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22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
~ Pr 13:22
I know. I write a lot about legacy. Yet, what is more godly than leaving behind a good legacy? Or, better yet, what is more ungodly than leaving behind a complete mess?
In recent years, The Telegraph has been a little too quick to throw up sensational headlines. However, yesterday’s article title on “Obama has given up seeking a solution to America’s financial woes” actually meshes too well with its content.
Without a bang or a whimper, all hopes of striking a so-called “Grand Bargain” to put America’s public finances on a sustainable track died a quiet death this week.
And because cynicism passes for wisdom in Washington, the passing was little lamented. But its death is a loss to the cause of putting America’s house in order, and all-but-officially marks the moment the Obama administration gave up trying to bridge the political divide on this most fundamental issue.
This debt is owed to someone, and that someone does not live in America for the most part.
7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
~ Pr 22:7
At what point does it all come tumbling down like a house of cards? More to the point, who gets hurt in the process?
I’m pretty sure their won’t be another generation for us to leave the debt to.
@Paul: Perhaps. Still, 1975 comes to mind, even as I think about that possibility.
I would argue that increasing the debt only hastens the inevitable. Furthermore, I would argue that even if it all came crashing down tomorrow, the righteous would have attempted to do the right thing regardless. In fact, if there were enough righteous doing the right thing, then how much debt would there be right now?
It’s not just the debt though that makes me feel that way. It is also the societal foundations that are crumbling around us as well as the fact that our governmental structure is changing right before us without barely a whimper from the other branches of govt. It hasn’t been a perfect system but it has worked reasonably well to this point. Now we are on our way to being Venezuela.
@Paul: Actually, I wasn’t assuming you were referring only to the debt, so I’m not sure you understood my point. The righteous should do righteously at all times. If tomorrow comes or not, that should not influence what righteous people try to do.
Of course, if the nation were righteous, the discussion would be moot.