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farmer. The latter incurred costly
debts just to stay in operation.
Worst of all undoubtedly, the
decades of
generali~ed
prosperity
spawned a
"we want more" men–
ta/ity
on the part of the Canadian
work force.
Wage settlements above produc–
tion increases helped fuel inflation.
And, most critically, during the
1960s and '70s, Canadian federal
and provincial governments greatly
expanded welfare programs.
To pay for this, there was a rnas–
sive increase in deficit spending.
The defense budget was also
slashed. Canada's once proud
armed forces now rank on a par
witb those of Ecuador and the Phil–
ippines, according to one Canadian
defense expert.
Canadian and American busi–
nessmen and bankers now peer ner–
vously over their shoulders at huge
federal deficits. Shockingly, though
tbe size of the U .S. deficit makes
the headlines continually, Canada's
budget deficit is twice that of
America's, on a per capita basis.
As in Washington, heavy govern–
ment borrowings in Ottawa just to
pay the interest on debts lead to
continued pressure on interest
rates. This chokes out incentives
for business to invest.
The new government, moreover,
has indicated it will not likely make
serious cuts in the costly social pro–
grams upon which Canadians have
come to depend.
Technology to the Rescue?
But what of the new "Information
Economy" we hear so much about?
Will computer-aided manufactur–
ing and robotics pull Canada and
other industrial nations out of eco–
nomic doldrums?
Alert Canadians were among the
first pioneers of the technological
breakthroughs of the 1970s. Deva–
lan Electronics of Saskatoon, Sas–
katcbewan, marketed as early as
1974 a device that can make 20,000
connections to a central computer.
Toronto's Spar Aerospace gave tbe
Columbia
space shuttle the famous
Canadarm. Then · there is the $3
billion giant Northern Telecom, a
world leader in innovative telecom–
munications.
High tech. An age when compu–
terized robots visually sean pizzas
18
to check on pepperoni ingredients.
Surely technology can open up new
jobs for the ailing economy? Yet
even here, basic principies apply:
"If new technology is developed
outside the borders of the country,
and if equipment embodying the
new technology (industrial robots
say), is imported, the country
misses the beneficia! effects on the
first round.
If,
however, the tech–
nology
is
embodied in finished,
imported consumer goods, the
national economy misses out on
both the first- and a good part of
the second-round benefits"
(Satur–
day Night,
July 1984, page 26).
Canada's record so far?
"We're heavy net importers,"
says Ken Jones, President of the
Ontario Center for Advanced Man–
ufacturing. "We're using somebody
else's equipment. We're behind by
three or four years."
lt is Prophesied
Canadians, like most people in the
Western world, want to save the
economic system now unraveling
befare their eyes. lt is reminiscent
of those in the prophet Isaiah's day
who wanted to ignore the evidence
of continued national decline. "The
Lord sent a word against Jacob,
and it has fallen on Israel ... who
say in pride and arrogance of heart:
'The bricks have fallen down, but
we will rebuild with hewn stones' "
(lsa. 9:8-10, Revised Authorized
Version throughout).
Longtime readers of this maga–
zine know the national identity of
Canada, the United States and Brit–
ain in Bible prophecy. Our original
English-speaking people are lineal
descendants of the "lost sheep of the
ancient house of Israel," the 1
O
tribes that disappeared from secular
history in the late eighth century
B.C. , 130 years before the two tribes
of the house of Judah went into their
national captivity (11 Kings 17;
Matt. 10:6).
An amazing book,
The United
States and Britain in Prophecy,
available to you free upon request ,
reveals the difference between the
ancient house of Israel, and Jews
who form the modern state of Israel;
and it makes clear the
real causes
of
our once-soaring standard of living.
It also uncovers why things have
gone so badly for us in recent years.
Anciently, almighty God prom–
ised our forefathers: "The Lord your
God will set you high above all
nations of the earth. . . . You shall
lend to many nations, but you shall
not borrow" (Deut. 28:1, 12).
Isn't this a perfect description of
the United States and Canada in
1945?
That same all-knowing God
warned emphatically of the penal–
ties to surely fall if our nations pur–
sued a selfish "me-first" material–
istic way of life. One of the penal–
ties is economic decline:
"A nation whom you have not
known shall eat the fruit of your
land and the produce of your
labor .... He shall be the head,
and you shall be the tail" (Deut.
28:33, 44).
"Trade or fade" we were warned
in the 1960s. Strikes, blame-plac–
ing, voting in new leaders, hoping
to go back to business as usual–
none of this will work. We must
recognize the real
enemy-''Your
ways and
your
doings have pro–
cured these things for you. This is
your
wickedness ... because it
reaches to
your
heart" (Jer. 4:18).
Robert Blair of the Calgary–
based Nova Corporation put it well:
"We demanded and our institu–
tions encouraged us to become a
high-borrowing society." The ene–
my is all of us!
Canadians are paying the price
of more than two generations of
materialism, comfort-seeking and
self-indulgence! Other nations tak–
ing that course throughout history
have either perished or had to make
radical course changes to avoid the
loss of national vigor such a life–
style engenders.
God is pleading with all Cana–
dians-and all North America–
through the pages of this article.
He has a message to deliver before
further distresses overtake the
breathtakingly beautiful land of
Canada. It is this: "Change the way
you are going! Think about where
these trends are leading!"
"1
call heaven and earth as wit-
-nesses today against you, that I
have set befare you life and death,
blessing and cursing; therefore
choose life, that both you and
your descendants may live"
(Deut. 30:19).
Which way will we choose?
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH