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PDF versionFairness conspicuously missing in deficit reduction legislation
by Thomas C. Fox on Aug. 02, 2011
Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Watching the politically manufactured debt ceiling debate draw to its sad conclusion, I think of the last stanza of T.S. Eliot’s often quoted poem, “The Hollow Men” …
... Not with a bang but a whimper
However you cut it, there is something quite disturbing -- and immoral -- about a debt reduction package that calls for cuts in critical services to the poor while at the same time calling for no sacrifice from the wealthiest elite in our nation. This, of course, is one more sign, if any more were needed, of a well-heeled and finely purchased Congress by the super rich among us. It’s quite sad and should be upsetting to all who support democracy around the world.
Those in Congress who justify this disproportionate solution to our nation’s financial predicament under the banner of “no tax hikes” should be ashamed of themselves. However, don’t expect any self examination of conscience soon. These folks swim in waters of sweet justification and self-satisfaction never inconvenienced by information or reason. Simple self-justifying ideology, fanned by those who most benefit from it, the super rich, propels them either mindlessly or blind to conscience.
After all, they apparently continue to look into the faces of their children without embarrassment.
Keep in mind the very modest tax increase that was initially on the table, the long needed elimination of a tax break to the top one percent of the nation’s already very well-off asset gatherers, was forced off by political reality before serious negotiations began to take place.
Elementary, if not superficial fairness, would have required half the savings come from tax increases and half from spending cuts. But no, the starting point was to cut spending on programs that have modestly enabled the poorest among us to find food and shelter for their families during recent years as the gulf between rich and poor has expanded at an alarming rate.
The median wealth of white households is now 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data from 2009. Twenty times!
The tax increase proposal that was forced from discussion by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives would have modestly raised only three dollars more from every $1,000 among those comfortably over the $250,000 mark. Fairness, real fairness, should have required 10 times that amount. But little that characterizes political discussions in Washington these days can be characterized by fairness and, I might add, reason or simple human compassion.
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So with cuts in spending on the proposed deficit reduction agreement bearing all weight one is left wondering how we got to the point. It is fact, not cliché, those two wars President George W. Bush initiated -- both of choice as well as across the board tax cuts, by far the largest of these benefitting the most comfortable among us -- have caused much to the problem. An increasingly expensive, complex and inefficient insurance industry-controlled medical benefit program, has played another major role.
Check out these figures in a chart that appeared in Sunday's New York Times.
By the way, those two wars? We have borrowed every dollar that funds them, passing on the costs to those who will now begin to feel an even greater pinch to their already insecure livelihoods, and, of course, to our children and their children.
I call those who have actively encouraged our military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan without also having lobbied for war tax hikes cheap patriots. Yes, cheap patriots. "Send in the troops,” they have effectively said. “But don’t ask me to open my wallet to help pay the price.”
Most reasonable people recognize that digging us out of the financial hole we are in will require common sacrifice. This is as it should be. Those with greater means, nearly all of whom have done very nicely in their financial investment portfolios during the last decade, should also bear the greater burden of these sacrifices. However, I’m not counting on it.
This would only be fair; it would express common purpose and our commitments to the common good, so much at the center of our church’s teachings on the social contract and social justice.
However, do not rely solely on me for locating the foundations of Catholic social thought. Go back to the beginnings and to its biblical origins. The evangelist, Matthew, wrote the following in chapter 25, and it is pertinent today.
Going forward, were we to keep our eyes focused, as we figure out the tough choices ahead, on the “least” among us, we’ll have a better chance of restoring fiscal – and moral – health to our nation.
After all, we're not a poor nation; just a seemingly soulless one.
Fox is NCR Editor. Can be reached at tfox@ncronline.org.
You forgot to mention: The
You forgot to mention: The Catholic Bishops encouraged the election of those who support the super rich!
The bishops are the hierarchy
The bishops are the hierarchy of the Wholly Republican Church.
I simply do not understand
I simply do not understand how anyone can make this claim. It seems to me that such statements are made by folks who have not spent any time or any serious consideration on the facts, but merely accept that, because the bishops oppose abortion and gay marriage, they must be Republicans. Allow me to take just a moment to point out the absolute fallacy of this belief.
