The Prosperity Gospel

The most poisonous American export to the world is the prosperity gospel. On October 2, 2015, this gospel was called a theological perversion, a false gospel. It is glamorous, seductive, and shunned to everyone who is faithful in their walk with Christ. The message that this gospel gives out is false and deceives millions. The mess is as follows: God’s desire for every Christian is that they be healthy, wealthy, and happy. We simply name what we want and God’s hand will move to give it to us. Also, another sad thing about this message is that it also can have an effect on how parents, parent their kids. Parents, without knowing it, teach this message. There are three questions that you can ask yourself, that would tell you if you're giving out the wrong message. Do you unwittingly center your life around your children? Do you unconsciously prioritize their material prosperity? Do you unwisely protect your children from life’s trials? In the first question, the message is that the prosperity gospel teaches we are the center of the universe and God is here for our happiness. The biblical truth, however, is while God’s love overflows for his people, we are made for him. He, not us, is the center. In our desire to love our children, we can send a similar false message. While caring for them, it’s easy to communicate: You are the center of my universe. I am here to serve you. The truth is that while parental affection and care should abound, we must also love our children in the truth. And a core truth is that kids are cherished members of our family but not the center. We train them to love and honor others, including their parents. Gospel-centered parenting leads us to call our children out of their natural self-orientation to a sacrificial love for God and others. In the second question, The prosperity gospel teaches us the greatest gifts God can give his children are material blessings. But the biblical truth is that God himself, and the spiritual blessings surrounding him, are his greatest gift to us. Stop and take a look at your family activities. Listen to what you are excited about. There’s certainly nothing wrong with relishing the game-winning home run or the latest electronic device. Just make certain you’re even more excited about the gospel at work in and around you. Choose priorities to give your child the best advantage possible—a godly church and a unified home. Pray that your parental love will be coupled with the wisdom to discern what’s best for them. And finally, in the third question, the prosperity gospel teaches God doesn’t want us to suffer. The blessed life is one with little or no pain. But the biblical truth is that none of God’s children escapes suffering. Painful trials are part of his good plan to mature us. Even Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered. You love your children and you love the true gospel. Don’t undermine it by teaching them something false during the week. Remind them that even as we enjoy God’s world, his best gift is himself. And because you’re called to reflect the heavenly Father, you will correct and discipline them in love. 

Planned Parenthood

House Bill 149 would prohibit public funds from going to any organizations or individuals that provide abortion services. Although this does not include hospitals, universities, as well as medical schools. Representative Stan Lee, who is the bill’s sponsor, says that it is targeting Planned Parenthoods of Indiana and Kentucky. However, critics are saying that this legislation could prevent other organizations from getting public money. "This legislation is directed at essentially defunding Planned Parenthood," Lee said. “This was designed to ... make sure there wasn’t a way for them to kind of sidestep this requirement, get around it and obtain funding.” Later on, Stan Lee would go on to say that the reason that he filed HB 149 because he didn’t believe that a similar bill in the state Senate would not go far enough in preventing Planned Parenthood in receiving public funding. In this bill that Lee has created abortion services would also include helping with referrals to or information about other organizations where abortions could be performed. As well as "providing counseling, advice, written materials or other information that encourages or promotes abortion." Another representative of HB 149 is Derek Penwell of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church in Louisville. He said that the definition of this HB would be applied to members of the clergy who are asked to help out women talk about their options. “That may not be the intent of this legislation,” he said, “but the bill is written so broadly that it could impact groups other than Planned Parenthood.”

Is it Better to get Married Younger or Older??

