More on financial responsibility in America
Political Pulpit
Object:
The assigned lectionary texts for the fall invite our further attention to our economy, the federal and state budget crises, and their implications for our nation. In our last columns we especially considered the national debt. But the pericopes for September, October, and November stubbornly remind us (like the summer texts did) that there are bigger agendas for Christians than budget deficits.
Consider for example the second lessons for September 25 (Philippians 2:1-13), and Thanksgiving Day (2 Corinthians 9:6-15, as well as the first lesson for that day [Deuteronomy 8:7-18]), the first lesson for All Saints (Revelation 7:9-17), and also the gospels for October 30 (Matthew 23:1-12) and November 20 (Matthew 25:31-46). All of them remind us of our responsibility to others, especially to the poor. Then other texts make points with clear financial implications. The first lesson for October 2 (Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20) is the first exposition of the Ten Commandments. Lutherans, Catholics, and Presbyterians have historically interpreted the Commandments regarding theft and murder to be warnings against exploiting the poor, of not caring for the weakest among us (The [Lutheran] Book of Concord [2000 edition], pp. 352-353; Catechism of the Catholic Church, pp. 578-579; The [Presbyterian] Book of Confessions, 7.074-7.075). Consequently this text also provides a great opportunity to address the responsibility of Americans toward the poor.
Likewise, the warning of the first lesson for October 9 (Exodus 32:1-14) against sacrificing to false gods can speak to the American preoccupation with wealth. Don't overlook the economic implications of the gospel lessons for November 6 (Matthew 25:1-13) and November 13 (Matthew 25:14-30), as they teach the need for preparation and investment. And the gospel for October 16 (Mathew 22:15-30) with its famed utterance about rendering to Caesar what belongs to him is a reminder that government does have a legitimate role in some things, and that government rightly commands our consideration, concern, and reliance upon its legitimate exercise of power. (Slightly off the subject, if you need a sermon for the occasion on September 11, the second lesson's Word of love respecting differences [Romans 14:1-12] and the gospel's message of forgiveness [Matthew 18:21-35] offer promising possibilities for reflections about where we go from 9/11 ten years later.)
Alas, Americans (with Christians at the forefront) have not been heeding these lessons. Instead, in regard to economics, with the zeal of a Tea Party, we have insisted on trimming the budget, no matter what the consequences for the poor! Our negligence along with the harsh realities of the recession are certainly having their impact. We speak of "trimming the budget" on such items including subsidized school lunches for impoverished children, Medicaid, and welfare, and how we don't want Obamacare to compromise our "freedoms." Poverty has reached its highest levels in America since the 1960s. The U.S. Census Bureau reported this in its recent statistics, based on 2009. At the end of that year, 14.3% of the American public, 43.6 million of us (that is, 1 in 6 Americans), were living in poverty. And those without health care rose from 15.4% of the public in 2008 to 16.7% (50.7 million of us). Do we really want to take away money and health services from those suffering, impoverished neighbors and fellow human beings, just to balance the budget?
Get these statistics to your parishioners during the autumn months. Remind them of the ever-increasing number of home foreclosures and the homelessness it is creating in your community and nationwide. Along with the lectionary texts I've noted, they pose tough challenges for those who say they follow Christ in our nation.
Oh, but we can solve these problems with private charity, by the churches in American helping the poor in local communities. Let the market run freely! I have a lot of friends, including the pal with whom I write this column, who make similar points. But let's examine the results. That formula has been pretty much in place since the Clinton years, if not since Reagan. And poverty and lack of adequate health care have increased enormously in these years! Why? Recent government statistics testify to the reasons why the prevailing strategies of financial accountability don't work. These statistics remind us of our Christian doctrine of Sin and the Constitution's realism about human nature.