According to its own website, the USCCB actively supports the following:
1. Immigration reform featuring some form of amnesty and not deportations
2. Universal healthcare provided in whole or part by the government
3. Labor unions and the right of workers to collective bargaining
4. Government supported welfare and unemployment insurance
5. Increased taxation on the wealthy in order to pay for government services
6. An end to nuclear weapons research, development and testing
7. Increase in spending on and awareness of climate change and a general support of climate change legislation.
All seven of these major policy goals and initiatives are opposed by the Republican Party and supported by the Democrat Party. Sounds like the Bishops are Democrats, not Republicans.
6. I saw no bishops in Los
6. I saw no bishops in Los Alamos last weekend at the annual Pax Christi New Mexico march and meditation. In fact the bishop forbid the Reverend Father John Dear SJ from attending.
The 7 points on your list are
The 7 points on your list are very worthy parts of Catholic Social Teaching, but they are unfortunately not a very large part of what you hear the bishops talking about. Abortion alone uses up a huge percentage of their attention. Since this happens to be a flag item for the Republicans, it really looks like the bishops' effort goes to supporting Republicans. They are too busy worrying about maintaining the obedience and contributions of the faithful, protecting clerical privilege, cracking down on independent thinkers such as Elizabeth Johnson, and imposing their authority so no one dares to propose female or married priests. They seem to support a strong military and any wars we get involved in--another Republican strong point. Of course they're loudly against equality for GLTB types--another point Republicans are inclined to support.
I have actually recently read about efforts by the bishops to bring about a better immigration policy. Brownie points for that. The healthcare question of course brings up abortion questions again. They used to be strong supporters of the labor unions, but I haven't heard a lot about that lately. I hope they still are. Welfare is something the Church has always been in the forefront of, they founded the charities and hospitals, soup kitchens, etc. But what you hear about that is that a bishop excommunicates hospital personnel for something that looks like abortion. There are a few bishops known to support environmental protection. Some of those who openly militate against nuclear weapons are priests, perhaps an occasional bishop, but then another bishop forbids Fr. John Dear to attend a Pax Christi conference. And I'm sorry, I have never heard a hierarchical voice calling for the rich to pay more taxes.
You see how it goes? You're in theory right, but effectively that's not the reality. Too bad. I wish it were otherwise.
Our Bishops talk like
Our Bishops talk like Democrats by act like Republicans. Talk is cheap! And, their commitment to many issues stops at the Church door. How do they view unionization when it involves teachers in Catholic schools? They invite a Speaker of the House with a deplorable record when it comes to aiding the poor to address graduates at The Catholic University of American and become apoplectic when Notre Dame hosts the President of the United States because his stand on another issue. Make no mistake, Our Bishops are cardinal "red," not working class "blue."
It is easy for the bishops
It is easy for the bishops (and others, like both political parties) to state what they are for on a website, it is quite another to actively work to make them a reality.
How right you are, Tom. It
How right you are, Tom. It would be interesting if not scandalous to learn how many of those extremists are Catholic. Most of them, including Boehner, have no understanding of Catholic social teaching. Our church was so focused on the single issue of abortion that it forgot entirely about teaching social justice.
Probably Boehner knows about
Probably Boehner knows about Catholic social teaching but it doesn't sway him. The bishops know it too but who do they associate with - the rich, the Republicans. I dare say they show such effusive gratitude for the money they get from the rich but it is from their excess. The widow's coin does not move them. HYPOCRITES = BISHOPS = REPUBLICANS.
Then the bishops plead for the poor but it is always after the fact. A WELL PLANNED SCENARIO BUT WE ARE NOT FOOLED.
NOT ONE PENNY FOR THE CHURCH. ZERO, NADA, NOTHING. Give directly to responsible organizations, the church is not one of them.
Tom, While the premise you
Tom,
While the premise you set seems reasonable, the data isn't correct. Yes, the wealthier individuals should contribute in taxes more than others. This is, in fact, the case. Everyone pays fairly equal in state and local taxes, and based upon assets and buying habits we all chip in. The federal taxation, though, is largely handled by the wealthy. That's just fine.
Though the picture of government revenue difficulty is painted as a shortfall, the data points in the opposite direction. The government takes in so much revenue that they should be able to meet all the expectations put upon them by the electorate, but the money spent on wars, boondoggles and pet projects are suspiciously out of whack.
Tax reform, in everyone paying without loopholes and corporate entities properly accounting for taxable earnings, is much more important than simply raising the tax on wage earners -- whether low income or high.
Let's stop the class warfare and get at the root of the problem.
While not decrying the need
While not decrying the need for tax reform and spending modifications, the repeal of the Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthy would hardly be a burden on us or a disincentive to investment. In the end, I think you miss the point: as a whole we are undertaxed comparatively speaking and increasingly stratified. While a more progressive tax system will not eliminate stratification, the more regressive system now in place enhances it. The Hooverite Tea Party is advocating policies that historically have not been economically or socially useful. You haven't really addressed the main points Tom Fox so effectively raises.
Substantial cuts to the poor
Substantial cuts to the poor are not part of the deals in the debt ceiling debate, as Tom suggests. The cuts suggested are designed to balance the budget, rather than cut programs that are effective. If the government is forced to balance spending by removing waste and cutting back war expenses, then the poor will not be harmed by this change. In fact, the tax increase in removing uncertainty over taxes will come from more successful business and investment activities. Historically, this is the result, not what Tom believes takes place.
The immorality of protecting the wealthy from paying taxes is an incorrect assessment of the situation. No one is protecting the wealthy except the regulations that provide loopholes and the improperly applied collection of taxes upon corporations.
I didn't line item a disagreement, but if you'd like I could do so.
You are making as many
You are making as many assumptions as Fox in terms of the impact of the cuts. You propose a rosy scenario I just can't buy.
1 - waste is being addressed in many non-defense programs now. You could cut ALL discretionary programs and not balance the budget. Do the math, I have.
2 - the level of cutting needed will affect existing programs in the end. It may all look trivial to you now, but will it be trivial later?
3 - what in the world makes you think the Republicans will cut war spending? War spending will drop on its own as we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq, but the real target needs to be Defense, and the agreement has a trigger in case the two sides can't reach agreement on the committee. 50% of the cuts come from Defense and already the defense hawks are circling to protect their pet projects. There are programs in the CURRENT budget, including new weapons, that Defense doesn't need (and they have said so), but the Congress has put into the budget so some Congressperson can say they brought home jobs.
Tax receipts as a percent of
Tax receipts as a percent of GDP are the lowest they have been in 60 years. That is not just a result of the economic downturn, a temporary thing. The Bush tax cuts did not replace the taxes the cost - as a percent of GDP. It seems we cut taxes before we got around to cutting spending, creating quite a mess. The other thing that has happened is that there is been a steady concentration of income, net worth, and financial wealth. For example, in the early 1980s, the top 20% received about 50% of income and the lower 80% received about 50% of income. By about 2007, the top 20% received a little over 60% and the bottom 80% received about 40%. If you looked at yearly charts of that data, you would see that it was a pretty continuous small increase, year by year. In other words, the "trickle down" was actually a trickle up. The same thing happened in terms of concentration of net worth and financial wealth. I find the recent information on the loss of net worth among African-American and Latino populations to be alarmingly huge - and confirming of that trend to concentrate the economic profits of all labor into a few hands.
So, we do have a real problem in what is happening to the spread of income and wealth in our country. And,frankly, since most of the wealth, the economic advance, of the past 30 and 40 years is concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, I don't see why those who got the benefit should not pay the taxes. Though I am one of the losers, I will pay more taxes if that means we can keep some kind of safety net for those who are truly in need. I am not hungry - yet.
John your comments make the
John your comments make the most sense.....It is a complicated world and has been.
One things for sure.....we have to work together. demonizing and drawing lines in the sand will never
work.
Marilyn
come the revolution
come the revolution
Come Lord Jesus ...
