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Money is one of the most important inventions of humankind. Without it, a complex, modern economy based on division of labor, and the consequent widespread exchange of goods and services, would be impossible. Unfortunately, many experts believe we are on the verge of a financial crisis. In recent years the value of the US dollar has dropped significantly, inflation has increased, consumer debt has reached an all-time high, and the US housing market has become dangerously unstable. We will examine each of these issues in greater detail in the coming weeks, beginning with a look at inflation and the decline of the dollar.

Our current economic predicament is consistent with the Bible's description of the end times. The black horseman of Revelation 6 calls our attention to, not just famine at the onset of the Tribulation, but also to an economic condition where a man's daily wages are so small, he can barely support himself much less his family. What kind of condition would produce that? The answer is one which has emerged today and which, for the first time in the history of mankind, is for all intents and purposes universal: monetary inflation.

At present, approximately two thirds of world trade is conducted in dollars and two thirds of central banks' currency reserves are held in the American currency which remains the sole currency used by international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. This confers on the US a major economic advantage: the ability to run a trade deficit year after year. US always spends more than it earns, whereas the rest of the world always earns more than it spends.

The strength of the dollar is closely related to the fact that oil, the most important commodity traded in the world, is priced in US currency. The majority of countries that are oil importers have to buy their oil in dollars, which forces them to keep most of their foreign currency in dollars. However that could change. More and more nations are moving away from the dollar. China, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Iran, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and others have already announced plans to gradually move their reserves from the dollar into other currencies such as the euro. A widespread move away from the dollar could cripple the US economy - a sudden shift could even cause the US dollar to crash.

David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, has warned that the nation is on the path to financial ruin: "What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of the economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it."

If the US government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation. A hole that big could paralyze the US economy; according to some projections, just the interest payments on a debt that big would be as much as all the taxes the government collects today. And every year that nothing is done about it, the problem grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion (yes, that's with a "t"). It doesn't take a genius to recognize that an economic upheaval is in the making.

If the United States is indeed facing a financial crisis, what should we do about it? How can we prepare for times of economic uncertainty? Chuck tackles these tough questions in his new briefing titled The Vortex Strategy.

This is the first installment in a three part series on the state of the economy in America. Next week we will continue our assessment with a look at the challenges facing the US housing market.

Iran claims it now has 3,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the announcement on Sunday. He said that Iran would not abandon its nuclear plans in spite of UN demands. Instead he boasted that "they [the United Nations] were thinking that with each resolution the Iranian nation would retreat. But after each resolution the Iranian nation presented another nuclear achievement." Ahmadinejad also said that he will not be deterred by rumors that the United States may attack Iran. The devout Shiite President believes that Allah will protect Iran and that they "will be victorious." Meanwhile, President Bush warned that Iran's nuclear program could lead to a "nuclear holocaust."

The Sword of Allah

Iran is governed by Shiite Muslim clerics committed to a stern interpretation of Islamic law. Hatred of the United States has been a key component of Iranian foreign policy since the 1978 Islamic revolution, and Iran's leaders often refer to the United States as the "Great Satan." Iran's distaste for the United States is surpassed only by their utter loathing of Israel. Iran's political and religious leaders have repeatedly called for Israel's complete destruction.

The State Department calls the Islamic Republic of Iran the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism." Iran continues to provide funding, weapons, training, and sanctuary to numerous terrorist groups based in the Middle East and elsewhere. Iran mostly backs Islamist groups, including the Lebanese Shiite militants of Hezbollah (which Iran helped found in the 1980s) and such Palestinian terrorist groups as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran uses such groups to carry out a proxy war on Israel and the West. It is therefore folly to allow Iran, and consequently its terrorist allies, to obtain nuclear technology.

Secrets and Lies

Iran claims that under Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty they have the right to develop nuclear technology. Iran insists that it is pursuing nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes, but that leads to the obvious question: why would a nation with immense oil and gas reserves need nuclear energy? Iran claims it is building costly nuclear fuel cycle facilities to meet future electricity needs, while preserving oil and gas for export, but Iran’s uranium reserves are miniscule, accounting for less than one percent of its vast oil reserves. Iran controls 11 percent of the world’s oil reserves and its natural gas reserves are the second largest in the world. Iran does not have enough indigenous uranium resources to fuel even one power-generating reactor over its lifetime, but it does have enough uranium to make several nuclear bombs.