Here's the bad news on what happens when we let the economy do its (unregulated) thing and cut taxes. We have done a great job on the latter. Statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis reveal that the tax burden for all federal, state, and local taxes is at its lowest level since 1958! Americans on the average paid only 23.6% of their income in taxes in the first quarter of 2011. But in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s we devoted roughly 27% of our incomes to taxes. The extra money in our pockets does not seem to be purchasing a higher standard of living and more happiness for most of us, and (contrary to the advocates of the free market) the extra money in our pockets has obviously not "trickled down" to the poor, who are worse off because of our (middle and upper class) wealth.
Want more outrageous data? The wage gap between the average American worker and CEOs rose higher in 2010, to levels above what they were in 2007. While the average worker gained a 3% wage hike last year, it is still less than half of 1% of what the typical CEO makes. In fact, the ten highest-paid CEOs collectively made $440 million in 2010, a third more then they made in 2009. Heading the list was the CEO of Viacom, who garnered $84.5 million -- a 149% raise. And CEOs at Discovery Communications and Stanley Black & Decker increased their pay by over 250%! Meanwhile the poor get poorer. CEO wealth sure doesn't trickle down.
Precisely because our faith teaches us that human beings are selfish (Romans 7:18-19), this data should come as no surprise to your parishioners. And if they are not surprised (they may well be surprised given the impact American optimism and the cult of self-fulfillment have had on us), you will have a lot of catechizing (Christian teaching) to do with your flock this fall.
The statistics just cited show how relatively easy it would be to make a significant impact in solving our budget deficits without cutting back on programs for the poor. If we just returned to the tax levels of the 1970s and 1980s, it would mean a gain of $500 billion of extra taxes annually collected by Uncle Sam. That amounts to one-third of the estimated $1.5 trillion federal deficit for the coming year. We make a bigger dent in the deficit if we add higher tax percentages on the enormous CEO pay hikes. (Such policies might discourage CEOs from accepting these outrageous raises, putting money back into their businesses to make salary increases for ordinary workers possible.) And then with cuts to unnecessary weapons programs and local projects (pork) that do little more than get Congressional officeholders reelected, we could make sure some kids get fed at lunch and that people in the street get shelter (maybe even enjoy a decent standard of living).
Of course friends of the free-market might accuse me and other advocates of these suggestions (why not share them with parishioners in the form of hypothetical questions) as promoting efforts to redistribute wealth. Perhaps, but contrary to these critics, the Bible lessons noted in the 2nd paragraph suggest this strategy. If you take our selfishness and sin seriously, you will not be so optimistic about our exercising such financial responsibility for the sake of the poor out of our own goodness and free will. No, we need some government compulsion, driven by God's Will for justice, to make it happen and get us to do the right thing. No denominational tradition included among subscribers of CSS publications teaches that we have freedom to do the right thing economically without a lot of divine intervention, and, yes, sometimes God uses government to accomplish His Will.
But critics say that I am proposing wealth redistribution, and that it is un-American, a violation of our Constitution. That claim also indicates a failure to understand our political traditions.
In past columns I have pointed out a few juicy quotes by our Founders which clearly indicate they opted for a government role in forcing Americans to assume responsibility for the poorest and weakest among us. In closing, I merely repeat two such quotes, one written by Benjamin Franklin and the other by The Constitution's primary author, James Madison:
All the Property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right… But all Property to such purposes is the Property of the Publick… who may therefore by other Laws dispose of it, wherever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand such Disposition.
(Writings, pp.1081-1082)
[T]he great objection should be to combat the evil [of faction] by withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few… By the silent operation of laws, which without violating the rights of property reduce extreme wealth toward a state of mediocrity, and raise extreme indigence toward a state of comfort.
(The Papers of James Madison, Vol. 14, p. 197)
If you want to talk about the original intentions of our Founders, it is apparent that they understood it to be the role of the Republic they created, populated as it is by the selfish power-hungry creatures we are (James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 51; Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers, No. 15), to compel citizens like us to exercise financial responsibility, to redistribute wealth and prosperity in fairer, more equitable patterns!
