Basic HTML Version
------------------~~~~---=~--==~------pan~
WhyNOT
by
David Jon
Holl
Get Religion?
As the
~ying
goes, there
is
oothing
wone
under the
sun
tha4
a
reformed
reprobate! Once tumed on by a belief in· God or a religious convictioo of any
nature, tbe refonned ceprobate
is
determined 10 sbove
hls
religion down every–
ooe's throat.
More people have sutrered, been maimed, ostracized, 1orrured and mur–
dered
in
the name of uGod"
than
in
•ny other name! Religious zealots and
fanatic:s, whateVer tbeir brand name, hllve caused more turmoil in ltistory than
any otber group.
M
en and women
in
the name of religion afflict themselves with
every imaginable taboo, from self-mutilalion and the denying of every appetite
of tbe nesh to matTiagc, the eating of bananas, aod the insistence that
others
conform
10
their oddball convictions ... or elsel
Eaeh mnven feels be himself (or berself as the case may be)
has
found
tite
true religion and
is
o()(
satislied
until
the wbole wprld sees eye 10 eye with thal
conviction.
E
veo
tbose
who are not as zealous
stiJJ
insist on meddling
in
tbe lives
of others wbether the others are interesled or not. Misguided do-gooders enact
legislation and blue laws seekiog to enlist tbe aid of govemmeot in tbeir evangeli–
cal thrust. Solomon's wise instruction
is
well talcen Itere: "Be not righteous over
much" (Ecc. 7: 16).
Religion
has
blinded the
eye,
strictured the
soul
and brainwashed tbe miod.
Religion has
mixed
in P9lilics to the extent of causing revolutions or hardening
tbe-c:ootrol of dietatorsbips. Religion has caused "boly wars" - whateVer tbat can
mean - and crusades agáinst all those of unlil:e belief. Religion has taken tbe
name
of
Ood
in vain and all too oCien the prerogatives that beloog
10
God alone
._....,,.,¡.,WJm>li'O!'•.lo~!?'"l,,l~~a
eterl@l_<¡ondemoatioq), turning sorne 10 b.ati.ng God be-
r
cause
acts those wbo claim lo represall him.
God forbid that you shouldget that kind ofrcligion! Gel God'instead.
God wrole
you
a
very personal,
long lelter in the form of tbe Bible. Read it
aod you'll see it has little
10
do witb "gettiog" religion!
JANEWAY
SAVES
APENNY SAVED..• IS NOT ENOUGH!
by
George
Ritter
A
new voice
in
tbe American
wildcmess
i.s
proclaiming tbe old-time ccooom.ics of ..six
mooths income
iD
ao uuured
sa~
ae–
couoL• Tbe
voice-
l.lut or coooomist
Eliol
Janeway - has replaa:d l!ueU Gibbons u
Ameriea's reigniag aaclcer-barrel phtloso–
pher. advcrtising father-ftgure, and butl or
Bob Hope's jokes.
Ah.bough mos.t of us wince a.l "tith.ing"
(o.e.• pvioa
ten
pereen1 ot) ftve years of out
inc:Óme 1nto a
s:aviDp:
aa:owu,.
Mr.
Janeway
is probably righL Amenea
is
severely ovcr–
devcloped, oYer$penl and undemved. Out
DJltion ovcrftows with the tnlppinp of proo–
perity. though we bate to admit it.
Approximately
80\1',
percent of
all
U.S.
housebolds
possess
at leut one. automobilc.
Maoy own
two
or
th.ree.
Two out
or
three.
fa.m.t.hes
OWD
their own home. About o.oe in
ten of these is cquipped with a backyard
swimming
pool
Nearly all of
w
own at l.eut
onc television set. and ovcr
ha.Jr
of
U!
own a
color roodcl.
But our dollilts aod doodads of deyel·
opmeol are more
than
matched
by
our over–
developed debts. Coosumcr debe
grows
by
billiOIIS year after prosperous
year.
From
194S
lO
1970,
it mushroomed
22
times over.
During thelirsuix months of
1974
coosumer
ctedit oontinued to climb
at
an average rate
or St6 millioo a day. Today consumer in–
debtedness stands at
a
stasaoring
S200
bíl–
lioo - or roughly
$940
for every mut,
woman. and child in the Uruted States.
WEEK
llNDlNG MAY 3,
t97S
Tbc reasons for tl>is eurren1 avwnche of
credit accn't
100
hard 10 6nd.
lt
basict.Uy gol
staJIA:d al the
close
of Wodd
War O
wben
OODSumers fouod thcmselves
fac:t~~g
a
daz–
Uing array ofmaterial goodics l.lut had beco
denied them during the
war.
Tbe retail trade
industry belped eapitalize on their pent-up
desire by sclling roerchandi.sc on temptingty
cuy eridit tenns. tittle by üttle many con·
sumen abandooed lhe old muim or ...pay as
you go• and embutted oo the seemin¡ly
painlcss method of"buy oow. pay later."
A new gencralion was spawned t.hat felt a
penny savcd wu
a
peony lost. As HiUel
Black, author of
Buy Now Pa¡
Lattr
wrote
baelc in thc carly 1960's: "Ooe cannot avoid
tbc conclwion lbat
11
new dus - the
in·
digeot deb10r -
is
emcrging in Amenca.