Come Lord Jesus ...
same difference, come the
same difference, come the Reign of God
do our mandatory requisite
do our mandatory requisite reading of the Gil Scott-Heron psalm The revolution will not be televised
and then that revolutionary hymn we once all had to sing each evening, Mary's song to her unborn Son the magnificat
Excellent editorial. I
Excellent editorial. I especially thank you for adding the part that we supposedly love our troops, but we don't want to support them. One of the scariest things that the Bush administration did was to teach that we can play war without no sacrifice. Yes, the families of those soldiers made sacrifices and many soldiers made the sacrifice of their lives, but what did most of us sacrifice? Nothing; in fact we were given tax cuts to prove that war is just a game of fun. Where is the shared sacrifice? Where is a tax to pay for these wars and support of our troops? Now that the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 is coming, please don't let your representatives wave the flag without asking, what did you or I sacrifice for the cause?
"Yes, the families of those
"Yes, the families of those soldiers made sacrifices and many soldiers made the sacrifice of their lives, but what did most of us sacrifice? "
Even though the financial cost of these wars is enormous and growing, it is insignificant when compared to the lives of the men and women who have served in these conflicts, and to the lives of their family and friends, lives that were disrupted and damaged by unjust, unilateral and undeclared wars that our government and we as citizens have allowed.
Returning veterans are increasingly suffering addictive and abusive behavior toward themselves, their spouses, their families and friends. Statistics (which are finally being honestly compiled and revealed) show increased divorce, suicide and murder rates by veterans. The medical and mental attention and care our service personnel receive is barely adequate during their induction and training period. It is "hit or miss" during their deployments to conflict zones. And it is shamefully and stingily doled out after the veterans return.
We are also acknowledging that it is mostly individuals from low income families, those with little education, and especially minorities who make up the bulk of our armed forces. We justify this by saying that military service offers them the best opportunity for success and a better life.
When I returned as a Marine veteran from Vietnam after Tet of '68, I found little gratitude or respect for my service other than at the VFW posts where we could retell "war stories," bitch about the lack of appreciation for our service, while we drank discounted booze and ate meals prepared by the ladies' auxiliaries.
"Now that the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 is coming, please don't let your representatives wave the flag without asking, what did you or I sacrifice for the cause?"... and what if anything are we doing now?
Paz y Bien, Rolando, SFO.
Your post is right on target.
Your post is right on target. As someone who worked with veterans, what you described about returning veterans and what they face has been true for practically all the wars of the last 100 years. The great majority of those who fight wars are the poor, the average ordinary American. Very few of us are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, but not to make any sacrifices, especially by those very wealthy for whom it wouldn't even be a sacrifice, is sinful and immoral.
I just returned yesterday from the Schenksville, Pennsylvania memorial (a work in progress), the crash site of Flight 93. It is far from completed, and I was only able to see the planned Memorial area from a distance, from a temporary overlook. I think I will choose to remember what I saw yesterday. What moved me emotionally was the area that is the resting place of those who died there. A grassy meadow, some wildflowers have reclaimed the open wound of the earth where the plane crashed. A rather large boulder marks the place of impact. It spoke about sacrifice. It spoke about the best part of ordinary Americans and citizens from other countries, who knew "the right thing to do" in such a horrific moment. They knew they were going to die, and still were able to make their deaths count for the "right thing"...to crash the plane in a less populated area and to prevent the terrorists from reaching their final target. It was a decision that was made in an extreme situation. It speaks to the best that is possible in us. I wish we had leaders who in this extreme situation in which we find ourselves, who were willing instinctively to do what is "the right" thing. It was not just the Schenksville Memorial that touched me, but the entire area of Pennsylvania we were visiting and through which we travelled. Those small towns like Schenksville, are barely alive economically. The larger towns and cities, like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are shadows of their former economic selves.
Correction...I apologize to
Correction...I apologize to the people of Shanksville, PA for misspelling the name of their town...
'It spoke about the best part
'It spoke about the best part of ordinary Americans and citizens from other countries, who knew "the right thing to do" in such a horrific moment. They knew they were going to die, and still were able to make their deaths count for the "right thing"...'
- Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. (John 6:10)
"I wish we had leaders who in this extreme situation in which we find ourselves, who were willing instinctively to do what is "the right" thing."
- When they had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker basket with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. (John 6:12-13)
Our hope and assurance is in the intervening verse:
- Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. (John 6:11)
This is not a magic answer but an honest human response.
- Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. (John 6:15)
"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy." 1 Corinthians 12:26
Alone, together, with Jesus? Perhaps this is what our Father, in,with and through our Lord and Brother, by the grace and action of the Holy Spirit, offers us and waits for us to accept... for ever and ever.
