Debt Slavery 2

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I'm republishing this old e-mail because of our current national emergency.  What Moses and Jesus command is not optional.  Today, I would use different dollar targets and percentages because I've learned more about the problem in the past months.  This is a Christian problem.  I pray that we take it to heart.

Yours in Christ,

Herb Swanson aka Augie

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dear family,

I’m so very concerned over the current election trends expressed in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries.  My alarm lies in the fact that there are no real policy issues on the table.  Nearly everyone agrees that the major problem that needs to be fixed immediately is the national economy.  But, for example, I heard nothing about that economy on C-SPAN today.  What I heard was a blatant attack of one man on another.  I heard, “He’s out of ideas, out of excuses, and ... out of time.”  If the real focus of any party is simply to get the other party out of office, without producing any new relevant policy, that party has been derailed.  That party does not deserve a single vote.  I think that it is past time for real men and women to step up to the plate with real ideas.  It’s not enough to go after the opponent and offer no real value in return.  “He’s out of ideas, out of excuses, and ... out of time.” is not a policy idea, it’s an insult to our intelligence.  Where is the discussion of real policy issues and ideas?

Here is an idea.  It’s an exact duplicate of a letter that I sent to the Atlantic magazine today.  It was sparked by James Bennet’s appearance on C-SPAN, he was talking about American jobs.  But this is an idea I’ve been chewing on for some time: namely, the Lord’s Prayer.

Re James Bennet's talk on C-SPAN today.  The issue of the cost of leverage was not discussed.  American labor at say $25/hr with typically 900% leverage costs out at $225/hr in world markets.  How does this impact jobs?  What would happen to jobs if usury laws were enacted at say a 21% true interest cap to reduce at 3%/year to a final max of 3%?  What would happen to jobs if lenders were required to write off bad debt at say 10%/yr?  Many Americans say these words daily, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This expresses, among other things, the Hebrew law of Jubilee.  What would happen to jobs if we were actually obedient to this law?  What would happen to jobs if American business, individuals and government were not so saddled with debt?  “Forgive” expresses the novel idea that debt should be erased.  The novelty lies in the fact that we should actually be obedient to that for which we so obviously pray.  Please comment on the air.

My whole letter is attached.  I’m hoping that I’ve hit a nerve, that you’ll be blessed, and that all of you will read the whole letter and pass it on.  That’s my hope.  What you do is up to you.  I won’t think any less of you, even if you violently disagree.  But I hope that you do agree, and I hope that God has shown me a plan for fixing this problem right now, in at most six or seven years, and possibly much faster.  I also hope that I haven’t offended any one of you, but if I have, I sincerely beg your forgiveness right now.

Sincerely,

Herb

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