I don't want to suggest you be partisan in your pulpit -- except that you be partisan on behalf of the poor and those without voice. But why not expose your parishioners during the fall to the data I've provided? I'm cautiously optimistic that you and I and enough of them will put the findings together for ourselves and maybe as a result begin a movement that will be good for the financial health of our nation. This is data that when presented in light of the assigned lessons for September, October, and November compels everyone to accept the conclusion that deducting a few more dollars in taxes from our paychecks dedicated to the poor and those without health care represents a lot more financially responsible and realistic way for our nation to proceed than the heretofore dominant Tea-Party rhetoric of small government and (selfish) tax cuts. It is time to use our pulpits to discredit the currently prevailing, very un-Biblical, un-Constitutional, self-serving, and failed economic agendas that are responsible for the mess we are presently in.
None of this precludes Wes' suggestions about human involvement at the local level. I support him on that score. I am just arguing that such local initiatives alone, without using the clout and influence that government policies can have on the economy, will not help enough in poverty, not end the cycle for poverty which traps too many. We need both private charity and government aid to alleviate poverty effectively.
In this connection, don't get the impression that I only want to see extra tax dollars to go to welfare and entitlement programs. In the spirit of combining my formula with Wes', why not help a lot of people in poverty start businesses, providing competitive government grants to people in poverty with good plans for starting their own businesses? That sure beats giving them a loan which enslaves them to indebtedness while the church or other charity doing the loaning makes a profit on them. No, if we truly want to exercise financial responsibility to the poor and everyone else in America we will be smart about the economy (globally as well as here in America), not assume that just giving people some land to farm and a low-paying job solves all the problems. Consider the poverty of the McDonald's worker making below the minimum wage and the fact that subsistence farming keeps you in poverty. (According to Department of Agriculture 2010 stats, small-farm families lost 13% of their household income on farming.) Get the word out to your flock: Private charity and the free market alone are not financially responsible ways to end poverty in America or worldwide, and it's time America and its taxpayers stepped up to the plate.
Mark Ellingsen is a professor on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and the author of Sin Bravely: A Joyful Alternative to a Purpose-Driven Life (Continuum) and 15 other books as well as hundreds of articles. Ellingsen's Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Series, IX, Cycle B, can be ordered at www.csspub.com or by phoning 800-241-4056.
Consider for example the second lessons for September 25 (Philippians 2:1-13), and Thanksgiving Day (2 Corinthians 9:6-15, as well as the first lesson for that day [Deuteronomy 8:7-18]), the first lesson for All Saints (Revelation 7:9-17), and also the gospels for October 30 (Matthew 23:1-12) and November 20 (Matthew 25:31-46). All of them remind us of our responsibility to others, especially to the poor. Then other texts make points with clear financial implications. The first lesson for October 2 (Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20) is the first exposition of the Ten Commandments. Lutherans, Catholics, and Presbyterians have historically interpreted the Commandments regarding theft and murder to be warnings against exploiting the poor, of not caring for the weakest among us (The [Lutheran] Book of Concord [2000 edition], pp. 352-353; Catechism of the Catholic Church, pp. 578-579; The [Presbyterian] Book of Confessions, 7.074-7.075). Consequently this text also provides a great opportunity to address the responsibility of Americans toward the poor.
Likewise, the warning of the first lesson for October 9 (Exodus 32:1-14) against sacrificing to false gods can speak to the American preoccupation with wealth. Don't overlook the economic implications of the gospel lessons for November 6 (Matthew 25:1-13) and November 13 (Matthew 25:14-30), as they teach the need for preparation and investment. And the gospel for October 16 (Mathew 22:15-30) with its famed utterance about rendering to Caesar what belongs to him is a reminder that government does have a legitimate role in some things, and that government rightly commands our consideration, concern, and reliance upon its legitimate exercise of power. (Slightly off the subject, if you need a sermon for the occasion on September 11, the second lesson's Word of love respecting differences [Romans 14:1-12] and the gospel's message of forgiveness [Matthew 18:21-35] offer promising possibilities for reflections about where we go from 9/11 ten years later.)