In 1970 the average age of American men marrying was 23. Now in the current days the average age is 28 which is five years up. And it is the oldest average. It is because of the men pulling along the women into marriage, that women are now starting to want to marry older. Therefore, the age gap between spouses is starting to get more and more narrow. In 1890 the age gap of marrying men and women was around four years. In 1960 is gap got smaller and was around 2.5 years. Many women have reported that they were being peer pressured in to avoiding the serious thought to marriage until they are in their late 20’s. Those who are thinking about or wanting to get married in college are considered a pariah. Now a day’s parents are advising their children to wait on the thought of getting married until their education is complete. To launch their full carriers and become financially independent. This is not only an economical problem, but it is also an emotional problem. Marriage will eventually be there in the end whenever it is time. The only problem, according to social psychologists Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs, the “market value” of women is on a steady decrease as women get older. While the men’s “market value” rises with time, because as time goes by they are goring their resources of money and maturation. The understanding of “early marriage” from social scientists is completely misunderstood by the public. The age-divorce link is most seen by young teenagers, which are those that are married before the age of 20. Marriages that have begun at the ages of 20,21, or 22 are not nearly so likely to end in a divorce than a s many people have believed. According to the data from the government, the women who would marry at the age of 18 have a better chance of making it work than those women who marry at the age of 21. So they age of getting married will always differ from generation to generation. 

What is the difference between Communism and Socialism?

Communism and Socialism are both economically and politically structured to promote equality. Also, they seek to eliminate social classes. In theory, Socialism and Communism may seem to be appealing. For all those who are doing and sharing their work together for the cause of the greater good. They hold the idea of a utopian economic structure. Which some countries have tried. However, most of those countries have failed and or became dictatorships. Which in turn is making reformation nearly impossible.

Let's take a look at a Communist society. In a Communist society, everything is owned by the working class. Therefore, everyone is working towards the same communal goal. It has eliminated both wealthy and poor classes. So it's saying that everyone is equal. Production in this type community is distributed by the need, and not by the effort or by the amount of work. It is expected that all the needs and requirements needed to do the work would be met by the community. That there is no more to be obtained through working more than what is necessary. Therefore, this type of economy often has the end result of poor production. As well as mass poverty and little advisement. This has happened before. During the 1980's, the poverty in the Soviet Union had become so widespread, that the rebellions and the revolutions had caused the nation to go into chaos.

Now Socialism economies share similarities to Communism but to a much lesser extreme. As in Communism, the main focus is equality. However, instead of the workers owning the facilities and the tools for their production, the workers are paid and allowed to spend their wages as they choose. While it is the government body that owns and operates the means of production for the benefit of the working class. Each of the workers is provided with the necessities so that he would be able to produce without any worry for his basic needs. The only downside of this is that both the advancement and the production factors have been put on a limit because there is no more incentive to achieve more.

With there being Socialism and Communism, there ended up being a third type of economic system, which is Capitalism. Capitalism has no private ownership and no class equality. In Capitalism, the reward comes naturally without any limitations to those workers who are able to exceed the normal minimums. This kind of environment can cause a lot of competition. And this can result in unlimited advancement opportunities, which can sometimes be very dangerous.

In conclusion, many modern societies and countries have adopted pieces of Socialism into their economic and political policies. Like in the United Kingdom, workers have unlimited earning potential based on their work. However, some of the basic needs, such as health care, are provided to everyone regardless of their time or effort in their work. Each one of these economic systems has their benefits and flaws, so there may never be the best or the worst in a worldwide view.

