Altas Shrugged
COGwriter
This weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal has the following as its page 1 headline:
Job Growth Grinds to a Halt
In a headline today for this “Labor Day” weekend in the USA, CBS News asked, “Where have all the jobs gone?”
The short answer to CBS’s question is that many jobs have gone to China, other parts of Asia, and even parts of Latin America (once Europe makes a few more technological advances, I believe that more jobs, including military ones, will be created there).
But the reasons for this job shortage are varied.
One fairly obvious point is that because of US borrowing needs and other considerations, the USA has essentially allowed China and Japan to manipulate the value of their currencies (stopping them from rising as they would in an open economic system) so that they can keep their people employed at the expense of jobs in places such as the USA. (Currency manipulation by exporters decreases the cost of imports and makes them less expensive than they otherwise would be, thus reducing purchasing of domestically-produced items, and thus reducing jobs in a country.)
In addition to job loss, this is also resulting in a lack of skill development in the USA for those in the manufacturing field as it has meant that the USA needs less factory workers, less tool and dye makers, less industrial engineers, etc.
But this is not the only cause.
Part of the reason for the increase in joblessness in the USA is the fact that the government is providing support to so much of the population that many simply do not have enough incentive to actually do truly socially-productive work. Of course, even if they want to, there are other problems (and some cannot because of disability or other issues).
Without trying to sound too political, let me simply state that because of the increasing regulations in the USA it is becoming more difficult for small business owners to promote their ideas, build factories, or otherwise hire more employees. I regularly moan (while completing various government-required forms) that I wish that the politicians would have to actually themselves do all the paperwork that I as a small business owner must legally do in the USA and the State of California. Also, I tend to feel that they should have to have to keep up with the non-helpful regulations and improper interpretation of certain regulations by State and Federal agencies. And, many of these regulation absolutely do impact job creation.
FWIW, if there was not the excessively “graduated” income taxes in California and the USA, the regulatory burden was reduced (simply making lying illegal should be able to eliminate many stifling regulations), and if I did not have to be concerned about possibly being sued for some trivial item that could possibly pop up (and no, I have never been sued, but have had to deal with regulatory officials who were unnecessarily oppressively bureaucratic), I probably would have considered co-opening a very small, low tech, factory (probably only needing 1-3 employees for it) myself a few years back. But because of how courts and government agencies have acted in the past, I flat out have decided that the cost of my time and government-related risks exceeds the likely benefits from such a venture.
Years ago, Ayn Rand wrote a book titled Atlas Shrugged. Although I have read three or so books from her, I never actually read Atlas Shrugged. But I knew about it as someone I knew (a roommate) had to read and report on it in college many years ago–it is a very long book and he told me bits and pieces about it for many weeks.
My roommate was interested in what the book taught, which, if I understood him correctly, was that the book essentially tries to show that the alliance between large corporations, big unions, and an excessively controlling government is inefficient and survives only because productive people generally keep working anyway. In the book, apparently, someone goes to many of the carnally most “productive people” and gets them to leave mainstream society and support a freer, more independent, society. Apparently, by leaving the mainstream, they have shrugged off the world/atlas, hence the title. My old roommate told me that because the productive were leaving, that the book showed that the government and its accomplices were trying to track them down as society was breaking down without the most carnally productive being part of it. If I recall correctly, there are “productive people” who keep believing in the system that take longer to persuade, according to the book. And as the more productive people left, the job situation worsened as did the total economic production for the world. And while I am not a “libertarian”, the reality is that government regulatory burdens are often excessive and the politicians really do not seem to understand what it is like to own a business, hire people, do payroll, and comply with their regulations.
I recently read that the USA “lost” something like 800,000 millionaires who apparently either stopped working, lost money, and/or decided no longer to live in the USA. It sort of sounded to me a bit like Atlas Shrugged. Despite what some may say, simply spending more money and increasing the debt of the USA does not truly fix the economy and it is not the long-term answer for making real jobs.
Christian Shortage Will be More Important than Job Shortage
Without going into the specifics of the impact of how the USA could become economically more productive (which I believe could be done if the nation did not have the moral decline it is experiencing as some of its leaders then may be better able to see more effective carnal solutions), the reality is that the Bible tells of a time that the most faithful (many of the most spiritually productive) will depart from mainstream society. In a sense, this will be the real “atlas shrugged”. It will be a terrible time for the earth, spiritually (though many will prosper at first physically, though it will also end in disaster, cf. Revelation 18). But this time when the most faithful leave is NOT because of the pre-tribulation rapture that many evangelical-types hope for.
Instead, the Bible shows that after experiencing persecution (Revelation 12:13), the most faithful Christians end up being protected in a wilderness for 3 1/2 years (Revelation 12:14-16).
Who is protected?
These people are remnant of the Philadelphia portion of the Church of God (Revelation 3:7) and promised physical and spiritual protection from the hour of trial (Revelation 3:10) that will affect the whole world. The non-Philadelphia Christians (apparently those with traits more like Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea) do not receive the same protection, and thus will have to endure the Great Tribulation and the wrath of Satan (Revelation 12:17). A 3 1/2 separation will happen.
As there will be an “atlas shrugged” spiritually, this may be a good time to decide where you wish to be. According to Zephaniah, the decision needs to be made early and not put off until too late:
1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O undesirable nation,
2 Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:1-3)
So waiting until it is time to be protected, hidden if you will, is not really a good option as it seems to need to be done well before the time to go to the wilderness is obvious to more. Scripture says to be ready prior to the time to flee. Will you wait too long or will you become part of God’s “atlas shrugged” plan?
While Americans are now asking where have all the jobs gone, the time is coming soon when a more important problem will face them. The loss of Christians who will be able to explain the word of God:
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)
Because of the fact that actual and electronic Bibles are abundant, I believe that this is referring more to the availability of Christian teachers to explain the word of God (cf. Acts 8:31).
What will you do? Now is the time to figure out what YOU need to do.
Notice the following:
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)
So, on this “Labor Day” weekend, if you may have the time, do not wait. Seek the true way of God. The coming most faithful Christian shortage will become more important than the current job shortages.
For more details on several of the subjects in the commentary, please check out the following articles:
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory.
Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected? What does the Bible really teach? Who really is left behind?
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer.
Are You Saved? Do You Love Jesus? What is a True Christian? What is the Gospel? Evangelist Richard Ames answers those important questions.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2011, 2012, or 2013? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people?