Iran has said that its goal is not to make nuclear weapons, but to develop nuclear energy. Which leads us to another important question: if Iran does develop a peaceful nuclear energy program, how difficult would it be to use that technology to make nuclear weapons? Nuclear power plants need 3 to 4 percent enriched uranium for fuel, but natural uranium only contains 0.7 percent. Thus uranium must be processed in a uranium enrichment facility before it can be used as fuel for nuclear power. What most people don't realize is the exact same technology and equipment used to enrich uranium for fuel can be used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, it simply requires more passes through the enrichment plant. A nuclear bomb requires about 90 percent enriched uranium, which is high compared to the percentage found in fuel, but according to experts it requires more energy to convert natural uranium to fuel than it takes to convert fuel into weapons-grade uranium.

According to a report by the US State Department on Iran's nuclear program: "The costly infrastructure needed to perform all of these activities goes well beyond any conceivable peaceful nuclear program. No comparable oil-rich nation has ever engaged, or would be engaged, in this set of activities - or would pursue them for nearly two decades behind a continuing cloud of secrecy and lies to IAEA inspectors and the international community - unless it was dead set on building nuclear weapons."

Iran's covert nuclear activities are part of the Islamic nation's overall objective. Iran's ultimate goal is to reposition itself as a regional heavyweight. Iran seeks to be a counterbalance to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, a vehicle of Islamic justice, and beacon for the rest of the Muslim world to follow.

A kindergartner is told he cannot have his mom read to the class from the Bible, but parents can read about witches or ghosts. A valedictorian has the plug pulled on her graduation speech because she starts talking too much about God. Do students retain their First Amendment rights, or has freedom of religion been spun into freedom from religion? Below are some recent cases raising that perennial question.

PENNSYLVANIA

When kindergartner Wesley Busch wanted to have his mother read a Bible story to the class for his All About Me activity, the school told his mother, "No."  Even though the activity was supposed to allow students to tell about themselves, and the Bible is little Wesley Busch's favorite book, the school said that the Bible was off bounds because it promotes a "specific religious point of view." Wesley's teacher suggested Ms. Busch read something about witches and Halloween instead.

A U.S. District Court sided with the school recently, deciding that the school could ban Bible reading as too "proselytizing." In response, the conservative Alliance Defense Fund has challenged the lower court ruling, arguing that the decision frees schools to abuse students' freedoms of speech and religion.

"The school's decision to ban religious speech is nothing more than blatant viewpoint discrimination," said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. "Indeed, the Bible reading at issue in this case is Wesley's speech: his mother came to the class at his request, to read his book selection, so that he could share himself with his classmates," the ADF said.

COLORADO

Erica Corder spoke about Jesus and the cross in her 30-second portion of a graduation speech at Lewis-Palmer High School in Denver in June 2006. Following her 30 seconds, which were part of a full speech made by all 15 graduating student speakers, Corder was escorted to the principal's office. Principal Mark Brewer told Corder that her speech was "immature" and said that she would not receive her diploma until she apologized publicly. Under coercion, Corder wrote an apology that was emailed to the entire high school community. She was required to include a statement that she knew the school would not have approved her graduation speech if she had asked beforehand. After a year of embarrassment and the school's refusal to change its speech policy, Corder has decided to sue the school district over the incident.

NEVADA

A similar incident occurred two states over. Brittany McComb's  2006 valedictorian speech was heavily censored after she submitted it for approval prior to graduation. School officials edited out Biblical references, several instances of "Lord" and the only reference to "Christ." Believing that the school was violating her right to free speech, McComb started to give her original speech at the graduation ceremony. As she began to make references to the love of God and the hole He had filled in her life, however, the school pulled the plug on her microphone. Despite a chorus of booing from the audience, McComb's speech was effectively ended. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute soon filed a First Amendment case on her behalf.

"This is yet another example of a politically correct culture silencing Christians in order to not offend those of other beliefs," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Brittany McComb worked hard to earn the right to address her classmates as valedictorian and she has a constitutional right-like any other student-to freely speak about the factors that contributed to her success, whether they be a supportive family, friends or her faith in Jesus Christ."

Conclusion

The First Amendment guarantees that U.S. citizens have the freedom to express themselves and their religious beliefs. While schools may not legally be allowed to promote one religious faith over another, the Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that students within those schools retain their religious freedom when they walk through the school doors.