Alas, Americans (with Christians at the forefront) have not been heeding these lessons. Instead, in regard to economics, with the zeal of a Tea Party, we have insisted on trimming the budget, no matter what the consequences for the poor! Our negligence along with the harsh realities of the recession are certainly having their impact. We speak of "trimming the budget" on such items including subsidized school lunches for impoverished children, Medicaid, and welfare, and how we don't want Obamacare to compromise our "freedoms." Poverty has reached its highest levels in America since the 1960s. The U.S. Census Bureau reported this in its recent statistics, based on 2009. At the end of that year, 14.3% of the American public, 43.6 million of us (that is, 1 in 6 Americans), were living in poverty. And those without health care rose from 15.4% of the public in 2008 to 16.7% (50.7 million of us). Do we really want to take away money and health services from those suffering, impoverished neighbors and fellow human beings, just to balance the budget?
Get these statistics to your parishioners during the autumn months. Remind them of the ever-increasing number of home foreclosures and the homelessness it is creating in your community and nationwide. Along with the lectionary texts I've noted, they pose tough challenges for those who say they follow Christ in our nation.
Oh, but we can solve these problems with private charity, by the churches in American helping the poor in local communities. Let the market run freely! I have a lot of friends, including the pal with whom I write this column, who make similar points. But let's examine the results. That formula has been pretty much in place since the Clinton years, if not since Reagan. And poverty and lack of adequate health care have increased enormously in these years! Why? Recent government statistics testify to the reasons why the prevailing strategies of financial accountability don't work. These statistics remind us of our Christian doctrine of Sin and the Constitution's realism about human nature.
Here's the bad news on what happens when we let the economy do its (unregulated) thing and cut taxes. We have done a great job on the latter. Statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis reveal that the tax burden for all federal, state, and local taxes is at its lowest level since 1958! Americans on the average paid only 23.6% of their income in taxes in the first quarter of 2011. But in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s we devoted roughly 27% of our incomes to taxes. The extra money in our pockets does not seem to be purchasing a higher standard of living and more happiness for most of us, and (contrary to the advocates of the free market) the extra money in our pockets has obviously not "trickled down" to the poor, who are worse off because of our (middle and upper class) wealth.
Want more outrageous data? The wage gap between the average American worker and CEOs rose higher in 2010, to levels above what they were in 2007. While the average worker gained a 3% wage hike last year, it is still less than half of 1% of what the typical CEO makes. In fact, the ten highest-paid CEOs collectively made $440 million in 2010, a third more then they made in 2009. Heading the list was the CEO of Viacom, who garnered $84.5 million -- a 149% raise. And CEOs at Discovery Communications and Stanley Black & Decker increased their pay by over 250%! Meanwhile the poor get poorer. CEO wealth sure doesn't trickle down.
Precisely because our faith teaches us that human beings are selfish (Romans 7:18-19), this data should come as no surprise to your parishioners. And if they are not surprised (they may well be surprised given the impact American optimism and the cult of self-fulfillment have had on us), you will have a lot of catechizing (Christian teaching) to do with your flock this fall.
The statistics just cited show how relatively easy it would be to make a significant impact in solving our budget deficits without cutting back on programs for the poor. If we just returned to the tax levels of the 1970s and 1980s, it would mean a gain of $500 billion of extra taxes annually collected by Uncle Sam. That amounts to one-third of the estimated $1.5 trillion federal deficit for the coming year. We make a bigger dent in the deficit if we add higher tax percentages on the enormous CEO pay hikes. (Such policies might discourage CEOs from accepting these outrageous raises, putting money back into their businesses to make salary increases for ordinary workers possible.) And then with cuts to unnecessary weapons programs and local projects (pork) that do little more than get Congressional officeholders reelected, we could make sure some kids get fed at lunch and that people in the street get shelter (maybe even enjoy a decent standard of living).