"It was not just the ... Memorial that touched me, but the entire area of ... we were visiting and through which we travelled. Those small towns like ..., are barely alive economically."
That we all may be one.
Paz y Bien, Rolando, SFO.
and wojtyla killed our
and wojtyla killed our liberation theology for this?
Jesus began the public ministry by declaring real, substantial GOOD NEWS for the poor, the hungry, those without health care, a year of jubillee, and opening the prison doors.
while we get this.
dude.
where's my liberation?
come the revolution
Blessed John Paul II properly
Blessed John Paul II properly and correctly pointed out the profound flaw in Liberation Theology, that Liberation Theology teaches people to look for salvation in the government, not in Jesus Christ; that people are taught to look for Paradise here in this world, and to focus all their energies in this world, ignoring or forgetting the world to come. It is Marxism pure and simple, and entirely incompatible with the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Your liberation does not come from any government, if you do not understand that simple fact, then you have been profoundly misled. Liberation comes from Jesus Christ Himself; Scripture warns us to "put not your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save" (Psalm 146: 3). If you are putting your trust, the hope for liberation, in governments, in Presidents or Congresses or Senators, then you will find your trust betrayed and your hope dashed. This is why Liberation Theology is such a profoundly troubling teaching, it advocates doing precisely what Scripture warns us against.
Finally, in reading this comment, I find your other comments advocating for peace, etc., to be amusing. On the one hand, you cry for peace and an end to violence, on the other you call for revolution. Do you not see the inherent contradiction in calling for revolution as if the United States was some backwater third world country, while also advocating for peace and non-violence?
the proud simoniac wojtyla
the proud simoniac wojtyla was bought off by the wealthy for protection not only at the continued corruption of the Vatican Banks but also in vouchsafing protection, empowerment and privilege to Marciel in exchange for financial gain.
Destroying intensively our Liberation was brought the irrelevance and death of our Church.
Yet you support that conspicuously consumptive Bishop Braxton, who stands not with the poor. a wojtyla death bed appointment . . .
blessed, no
saint, no
Romero, si
wojtyla, no
The so-called liberal media
The so-called liberal media give so much time and space to the Tea Party. Would that the media were really liberal and highlight the Pew study, the actual taxation burden (quite light compared to other developed nations) that we bear, and the increase in social stratification that is reaching levels of the late 1920s. Would that they could ignore the incoherent, flaming populism that gets so much airtime since the Tea Party (aka Hooverites) has learned how to seduce the gullible media by providing provocative soundbites without substance.
It's so sad! But,
It's so sad! But, unfortunately, this kind of rich/poor apartheid is growing everywhere. The wealth gap keeps getting deeper and deeper, and it is global. That's the result of finance dominating the economy and ruling democracy. The speculators and the multinational corporations have no creed, no morals, no frontiers, and they are the real owners of the world, while reducing humanity to a new form of slavery. The planet is facing a new Great Depression, that no one knows how it will end. For sure, will cause huge human pain everywhere (and no few new conflicts).
God bless you and the American people, mainly the poor who are condemned to be poorer. Meanwhile, let's not loose hope. Winston Churchill, some time ago elected the greater XXth century's politician, said something like this: "The American always end to do the right thing, after excluding all the others possibilities."
Your people, as all the other sufering peoples, are present in my thoughts and my prayers.
P.S. Perharps your readers would like to know about this very good article:
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/01/us-debt-deal-tea-party
Churchill? That war criminal?
Churchill? That war criminal? Who was responsible for this?
http://rense.com/general87/church.htm
"Winston Churchill, some time
"Winston Churchill, some time ago elected the greater XXth century's politician . . ."
o . . .m . . .g . . .
I could not agree more. I
I could not agree more. I had to contact our president and congress regarding this outrageous compromise! I fear times will get a lot worse before they get any better.
I share your frustration,
I share your frustration, but writing to the President and members of Congress is s waste of time. They didn't decide on their action obliviousof how the people felt. All the poles showed that the majority of us citizens disagreed with what they were doing, and it didn't make a bit of difference. We have the best Congress money has bought.
