(Excerpt from Kim Kaplan's article of 4/30/11) Examiner.com:  Our economy took a nose-dive in the first quarter of this year.  Consumers held on to their money this past quarter as higher fuel prices, a continued anemic housing market and sinking consumer confidence sent economic activity to the lowest level in the past three years.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke claims the downturn is a temporary setback, promising that when gas prices stabilize the economy will grow at a 3% pace in each of the next three quarters.  Exactly what does stabilize mean?  Is Mr. Bernanke saying that we'll become accustomed to $4.00/gallon gas and return to spending?  Is the air so rarified up on Mount Federal Reserve that he doesn't understand when it costs $100.00 to fill your tank, the average person simply doesn't have as much left over to buy TVs, cars and houses?  Gas prices are still going up and if the stabilization he's hoping for settles in at $5.00/gallon, there's nothing an optimistic attitude at the Fed can do to replace the lost dollars in our wallets.  Everything we purchase gets to the store shelves by vehicles fueled by petroleum products; so not only does the cost of filling our tanks skyrocket, but so does the cost of a head of lettuce and a loaf of bread.  Builders reduced project spending by 4.1% this past quarter and that represents jobs; a lot of jobs.  The Labor Department says applications for unemployment benefits jumped 25,000 to a sensationally adjusted 429,000 for the week ending April 23.  Mr. Obama is walking a fine line with the American people.  A majority believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.  His poor ratings on the economy are only, pardon the pun, trumped by the ratings of Congress.  If President Obama is successful in raising the taxes on upper income earners to the levels during the Clinton administration in the midst of a sagging economy, it may very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back.   

My Comments:  I happened to see a news flash last month, as President Obama was speaking about the unemployment ratings.  He said basically, "You business owners need to start hiring people," as if they can just turn to the Federal Reserve Bank's endless bankroll (as Obama does), and just start hiring people.  How ridiculous is that?  The message behind the statement was apparently that he (Obama) felt he just needed to remind business owners to "get hiring," because they must have forgotten to do that.  How pathetic is that for taking care of the unemployment rate?  Jesus said in Mark 13:8, "Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, there will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famines and troubles; these are the beginning of sorrows."  He also said in Mark 13:29, "When you see these things come to pass, know that it is near (His return), even at the doors."  It is not a time for Christians to fear, only the ungodly.  It is a time for us to "Look up, our redemption draws near" Luke 21:28.