What a USA default could look like; what did Habakkuk warn?

Statue Intended to be Habakkuk by Donatello (15th century)

What would a USA default look like? Here are some secular opinions:

What follows is a timeline that shows what a default might look like, based on daily Treasury statements from October and November of 2012.

October 17

The Treasury Department exhausts all available tools to stay under the cap on borrowing and can no longer add to the national debt. Treasury expects it would still have about $30 billion cash on hand to cover its bills. Among the many inflows and outflows that day, it takes in $6.75 billion in taxes but pays out $10.9 billion in Social Security retirement checks. By the end of the day, its cushion has eroded to $27.5 billion.

October 18 – October 29

Treasury’s cash reserve quickly dwindles. Washington only takes in about 70 cents for every dollar it spends and is now unable to issue new debt to cover the difference.

The tide turns briefly on Oct. 22, when the government takes in $3.5 billion more than it spends.

But that temporary gain is soon erased. Oct. 24 is an especially rough day: Treasury pays $1.8 billion to defense contractors, $2.2 billion to doctors and hospitals that treat elderly patients through the Medicare program, and $11.1 billion in Social Security, while taking in only $9.6 billion in taxes and other income.

One possible wild card: Treasury could lose the trust of the bond market.

Even though the government cannot add to the national debt at this point, it can legally roll over expiring debt. Investors have the opportunity to cash out about $100 billion worth of U.S. debt every week but choose to reinvest it. If fear of default causes investors to steer clear of new debt offerings, Treasury’s finances could unravel almost overnight.

“It’s very hard to predict,” said Brian Collins, an analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which helped Reuters with this analysis. “It’s the same thing that causes (bank) runs or credit markets to freeze.”

October 30

Default happens. By the end of the day, the government is $7 billion short of what it needs to pay all of its bills.

So who gets stiffed?

Everybody, according to the Obama administration.

Treasury says it doesn’t have the ability to pick and choose who gets paid. The last time the government faced this situation in 2011, they planned to wait until public coffers were full enough to pay a full day’s bills before cutting any checks, according to a Treasury Department watchdog report from 2012.

That would mean delays for everybody: the local schools that are owed $680 million, welfare recipients owed $553 million and defense contractors owed $972 million.

Some companies that count the government as a major customer would take a big hit. “If you’re Lockheed Martin … it’s a big deal,” said R. Bruce Josten, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s top lobbyist.

Payment delays would grow longer as the default continues, sapping billions of dollars out of the economy within days.

October 31

Things get really spooky on Halloween when a $6 billion interest payment to bondholders comes due.

U.S. Treasury bills are the foundation of the global financial system, a supposed risk-free investment that underpins everything from retirement portfolios to China’s export-driven economy.

A missed payment could shake that foundation. The United States currently pays some of the lowest interest rates in the world due to a strong history of repayment; those borrowing costs would almost certainly rise. Stock markets could tumble and nervous consumers could spend less of their money, further damaging the economy.

For the Treasury Department, this is where the truly tough decisions begin. Does the government pay bondholders in China or troops in Afghanistan? The Obama administration says it doesn’t have the ability to prioritize payments, but analysts are convinced it would at least try.

“Not making an interest payment on time is probably a worse way to default than not making other payments,” Collins said.

November 1

At this point, the United States goes into truly unchartered territory.

In theory, the government could keep bondholders whole indefinitely because tax revenues are more than enough to cover interest payments, and Treasury pays creditors through a separate system than other obligations.

That would mean longer delays for everybody else. U.S. troops could fall behind on their rent payments, and seniors who rely on Social Security may have trouble buying groceries.

If, on the other hand, the Treasury missed the Halloween interest payment and Washington shows no sign of resolving the crisis, the creditworthiness of the country could suffer. That would throw the value of almost every financial instrument into question: the U.S. dollar, bank loans in Asia, the cost of crop insurance in Illinois. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-what-would-a-us-default-look-like/1762950.html

So, the above is a 21st century view of what could happen within the next several weeks.

Habakkuk was a Hebrew prophet. Around 605-625 B.C. Habakkuk wrote a short book of the Bible that has a lot of implications for the t21st century.

Here are some passages from it (italics are not inspired but were headings in the translation):

1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

The Prophet’s Question

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!”And You will not save. 3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me;There is strife, and contention arises. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

The Lord’s Reply

5 “Look among the nations and watch — Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. 6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth,To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful;Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards,And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. 9 “They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. 10 They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold,For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. 11 Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.” ( Habakkuk 1:1-11)

Notice that the above states that the end time work will not believed by many even though God will reveal it through–which He does through His prophets, like Habakkuk.

The Prophet’s Second Question

12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. 13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he? 14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity? ( Habakkuk 1:12-17)

Notice that in the above the one getting punished will be punished by someone who in certain ways is worse than the one who will be punished. So while some believe that in certain ways that the USA and its Anglo-allies are more “righteous” than the Beast power that will destroy it, the reality is that this is part of God’s plan.

2:1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

The Just Live by Faith

2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets,That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.( Habakkuk 2:1-4)

Notice that the prophecy that is being discussed is for the appointed time of the end. It is a prophecy for our time–and will affect the proud.

Woe to the Wicked

5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,He is a proud man,And he does not stay at home.Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nationsAnd heaps up for himself all peoples. 6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say,’Woe to him who increases What is not his — how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it. ( Habakkuk 2:5-8)

Actually, the USA has increased pledges more than any nation in the history of the planet–and it hopes to continue to increase them for a long time to come. And on a per capita basis, the United Kingdom is one of the most indebted nations on the earth itself.

Since the above prophecy in Habakkuk will be fulfilled at the time of the end (cf. “The message was true, but the appointed time was long…in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come”, Daniel 10:1,14). Daniel 8:19, 11:27,29,35 use same the Hebrew term for “appointed time” as Habakkuk 2:3, while Daniel 10, using a different term, ties the latter days to the time in Daniel 8:19. Habakkuk 2 was not fulfilled in its entirety anciently. Also, it makes little sense that Habakkuk would be directed towards the modern nation of Israel as it does not have enemy creditors. It must be a nation or group of nations with some prominence at the appointed time of the end. As far as “violence of the land” as a contributing factor, this would seem to include crime, military missions, and perhaps riots/civil unrest, but might it also include promotion of violent sports?

The end result, according to the Bible, of what will happen when creditors believe that the USA will not truly repay its debts is much worse than the secular analysts tend to believe. The USA will be taken over and plundered. The creditors will not be satisfied with less. And despite the USA having a strong military, the Bible shows it will be taken over (Daniel 11:39).

Do you believe the words that God inspired Habakkuk to write? If so, do you really understand what is going to happen to the USA, UK, and their Anglo-descended allies relatively soon?

To learn more, please, with your Bible, check out the following:

Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, 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? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. A video of possible interest may be Will Will USA Spying Help the Beast Power?
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? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
Protestant and Church of God views of the United States in Bible Prophecy Is the USA mentioned in Bible prophecy? Some Protestants say yes, while others say no. What does the Bible really teach? Learn the truth about this. There is also a video available: Is The United States Mentioned In Bible Prophecy?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin?
Prophecy Obama: Prophecies of Barack Obama? Reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many biblical and non-biblical prophecies, from around the world, that seem to discuss Barack Obama. Did Nostradamus predict Barack Obama dealing with the Antichrist? Might Barack Obama set the stage for the kings of the North and South as at least one Shiite prophecy suggests? Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various prophecies.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?