Education Central Newsletter July/August 2021

July/August 2021

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

P1 Depression of 1837

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P2 The Financial Corner

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P3 What is Christianity (Part 2)

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P4 Book Review

EDUCATION CENTRAL (Facts on America's Business, History, and Religion)

Message from the editor...

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Welcome to the second edition of our educational newsletter, Education Central. As we stated in our first edition, the purpose of this newsletter is to provide factual information into the areas we believe are crucial for conservative Americans to know. This edition addresses the Depression of 1837 - it was a difficult time for Americans. The United States was a young country and it had just recovered from the Panic of 1819. I've put a small article on farming (and will add more to the website) as farmers are critical to our supply chain - never more so than today with the impact of the coronavirus.

The Depression of 1837 Some have said the Panic of 1837 was the worst U.S. financial debacle up until the Great Depression of 1933.

Causes: 1) Andrew Jackson, elected to the presidency in 1828, had a distaste for the Second Bank of the United States, believing that the bank had too much economic and political clout. He wasn't the only one as others believed the bank didn't go far enough to provide funding for western expansionism. Jackson would, in 1832, veto an attempt by Congress to renew charter for the SBUS. The following year, he moved all federal funds from the SBUS to "pet" banks. He stipulated that no deposits to the bank would be accepted after October 1 of 1833.

2) The head of the SBUS, Nicholas Biddle, was determined to keep the bank afloat. He would call in all loans, but businesses weren't able to pay them back. What happens when loans are called in but can't be repaid? Usually bankruptcies, foreclosures, and, in many cases, closed businesses. As a result, there was a brief economic slowdown during the winter months of 1834-1835.

This edition has a section on "financial capital." I can't stress the importance for young adults to know and understand more about economics and finance. Both fields impact all of us. In the Religion section, we continue the discussion on "What is Christianity" and highlight the apostle Peter. On the back is a review of a book that discusses change - the book is a good read!

Stay safe!

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Farming in the United States

Farming in America has been a staple of the country's economy long before the Declaration of Independence was signed. However, today America is less known as an agrarian country and more of a service/technology center.

However, we shouldn't minimize the importance of farmers, yesterday and today. Let's look at their continued contribution to the U.S. economy:

1. In 2018, American farmers exported $143.4 billion of product. According to the Economic Research Service/ USDA, the top five commodities exported in 2018 were: 3) After the slowdown, the economy accelerated at a fast Soybeans pace. State banks were awash with money. In 1836, $37 million dollars of federal money were in state coffers. And did Corn these banks ever help out the land speculators! The years Beef & Veal 1835 and 1836 were caught up in speculative mania. (Note: Other Feeds & Fodder Speculative mania was a factor in the Panic of 1819. We will Cotton, Ex Linters see this same type of mania as a cause in other recessions/ 2. There are just over two million farms in the U.S. today depressions that have occurred in the United States.) with over 900 million acres of land dedicated to farming.

4) The state banks loaned more than they could cover. Banks 3. Thinking of going to college? According to a Market had what was called specie in their vaults, which meant gold and silver. However, the Insider report, "over 50,000 jobs" become available every amount of currency lent (in the form of paper money the banks printed) was more than year in the agriculture business, but there aren't enough what banks could have afforded to do. Everyone was caught up in land speculation! With qualified graduates. CareerAddict points out that more money in the system, inflation soon followed. agricultural economists and lawyers are some of the more lucrative positions available.

5) To stem what seemed to be out of control land expansion, President Andrew Jackson would issue the Specie Circular Act in 1836. This made matters worse as land purchases 4. According to aghires.com, "about half of the peanuts had to be made with gold or silver, not paper currency. Speculators didn't have the specie produced in the U.S. come from Georgia." to pay; all they had was now worthless paper currency. As a result, the land market For more facts on farming, go to our website, crashed. The depression would last until 1843. www.theouttop.com

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P1

TRADE INFOGRAPHIC TYPES OF TARIFFS & NON-TARIFF BARRIERS TO TRADE E a a

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Federal Banking: The Bank of the United States Long before the Federal Reserve, the United States established, in 1791, a federal bank simply called the First Bank of the United States (FBUS). Why? The American Revolution, which won America its independence from England, was a costly war. In its first foray into debt (in 1783, America owed $43 million), the Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed funding the debt with a national bank. Although it met with resistance from the likes of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and others who believed it gave the federal government too much power, President Washington would sign the legislation establishing the national bank.

The legislation gave the FBUS a twenty-year charter. A charter is a license to operate. The majority of the bank was privately owned with the federal government owning twenty percent of the bank's shares.

Issues with the FBUS: because it printed money in excessive amounts, inflation rose; extended cheap credit (money can be borrowed at a low interest rate) to northern merchants; increased tax burden on America's citizens.

The twenty-year charter for the FBUS was not renewed in 1791.

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The Financial Corner Financial Capital

The word "capital" takes on different meanings. Someone using the word maybe talking about a seat of government. Another person perhaps is discussing capital punishment, which Merriam Webster defines as "a crime punishable by death."

