Who's Your Friend, the Boom or the Bust?

* ND Legislature Passes and Recommends Personhood: Bob Enyart talks about Colorado repealing the adultery statute, about the North Dakota legislature voting for and recommending to the voters passage of their state's personhood amendment, and the Wall Street Journal's confusion about which is good, and which is bad, the housing boom, or the bust (see more below).

* The Housing Boom or Bust? Which Has Told You the Truth? Is it the housing boom, or the bust, that causes so much suffering? Think about the thousands of contractors and families after a "bust" who are in a building and/or a mortgage crisis. Countless mortgages go into foreclosure. Thousands of building projects end up unfinished, with pilings down, basements dug, the concrete work and framing done, but then the project stalls and ends up in serious crisis, even becoming a distressed property before it's even completed. Such problems, when multiplied by the thousands or even millions, are typically attributed to a housing bust. But is that true? Isn't it more accurate to say that it was the housing boom that created the crisis?

Jesus observed in Luke 14 that if you intend to build, do you not first sit down first and count the cost, whether you have enough to finish the project, lest, after you have laid the foundation, and are not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock you, saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish".

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?"

Regarding a housing boom and a housing bust, which is the liar and which is telling you the truth?

What would cause ten thousand builders to start projects that they cannot finish: the bust, or the boom? The boom is the con man, and the bust is your friend. But because of greed, rebellion against God and His Word, and a willingness even to hurt others so that we ourselves can prosper, most of society will interpret events following the interventionist philosophy of John Maynard Keynes, his Keynesian economics, and his confusion regarding business cycles. So they blame the messenger, that is, the bust, instead of the con man, that is, the boom.

Millions of families, businessmen, and builders are not enticed by housing busts into starting projects that they cannot finish and that will lose their life savings on. It is the artificial housing boom that performs that con job.

Blaming the housing bust (or, like the Wall Street Journal does, the collapse of the housing boom) makes it sound like everyone involved, the government, builders, investors, homeowners, everyone was merely going about their ethical, responsible lives in business as usual, and then all of a sudden, a terribly mean collapse ruined everyone's good intentions. If only John Maynard Keynes were here himself, like a master conductor, orchestrating a perfectly harmonious housing boom, that will continue to grow, until everyone in the nation lives in their dream home, and then he will begin reducing housing starts ever so gradually so that no one suffers pain, no one even notices, with building levels coming down naturally, by attrition even.

Thinking clearly about economics is part of a complete, biblical worldview. Socialism is wrong, not because capitalism (i.e., freedom) is more effective at achieving prosperity. Socialism is wrong because God commanded, "Thou shall not steal." The government does not have the authority to equalize incomes, wealth, nor opportunity (the latter of which is merely the conservative version of the liberal platitude fantasies).

Of course, Jesus wasn't actually concerned with building a tower, but about counting the cost of following Him. Remember that Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

March is BEL Telethon Month

We're at $8,100 of our $25,000 goal. Thank you! Please consider one or more of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, they will also help to better understand the Bible and equip you to be a better witness to those around you.

One-Time Donation: Anywhere from $5 to $1,000, please click here. Thanks!

Buy a Great BEL Resource: BEL videos, Bible studies, seminars, debates, etc., just click here. Thanks!

Monthly Subscriptions
Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVDs, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.

Monthly Best of Bob Shows: Every month our crew selects the eight best BEL shows of the month! For the folks who might have missed some of them, we mail them out on the Best of Bob MP3-CD.

Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!

Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

You can subscribe online or by calling 1-800-8Enyart (303-463-7789).

* Free Gift: When you subscribe to any monthly subscription or monthly donation, or a one-time donation of $50 or more, we will send you as a gift your choice of any BEL video or audio resource from our KGOV Store!