or, let’s cut the infrastructure budget.  Who cares if a few more bridges fall down killing hundreds, the unbridled Mississippi kills more, or we have to face one more forest fire, grass fire, flood, or mudslide without adequate forethought and preparation.

Let’s cut some medical programs.  Or, Social Security.  Or, Medicare.  Or,....

The reality is that there isn’t a lot of fat to cut.  The fat that is there is going into the pockets of those who are already stealing it and are in charge of managing it.  How are we ever going to fire the entire executive, judiciary, and legislative government with all of its employees.  We’d need to fire the good with the bad and start completely over, and that would not ensure an honest government, only an incompetent and inexperienced one.  That might not be so bad after all.

Part B: Questions 1 through 15

These are all questions about constitutional ideology.

My Answer: Of course, I support the Constitution of the United States with its Bill of Rights.  I do not wholeheartedly agree with some of the more modern Amendments; they are there; they are law; I obey them.

The problem is that very few elected officials or their employees do support the Constitution of the United States.  Worse yet, clever people have figured out how to circumvent the clear intent of the Constitution and twist it to their own agendas.  This is true of both Democrats and Republicans as well as many behind-the-scenes, power players who don’t really care about Party affiliations.  For these power players, Parties are just another tool to cloak their devious behavior

Part C: Questions 1 through 6

This is just the pseudo-patriotic buildup to a request for a donation.

My Answer: Not one thin dime.  This questionnaire is going in the shredder.  I am a patriot.  I spent seven years, eleven months, and twenty-three days in military service.  Our eldest son went to Tikrit, Iraq.  I will not put up with this kind of obfuscation.  Rather, I will do everything in my power to expose it for the fraud it is.

Conclusion

The problem is debt.  Debt eventually crushed Egypt, resulting in widespread slavery.  When Moses led the Israelites and Jews out of Egypt, it was “out of the house of bondage,” out of the house of slavery.  The Ten Commandments specifically prohibit all things, which promote slavery: namely,

·         False Worship,

·         Manufacture of idols,

·         Obeisance to idols,

·         Service to idols,

·         Using God’s name in an empty way,

·         Failure to rest after God’s example,

·         Murder,

·         Adultery,

·         Dishonest gain,

·         Dishonest legal testimony, and

·         Wanting things that don’t belong to us, and acquiring them through avarice.

Moses proceeds to require that in the event of financial disaster, lending will be limited to seven-year periods at 0% interest.  You can read how Moses’ plan works and why it is sensible in the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  That law doesn’t apply to us: this doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, or that it doesn’t manifest excellent principles of government and social economics.

One might believe that having been slaves in Egypt the Israelites and Jews would never be dumb enough to fall into such a fatal trap.  Nevertheless, in the Prophets we are bombarded with the constant complaint that wealthy Israelites and Jews are oppressing poverty stricken Israelites and Jews with a cruelty of slavery which would make even the ancient Egyptians blush.

Since Jesus fulfills all the Law of Moses for us, we might expect Him to be silent about fleshly, worldly financial issues.  Instead, fiscal corruption is among His favorite sermon topics.  Luke 1 (the Magnificat), Luke 4 (the Jubilee sermon), and Matthew 18 (the whole chapter, but especially the unforgiving steward, who is certainly going to Hell for this sin), these are only a few places where Jesus deals with the problem.

We regularly pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  Matthew 18 specifically identifies and connects financial and spiritual debt, they are opposite sides of the same coin.  No unforgiving person will ever get into heaven.  This means money and offenses.

If these aren’t convincing enough, perhaps we will listen to Shakespeare as he criticizes and mocks cruel lending practices in the character Shylock.  Or in, Hamlet, Act 1 scene 3:

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Or, “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”   — Thomas Jefferson  Yep, that’s the killer, now what are we going to do about it, now that we’re trapped.

Ultimately, bad debt must be written off.  As Shakespeare notes, the lender should consider himself lucky if he recovers any of his principal, and none of the interest.  Lenders of this ilk only stay in business by preying on the gullible and weak.  There is no excuse or place for this kind of debt slavery in a civilized culture.