It also sounds like the word "capitol." The latter is defined by Webster's dictionary as "a building in which a state legislature meets." For example, the capitol building in Washington, D.C. In this case, we are using the word "capital" from a business operation standpoint.

Capital is either financial or physical. In this edition of The Financial Corner, let's review financial capital. thebalance.com defines financial capital as "the money, credit, and other forms of funding that build wealth." Companies need capital to update equipment, purchase materials and supplies. For businesses, the purpose of capital is to increase future revenue. For publicly traded companies, the objective is to increase shareholder value.

As shown below, there are three types of financial capital.

Financial capital is: Debt

Equity

Specialty

Depending on how a business is organized will determine the type of access it has to these three entities. There are four types of firms or businesses: sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies.

A business can be set up as a sole proprietorship, meaning there is a single owner who is not just entitled to all the profits, but has full responsibility for all the liabilities incurred by the business. With this type of organization, access to capital comes in the form of debt or equity.

A partnership is a company owned and managed by two or more individuals. Risks associated with the company are shared.

P2

Religion What is Christianity? (Part 2) In part 1 of What is Christianity, we briefly discussed its beginnings Jesus Christ and His teachings, along with His resurrection. In part 2, we pull the Old Testament into the discussion of Christianity.

Recently, there has been some discussion regarding the pertinence of the Old Testament (OT). How relative is it to today's Christian?

Last month, the Barna Group released a study, "Signs of Decline & Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith," in which it pointed out that "Americans are softening in their practice of Christianity."1 Is that the direction we, as Americans, want to go?

Do we not see the goodness of God in our lives? When we look out our window at the earth's landscape, we see the Lord.

How many of us have read John 1:1-3? it says: "1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created."

Having read that verse, let's review some of the books in the Old Testament to see the Gospel: Much has been said about the book of Genesis. Joseph Farar, in his book The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament, points out that "the first words of Genesis are so very important and essential for the Good News (the Gospel) one cannot trust the Gospel without trusting these words [the first words of Genesis]."

The OT paves the way for the coming of Christ. The significance of His birth, death, and resurrection on our lives is interweaved throughout the OT books. Roy Stedman states in his commentary, Adventuring Through the Bible, that God has desired a relationship with us since He created man and woman. After the Fall of Adam and Eve, He didn't give up and walk away, leaving the two sinful humans to fend on their own. He clothed and fed them, providing the necessities of life.

In Genesis 22, we read not only about Abraham's trust in God and God's faithfulness to Abraham, but we are also given a glimpse of what is to come with God's only Son. In Joshua, we see the parallels between Joshua and Jesus. As Stedman points out, both names are derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means "God is salvation." In Joshua 5:14, it is believed that the "commander of the Lord's army" was likely a pre-incarnate Christ.

Farah mentions that many struggle to find the gospel in the book of Judges. What the book illustrates is our lives today.

However, he states this: "But, as always, God maintains His outstretched arm of mercy. And ultimately, God's outstreched arm of mercy represents the very essence of the gospel message."

See Part 3 of What is Christianity? in the next edition of this newsletter.

Financial Capital (cont.)

A corporation is a business set up by individuals and stockholders. The company has more opportunity to raise funds.

A limited liability company (LLC) is privately owned; its features are a combination of both partnerships and corporations.

Debt In the case of capital debt, this represents the amount of money a business has borrowed along with interest that has to be payed back. Interest is essentially the cost of borrowing. It is a fixed-percentage amount a financial institution, like a bank, charges for lending money to a business.

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The Apostle Peter In this second study of Jesus' disciples, we look at the Apostle Peter. Peter is mentioned a lot in the Gospels. The only one that is mentioned more in the four books of the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is, naturally, Jesus.

What do we know about Peter? Where does he rank in importance among the twelve disciples?

When reading the facts below (from the Bible and John MacArthur's book, Twelve Ordinary Men), see how many you know about this leader: - He was a fisherman and an heir (along with his brother Andrew) to the family's fishing business.

- He was given the name, Simon Bar-Jonah, at birth. Bar-Jonah means son of Jonah or John.

(Matthew 16:17) - He was one of the first disciples to follow Jesus.

He would become one of Jesus' closest of confidants and the leader/spokesman for the twelve disciples. (see Matthew 10:2, John 1:42) - Early on, Simon would vacillate in his faith. He was hasty in his actions, wanting to believe, but then would stumble. Upon meeting Simon for the first time, Jesus would change Simon's name to Peter. Why? Well, the name Peter means "rock."

Merriam Webster defines "rock" as something that has "firmness," or is a "foundation." For Peter, Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it." Jesus knew that Peter would eventually become that firm, solid leader for His church. (read Acts 2:14-41) - Some of the miracles Peter performed:

There will normally be a fixed time period as to how soon the loan is to be paid back.

The healing of Aeneas, paralyzed for eight years, bedridden all that time. (read Acts 9:32-35)

Equity

Raised from the dead a woman, Tabitha, who was considered a disciple. (read Acts 9:36-43)

The amount of shareholder investment in the company. It is commonly called shareholder equity.

