Economic Crisis

Gaballi is just one of several discount food ministries that has stepped up to provide discount groceries since Angel Food Ministries shut down in September. What makes Gaballi unique, however, is that, in addition to providing food at a much more affordable rate, they also provide their members with the opportunity to earn free food.

Gaballi launched in September, and although its launch coincided with the closing of AFM, the company's CEO says it was just God's timing.

“It's almost like the day we started to promote was the day they were closed down,” said Colin Farnum, the company's CEO, in an interview with The Christian Post on Friday. Instead of selling food at wholesale costs to chain stores, which then mark up the prices to sell to consumers, Farnum says Gaballi buys products directly from farmers and sells directly to consumers. more >>

Jefferson County of Alabama filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, making it the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Jefferson County contains Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, and has a population of around 666,000, including some of the state’s wealthiest residents. The bankruptcy protection claim came about after a failed agreement between elected officials and investor to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds, according to Bloomberg.

An hour after city commissioners voted 4-1 to file the bankruptcy claim, the resolution was signed by Commission President David Carrington. more >>

A tax on Christmas trees proposed by the Obama administration in an effort to promote the tree growers industry and scheduled to go in affect Wednesday was put on hold at the last minute, according to White House officials.

The proposed 15-cent tax on Christmas trees was designed to finance a new “Christmas Tree Promotion Board.” The board wanted to start a campaign similar to the campaigns of other agricultural-related industries, such as those conducted by the Milk Advisory Board.

The tax was announced by the Federal Register on Tuesday and was supported by Christmas tree growers, according to reports. more >>

The federal government spent $1.299 trillion more than it received in revenue for fiscal year 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office's November report on Monday.

Despite congressional efforts to cut government spending this year, federal spending increased $145 billion over fiscal year 2010. The total national debt is now close to $15 trillion, with over $116 trillion in unfunded liabilities.

In the 2010 elections, Republicans made large electoral gains on promises to reduce federal spending. They won control of the House of Representatives and gained six Senate seats. The resulting divided government, with Republicans in control of the House and Democrats controlling the Senate and presidency, set up contentious budget battles through most of 2011. more >>

Are third party candidates spoilers when it comes to U.S. presidential elections or are the real culprits in preventing the best man from taking the office in the White House the Republican and Democratic parties?

That’s the question documentary filmmaker James Jaeger tries to answer in his newest movie, “SPOiLER – How a Third Political Party Could Win.”

In the film produced by Matrixx Productions and available on DVD, Jaeger said he explores the underlying causes of the welfare-warfare state ushered in by the Democratic and Republican parties over the past 98 years as a result of both parties failing to follow the moral principles in the Bible. more >>

One in every 15 Americans, about 6.5 percent of the population, is extremely poor, according to a study based on recent census data.

Over 20 million Americans are classified in the bottom 50 percent of the poor population. The rate of extreme poverty is the worst since the census began collecting such data 35 years ago.

Extreme poverty is classified as any individual making $5,570 or any family of four making less than $11,175 annually. more >>