Thank you for this clear and
Thank you for this clear and wise evaluation. May your voice be heard!
Amen. My sixth-grade nun was
Amen. My sixth-grade nun was right. "Money, power, and prestige" will be the death of us. "We are on the same road as the Roman Empire was before it fell."
We are no more immune to toppling than any other big power in the history of the world. And we are digging our own grave. I am reminded of Shelley's poem "Ozymandias":
. . .
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Dramatic but true.
I'm watching the voting in
I'm watching the voting in the U.S. Senate as I'm writing this response. Thanks for a focused and straightfoward response. What is being finished as I write, is not democratic and not Christian. And the talking media heads are talking to themselves, every so often having themselves a "laugh" because of some fine turned phrase.
I want to add my own thought to your use of the Matthew scripture from Chapter 25. This scripture does not just mean that we give to the poor in charity, of our old clothes, of our charitable financial donations, to supply food pantries or to work to feed the poor. That is a given, and "the least" we can give and do for the "least of our brethren" is not enough. What we never, ever do, not in my lifetime and for hundreds of years before, is to pay the laborer a living wage, to provide jobs that have basic benefits, that they have access to decent homes and that they have hope for a better life for their children. This doesn't just apply to migrant workers, although they are definitely in my thoughts, but to many working poor people. Chapter 25 doesn't speak about charity alone, but about structural changes that need to happen. It was when Jesus went after the structures of religion and government, that he was crucified. That is an indication of just how difficult making those necessary changes is. Its about fighting those powers and principalities, not as some evil spirits floating in the heavens and around the earth in the form of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but as the owners (living and breathing human beings) of wealth (mamon) and those who hold the the power of government, economies and the military. May I suggest that they are all the same, in a most unholy union.
You have hit it directly on
You have hit it directly on the head. We are facing a choice now. Will we teach our children to live with virtuous character and integrity, or will we lead them toward lives of greedy selfishness? I am a Christian, but as far as I'm concerned, an atheist can get this concept and they do. Shame, shame America.
I have no problem with tax
I have no problem with tax increases, they are inevitable in order to dig out of the financial hole we are in. However, I think the tax increases should affect everyone, not just the so-called rich. Obviously the wealthy will need to pay more than the middle class, but everyone except the very low income needs to have some skin in the game.
As of 2009, 51% of US households paid no income tax at all. We all have benefited from the deficit spending of the last 40 years, we all need to pay a part in paying off the debt, each according to their means.
The United States cannot
The United States cannot espouse fairness. Nothing in its make-up supports it. It is a highly competitive, self-interest driven country. It's very nature, rooted its founding, is exploitive.
Of course, there are many people who work toward fairness, justice, equality. But they have to fight, they have to sue in court, they have to demonstrate in the streets, they have to go to jail in order to just get a hearing on what might be considered fairness.
The aim of the Republican Party is not to govern, rather to remove President Obama and gain power. That is the mantra. They would toss this country into financial ruin simply to remove the President. That borders on sedition. It's not even just a political issue; the Republican Party actually detests the man.
Fairness? Surprised? Why?
You see it clearly,Dave.
You see it clearly,Dave. Keep speaking up. Eve
I totally agree with Tom
I totally agree with Tom Fox's analysis of the latest deficit reduction legislation. When are the wealthiest Americans going to take their responsibilities seriously to sharing just a wee bit of their wealth. Republicans say they are the "job-creators" but I see little evidence of this. The corporations are now running the government and the Supreme Court, with no sign of progress for the poor and marginalized in the foreseeable future. The latest statistics also show how much our black and hispanic brothers and sisters are suffering under the present economy; and it is now going to get worse. And so many of these right-wingers call themselves "Christian." If Jesus hadn't resurrected, he'd be turning over in his grave, seeing what people do in HIS name!
May I also suggest a slightly
May I also suggest a slightly different interpretation of the excerpt from Matthew included in the article?
Giving to the poor benefits the giver as well as the recipient. The recipient receives the material items they need, and the giver learns sacrificial generosity and the joy of helping others. Social programs that are funded through taxes accomplish one of these but not the other. It would be far better if social programs were funded through voluntary contributions from the better off.
