The Looming U.S. Deficit

Greetings, friends! This is John Ogwyn, with commentary for the Living Church of God. Federal deficits in the United States are skyrocketing—and there are serious consequences that are ahead for our nation as a result of what's going on in terms of our nation's economy. The Federal deficit from the year 2004 is over one half trillion dollars—over $500 billion! The entire Federal debt is over $7 trillion.

Well, my friends, how in the world can our nation's economy sustain debt like that? Why, the interest alone on our national debt runs over $156 billion in the current year's budget. This ignores the cost of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of those things aren't going to be factored in until later. And you realize that the Social Security fund is actually being used, in bookkeeping slight of hand, in order to cover up how serious trouble we are really in.

To really understand a little bit of what is going on in terms of the future—financing Social Security—understand that back in the 1930s when Social Security started, there were 42 people paying into the Social Security fund for every one person who was receiving benefits. In the 1960s, there were 16 people paying into the Social Security fund for every one person receiving benefits. This year, 2004, there are only three people paying in for everyone who is receiving benefits. And as the baby boomers retire over the next 10 to 15 years, what we are going to see is that that ratio is going to drop by the middle of the century to two people paying in for every one who is receiving benefits. Frankly, we can't sustain something like that. We have been financing our future on borrowed money.

The book of Proverbs tells us that the borrower is servant to the lender. And we are going to find the consequences of that, because we are going to find that foreign nations and foreign creditors are ultimately going to set a tone for the policies in our country; they are going to make demands on our government, and they're going to set priorities in terms of spending. We don't realize what's really going to happen. Do you realize that China and Japan have been financing much of the United States' deficit? We have switched from being a nation who lends to the rest of the world, to a nation that borrows.

God prophesied of some of these things back in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. It talks about the blessings that would come on the nation and overtake it if they hearkened to the voice of the Eternal God. As we come on down through Deuteronomy 28 we are told that we would be the lender. God would give us good treasures of heaven, as He says in verse 12, that we would lend to many nations and would not have to borrow. But it goes on to say that if we disobey our Creator, these curses shall come upon us and overtake us. And He goes on, beginning in verse 15 and coming on through the rest of the chapter. He tells us in verse 43, "The stranger that is within you shall get up above thee very high; and you shall come down very low. He shall lend to you, and thou shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail" (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). Ultimately, we are told, "we will serve our enemies" (verse 48).

My friends, we are seeing the stage set for that right now. Our nation is a nation of borrowers. Not only personal debt, but the entire Federal budget, is financed in that way—and it is setting the stage for some catastrophic events in the future.

This has been John Ogwyn, with commentary for the Living Church of God.