Foreigners Are Dumping U.S. Debt At A Record Pace And Our $20 Trillion National Debt Is Poised To Become A Major Crisis - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Foreigners Are Dumping U.S. Debt At A Record Pace And Our $20 Trillion National Debt Is Poised To Become A Major Crisis

Posted: 22 Jan 2017  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

While most of the country has been focused on the inauguration of Donald Trump, a very real crisis has been brewing behind the scenes. Foreigners are dumping U.S. debt at a faster rate than we have ever seen before, and U.S. Treasury yields have been rising. This is potentially a massive problem, because our entire debt-fueled standard of living is dependent on foreigners lending us gigantic mountains of money at ultra-low interest rates.

If the average rate of interest on U.S. government debt just got back to 5 percent, which would still be below the long-term average, we would be paying out about a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt. If foreigners keep dumping our debt and if Treasury yields keep climbing, a major financial implosion of historic proportions is absolutely guaranteed within the next four years.

One of the most significant aspects of the “Obama legacy” is the appalling mountain of debt that he has left behind. As I write this article, the U.S. national debt is sitting at 19.944 trillion dollars. During Obama’s eight years, a staggering 9.3 trillion dollars was added to the national debt. When you break that number down, it comes to more than a hundred million dollars every single hour of every single day while Obama was living in the White House. In just two terms, Obama added almost as much to the national debt as all of the other presidents before him combined.

What Obama and the members of Congress that cooperated with him have done to future generations of Americans is beyond criminal.

Unfortunately, hardly anyone is talking about this right now, but the consequences are about to start catching up with us in a major way.

The only possible way that our game of “borrow, spend and stick future generations with the bill” can continue is if the rest of the world participates. In other words, we need them to continue to buy our debt.

Unfortunately for us, a major shift is now taking place. According to Zero Hedge, the most recent numbers that we have show foreigners dumping more than 400 million dollars of U.S. debt over the past 12 months…

The wholesale liquidation of US Treasuries continued in November, when according to the just released TIC data, foreign central banks sold another $936 million in US paper in November 2016, which due to an offset of $892 million in buying one year ago, means that for the 12 month period ended November, foreign central banks have now sold a new all time high of $405 million in the past 12 months, up from a record $403 million in LTM sales as of one month ago.

This isn’t a catastrophic emergency just yet, but if we continue down this road we will eventually get there. The only way that the U.S. government can continue on with business as usual is if it can continue to borrow billions upon billions of dollars at ultra-low interest rates. Now that Treasury yields are rising, some people are beginning to get quite nervous…

As we pointed out one month ago, what has become increasingly obvious is that both foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds, reserve managers, and virtually every other official institution in possession of US paper, is liquidating their holdings at a disturbing pace, something which in light of the recent surge in yields to over 2 year highs, appears to have been a prudent move.
In some cases, like China, this is to offset devaluation pressure; in others such as Saudi Arabia and other petroleum exporting nations, it is to provide the funds needed to offset the drop in the petrodollar, and to backstop the country’s soaring budget deficit. In all cases, it may suggest concerns about a spike in future debt issuance by the US, especially now under the pro-fiscal stimulus Trump administration.

Someday historians are going to look back in horror at what took place during the Obama years.

The amount that was added to the national debt during his years comes to “approximately $75,129 for every person in the United States who had a full-time job in December”. There is no possible justification for this. But because there haven’t been any catastrophic consequences so far, most people assume that this theft from future generations of Americans must be okay.

In a previous article, I explained that government debt greatly stimulates the economy. If we had not borrowed and spent 9.3 trillion dollars over the past eight years, we would be in the worst economic depression in U.S. history right now.

But most people don’t understand this. They don’t get the fact that we are living way, way above our means. And they also don’t get the fact that the only way that Donald Trump can keep the party going is to borrow and spend just like Obama was doing.
And even with all of Obama’s recklessness, he was still the only president in all of U.S. history not to have a single year when U.S. GDP grew by at least three percent. The following comes from the Hill…

Despite the trillions of dollars in government spending pumped into the economy every year under Obama, America has never once enjoyed an annual GDP growth rate at 3 percent or higher, making Obama the least successful president—at least when it comes to economics—in modern history.
A historically sluggish GDP isn’t the only concern worth mentioning. Under Obama’s tenure, average annual food stamp enrollment has risen by more than 15 million (compared to 2008). The home ownership rate is the lowest it has been since 1995, the earliest year provided in the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 590,000 Americans say they are not in the labor force because they are discouraged, a figure that’s 26 percent higher than even the worst annual average under George W. Bush. Additionally, the employment-population ratio has been continuously below the 60-percent threshold under Obama; the last time it was this low was 1985.