Is this unrealistic? I really don't think so. If more of our pastors, social justice committees, etc would educate and strongly encourage the wealthy to give more, I think it is possible.
yeah, whatever happened to
yeah, whatever happened to that huge Bill Microsoft philanthropic farce?
clouded in confidentiality and confusion
he was supposed to report to
he was supposed to report to you?
our own ubiquitous media is
our own ubiquitous media is having trouble finding where all that money went to, your irrelevant ad hominem notwithstanding.
Unrealistic to support the
Unrealistic to support the values of a society that wishes to RAISE ALL BOATS. That is the TPARTY idea: charitable organizations can take care of the needs of the poor. That is foolish, shortsighted and a cop out to the realities that we live in a country of 300 million people. That 5% of the population controls more wealth than the bottom 95%. 25% of our children live in poverty and rising because of the likes of SUper thief in Chief Rick Scott in FL who cut programs for the poor, ill and disabled to give tax cuts to businesses. Walker in WI created the budget shortfall and transferred millions from programs for the poor to award tax cuts to business. That is NeW TAX CUTS for corporate donors. GREED is the motivation for such actions.
I worked in the non-profit sector in health care,immigration and child care. We were always begging for money, always looking for new sources of assistance. Had it not been for govt, we would have had to cut services to patients and people would have died others would have gone hungry. I will share a story: we were delivering Thanksgiving BASKETS, and visited an elderly woman, who had not eaten in a week. She thanked GOD we were there to save her. She lived in a rural area, had no way to get to the WELFARE office and could have died in that house abandoned and alone. Now, should the govt have been there for her?? Not according to the TPARTY.
My real surprise is the number of ROMAN CATHOLICS who were elected as TPARTY values candidates. The TPARTY in no way represents any values that I learned growing up.
What is missing is leadership
What is missing is leadership by the individual bishops.
The USCCB has put out a few statements concerning protecting the poor/needy but most bishops have been silent.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote my diocese calling for my bishop to speak out and I didn't even get an acknowledgement of the letter.
For many years I defended the bishops when people wrote that bishops were only interested in the womb and near to the tomb.
No long will I defend them.
As a Military Brat I learned the role and duties of leadership. Most bishops fail as legitimate leaders and so do not deserve even the respect to be paid to the Office.
The church's soft whisper,
The church's soft whisper, "no" wasn't heard.
Tell me, is there a
Tell me, is there a government program that helps poor people take charge of their lives? Tell me what they are.
I keep hearing about the government programs for the poor -- but my experience (I have been poor, by the way) is that they end up fostering dependence. I am not saying some welfare is necessary. However, there is only so much that the rich can be taxed -- there simply aren't that many rich.
The people -- rich and middle class -- that I see actively engaged in outreach programs for the poor, are for the most part, conservative. And you have only to look at the tax returns of some of our wealthy liberal politicians and you see next to no personal investment in private charities -- why are these people asking the government to do what they are unwilling to do themselves?
How about Nancy Pelosi giving up her private Jet?
Don't get me wrong -- we definitely need some government programs as a safety net. And Medicaid and Medicare spending should not be cut -- but they are basically asking the doctors to take the cut.
I would be curious to know just how much the writer contributed last year to charitable causes. Jesus Christ didn't tell us to ask the government to do it, he didn't tell us to ask the person we perceive as rich to do it -- he asked us to do it. Government exists for another purpose.
this government after the
this government after the bush dynasty back through Nixon who became president by default after so many still mysterious assassinations serves only the rich and the powerful. Government exists for another purpose and this government will not stand another five years, let alone another generation.
This government subsidizes the rich and powerful at the expense of the most vulnerable among us.
tax the rich at 95% and disband entirely the military.
Declare PEACE and a Jubilee Year.