Equity = Total Assets - Total Liabilities Specialty Creating extra capital to grow a business.

Something relatively new is supply chain financing. This is where a company looks to its bank to help pay invoices, freeing up working capital.

He would lead a Gentile, Cornelius, and his family to the Lord, subsequently baptizing them in the name of Jesus. (read Acts 10) - MacArthur, in his book, Twelve Ordinary Men, made these observations on leadership as he speaks about Peter's leadership abilities: "Lasting leadership is grounded in character.

Character produces respect. Respect produces trust. And trust motivates followers." (continued on next page)

P3

The Apostle Peter (cont. from page 3)

Book Review: Change is Good...You Go First

What character qualities did Peter have? Wes Cantrell, a well-known business executive and author of High-Performance Ethics, defines character this way: it is "a person's characteristics, the mental and moral features that distinguish that person from others, a person's moral strength and quality of reputation." Such represents Peter.

MacArthur's list of character traits of Peter tie in with Cantrell's definition above of character:

Updated in 2019, Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein have authored a book on change.

Although small in size and number of pages (116), the message is clear: change is here, we just need to learn how to manage it.

- submission - restraint - humility - love - compassion - courage

How these are addressed determines the placement of the letters JOY in one's life. Jesus, Others, You. Peter's alignment with this acronym are evident in these character traits he displayed.

In Dr. Henry Cloud's book, Boundaries for Leaders, he states "trust grows when we display credibility and character." When Peter let go of trusting himself and instead put all his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, exhibiting these character traits while doing so, enabled others to want to do the same - to follow the Son of God. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18

Is change hard? In some cases, it is. That's why the authors put the words "You Go First" in the title of their book. We know, at times, change is necessary and, in most cases, it can be so positive. But who will be the first one to enact it can be the hardest thing to do. However, let's think about mediocrity. The authors said this: "In the long run, however, sameness is the fast track to mediocrity." In today's fast-paced world, standing still or being like everyone else is not the recipe for advancement, not just for yourselves, but for others as well. Whether you're a leader in school, at work, church, or some non-profit organization, sameness doesn't differentiate yourself from the crowd. Below are some excerpts from the book I found very applicable: In chapter 5, Focus on Strengths, the author uses McDonald's as an example of the need to stay customer focused. Who is your customer? What are your strengths? How can you melt both your customer's needs with your strengths to ensure positive change comes?

From chapter 11, Inspire Personal Accountability, there is so much helpful information. Just one of many things listed in this chapter: "The 8 most important words: If not me, who? If not now, when?

Make that positive change. And read "Change is Good...You Go First."

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this age....".

1700s: British Taxes

The Eighth Commandment

Nothing contributed more to the angst of the colonists in America than the taxes the British imposed on them.

Identity Theft

The Molasses Act of 1733:

The eighth commandment of the ten that God spoke in Exodus 20 says "Do not steal." Stealing isn't just taking something that doesn't belong to you. It can be cheating someone out of something, like identity theft.

Identity theft continues to be an issue. Below are data from a Lifelock report from 2018: - 60 million Americans affected by identity theft in 2018 (data from a 2018 survey conducted

by The Harris Poll).

- According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the six categories of identity theft are (in order): - Employment- or tax-related fraud - Credit card fraud - Phone or utilities fraud - Bank fraud - Loan or lease fraud - Government documents or benefits fraud The Consumer Information page of the Federal Trade Commission (www.consumer.ftc.gov) gives you "Warning Signs" and steps to take right away should someone be using your information. Protect yourself and your credit! It's not a question of "if" it happens, but "when" it happens.

- The American colonies were importing molasses not just from British-owned sugar plantations in the West Indies but also from nonBritish plantations located in Santa Domingo and Martinique.

- The tax on molasses was imposed by the British on the thirteen American colonies.

- The British were determined to protect their sugar plantations in the West Indies.

- Therefore, if colonists in America were determined to get their molasses from any non-British plantation, they were going to pay a heavy tax.

According to the Tax Foundation, by 1763, nearly 80 percent of the molasses coming into the colonies was smuggled in.

The Seven Years' War concluded in 1763 with Britain saddled with heavy debt. How did the British address their lack of revenue?

Well....

The Sugar Act of 1764: In an effort to curb smuggling, the British government installed stronger customs enforcement and placed a tax on sugar and molasses. Also, imposed a tax on coffee, indigo, and wine.

The Currency Act of 1764 Under this act, colonies were banned from using their paper currency for transactions.

What about taxes? Well, the colonists could use paper money to make payments on public debt.

The act was revised in 1770, allowing New York (America's capital at the time) to print and issue legal tender for any kind of debt.

The Stamp Act of 1765 Colonists had to buy officially stamped paper for anything printed in the colonies.

Thus, if you were printing almanacs, newspapers, etc., you were going to have to use the paper mandated by Parliament.

The Tea Act of 1773 Parliament passed this act that was designed to help the East India Company with its financial woes. On December 16, 1773, the colonists revolted dumping three cargoes of tea into the sea.

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