Now that Donald Trump is president, he is going to have some very hard choices in front of him.

If Donald Trump and the Republicans stop borrowing and spending so much money, the economy will immediately start suffering.

But if they do continue down the same path that Obama put us on, it is a recipe for national suicide.

So either we take our medicine now, or we risk completely destroying the bright future that our children and grandchildren were supposed to enjoy.

Wake up America, because time is running out.

What Is God Saying to America in 2016? - J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA NEWS

The church must continue to build the bridge of racial reconciliation in 2016. (United Methodist Church)

What Is God Saying to America in 2016?

12/30/2015 J. LEE GRADY  charisma news

I've been accused of being a prophet, and I cringe every time because (1) I don't like the title, and (2) I'm not comfortable with the way some Christians put prophetic people on pedestals. The gift of prophecy is certainly needed today, but we should never turn prophets into celebrities or follow them like gurus. Nor should we cheapen prophecy by turning it into a Christian form of fortune telling.

True prophecy is the holy proclamation of God's will and purpose in a particular situation. It is possible to discern what God is saying to a specific church or even a nation. And I believe He is saying some very specific things to the United States. I do not claim to know every detail, nor is the list below complete. The Bible says "we prophesy in part" (1 Cor. 13:9)—and that's why other prophets should add what is missing.

I believe God is most definitely saying these things to us today:

1. We shouldn't look to politicians from either party to save us. At this point, unity among conservative Christian voters looks impossible—especially since most black churchgoers and a big percentage of Hispanic Christians will vote for the Democratic ticket. The bigger question is this: Regardless of whether we have Clinton, Rubio, Trump, Cruz, Carson or even Sanders, will the "right" president deliver our country from its problems? We've had both liberals and conservatives in the White House over the past three decades, but neither party has stopped our morals from sinking or our families from disintegrating. Only a sovereign intervention from heaven can help us now. We can vote our consciences, but we must look to God to heal America.

God is saying: "Ask Me for a spiritual awakening, not a political victory."

2. The church must be equipped to heal broken people like never before. The family has been fragmenting at an alarming rate over the past few decades—and the number of young people who grew up with a father and mother in the home has dwindled to a minority. This will have huge implications for the church in the next few years, and if we are not trained to handle the pain, the church will lose the battle. It is time for every church to prepare an army of healers. Christian marriages are in crisis. Sex addiction is rampant. The transgender movement, along with the Supreme Court's decision to redefine marriage, now poses huge new challenges for kids and teens today—and we cannot meet this test without the Holy Spirit's power. The church must train counselors to deal with divorce, abandonment, abuse, domestic violence, gender confusion, sexual perversion and all the other problems associated with family breakdown.

God is saying: "Heal the brokenhearted and give them My compassion!"

3. Aging churches must embrace change—and discard outdated religious baggage. A huge number of Bible-believing churches have already become irrelevant to the culture because they have refused to update their styles and reconfigure their methods. Our gospel is unchangeable, but our methods must adapt to the needs of people. We only have a window of time to make these changes; old wineskins will soon become useless. Denominations must be open to innovative leadership and new ideas—or their lamps will go out. It is a time for drastic measures. Churches that seek God for His new direction will enter into a new season of fruitfulness and growth.

God is saying: "The season of spiritual barrenness is over, if you seek Me. I will break the yoke of dead, dry religion and release a fresh anointing so you can reach your cities."

4. The church must build the bridge of racial reconciliation. God is serious: He wants us to root out racism in the evangelical churches of America. He is not happy that we have dragged our feet on this! Government programs and political speeches don't have the power to heal the problems we saw in 2015 in Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston or Chicago. The church has been given the "ministry of reconciliation" (see 2 Cor. 5:18), and reconciliation will only work when black, white and Hispanic church leaders engage the enemy together.

God is saying: "A banner has been unfurled over this year, declaring Psalm 133:1: 'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!'"

5. We must open our hearts to foreigners. Our national discussion about immigration, refugees and Muslims has exposed a spirit of bigotry and hatefulness, even among followers of Jesus. Today the world looks at the United States and wonders if we really are still a nation that believes all people are created equal. Our racism and nationalism have erected more walls than bridges. If we truly want to be Pentecostal in our theology, we must embrace the foreigners who are drawn to Christ by the Holy Spirit. This doesn't mean we throw out immigration policies, or allow terrorists to enter the U.S., but it does require us to make room in our cold hearts for the people God is bringing into our communities.

God is saying: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations! Open your doors to everyone I am sending to you!"

