The Coming Economic Earthquake by Larry Burkett

President Grover Cleveland once stated "It is the responsibility of the citizens to support their government. It is not the responsibility of the government to support its citizens." He stated this when he made a stand against funding an orphanage during a severe economic crisis. President Cleveland said "I will not be a party to stealing money from one group of citizens to give to another group of citizens; no matter what the need or apparent justification. Once the coffers of the federal government are open to the public, there will be not shutting them again."

Now, it seems that the coffers are wide open and everyone seems to be in need of government assistance. But can the U.S. afford it? The book The Coming Economic Earthquake by Larry Burkett gives a good explanation about how the deficit spending in the U.S. is on the road to calamity, with all the government programs, entitlements, and special interest projects. Larry starts with the New Deal and explains how the seeds of overspending started with entitlement programs and the federally regulated bank system. He also gives some real examples with post WWI Germany and Argentina during the late 80's. He goes on to describe the current problems that continue to increase the U.S. debt and what Americans can do.

It is amazing, given this book was written in 1991, how much that Larry Burkett wrote still rings true today. Unfortunately, we have politicians who are either oblivious to the deficit or too concerned about keeping their constituents happy by passing legislation with only their districts special interests in mind.

This book seems like a doom and gloom book, but Larry assures the reader that he hopes that an economic meltdown will not occur. He also assures Christians that God will take care of us, even during hard times. Overall, this book was thought-provoking and eye-opening and makes me wonder why our U.S. government leaders are so oblivious to this major problem.

I will end with this quote from a well-known philosopher who said that socialism will replace capitalism, "A democracy is not a form of government to survive. For it will only succeed until its citizens discover they can vote themselves money from the treasury, then they will bankrupt it." This philosopher is Karl Marx.