Faith in Tough Times & Preserving Social Security

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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The issues that matter most, right here. The Drew Mariani Show. On Relevant Radio.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:17)
The Federal Reserve announced its fifth interest rate decision of the year.
And the board voted for it, no change. Central Bank will hold its benchmark rate steady at a range of three and one half to three and three quarters percent. That's not as easy to read as you might think it is. Despite grappling with stubborn inflation and oil price volatility, that's what the data is doing in there.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:37)
It's The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

**Drew Mariani** (0:41)
Well, thanks for joining me. It's good to be there. Yeah, the Fed's holding the line for now. That was CBS News. They're gonna keep inflation rates steady. Yeah, I was reading earlier this morning. There are some experts who don't think that's a good idea. They kind of feel that the rates should have been, they should have been raised. A lot of people right now with a lot of anxiety about their financial situation. And believe me, I get that. Maybe you're struggling right now. I filled up my car yesterday. My wife filled up her car and it was like, yeah, you're putting $67 into your car. It's like, guess where I am? It was $4.19.
I don't know where it is. I know California, you're probably laughing, saying, that's cheap, Drew. You're probably paying double that, I know. But gas is ridiculous. Inflation keeps eating up more and more of your paycheck, and you used to have maybe something left over at the end of the month. I know a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. It's kind of common right now. The Washington Post was reporting that more Americans are putting their groceries on credit cards. And that's, of course, is a problem, because you can end up with an interest-loaded debt long after eating your food. Not the best policy. NPR was reporting that bankruptcies are up. More than a half a million personal bankruptcies were filed last year. That's a nearly 50% jump from three years earlier. So, that's why the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, I think their message is resonating with some young people, and just some people in general. Things can be tough. Filings at the end of March were almost up 12% when it came to these bankruptcies. So, praying for those who are struggling.
Obviously, this is not helping the overall economy, and sooner or later, people are gonna start cutting back on their purchases. That's already happening. As fewer people are now buying cars, even used cars, are becoming almost unaffordable.
I had an issue with my car, so I brought it in to get fixed, right? And it ended up being not just one problem, but two problems. Actually, it was more than that. It was multiple problems. You know what the bill is to fix the car? $6,000. I had to come up with $6,000 to fix the car for these different things. The car's got a ton of miles on it. It's kind of an older car. So I thought, well, let me check out used cars or new cars. And I looked at the prices of these things, and I'm thinking, it's ridiculous. It's cheaper to fix your car and run it for another year than go out and have to drop the amount of coin on cars. The rate of cars have really, really gone up. And for some reason, the Markins aren't seeing this happen. They just keep climbing away. They had a great day yesterday. They were acting as if nothing happened except perhaps when the war in Iran shuts down the Straits, you see oil go up. But we'll see what happens. Peter Grandich has been a guest of mine for years. He gave a warning about a coming adjustment. Over the weekend, he sent out a tweet. And I was really moved by it. And I thought, well, we could talk economics with him. But I also, and I'll get his take on some of this stuff too, but he sent out this post, and he said, for 70 years, I've been a sinner saved by grace.
And I've been called to do good works. During this time, I battled bouts of high anxiety and panic attacks, and even deep depression to the point of even losing the will to live. And all through this time, I've listened many times to the enemy who kept saying, Your sins are too big. And for too long, you've had too much sin to be truly forgiven.
And I know, he says, many of you reading this probably have similar stories.