New Taxes Will Make You Sick!

Our world is on a collision course with disaster and unless some immediate changes are made--we are going down.

The cracks in the global economy alone are already so wide it would require Herculean efforts to fix it. Unfortunately Super Heroes are in short supply these days. All we have are leaders who are more interested in avoiding blame than in solving problems.

In almost every industrialized nation in the world the story is the same: We are swimming in debt! Household debt, corporate debt, and government debt.

Debt.
Debt.
Debt.


As far as the eye can see. 
So what do we do about it?
Keep spending, of course.


Thursday (June 28), the American Supreme Court upheld what might very well be the last straw to the U.S. economic camel: The Affordable Care Act.


Hate to sound like alarmists, but somebody's got to sound the alarm: This healthcare plan can destroy the foundation of the American free enterprise system all by itself. But it isn't all by itself now, is it? 


No sirree.


We've got:

• a very serious global financial downturn caused by taxes that are too high, too many entitlement programs, too much regulation, and (our personal favorite), too much debt.
• the aftermath of two wars
• a whole generation of retiring baby boomers

All of these have sent shock waves through our economy, but it is hard to imagine anything that would more adversely affect it than to nationalize our healthcare system.

Can the government do anything more efficiently, less complicated or cheaper than the private sector? Ask the DMV, Social Security, Medicare, and the Post Office--all government-run disasters waiting to happen.

The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will add a whopping $1.15 TRILLION to the National debt. Sixty-eight percent of us don't want it, and it will impose one of the largest tax increases in American history--$500 BILLION!

According to the Congressional Budget Office, it could cause 20 MILLION private sector employees to lose their healthcare coverage and actually cost lives.

How?

In England, studies show that the British National Health System kills off 130,000 elderly patients every year by withholding treatment. And up to 20,000 people have died after being denied cancer drugs.

David Cohen of The Daily Caller says, "Obamacare is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever enacted. Its 2,700 unreadable pages are bursting with unintended consequences that will ultimately do great harm to the very people it is supposedly intended to help and the rest of us as well."

The Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable. We need to get this thing turned around--or we are headed for disaster in more ways than one.

A wise man once said: "It's not the court's job to shelter the American people from their political choices."- Chief Justice John Roberts when he voted to uphold Obamacare.

News

• World Net Daily: Obamacare Ruling Sparks Broad Stock Sell-off
• The Blaze.com: "The Koran Is Our Constitution": Egyptian President promises to ignore constitution for the sake of Sharia
• CBN News: Palestinians want Bethlehem as "Heritage Site"
• Jerusalem Post: Turkey Deploys Military Vehicles On Syrian Border
• Debka File:  Putin to Israel: Iran won't get a nuclear bomb, no need for an Israeli strike.
• Fox News: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder held in Contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over documents in Fast and Furious case.

"War Games or Head Games?"

Syria will host Russia, Iran, and China in the biggest war games ever staged in the Middle East. The news came out of Tehran as Moscow launched a desperate attempt to save from collapse nuclear talks between six world powers and Iran. Coincidence? Perhaps...or maybe Tehran was saving this little tidbit of info for just the right moment.


It seems the talks, designed to lessen the chances of a Middle East conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions, were going nowhere. Iran simply refused to cooperate. Not only would there be no further negotiations unless all sanctions were dropped, it continues to insist it has a right to its nuclear program, period. End of story. And if anyone dares to mention the fact that Ahmadinejad threatened to wipe Israel off the map--well, everyone knows the Jews have nukes of their own (although they've never used them, or even so much as threatened to use them).


Okay, so here we have six world powers and Iran all gathered in Moscow for the third attempt to stop the madness. Things are going poorly and everything has ground to a standstill. They are in a complete deadlock. Failure (according to the Associate Press) means a very real chance that: "Israel--already skeptical of diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon--could launch an attack, a scenario that potentially could pull in the U.S. and spread chaos throughout the Middle East." The stakes couldn't be higher. It's unclear if--or when--new talks will occur--and Iran is sticking out its tongue.


Why?


Because the Big Boys have its back. Iran has a trick, in the form of war games, up its sleeve. And not just a little military exercise to show it means business, either. The plan is to stage the most massive Russian-Chinese-Iranian-Syrian War Games the Middle East has ever seen.


Imagine it!

• 90 thousand personnel
• 400 airplanes
• 900 tanks

Beijing plans to parade 12 naval ships through the Suez Canal heading for the Syrian port of Tartus, where Moscow has a naval base already teeming with ships.

This is very bad, folks.

It means that Russia and China are coming out of the closet for the very first time since the Cold War as our enemies. Up until now, while they haven't exactly been our cozy best buds, at least they weren't openly hostile.

This means they have taken sides against us with the purpose of obstructing U.S.-European-Arab military intervention in Syria. What do you suppose they'll do if diplomacy fails to deter Iran and Israel is forced to attack? And does anybody really believe Iran will be backing down anytime soon with Russia and China on its side?

A wise man once said: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Romans 13:11-12

News:

• CBN News: World Leaders Could Offer Syria's Assad Clemency
• Debka File: Syria grounds fighter-bomber fleet for fear of more defections
• Jerusalem Post: Egyptian ex-President Mubarak on life support after stroke.
• Reuters: Wall Street suffers worst loss in 3 weeks--slow manufacturing growth worldwide threatening corporate profit. 
• CNBC: Moody's downgrades 15 U.S. banks
• Arutz Sheva: Hamas Calls Ceasefire After Nearly 100 Rockets fall into Israel. 

More Lipstick on the P.I.G.S.?!?