6. We must focus our prayers on the Islamic world. In the 1980s, Christians prayed for seven years for the collapse of Soviet communism. But when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, most believers were shocked that God answered those prayers. The same doubt exists today; many Christians focus only on the evils of ISIS rather than considering the possibility of a massive move of God among Muslims. We must pray expecting the Islamic Curtain to fall. Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, even Yemen—unbelievable spiritual shifts will take place in these nations in response to the prayers of God's people!

God is saying: "Is anything too hard for Me? My Word will not be chained. I will pull back the veil of Islam and shine My light in the darkest places."

7. We should expect a spiritual awakening to break out among young people.I've never been more convinced that we are going to see a fresh wave of the Holy Spirit's power to hit this country—and I'm looking for it to erupt in our high schools and on our college campuses. It will take a miracle—since God is not exactly welcome in these secular environments. But when one fire starts blazing, others will catch. I fully expect to see America's college students praying, fasting, preaching and worshiping so radically that something akin to the Jesus movement of the 1970s happens again. The music of this next movement will grab the world's attention. The testimonies of transformed lives will end up on the mainstream news. Social media will provide the platform to spread this campus revival quickly.

God is saying: "I will call a new generation to serve Me, and they will boldly proclaim My gospel—even in the strongholds of secularism. I will have radical followers even in the Ivy League schools."

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

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Global Students: Turning Foreigners into Jesus Followers

Kurnia Foe

Global Students: Turning Foreigners into Jesus Followers

By Maira Alejandra

CBN News

Friday, October 10, 2014

An alumnus of Virginia's Old Dominion University is using his personal experience and kindness to help international students.


His name is Kurnia Foe. He is the founder of Global Student Friendship, an organization that serves students from other countries.

"When we moved to the U.S., I asked God what he wanted me to do here. I didn't have many things I could give or share. The only thing that I could share was my love, attention, and commitment to serve others," Foe told CBN News.

As a former international student, Kurnia is able to understand the challenges students face when they are away from their families. Many arrive in the United States with luggage and dreams of a promising career.

The majority of them don't have any local connections to help them get settled. These reasons are what led Kurnia to create the GSF.

"Kurnia arranged for a family to host me for a week and introduce me to this university," Felicia Grey, an international relations Fulbright Scholar from Jamaica, said.

The program assists with everything from providing furniture to calling utility companies. GSF also sets up social outings to help students get acquainted with their new town.

"We contacted him [Kurnia] and he provided some furniture. That means a lot... it's not about furniture, but at least you feel more like somebody is looking after you," said Ali Aloosi, a doctoral student from Iraq studying in structural engineering.

Foe doesn't do this alone.

"So we like to meet them at the airport… and then we try to take care of them, and meet some of their needs, and we want them to come into our home, so we mobilize the Christian community to open their homes to welcome internationals in,"GSF Chairman Rich Hardison said.

Hardison and his wife Kathy love international students. They open their home to them year round. Right now, they are in the process of building the Global Friendship House to assist even more international students and their families.

Kathy Hardison serves as the director of GSF.

"It is the Great Commission that Jesus gave us to reach the nations and disciple them, but we are the number one place in the world where students want to come and study," she said.

Figures show the number of international students hit a record high last year, with over 820,000 enrolled in colleges and universities. Most come from China, India, and South Korea.

There has also been a large increase in students from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. All together they're contributing nearly $25 billion to the U.S. economy through tuition and living expenses alone.

Overall, American universities have alumni in nearly every country and territory in the world. This increases the potential impact of each student's experience while in the United States.

"Since Christianity in Iran is a minority, I didn't have opportunity to communicate with them and know more about their beliefs. So it's a very nice experience here communicating with Christian people," engineering management student Nima Shahriari, told CBN News.

"Kurnia is so nice to us… and his work is beyond the lines of religion or any caste and creed," Wajid Kahn, who is studying engineering, said.

The majority of these students only spend about two to six years in the the United States. It's a relatively short time, but it's long enough to establish long-term relationships.

Oksana Nosova is one example of the long-term impact of these basic but crucial interactions. Nosova lives in Russia now, but she comes to the United States during the summers to volunteer with international students.

Oksana Nosova (blue dress) with friends

"God had a plan when he brought me here all the way across the ocean, so I will meet Him here… and then later He had the plan to use me so I can help other international students because I can totally relate to them," Nosova said.

"It is very much like the ministry of Jesus... we just say we are turning foreigners into friends who become followers of Jesus," Kathy Hardison added.

GSF is sowing seeds here in America, hoping to shape the future of the world one relationship at a time.