No lender, who fails to realize that clinging to this sort of bad debt will only lead to his own destruction, should consider himself a righteous person.  Such people are just not worth their salt.  In the first place, the debt cannot and never will be paid.  In the second place, this debt suppresses the whole economy, and prohibits recovery.  So the very means by which a lender makes a profit is defeated: namely, a fair rate of interest on a good loan.  All the bad debt does is drag the good loans down, and cause them to fail as well.  It is past time to realize that we are wallowing in a sea of bad debt, as ten-million Americans on the brink of losing their homes can readily testify.  The vast bulk of student loans also qualify for this criticism.

No public leader, who continues to tolerate or promote this sort of outrageous bondage, should consider himself a righteous person.  Such leaders are simply not worth their salt.  Yet the bulk of our Constitutional leadership have made themselves into Shylock like lenders: promoting one utopian, enslaving debt swindle after another: farm, housing, business, college, etc.  Our Congressmen, not only tolerated this outrage, they promoted it, and when the fat coffers of many avarices were filled, these Congressmen were first to steal from it: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, etc., etc., etc.

Take Heed to Our Urgency

If our town were immersed in flood, none of us would feel put upon if we had to throw sandbags for sixteen hours without pay.  We would endure the sweat and pain, then give thanks to almighty God for the free sandwiches and coffee distributed by the Red Cross.  We would make new friends and feel honored that we were allowed to help rescue our town.  We would be, and feel like, heroes.

Neighbors, we have each other.  This is going to hurt.  We’re going to have to roll up our sleeves and do a lot of work without pay.

This is an urgent matter.  It is our house that is on fire.  We need to take immediate action to save lives.

If we are silent, then we are accessories in your death, and guilty of murder.  We are terrified of our own silence, and hasten to end it.

My Proposed Solution

It’s not my idea, it’s God’s idea, and it will work.  Our job is to obey what we already know is true.  If we don’t obey, we will sink our own ship and perish.

Make extended, long-term debt against the law.

Force the pay-off or write-off of debt in short periods of time.

Stop bailing out the big institutions first.  Typically, they grab the money, pay out absurd executive bonuses, and continue to stiff their smaller clients and customers.  Bail out the little guys first and if the big institutions sink, they sink: too bad, so sad, you made your prophets by corruption and lost them through incompetent mismanagement.  Bail out the guy with a $20,000 first home mortgage, that just lost his job because of this corruption, and is about to have his house taken away.

Declare all lending interest unlawful.

Only investments in functioning businesses could earn a portion of the profits, and in the case of business failure, all investors would face the same risks, losses, and penalties together.  A house or private car could not be mortgaged under these conditions because neither one is part of a functioning business.

Foreign investors, even lenders to our government will face the same rules of debt write down.  Sorry, you should have made better investments.  We will pay back ten cents on the dollar if that’s what we can afford; but, if necessary,we will use force of arms to stop this illicit lending practice.  You’ve been living out of our pockets and our fat markets for a good long time now, and that is going to stop.

Borrowers should pay back just loans, as they are able.  Let’s face the fact that many of these loans are not just.

·         They intentionally preyed upon human gullibility and weakness.

·         They charge exorbitant rates.  Houses typically cost three times their value.  The cost of cars is doubled.  Some credit cards exceed 20%.  Hidden penalties are outrageous.

·         In many cases, the lender does not deserve to get more than his principal back.  If he has already recovered his principle and some interest, cut him off without another cent.

The government should be forced to clear its books.  When we studied this problem in the late 50’s a large portion of the federal debt was money it owed itself.  Are you kidding me?

Debt forgiveness and zero interest will cure most of America’s problems in a few years.  The debt problem will be solved.  The national security danger will be greatly reduced.  The housing problem will disappear.  Industry will recover and fix itself.  Jobs will be created.  This debt problem drives virtually every other social problem in America.  When the debt problem is solved and maintained by debt time limited forgiveness and zero interest, we will be able to see the other problems more clearly and solve them more easily.

The only reason we do not get results is because we do not love God, or each other, enough to obey what we know is right.