Last weekend, Europe decided to bailout Spain to the tune of 125 billion Euros. This was just the latest in a string of bailouts dating back to 2010. First we had Portugal, Ireland and two for Greece. Now Spain. There's a train wreck coming and all they can do is smear lipstick on the P.I.G.S.


According to Jeff Sica, President of SICA Wealth Management, "This weekend's bailout news does not imply a serious willingness on the part of Europe to tackle its financial crisis but instead implies an act of desperation to delay the inevitable, which is the failure of Spanish banks." Sica went on to say, "Further economic stimulus would only set the markets up for a greater fall in the future." (Hm-m-m-m. Where have we heard that before? Aren't they thinking about doing another economic stimulus here in the U.S.? Uh-oh).

The Big Question is whether Europe will be able to fend off the financial contagion from the debt crisis that is rapidly spreading from country to country. The rescue for Spain's banks comes only a week before a crucial election in Greece that could determine whether Athens will stay with the Euro bloc. Germany's former Vice-Chancellor, Joschka Fisher, is warning that the entire EU could collapse over this crisis. "If the Euro falls apart, so will the European Union, triggering a global economic crisis on a scale most people alive today have never experienced."

Most analysts think the bailout will fail. Italian officials privately worry that 125 billion won't be nearly enough and if the banks put any restrictions on the amounts people are allowed to withdraw, bank runs could result. People are already quietly removing money from the Greek banks.

A crisis in confidence and stability is the last thing Europe needs right now. It's as if the whole world is holding its collective breath waiting to see if the house of cards (i.e. the Global Financial System) will stand.

Although the current debt bomb is ignited in Europe, Asia is following close on its heels. Both Japan and China are beginning to show cracks, and in fact, economies all over the developed world are in serious trouble. And if you think the U.S. is immune, just wait.

An economy that encompasses the globe will not disintegrate over night, but unless drastic measures are taken soon, it will collapse in slow motion, over a period of years, affecting every one of us.

So, will this weekend's crisis be averted? Probably. But don't let that fool you. Global governments and banksters will do whatever it takes to kick this economic can of worms as far down the road as possible. But they can't make it go away. Essentially their fixes are only cosmetic and all the lipstick in the world won't change anything. They're still P.I.G.S.

A wise man once said: "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the best part of everything your land produces; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with wine." Proverbs 3:9

News:

• U.N. Peacekeeping Chief: Syria now in full-blown civil war.
• U.N.Secretary:  Russia supplying attack helicopters to fire on Syrian protesters; Moscow denies it.
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Terror is being used as a tool to further Iranian ambitions.
• CNN: The average American family has lost 40% of their wealth in the last 3 years.
• Fox News: Greeks pulling cash from banks as vote on Euro exit nears.
• Reuters: Central banks on standby to flood financial system with cash if necessary after Greek election.
• CNBC: Emergency G-7 meeting may be held in Mexico Monday or Tuesday to deal with Greece aftermath
• Bank of England: "The Euro zone crisis casts a black cloud over the world economy."
• USA Watchdog.com: "No matter how bad it looks in the EU, the problems with Europe are no where near as big as the ones here."
• Debka File: U.S., EU fake Iran's consent to discussing enrichment to fend off Israeli action; sham puts diplomacy on artificial life support.

Warning! America is in Danger-Part 2

The Bible is full of illustrations or examples from which we are supposed to learn. In 1 Corinthians 10:6 Paul says, "These events (God's judgment) happened as a warning (literally as an example) to us so we would not crave evil things as they did I (the children of Israel) or worship idols as some of them did."


The Greek word tupos is translated as "examples" and means: as a pattern, illustration or type. In other words a Biblical pattern or type is an illustration that reveals a truth of Scripture. Many of them point to God's plan of salvation and some mirror the death and resurrection of Christ. Last week we zeroed in on the correlation between ancient Israel and the United States. This week we want to expand on that.

1Corinthians 10:11 goes on to say, "Now all these things (God's discipline or judgment) happened to them (ancient Israel) as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 


God warned His people over and over again through the prophets but they didn't believe them. Finally, God had no choice but to discipline them like a parent disciplines an unruly child. They only rebelled more.

The nation grew deaf to the repeated warnings. God was forced to remove the hedge of protection of national security that had kept them safe. And finally, calamities were allowed to come upon them in waves--with time between to allow for repentance. If there was no repentance, another wave would hit. And another. And another.

In his book The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn makes the case that 9/11 was America's first wave. He believes the financial meltdown in 2008 (following seven years after 9/11) was the second wave, and that many more waves will come if we don't repent. While we don't necessarily endorse Cahn's book, it's interesting to note the uncanny "coincidences" between ancient Israel's reaction to being attacked by a foreign entity and America's reaction to 9/11.

Has God removed America's hedge of protection? We don't know, but God gave Solomon some good advice in 2 Chronicles. He said, "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

God was speaking to Solomon about His people, the Jews, but we believe the principle holds true for us. Maybe it's time to humble ourselves so God won't have to.

Homework: Follow God's advice. Repeat as necessary.

A wise man once said: "When the ways of people please the Lord, He makes even their enemies to live at peace with them." -Proverbs 16:7

News:

• Jerusalem Post: Iran threatens to target U.S. bases if attacked; warns missiles could reach all parts of Israel.
• Debka File: U.S. Senator McCain slams Obama's Iran Stuxnet attack leak.
• AFP (Agence France Presse): Putin warns of worsening Syria conflict: refrains from openly backing al-Assad regime
• Reuters:  Top Italy banker says risk of Euro breakup growing; "on the edge of the abyss"
• The Wall Street Journal: Euro-Zone data deepen gloom; jobless rate of 11% suggests region's economy will continue to flounder
• CBN News: Egypt's Mubarak sentenced to life in prison for role in protester deaths; sons acquitted.