Torch, Spring/Summer 2009

Spring–Summer 2009 | TORCH 5 anyone owed them a living. They valued honesty and wanted to be known as people who kept their word. Those beliefs began deteriorating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The federal government hastened this deterioration during the Great Depression. An Unfolding Legacy Much could be said regarding the good intentions of Franklin D. Roosevelt with his New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson with his Great Society. During a period of desperate economic turmoil, Roosevelt created numerous government programs to deal with the pressing needs. Years later, in a time of relative prosperity, Johnson launched initiatives ostensibly designed to end poverty. Together, these two economic policies represent a major shift in the role of the federal government in the lives of the American people. Redefining government as the provider of all financial needs was a major step in the downward spiral that has landed us in the current economic crisis. Even Roosevelt viewed many of the programs he created as emergency measures. In his 1935 State of the Union address, he said, “Continued dependence upon welfare induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. … I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets. … We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution but also their self-respect, their self- reliance, and courage and determination.” Unfortunately, Roosevelt failed to recognize that bureaucracy, once created, is rarely eliminated. More than 30 years later, Johnson’s War on Poverty turned into an unqualified failure, creating a group of economically disadvantaged Americans who are dependent on the government for their basic needs. The New Deal and the Great Society entrenched a welfare mentality in our country. The idea of the federal government as the great provider has even moved to the level of corporate America, with business leaders flying to Washington in private jets to beg Congress for handouts to keep their companies afloat. The Problem of Debt Our society today is permeated with a sense of entitlement. Many of our young people graduate from college and immediately buy homes larger than those of their parents. Americans max out their credit cards, believing their credit limit determines their standard of living. They operate under the attitude of “If we want it, we must have it now.” To support this need for immediate gratification, individuals have gone on a debt binge in recent years. In the last decade alone, consumer debt has increased from $6 trillion to about $14 trillion. In addition to credit card debt, many Americans have taken out home equity loans, mostly to pay for daily living expenses and lifestyle purchases. Far from enhancing the quality of life, excess debt is an onerous burden. Solomon aptly noted in Proverbs 22:7 that “the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Large amounts of debt produce a condition very similar to slavery. The debtors work mostly for the purpose of satisfying the claims of their creditors. The federal government is much worse with debt than are individuals. As of March 2009, the national debt stood at