The following statements are attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

It is too bad that our nation has neglected common sense in our collective attitude toward financial matters. This has caused us to adopt practices that bring a lot of financial pain and suffering in people’s lives. Hopefully, we can turn this around and restore some time-tested financial principles that will benefit all people.

“Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making.”—Proverbs 16:11.