Trade Deficit

In 2015 the U.S. trade deficit with China was 367 billion dollars. This is then new record, which is up a little from last year’s record of 343 billion dollars. The U.S. trade deficit is the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports. U.S. exports to China was only 116.2 billion dollars. While the imports from China had created a new record of 483.9 billion dollars. And the trade deficit keeps growing because the imports are rising much faster than the exports. The United States imports electronics, clothing, and machinery from China. China can produce goods that Americans want at the lowest cost. Most economists have agreed that China's competitive pricing is the result of two major factors. A lower standard of living, which allows companies in China to pay lower wages to workers. And an exchange rate that is partially fixed to the dollar. This is saying that man American companies can’t compete with China’s low costs. And the result of this is that more and more U.S. jobs are lost. If this were to happen, U.S. consumers would have to pay higher prices for their "Made in America" goods. Most people would rather pay as little as possible for computers, electronics, and clothing. For many, that's true even if it means other Americans lose their jobs. China must buy so many U.S. Treasury notes. That it is how China is the second largest lender to the U.S. government. Japan is the first largest lender to the U.S. government. As of October 2016, the U.S. has a debt to China of 1.115 trillion dollars. That's 29 percent of the total public debt owned by foreign countries. By buying Treasuries, China helped keep U.S. interest rates low. If China were to stop buying Treasuries, all the interest rates would rise, and that could throw the United States and the whole world back into the recession. It isn't in China's best interests. As it is that U.S. shoppers would buy fewer Chinese exports. In fact, China is buying almost as many Treasuries as ever. The U.S. trade deficit with China means that U.S. companies that can't compete with cheap Chinese goods must either lower their costs or go out of business. Many businesses reduced their costs by reaching out and giving jobs to India and China. Which in turn is adding to the U.S. unemployment. But other industries have just fried up and gone. U.S. manufacturing, which is measured by the number of jobs, has declined 34 percent between 1998 and 2010. As these industries declined, so has the U.S. affordability in the global marketplace. In 2016, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew continued the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. Which discusses with China the U.S. desire to loosen its hook against the dollar. That would raise the price of all the Chinese exports. It also seeks to open up U.S. companies to the China's domestic market. Both of these actions would lower the trade deficit. 

The Biggest Owner is You!!!

The U.S has a debt of more than $19.8 trillion. Fewer people know that the Social Security Trust Fund owns most of the national debt. Most headlines focus on how much money we owe the Chinese. The U.S. Treasury manages the U.S. debt through its Bureau of the Public Debt. There are two categories: Intragovernmental Holdings, at $5.479 trillion, and Debt Held by the Public, at $14.409 trillion. Some agencies, like the Social Security Trust Fund, take in more revenue from taxes than they need right now. Rather than stick this cash under a giant mattress, they buy U.S. Treasuries with it. Social Security, by a long shot, owns the most Treasuries. Social Security (Social Security Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund) holds $2.786 trillion. Office of Personnel Management Retirement holds $873 billion. Military Retirement Fund holds $601 billion. Medicare (Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund) holds $267 billion. Nearly half of the nation’s public debt is held by foreign governments. One fourth is held by Federal Reserves and state and local governments. Mutual funds, private pension funds, saving bonds, and individual treasury notes hold fifteen percent. The rest is owned by businesses like banks, insurance companies, and a wide range of trusts. Foreign has $6.175 trillion. Federal Reserve has $2.461 trillion. Mutual Funds has $1.056 trillion. State and Local Government, including their pension funds have $803 billion. Private Pension Funds have $403 billion. Banks have $515 billion. Have Insurance Companies - $293 billion. U.S. Savings Bonds have $174 billion. This debt is not only in Treasury bills, notes, and bonds but also TIPS. TIPS are Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. 

Comparing US State GDPs to Entire Countries

In 2015 the US produced 24.5% of the world’s GDP. And the US holds only 4.5% of the world’s population. California, Texas, and New York are the top three states that produce the most economic output. The first US state with the most economic output is California. California produces a GDP of $2.46 trillion. Which is just above the GDP of France’s output of $2.42 trillion. If California was a separate country, it would have been ranked as the 6th largest economy in the world. Texas has America’s second largest state economy. Texas produces a GDP of $1.59 trillion. Texas’ GDP was also slightly higher than Canada’s GDP of $1.55 trillion. Texas would have been ranked as the world’s 10th largest economy. The third state with the most economic output is New York. NY produces a GDP of $1.44 trillion. New York produces slightly more than South Korea ($1.38 trillion). If New York was a separate country is would be ranked as the world’s 11th largest economy. Also New York is ahead of Russia. Russia’s GDP is $1.32 trillion. Together, those three US states produced $5.5 trillion in economic output. And as a separate country would have ranked as the world’s third largest economy and ahead of No. 3 Japan ($4.1 trillion) by almost $1.5 trillion.