Should Christians take Social Security payments?

Most Christians will probably disagree with me.  I full recognize that many of you have paid far more in taxes than you will ever “get back” from the government.   My general assessment is that Christians shouldn’t take money from the government and that in general most taxes and programs are a form of legislated theft.

If Christians take money from the government, then they are endorsing people taking money from you and others.

If the Government can force you to pay for others’ retirement, then it is hard to argue they can’t force you to pay for others’ health care.

Government programs are filled with abuse. Social Security, for example, spent the money that was paid in by the original payees on other programs then used the money coming in by the next generation’s payees to fund the social security payments of the first generation of payees. When private citizens engage in these kinds of investment programs, the government calls them criminals and their programs Ponzi schemes.

Relying on the government for money is welfare.  You are recognizing them as an authority over your life to manipulate your actions in order to gain wealth in this world.

Social Security is going broke, and the burden to fix it and fund it is falling on future generations. The government is stealing from our children and grandchildren to correct its own abuses and mismanagement.

Social Security is a form of communism. It creates a place for the government to intervene and have authority over our lives from cradle to grave.

We could have hours of conversations and discussion about this, and it is a tough subject.  There are a couple of questions to ask about this subject:

Does Social Security make us a freer society or lead us to being a freer society?

Who is paying for Social Security?

Does Social Security build community?

Social Security is being paid by those working today and those who are retired get the money.  The money that retirees put in was taken by the people retired when they were working.  So it is not the money taken from you that you are getting back it is the money taken from your sons and daughters and their sons and daughters that is paying for the current retirees.

Your sons and daughters will NOT be getting their money back according to the AP.

But it is now official: Social Security is a lousy investment for the average worker. People retiring today will be among the first generation of workers to pay more in Social Security taxes than they receive in benefits over the course of their lives, according to a new analysis by the Associated Press.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/08/07/social-security-now-takes-more-than-it-gives/#ixzz2fS7c36zV

How would this program become broken?  If we are all forced to pay into it, how could it be unsustainable? 

The only answer is that someone at some time took out more than their share.  This has come in the form of abuse (noted above) and paying out more than the system can handle.  Basically a large group of people have been taking more out of the system than they put into it, which is stealing.

You aren’t taking from a wasteful government (as many people like to justify), you are taking from your own family and friends relatives.  This country is $16 trillion in debt, because its people have been stealing from the next generation for way too long.

The Bible warns against using “unequal weights” and that is precisely what Social Security system uses to pay out.

Jesus told us to pay taxes, but to give to God what is Gods.  We are made in his image, we are to form community and support each other.  Government cradle to grave programs destroy community and create selfishness.

Yes Social Security is a system that we have and taking from it may be the only thing some people have to live.  If you don’t have to buy into it, then we shouldn’t.  It is the church that God charges to take care of widows and those who cannot work.  However the Church and Christians have bought into the idea that it is the government’s job.  Even if we say we don’t believe it is the government’s job our actions clearly show differently. 

The government has gotten so big and is in charge of things it should not be responsible for because Christians refuse to say no and continue, through their actions, to support a larger government.

At best taking Social Security as a Christian is buying into the idea that the government has the right to redistribute funds from future generation to our own.  At worst it is using the government to legislate stealing from future generations so we can live the good life.  At what point does it stop?

Is Shark Week Megalodon documentary real?

Short answer is No.

A google search of Colin Drake turns up nothing.  The photos are shockingly fake.

Discovery should be ashamed of this "documentary" that is going to fool the general populace.

Sharks are amazing creatures, you don't need to make something up!

NC HB 144

ANNOUNCING a NEW Education Company:

Homeschool Express

Don’t Drop out of high school, Homeschool!

Did you know 22,000 students in North Carolina drop out of high school every year?

Did you know a student who graduates from high school earn on average $10,000 more a year than a person who does not?

Did you know the State is now giving tax credits for homeschoolers up to $2500/year?

Don’t drop out, Homeschool and we will help you for FREE!

Is your student struggling and on the verge of dropping out or being kicked out of school?  Don’t leave money that is rightfully yours on the table!

Give us a call for a FREE consultation.  We will help you fill out the paperwork and pick a curriculum.  We will help you figure out how to assign credits.  Did you know there is almost no homeschool oversight in NC and even if there was the state won’t be able to keep track of all the new homeschoolers?  It is FREE MONEY and the state owes it to you!

Only pay us if you homeschool, we will help you get up to $2500 a year for a fee of $500.  Remember you are getting almost $2500 from the state, and paying us to help you navigate the paperwork for only $500.  

That is a net $2000 gain to homeschool! 

Did you know if you are still in high school the cost of community college classes is only about $100 a credit?

This new law will let you take up to 11 credits a year until you are 22 without ruining your eligibility.  That is 40 credits which will cost about $4000.  With the new Affordable Healthcare act you can stay on your parents plan until you are 26, so no need to go slave over a job when the state will help take care of you.

