The video below shows how many Americans are now living in tents or their cars because of the housing collapse.
It is time that we all face the shocking reality that our economy is starting to come apart like a 20 dollar suit.
This video brings to mind some things about our financial condition that I have written previously:
For decades we have lived like kings and queens.....enjoying the biggest party the world has ever known.....but financed with ever increasing amounts of debt.
Now it looks like the party is over.
Once upon a time, the United States was the biggest creditor in the world. But those days are long gone. Now we are the biggest debtor nation to ever exist on the earth.
We were the richest nation in the world, but that was not enough for us. We always had to have a bigger car, a bigger house and an endless supply of "stuff". So our government piled up debt, our companies gorged on debt, and we made using credit cards into a national pastime.
Spending our own money wasn't even enough. We spent the money of our children, and of our grandchildren, and of their children, and now the national debt is more than 9 TRILLION dollars.....an amount that we will never be able to repay. And if you include the future liabilities that our government has committed us to such as future Social Security and Medicare payments, then the total is over 59 TRILLION dollars.
Now that many of our jobs have gone overseas, the price of gasoline is shooting through the roof, and people are losing their homes, do we find that Americans are learning their lesson?
No.
Instead we are squeezing everything we can out of our plastic. Total credit card debt in America is now over 790 billion dollars, and it is increasing at a rate which is four times faster than earlier this decade.
Instead of showing restraint, we have jammed the accelerator to the floor.
And did you know that Americans actually have a NEGATIVE savings rate?
Do you know the last time when that happened?
The Great Depression.
Prices are increasing dramatically while wages are not. Jobs are being outsourced and factories are being closed. Our largest banks and financial institutions are teetering on the brink of failure. Homes are being foreclosed at record rates. Personal bankruptcies recently hit an all-time high. And what is the answer the politicians give us? Wasting even more money and getting us into more debt.
We are reaping what we have sowed.
The Scriptures talk about those who would hoard wealth in the last days. Instead of feeding the poor and taking care of those who couldn't take care of themselves, we spent our money on mini-mansions, luxury SUVs and as much entertainment as we could pack into our lives. Now we will pay the price just as the Scriptures say:
James 5:1-5
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter."
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