What thrift?

Webster defines it as “economical in the use or appropriation of money, goods, or provisions of any kind; saving unnecessary expense, either of money or anything else which is to be used or consumed; sparing; not profuse, prodigal or lavish.” Thrift sounds moral doesn’t it? Dr. John Templeton expands: Thrift is not so much a matter of how much we have, but of how we appreciate, value, and use what we have. Everyone, regardless of income level, has opportunities to exercise the virtue of thrift. We practice thrift by monitoring how we spend our time and money and then by making better decisions.” Thrift sounds proper doesn’t it? Ben Franklin clues us in to its source? “I have lived, Sir, ( George Washington) a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this – that God governs the affairs of men. … without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building (the United States of America’s Constitution of 1787) no better than the builders of Babel.” It sounds advisable to follow God’s path of prudence and economy doesn’t it because of debts, deficits, the lack of savings and the absence of thrift. Frederick Douglass noted that Americans also faced government intrusion into their individual freedoms and pursuit of happiness: “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.” Sounds like we better wake up and smell the stench of government waste and prodigality and its lack of interest in encouraging thrifty citizens. Sounds like we better conquer extravagance and improvident use of personal resources by too many Americans. Sounds like we cannot afford one, future rainy day.