2022 | Week of August 15 | Radio Transcript #1477

The economy, inflation, and jobs. Those are the top-of-mind issues for most voters virtually all the election-related polls are showing. Given what we are experiencing right now in these areas, this news shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Organizationally, these issues certainly concern us because they have a direct impact on the foundational institution of marriage and family. If it’s true that as the natural family goes, so goes the community, state, and nation—and we certainly believe that is true—then it’s imperative that families are able to either remain independent or become independent, especially independent of government.

Independent natural family units, meaning family as God designed it—one man and one woman in a lifelong, monogamous covenant marriage relationship, along with any biological and/or adopted children—can only become or remain independent if they have employment that can sustain their family; have a reasonable expectation that any savings or investments they make will, over time, make, not lose money; and have the ability to pay reasonable prices for food, gas, clothing, and housing and utilities. Even better is if they have the ability to actually choose and afford where and how they formally educate their children.

The current economic situation and the forecast for at least the immediate future doesn’t bode well for families remaining or becoming independent. While jobs are plentiful, wages from these jobs aren’t typically keeping pace with the rate of inflation that is somewhere between 8 and 9 percent.

Obviously, inflation eventually pushes up the price of just about everything. We’ve all certainly experienced that at the gas pumps, in grocery stores, and in restaurants. Since just about everything in our every-day lives is in some way dependent on transportation most of which involves the oil industry and gas, eventually we’ll see price increases in virtually commodity.

One federal government response to these realities is a bill that is euphemistically entitled “Inflation Reduction Act” that liberals sent President Biden and which he signed into law this past Sunday. It’s hard to imagine how this bill actually does anything to improve the economy, inflation, or jobs. Fox Business says the “Democrats’ newest spending bill amounts to one of the biggest tax increases in decades.”^[1]

Stephen Moore writing at Townhall posits that this bill “is arguably the greatest misallocation of our federal dollars in American history. It spends money in areas where we should be cutting expenses and ignores national security priorities.”^[2]

Moore points out that the new spending bill highlights Biden’s priorities: climate change, increasing IRS funding so the department can hire 80,000 new employees so more American citizens can be audited, while ignoring border patrol needs, military funding and more.

Even ABC News boldly asks and answers a critical question: “Will the measure actually tame the price spikes that have inflicted hardships on American households? Economic analyses of the proposal suggest that the answer is likely no—not anytime soon, anyway.” The online post goes on to say, “The legislation, won't directly address some of the main drivers of surging prices—from gas and food to rents and restaurant meals.”^[3]

Apparently, this new federal law that was supported by every Democrat in both the US House^[4] and the US Senate^[5] and opposed by every Republican in both houses isn’t going to do much to help the average American family in any kind of meaningful way—and in fact, it may make it harder for families to become or remain independent of government. Could that be the real purpose for the law? To actually make families more dependent on government and less independent. That would certainly make it easier for government to control citizens, as sobering as this thought may be.

So, the question is how will people vote this fall if the top issues in polling continue to be the economy, inflation, and jobs? All of this reminds us that elections have consequences—consequences that sometimes impact our every-day lives in very real ways. When the well-being of the foundational institution of the natural family, our state’s and our nation’s best natural resource, is at risk, the stakes indeed become very high and the consequences very important.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

^[1]https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/inflation-reduction-act-what-tax-hikes-are-bill

^[2]https://empowerwisconsin.org/biden-raises-army-of-irs-agents/

^[3]https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/inflation-reduction-act-impact-inflation-88305296

^[4]https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022420

^[5]https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00325.htm (US Vice President Kamala Harris, acting as Senate President pro tem, broke the tie with a “yes” vote.)