40 credit hours is 2/3 of the way to an associate’s degree.  Those with associate’s degrees earn almost $10,000 more a year than those with a high school degree.  That is around $40,000/year.

Get 40 college credits for next to nothing and graduate high school.  WATCH YOUR EARNING POTENTIAL RISE!

For only 20% of money that is being given to you a year we will help raise your annual wages almost $20,000 and get you paid to do it by the state.

Business Plan:

22,000  drop outs at $2500 is $55,000,000 a year.  At 25% the company will make $13,750,000 a year.

That is before we put up 1 billboard in front of every school.  At an average cost of $7,000 a year we will only need to get 14 students from each school to homeschool to break even.  Every student above that will be a net gain for the company.  It wouldn’t be hard to imagine 50-100 students per school leaving with our slick marketing campaign.

If we can get 44,000 students a year to drop out (I think we can get double that) we can make almost $25,000,000 a year.

If you are interested in this brand new business opportunity, please comment below.

Remember if it is not crony capitalism, you are probably working too hard.

Fiscal Cliff best option

What is the best option for the US as it approaches the "fiscal cliff"?  The Answer will surprise you.

Fiscal Cliff is just a bump in the road.

The best option for Congress is to do NOTHING.  That is right, NOTHING.  Nothing allows taxes to go up (democrats keep telling us taxes need to be hire, this will raise it about 800 Billion Dollars).  The GOP, allegedly believes in limited government and a balance budget, guess what – we are about to hit the debt ceiling.  Meaning the government won’t be able to spend more than it takes in.  This will save us 8-10 Trillion dollars in debt and force the Obama administration to live within its means.

Right now the GOP is just trying to get 800 Billion in savings by negotiations.  Why not get it all?  The basic answer is that the GOP and Democrats are really the same party.

Home Brewing part 2

In February I picked up a Red Ale from Liquid Hobby. It turned out well, but I think the alcohol content was low. I was still having trouble with the Hydrometer. I also realized that I should be measuring the temperature of the water, which I didn’t because I didn’t have the tool to do so. I still haven’t picked one up. Then I took 6 months off of brewing. I was too busy and picking up a 12 pack of Yungling is too easy. I also moved from South to North Carolina. Plus I’m not really a beer snob, I’m a rugby player. The next beer I made for Caribou Slobber from Northern Brewer. The directions were very different than from Liquid Hobby – a little harder to follow, but with more details. I also purchased a case of re-sealable bottles and a glass secondary Carboy. This was the toughest beer so far. I did get to borrow a brew kettle that was heated up with propane that was supposed to be easier to control; of course it was my first time using it. Also first time working with grains, which was fairly straight forward. Still having trouble with the hydrometer, I got a reading of 1.042 and the direction I think say 1.052. The one thing I like about Liquid Hobby direction better is it is very specific about the ranges you should get and Northern Brewers is not. I did like the more complicated brewing, although it did take up more time. I also think I messed up the yeast culture a bit, so maybe that is why the gravity didn’t change as much as I thought it should. The beer came out tasting good, but I think it was low alcohol again. I broke my Hydrometer putting it away. So now I have a portable Refractometer, which I now HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Home Brewing – First Brew

Just before last Christmas, there was a homebrew kit on www.groupon.com from our local homebrew store Bet Mar Liquid Hobby shop.  In college I had some roommates who dabbled in home brewing and have since continued.  So I decided to ask my brother to pick it up for my Birthday gift.

The first brew I did was an Amber kit.  I unfortunately lost the directions since then, but I’m sure you can find it on the Bet Mar website.  The beer came out tasting very good, but I definitely did not do the beer making process properly.  I’ve tried to keep notes as I brew, but I’ve not a done a great job.  I can tell you I cleaned the pot I just bought (4 Gallon about $55 from Wal-mart) with Everclear.  I don’t know if this was a good idea, but I do know you aren’t supposed to clean with normal agents (soap). 

The hardest part was reading the Hydrometer, I should have paid more attention in Chemistry Class at Clemson – I’m sure my professor will concur.  I also don’t think I added the Sugars properly from my notes, but they are almost a year old.  Anyways everyone really liked the Amber Ale.

The other hard part was getting enough of the right type of bottles, I had 12 that were screw caps and broke about 4 of them and then gave up.  Rookie mistake, I probably left about ¾ of a gallon at the bottom.  I tried to put it in an old Orange Crush plastic bottle to see how it turned out.  Not well.  Apparently it is doable, but I didn’t do any research beforehand.

The dust has settled on QE3

Ben has explained that he is hoping to reduce interest rates on housing, to make them more affordable.

Whut?!?

Didn't we get in this mess by people buying houses more than they were worth becuase of government loan programs that allowed consumers to buy houses that they could afford, thus drying up supply and increasing prices.

Since last time we tried something like this it sent our economy into the worst recession since the great depression, I'm sure it won't do the same thing again.  Actually it won't because QE won't work, it hasn't worked and it is a failed economic philosophy. 

On the side note, if you love to pay more for gas.  QE is working great!  Crude Oil hits 4 month high.