Friday, April 16, 2010

Cadres and Calamities

From My Perspective - - -

The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition defines Cadre as: “An elite or select group that forms the core of an organization and is capable of training new members. The Regular Dictionary states: “A tightly knit group of zealots who are active in advancing the interests of a revolutionary party; A group capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled work force…”

Having just passed April 15th and Financial Accountability as Income Tax Forms were filled in and Taxes Paid, a reality is that with the increasing numbers of people being beneficiaries of the Entitlement Programs of our nation, fewer people are producing revenues to cover the costs and benefits of the non-producers. Will there be enough money available to cover the costs of the benefits and entitlements? An insight into how monies will be secured to cover costs and expenditures can be seen in the action of Argentina. On October 21, 2008 an article appeared: “Argentina seizes pension funds to pay debts. Who's next?” By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Economics. It states: “Here is a warning to us all. The Argentine state is taking control of the country’s privately-managed pension funds in a drastic move to raise cash. Should we worry about our pensions? It is a foretaste of what may happen across the world as governments discover that tax revenue, and the bond markets are unwilling to plug the gap…My fear is that governments in the US, Britain, and Europe will display similar reflexes. The forced-feeding of banks with fresh capital – whether they want it or not – and the seizure of the Fannie/Freddie mortgage giants before they were in fact in trouble (in order to prevent a Chinese buying strike of US bonds and prevent a spike in US mortgage rates), shows that private property can be co-opted – or eliminated – with little due process if that is required to serve the collective welfare. This is a slippery slope…”

Interestingly, there is already discussion of this possibility in our own nation. Bloomberg reports: “The Obama administration is weighing how the government can encourage workers to turn their savings into guaranteed income streams following a collapse in retiree accounts when the stock market plunged.The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort...There is “a tremendous amount of interest in the White House” in retirement-security initiatives…A bill requiring employers to report 401(k) savings both as an account balance and as a stream of income based on an annuity was introduced on Dec. 3, 2009 by Senators Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, and Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat. Sounds innocuous, right?” Wrong! This will be a seizure of funds and a redistribution of wealth, long-term savings and investments, and accumulated interest. Your private funds will no longer exist. Never believe this is innocuous! Don’t be that naïve! It ignores personal thrift and fiscal discipline so there can be an equal money-flow to all.

Ironically, at this juncture and time when Prayer should be vital, a Headline reads: “Judge: National Day Of Prayer Unconstitutional” April 15, 2010 by: Mike Levine “The National Day of Prayer, honored in the United States for more than a half-century, is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Wisconsin - U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said - "the holiday violates the 'establishment clause' of the First Amendment, which creates a separation of church and state.” The Judge has missed Historical significance in her ruling, namely, “In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new Nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer…Almost a century later, as the flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the American people to pray as the fate of their Nation hung in the balance." In Luke 18:1, “Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Listen to Jesus! Consider these things with me!

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