Tag Archives: Capitalism

Podcasts

What should Christians believe about economic policy and social justice?

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The best resource I know of is this course from Dr. Ronald Nash. (H/T Apologetics 315)

Advanced Worldview Analysis
by Dr. Ronald Nash (24 Lectures) – RSS / iTunes

Here are the individual topics:

  • Lesson 1 – Introduction Play Now
  • Lesson 2 – Liberalism and Conservatism Play Now
  • Lesson 3 – Political Positions Play Now
  • Lesson 4 – Statism and Anti-statism Play Now
  • Lesson 5 – Evaluation of Statism and Anti-statism Play Now
  • Lesson 6 – Justice Play Now
  • Lesson 7 – Capitalism and Socialism Play Now
  • Lesson 8 – Interventionism Play Now
  • Lesson 9 – Defense of Capitalism Play Now
  • Lesson 10 – Economics Play Now
  • Lesson 11 – Marxism Play Now
  • Lesson 12 – Real Accounting Fraud Play Now
  • Lesson 13 – Socialism and Capitalism Play Now
  • Lesson 14 – Money and Wealth Play Now
  • Lesson 15 – Poverty Play Now
  • Lesson 16 – Liberation Theology Play Now
  • Lesson 17 – The Religious Left Play Now
  • Lesson 18 – Representatives of the Evangelical Left Play Now
  • Lesson 19 – Inflation of Rights Play Now
  • Lesson 20 – Legal Positivism Play Now
  • Lesson 21 – Environmentalism Overview Play Now
  • Lesson 22 – Types of Pollution Play Now
  • Lesson 23 – Problems with Public Education Play Now
  • Lesson 24 – A Possible Solution Play Now

This course is most wonderful thing in the world.

And if you like it, you may also like those debates with James Crossley, Richard Bauckham, Michael Bird and William Lane Craig on the historical Jesus. I have been listening to those debates non-stop and I really enjoy listening to both sides. I think it is really interesting hearing James Crossley explain his historical concerns about orthodox Christianity.

Commentary

Michele Bachmann in defense of free trade agreements

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Representative Michele Bachmann
Representative Michele Bachmann

ECM sends word of a Michele Bachmann column posted at the Heritage Foundation!

Excerpt:

Each day in Minnesota and all across the nation, billions of dollars worth of products begin their journey to be sold overseas. American farmers, manufacturers, and businesses rely on exports to strengthen and grow both their bottom line, as well as our economy’s.

Free and fair trade agreements help spur economic growth; improve efficiency and innovation; create better, higher-paying jobs for hard-working Americans; and increase the availability of lower-priced products here in the United States.

Furthermore, the role of free trade as an expression of liberty and opportunity for all individuals signifies the very principles our country was founded upon.

Yet, the free trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia negotiated under the Bush Administration remain little more than words on paper. Despite having been carefully negotiated over a period of two and half years, these agreements have become bogged down by partisan divides. In the meantime, with an average tariff of 53% imposed on U.S. agricultural products by South Korea last year, for example, there is little wonder the United States International Trade Commission estimates U.S. sales of agricultural products could increase by as much as $3.8 billion once the U.S.–South Korea agreement is fully implemented.And while Congressional leaders seem content to leave these agreements on the back burner, America’s fragile industries are left hanging in the balance. The impact of depressed exports is fully evident to those who make their livelihood from them. In fact, Minnesota’s manufacturing exports experienced a 19% decline during the first quarter of 2009, mirroring a similar decrease nationwide. And our agricultural sector, especially our ailing pork and dairy producers, certainly needs no reminder of the importance of expanded export channels to the survival of their farms.

Click through and read the whole thing.

Reading this column filled me with joy and admiration, because Michele Bachmann shows  how good a Christian woman can be if she puts her mind to it. It’s so good that she has an informed view of economic policy and realizes how prosperity is important to Christians who are trying to marry and raise a family. Money is the fuel we use to run our life plans, so we all need to have jobs and to make sure that our dollar buys as many useful things as possible, by keeping prices low.

Here are my recent posts on Michele Bachmann:

You can click here for her video blog.

Please contribute to her 2010 campaign, if you can.

Here are all the posts tagged “Michele Bachmann”.

New Alfonzo Rachel video

By the way, for my female readers, the male equivalent of Michele Bachmann is Alfonzo Rachel. You can see his latest video which explains why Christianity is not compatible with socialism. He’s a devout Christian and he understands economics. He also is very entertaining in these videos he makes for PJTV.

News

MUST-READ: Mexico shuts down government-owned utility and lays off entire union

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Mvd1055542

Here’s the story from Investors Business Daily.

Excerpt:

The Mexican president shut down a money-losing state-owned electrical utility, taking a labor union down with it. The union is howling, but the shutdown is one of the best things to happen to Mexico.

For months, the SME union had been trying to intimidate Felipe Calderon into continuing to subsidize the Luz y Fuerza del Centro electrical distributor, even as its $16 billion in revenue didn’t come close to its $32 billion in salaries and pension costs.

And why not? The union had done the same thing to all the other reform-minded Mexican presidents and saw all of them back off.

But it didn’t have a clue about Calderon, a former energy minister who on Sept. 24 warned the union to cut costs or else. The union ignored the warning and tried to intimidate Calderon with political tactics, whipping up fear that he intended to privatize the utility. Calderon had a better idea: shut down the utility.

The stunning decision to disband the company and lay off 44,000 workers effectively ends the SME union.

Yes, he’s a conservative.

Check out the effects:

It took just hours for Mexico’s peso to rise on news that a huge financial burden had been lifted from the government. Luz y Fuerza del Centro was a money pit that cost the government $42 billion a year in subsidies. Analysts said the shutdown would save $25 billion — enough to enable the government to scrap a planned 2% tax hike.

The improved fiscal picture will keep interest rates in place and avert a ratings downgrade. All of this increases Mexican purchasing power, helps the government finance itself and releases money for lending and investment in a new economy.

Read the whole article. He sent in troops.

It’s a proud day for Mexico. Like Canada, Mexico is on the way up. But the United States is on the way down. Canada elected a conservative, and Mexico elected a conservative. Only the United States was blind and ignorant enough to elect a radical socialist.

One other thing: I was having lunch with one of my agnostic co-workers today, who was following this story. He was concerned that Mexico would start up a new company to take the place of the old, inefficient one. But that is not the case. The Mexican government has decided to liquidate the inefficient company and pass its customers to another firm.