The Fiscal Cliff and the Spirit of Deception

There is growing agitation in Congress and the nation this week as our leaders focus on a looming financial crisis that could hit every American on January 1.

The media have branded it the “Fiscal Cliff” because it is purported that by not renewing the Bush tax cuts and other tax breaks that are set to expire, increased taxation in 2013 on all Americans may plunge us into another recession.

They’re probably right. It’s never helpful to raise taxes in a down economy when so many people are out of work. It thwarts job creation.

Yet the president doesn’t seem too concerned. He canceled negotiations this week with Congressional leaders though the deadline is thirty-five days away. And the press are already blaming Republicans for the looming problem.

But I smell a rat.

No, better to call it what it is: a spirit of deception.

Deception #1 – The Fiscal Cliff is Raising Taxes

No, the real “Fiscal Cliff” is trillion dollar deficits each year and 16.3 trillion dollars in total national debt which will soon have to be raised to 20 trillion.

I remember when we first started using the word “trillion.” It was kind of unbelievable. Actually, if you look back at American history, we didn’t even use the word billion until the 20th century, and it was quickly replaced by trillion which most of us find hard to comprehend.

If you have trouble picturing a trillion dollars, watch this little video to gain some perspective.

Today we throw the word “trillion” around like it doesn’t mean diddly-sqat. More to the point, our incredible and dangerous national debt–now trillions of dollars in hock–brings empty stares. What used to be a stable dollar equaling one hundred cents is now worth eight measly cents–with 40% of the dollar’s devaluation taking place during Barack Obama’s first four years.

And we re-elected him.

Historically, we’re dealing with trillions of dollars of debt in America because of liberal policies over the past seventy years–starting with the New Deal visions of Franklin Roosevelt. Prior to that era, America had a currency that was generally “sound as a dollar,” where, for hundreds of years, our currency retained its value and was backed up by gold.

For one hundred and fifty years, the basic necessities of life in America stayed the same price.

But Roosevelt confiscated all of the privately held gold, took us off the gold standard, and began a disastrous experiment in printing and distributing “Monopoly” money in America. Most presidents after him–especially the liberal ones–continued to de-value the dollar by running the printing presses. Richard Nixon eventually took us off of a “gold peg” in 1972 that allowed the American dollar to truly become fool’s gold.

But we Americans are a busy and forgiving lot–so we didn’t say much and allowed the crap-shoot to continue. The government continued to grow, the printing presses whistled along, and all of a sudden (not really–but gradually over a lifetime), those greenbacks in our hands didn’t purchase much.

Do you remember when a twenty dollar bill seemed like a lot of money? Now it evaporates in about three minutes when you’re filling up your car with gas–in fact, you need two or three twenties to pay the bill.

I remember when making $1.35 a hour seemed like a great wage and $4 was heavenly. Heck, my grandfather worked for $1 a week! That was not that long ago. My father bought a five acre water-view parcel in 1950 with a home and multiple out-buildings on it. The price? $11,000. Today, that parcel of land is “worth” (in funny money) probably two million dollars.

I couldn’t buy our family Hyundai for $11,000 in 2010.

The real fiscal cliff is the cruel tax of inflation that has been foisted on this country since the 1930s and has exploded into trillions of dollars of unpayable debt in the past thirty.

This is the biggest “bubble” ever created in world history. Yet, a spirit of deception says that it is okay, no problem–let’s just keep on spending.

Don’t believe that lying voice. The real fiscal cliff in coming sooner than we think.

Deception Number Two – Raising Taxes on the Wealthy will Help the National Budget.

President Obama ran on this silly premise and an unthinking and illiterate 50.4 percent of the American people believed him and voted for a second term. Even Warren Buffet–one of the savviest investors and richest men in America–continues to share the charade.

But “taxing the rich” will do nothing to help the massive debt problem in America. If we followed the Obama/Buffett plan to increase taxes on the wealthy, it would only raise 80 billion dollars or pay for eight days of federal spending.

Eight days.

I don’t call that a solution to trillion dollar deficits and a 16 trillion dollar mountain (sixty-nine miles high). Go back to the video above and remind yourself that a trillion dollars is one million million.

We cannot tax our way out of Debt Armageddon.

Deception #3 – The President has a Plan for Lowering the Deficit and Improving the Economy.

This is one of the lies that half the American people believed. Barack Obama has never had a plan to help improve the American economy. Dinesh D’Souza’s 2016 documentary makes a very strong argument that President Barack Obama doesn’t even desire for America to do well.

He wants to “transform America”–to lower it as a nation–to make it just another debt-laden social democracy that is controlled and manipulated by a secular elite.

What is the evidence?

• No free market jobs plan during his first four years. No jobs focus whatsoever.
• Not one Senate budget in nearly four years (controlled by the president’s party).
• Increasing government spending from 20% of GDP to 24%–ensuring high unemployment.
• No jobs plan or budget plan for the next four years.

Barack Obama simply wants to grow American dependency on big government to make us like Europe. Unfortunately, he is succeeding. But his words are a deception.

Deception #4 – Spending is Not the Problem: We Need More Revenue (Taxes).

This is a laughable untruth. Spending is the problem in all social democracies. Despite the manufactured tepid economic growth of today, the federal government still receives more money than any time in history. The problem is not revenue–it is squandering it on non-essential programs and  entitlements galore.

Take just one entitlement–Medicare. Do you know what the unfunded liability is for this program alone? It is 42 trillion dollars. Imagine that pile of $1000 bills stretching 3000 miles into space.

And that’s only one program. It does not include Social Security, Medicaid, and the newest granddaddy of them all–Obamacare.

After a while you just get a little numb to the numbers and simply think that the money spigot will never be turned off.

But think again. Oh, there may be lots of $1000 bills floating around in future. But it will be post-War Germany times a google: Truck loads of greenbacks that are good for nothing but burning in your woodstove.

The only way to save America and many other nations from hyper-inflation and certain economic collapse is to cut spending, spending, spending.

It’s the spending, stupid!

Why don’t we get that? A spirit of deception.

Deception Number Five: It’s the Republicans Fault.

The national media are already setting the stage to blame the Republicans for not solving the fiscal cliff problem. They say that the Democrats are reasonable people–they’re willing to cut some spending if we raise some taxes.

The president says this is the fair and balanced approach (he sounds like Fox News).

So if the Republicans say no to taxing the rich (all taxes are bad during hard economic times), which the president and the Democrats say must take place in order to extend the Bush tax cuts to the middle class, then the miserly Republicans are responsible for torpedoing the deal and hurting the nation.

And the liberal media will scream to high heaven that the R’s are at fault.

That’s why some Republican leaders right now seem to be caving to the pressure and indicating that they might be willing to change their no new taxes pledge.

But they shouldn’t. The American people elected them to help save the Republic. Now is the time for courage and resolve.

“Read our lips.” 

The progressive spenders are the reason that the American economy is in trouble. America’s tax rates are among the highest in the world–corroding our competiveness. History has shown–even under conservative Democrats like John F. Kennedy–that lowering taxes across the board increases tax revenues because it gives people more freedom to create, succeed, and thus generate tax monies to the government.

Freedom actually benefits all–including government. It just takes control away from it.

Here is the truth about the fiscal cliff debate:

There is a devil. He wants to destroy America, biblical principles, the Person of Christ, and take down the Western world.

He is a liar–and he’s very good at it.

We must open our eyes, repent of debauching our currency, living beyond our means, and once again put our trust in God to save us from ourselves.

We must learn to resist the spirit of deception.