Of course friends of the free-market might accuse me and other advocates of these suggestions (why not share them with parishioners in the form of hypothetical questions) as promoting efforts to redistribute wealth. Perhaps, but contrary to these critics, the Bible lessons noted in the 2nd paragraph suggest this strategy. If you take our selfishness and sin seriously, you will not be so optimistic about our exercising such financial responsibility for the sake of the poor out of our own goodness and free will. No, we need some government compulsion, driven by God's Will for justice, to make it happen and get us to do the right thing. No denominational tradition included among subscribers of CSS publications teaches that we have freedom to do the right thing economically without a lot of divine intervention, and, yes, sometimes God uses government to accomplish His Will.
But critics say that I am proposing wealth redistribution, and that it is un-American, a violation of our Constitution. That claim also indicates a failure to understand our political traditions.
In past columns I have pointed out a few juicy quotes by our Founders which clearly indicate they opted for a government role in forcing Americans to assume responsibility for the poorest and weakest among us. In closing, I merely repeat two such quotes, one written by Benjamin Franklin and the other by The Constitution's primary author, James Madison:
All the Property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right… But all Property to such purposes is the Property of the Publick… who may therefore by other Laws dispose of it, wherever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand such Disposition.
(Writings, pp.1081-1082)
[T]he great objection should be to combat the evil [of faction] by withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few… By the silent operation of laws, which without violating the rights of property reduce extreme wealth toward a state of mediocrity, and raise extreme indigence toward a state of comfort.
(The Papers of James Madison, Vol. 14, p. 197)
If you want to talk about the original intentions of our Founders, it is apparent that they understood it to be the role of the Republic they created, populated as it is by the selfish power-hungry creatures we are (James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 51; Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers, No. 15), to compel citizens like us to exercise financial responsibility, to redistribute wealth and prosperity in fairer, more equitable patterns!
I don't want to suggest you be partisan in your pulpit -- except that you be partisan on behalf of the poor and those without voice. But why not expose your parishioners during the fall to the data I've provided? I'm cautiously optimistic that you and I and enough of them will put the findings together for ourselves and maybe as a result begin a movement that will be good for the financial health of our nation. This is data that when presented in light of the assigned lessons for September, October, and November compels everyone to accept the conclusion that deducting a few more dollars in taxes from our paychecks dedicated to the poor and those without health care represents a lot more financially responsible and realistic way for our nation to proceed than the heretofore dominant Tea-Party rhetoric of small government and (selfish) tax cuts. It is time to use our pulpits to discredit the currently prevailing, very un-Biblical, un-Constitutional, self-serving, and failed economic agendas that are responsible for the mess we are presently in.
None of this precludes Wes' suggestions about human involvement at the local level. I support him on that score. I am just arguing that such local initiatives alone, without using the clout and influence that government policies can have on the economy, will not help enough in poverty, not end the cycle for poverty which traps too many. We need both private charity and government aid to alleviate poverty effectively.
In this connection, don't get the impression that I only want to see extra tax dollars to go to welfare and entitlement programs. In the spirit of combining my formula with Wes', why not help a lot of people in poverty start businesses, providing competitive government grants to people in poverty with good plans for starting their own businesses? That sure beats giving them a loan which enslaves them to indebtedness while the church or other charity doing the loaning makes a profit on them. No, if we truly want to exercise financial responsibility to the poor and everyone else in America we will be smart about the economy (globally as well as here in America), not assume that just giving people some land to farm and a low-paying job solves all the problems. Consider the poverty of the McDonald's worker making below the minimum wage and the fact that subsistence farming keeps you in poverty. (According to Department of Agriculture 2010 stats, small-farm families lost 13% of their household income on farming.) Get the word out to your flock: Private charity and the free market alone are not financially responsible ways to end poverty in America or worldwide, and it's time America and its taxpayers stepped up to the plate.
Mark Ellingsen is a professor on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and the author of Sin Bravely: A Joyful Alternative to a Purpose-Driven Life (Continuum) and 15 other books as well as hundreds of articles. Ellingsen's Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Series, IX, Cycle B, can be ordered at www.csspub.com or by phoning 800-241-4056.