Thi.s
c1ass
is
made up of penple from
all
walks of üfe Wlth
a
wtdc variety of oncomes
wbo have been overloaded a.nd oversold
debts that they ate unable 10 pay."
Tbis type of thinlting was
also
asaravated
u consume<$ saw their hard-eamed savinp
progessivcly
evapora.Ee
undcr thc ooslaugbt
of
prolonged
periods of
post-war
inllation.
As
bis buying power
sbraok.
the mnsumer
ooughtto stay ahcad of the game by unload·
ing
his
Jhrinlciog doUars before the price
weot up again. onen he did
this
on • long–
term aedit basis, hoping to pay baek bis
obtigarioDJ in eheaper curreocy.
Tbe credit CJ<plosion was
a1so
accclerated
by the advent of
thosc
linte plasti<: cards lhat
easily found their way in10 the
purta
and
r------------------
plaintnAh
•
Po..dena, CA QI!Z3
W11llcts of miUions or Amerieans. Almost
overrught thc aedit
cal<! business
bccame
big
111
every seose of thc word. From
1969
10
1974
penonal aedit outstatodioa oo thcse
urds multoplied some
3 112
times.
By thc
latter part of
1974
it
wu pusbing the
$9
biJlion mark in the United Staces alone.
Crcdic cards aod variou.s easy mooey
schemes allowed QOosumers
lO
play
tbc
ÍD·
debtednesss pme
10
the hill - often with
tta¡JC
results.
lJ>
1974
approximately
rn.ooo
pcopte
tiled for banl<ruptcy;
185.000
had lheir
bomes seized or liens plaeed against thcm;
1
millioo Amcricans had tbeir wages gar·
nishced: a.nd 1.2 million
automobi1es werc
repoa....t. Credit managen reported thal
delin'l_ueocy rates oo instaUmeot loans dur–
in¡
thi.s
same pcriod wen: thc highest
sin<:c
1950.
lnnation certainly played a
part
in the
increuing nuouben of peoplc wbo fouod it
difficult to meet thcir ftnancial obligations.
But
i(
inftatiora were lhc only culprit., one
wouJd
cxpect the
lowcr-paid
wa¡e ea.r:ucn
&o
be in lhe putestlinancial dilliculty.
Surprisio&)y it's oneo lhe more alBuent
consumer that gcts into trouble.
l!xpert.s
say
that lhe youog married eouplc (with chil–
drco) who earn.s
$10,000
to
S1$,000
a
ye&r is
thc most
Ultcly
caodidate. lt is just such
middle-incomc families who are now
lining
up for bclp at c:onsumcr couo.scling servica
throu¡bout the
Uail<d
States. Alld people
in
lhe
$50.000
10
$60.000
a
year ca1"&"''Y bave
P!ease
seod
OYMolllelree booldel
71>11
Occun
E>tploú>n
•
Wl><lt
DoN
lt
Mean?
MyoutoaYe a
PlainTMh~~;¡,¡..o¡·.
_....
~....-.as4_.
-
yout
........
In
lhe-
bolow
1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1-1 1 1 1
1-1
1. 1
"""""'.....,.~
1
1
1
1
1
.
1
........
1
------------------~
not beco averse 10 seeking belp from these
cou.oselors
as
weU.
TJoe
probkm, thco,
is
basically ooe Of ftoaoc:ial mi.smanagement -
oot nc:cxssa.nly
a
!ad<
of money. Americans
bavc formed thc habi t of borrowing without
thinking- dutofutly turoiog
10
thc banlc, lhe '
credit
cal<!.
or thc time·paymcot plan in–
stead ofsaviog aod J"'ying cash.
Onc
oruo
crcdit bW'Cau mana¡cr was
quite franJe oo tl>is lack of wisdom on thc
pan
of the average oonsumer:
•we
feel tl>at
u
i:naea.s.in¡ aumber-
o(
pcoplc are not
competen!
10
handle
crediL
In our trudy
locaUy, we fcel lhat
2S
perocot of consumen
are unable
to
handle cxtcns:ivc credit ttans–
aetions" (Sidoey Margolius,
How to Malee
the M'osr
•1
Yo•r MOIV)'.
1969, Prcface).
h
is
thi.s
ladt
of kaowledge and cxperieace
on
rightly handtin¡ penona1 6nan<:es
whid1
is
a1 the bottom of many
a
fam.aly moncy
problem.
•
Most peopte have beeo traiocd u moncy
tarnus-
not apcnders.
A
man may be
An
cxpert
in
run.o.ina
a
computer
ao.d tall
miscr·
ably in lliDDing a penonal cost Jedser. He
may be
a
wlliz
at managin¡ a 1upermari:.et
and llop in mana;na
bis
owo budgct. Maoy
eam money prodogiously, but few have beco
taught bow tos¡Hndmoney sensibly.
A newly tewriueo Ambassador CoUege
booldet
MQIIaglng
Your
PuttJnal Ffnances.
will
outline these basic principies of sound
perrona! 6nancial maoagemeot. Tbe ínfor·
mation is pricel..., but lhe
piee
is
free.
Write 10 the addrcsses on thc baclc
P"&e.
o
ll