My son fired up the computer this morning and found that the freaking swiss franc, which has been as stable a currency as there is throughout last century, is now unstable. We are in a depression, and we have cheap credit — which is being used to hide the underlying deflation that should occur when times are hard. But as Vox says, you cannot engineer borrowers if the loaned money a profit to the borrower will not make.
The Euro dropped from 1.20 to .85 against the Swiss Franc last night. That was nearly a 30 percent move overnight! It’s now down to 1.16 against the US Dollar. This is the result of the Swiss central bank giving up its attempt to peg the Franc at 1.20.
These wild currency swings are great if you can time them correctly, but it’s also a good way to lose your shirt. As usual, I was too early and missed out on the big move. Be careful out there.
This kind of monetary volatility is a strong indicator that deflation is defeating the central banks. They simply can’t print enough borrowers.
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.(Psalm 22:27-28 ESV)
Now today we see a man of accounts: a tax farmer, Matthew. Such men were despised, for they made a profit by over taxing the populace (with the full force of the legions behind them) and giving Caesar his due, but pocketing the rest. The Romans were good imperialists. They let the locals do this dirty work, as (a) the locals knew where people hid things and (b) it meant the locals were despised, not them.
Yet Jesus called one of these quislings to be a disciple.
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
(Mark 2:13-22 ESV)
In communion, to this day, we tax collectors and sinners share a table with Christ. He is our salvation: it is not our doing. We are the patients: he is the doctor, and a doctor is but a public servant if he does not see sick people [1].
And while Christ was with them his disciples did not fast. They clearly did at other times. But Christ bought a new way, a way of unity, and a way that brings us to God. And the world will not understand our joy, and shun us.
But note that the nations of this world, like the currencies of this world, are not stable. Our security is Christ. We need to consider all else as useful tools [2].
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1. Of course, there is a medical specialty called public health in which you consider epidemics and populations. And you become a public servant.
2. I agree with those who say — if in doubt, go minimal. Most of the stuff out there at present is simply not worth buying. Ideally, buy once, for cash, and keep it til it breaks. I have to discipline myself here because of my neophilia and gear acquisition syndrome.
