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it. What has happened in the
Westero world ? People look to
governme nts a nd political id e–
ologies for solutions...This pol icy
will s top inflation ," one says,
while another says, ..No, labor
costs are lhe problem. " As soon as
we lhink we've gol our problem
pinpointed, another person says,
..We've got problems with man–
agement."
C lasslc Mlstake
lt
seems that dealing with our eco–
nomic problems is similar to hold–
ing a soccer hall under water- as
soon as you think you've gol it
under control , it pops up some–
where else.
While management, labor costs,
stagnat ion in capital investment and
the like, and especially excessive
money supply contribute to infla–
tion, theré is one added problem.
We are the problem.
We want our high-standard-of–
living quarte rs-with e lectroni c
entertainment- but
we don 't want
to work hard enough for it!
This is the key element that few
world leaders dare talk about pub–
licly. Where are world leaders who
darc ask:
If
we want to prevent tbe
world's economy from sl ipping fu r–
ther- and stave off major econom–
ic disasters-are we willing to cut
our standard of living and
work
harder?
Employers must be willing to
pay more
for di ligent, competent
work and improved safety of work–
ers.
Employees must be on the job,
producing,
rather than stri king,
working longer-as in a war–
because we are in a
war
with the
cause of inflation, which is greed.
J oint employee-employer effort
and cooperat ive spi rit to increase
productivi ty and cut unit costs is
the fastesl and only way to destroy
the enemy.
Sorne individuals have already
done this. They have been following
lhe advice of
The P/ain Truth .
And
they are reaping the benefits. But
the vast majority neglect this viable
solution. Have you ever watched
personal ratings in the populari ty
polls of an elected official cascade
into an abyss when he or she starts
ta lking a bout "tightening our
belts"? Have you wondered why?
10
Look what the Bible reveals!
..The heart [basic human motiva–
t ion] is d eceitful a bove all
things ... " (Jeremiah 17:9). In
thi s statement is a ll - important
knowledge that precious few know!
The Bible reveals man to be a sel f–
ish being. Our basic drive is toward
ourselves- not
for the well-being
of others.
Edito r-in -ch ief Herbert W.
Armstrong pointed up more than
45 years ago a principie that eco–
nomic Jeaders ignore: "There is
only one way that ... money can be
collected [in taxes] out of a larger
sum than the present ... billions of
national income," he wrote, ..and
thal is
lO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF
MONEY ACTUALLY EARNED ANO
PRODUCED.
"This can be done in only two
~~
We want our
high-standard-of-living
quarters- with
electronic
entertainment- but we
don't want to work
hard enough for it!
' '
ways," he continued , ..(a), infla–
t ion, and (b), by actually earning
and producing more on the
PRO–
DUCING
end, and not on the
SPEND–
ING
end!"
With a self-or iented nature, we
humans want to "get" instead of
"give." We contri buté to the cause,
not the solution. Instead of produc–
ing more, we use "plastic mon–
ey"-the omni -present credit
card- to stretch our payments and
seemingly bolster our standard of
living.
The proof of this comes in the
form of
falling productivity.
In the most modero, affluent
nation on the face of the ear th,
U.S . factories are falling behind
smaller, somet imes ill-financed
companies outside the United
S tates.
Wh y? Because Americans–
whether professional or clerical, man-
agement or labor-are paying a terri–
ble price for a shift in attitude.
Through the media, we have
"reeducated" ourselves. We have
been told we "owe it to ourselves"
to buy whatever we want, whenever
we want and however we want.
But we've lost sight of the basic
principies that insure national suc–
cess! And other Western nations
are fast following in the United
States' footsteps!
It's t ime we wake up!
Most don't realize that successful
business principies are
spiritua/
principies. The problems we face are
spiritual in nature. But roan pursues
physical solut ions to spiritual prob–
lems. ls it any wonder we find our–
selves in such an economic mess?
The Lost Generatio n
An un fortu nate case in point is the
remnant of the late sixties' and ear–
ly seventies' "counter-cullure." Re–
member the old slogan, ..Tune In–
Drop Out"?
Instead of " hitting the books,"
thousands of Americans used col–
lege campuscs as a place of foment
and political rhetoric. With the Viet–
nam War as a backdrop, thousands
and thousands of young minds
closed themselves to preparation and
advancement. l nstead, they rejected
elemenls of society and set out in a
very loose and destructive fashion to
' 'save the world."
What most didn' t realize at the
time was the terrible economic con–
sequences that both the nation and
the young people would soon face!
Eschewing academic prepara–
tion, young people instead directed
their precious time a nd energy
towards experimenting with sex,
hal lucinogenic drugs and false phi–
losophies to a greater or lesser
degree. Within three years, many
of these people suddenly woke up
to find themselves out of the pic–
ture. Untrained, with no ski lls or
experience, these young people had
condemned themselves to un–
skilled, menial labor for the most
part, or jobs that led nowhere.
There's no market for street-corner
political philosopbies, they found.
And even more tragic is that
nat ions that allowed this phenome–
non face today the loss of brilliant ,
trained, experienced minds to run
(Continued on page 38)
The PLAIN TRUTH