Rev 6:5,6 NCV When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse, and its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard something that sounded like a voice coming from the middle of the four living creatures. The voice said, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barley for a day's pay, and do not damage the olive oil and wine!"
<blockquote>“To my surprise, after months of studying Jesus, I conclude that He did not have one good thing to say about money.”
<p style="text-align: right;">-Jim Bakker in “Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse”</p>
</blockquote>
On the same day that Italy’s prime minister proclaimed he could see a “light at the end of the tunnel” for the Eurozone debt crisis reports surfaced that the unemployment rate is at a record high.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met with French President Francois Hollande in Paris for discussions on the euro. Hollande agreed their had been “significant progress” in recent weeks and that the euro should be “defended, preserved and consolidated.”
Tuesday’s reports on employment showed Eurozone unemployment at 11.2%, the same record high as the previous month. The highest individual country rate was Spain at 24.8%. Despite the optimism of the Italian prime minister, Italy’s unemployment rate rose to a 13-year high of 10.8%. Almost 3 million Italians are out of work.
Over the weekend, reports from Germany said that Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly softened her stance on the European Union using bailout funds to buy government debts. However, Finland remains staunchly opposed to the plan because of skepticism regarding Italy’s commitment to spending cuts.