THERE DOESN'T NEED TO BE
THERE DOESN'T NEED TO BE EXTREME REMEDY to resolve our revenue problen. We just have to let the BUSH tax cuts expire in 10 years. The tax cuts were to give back surplus dollars to taxpayers. Well with the attack on 9/11 and the start up of two wars of choice, the SURPLUSES disappeared but instead of rescinding the cuts to pay for the WARS and DAMAGES of Katrina, we went into debt. Cheney told us that the Iraqi's would pay for the war with OIL revenues which did not happen. The careless disregard for the economy came from the determination of the republicans to continue the cuts and TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS even when the facts clearly forecast the dangerous road ahead. The middle class and the poor have paid for these wars with blood and treasure. The wealthy have not. The point is the RICH are still enjoying their tax cuts, the WALL STREET cheats are still robbing the american people, AMERICAN corporations are still shipping jobs overseas and our govt lacks the WILL to serve the best interests of all the people of the US of AMERICA.. Lust for POWER, greed and arrogance is what drives the TPARTY. They have no political or social conscience, they are immoral.
we do not have another ten
we do not have another ten years.
We're toast
stick a fork in us
we're done
the bush family legacy
Dear Sir, I have been
Dear Sir,
I have been following your posts, and I always agree with you. I'm almost 60, and don't have anything to lose. Having such a deep love for the Church, I can afford to be a "talking cricket" of my own conscience. I'm lucky! Because in humility and service I found my freedom!
I congratulate you for your unrelenting Christian vigilance. I don't know, but perhaps you'll have much more to risk. After all, I'm just a foreigner.
God bless you!
Someone stated yesterday that
Someone stated yesterday that the very rich now own 90% of the wealth of this country. The very rich represent 10% of the population. If someone would further analyze the top 10% you would find that it is a small percent of that 10% that actually owns most of the wealth....Instead of being philanthropic, or attending charitable balls in their costly attire and jewels, wouldn't it be better if they actually create the jobs that the Republicans give as the reason not to tax them ? Something is very wrong !!!
You've heard this
You've heard this before...about half of households pay no federal income tax while the top 5% (or thereabouts) pay about 60%. And, it is those top 5% who are responsible for an even higer percentage of charitable giving in this country...and yet, like a broken record, "it's just not fair". Whine, whine, whine...about how the rich don't give enough...for one, I'm sick of hearing it...
It simply is not true that
It simply is not true that the wealthy give a higher percentage of their incomes to charity. While a handful of the super-wealthy give quite generously, middle and lower income Americans give a greater percentage of their modest earnings. Saying something repeatedly does not make it so. Facts do, and the facts do not at all match your assertion. Pick a year, any year and you'll find at least one article proving you wrong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22FOB-wwln-t.html
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/02/19...
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/research/giving%20focused%20on%20meeti...
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/human-rights-facts-128-cha...
The modern conservative is
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006)
and I of the cry of the poor,
and I of the cry of the poor, of the children, of the elderly, their just whine for relief and for peace.
who has ears to hear let us hear the just cries of the poor
And how do these top 5% get
And how do these top 5% get their wealth? By hard work, or by lying, cheating and stealing? Look at the ethics of the leadership at Enron, the old Savings and Loan debacle (enabled by a Bush son), the credit default swap deception, Bernie Madoff. I was married to a man who is now wealthy because of these "Enron ethics." After I helped get him through a Ph.D. and adopted four children, due to his being sterile (who helped him continue unusually long on his National Science Foundation grant), he abandoned us to "pursue his manhood." Due to his value system and the values of many of those in the top 5%, he pays less into social security than I do as a self-employed social worker, pays few, if any taxes, and lives an opulent life. I too am sick of it, anonymous, and as outraged as was Jesus at the empty "Christians" who push "prosperity Christianity." By the way, this ex is now "born again" and essentially buys indulgences from his media savy charismatic pastor to look good and feel good. This is the kind of value system that you unashamedly support. I do not understand how you can live with yourself. Sign me, very hard working mom who was used by the now wonderful wealthy.
Thank you for this excellent
Thank you for this excellent comment on the state of our nation community.
The flagrant lack of concern for the poor in our country is sinful beyond measure.
Will pass this on for others to read.
What will amaze me is that
What will amaze me is that the majority of the Hierarchy are
Republicans and will not flicker an eye on the legislation.
Bring back the military draft
Bring back the military draft (although many congressional somehow avoided it itn the past) and watch how less interested and willing we become in sending our military of to war.
Politicians love to ware their religion all over their sleeve, but somehow fail to internalize the meaning of brotherly (sisterly) love.
When a family is starving
When a family is starving because the wage earner wastes all of its income on binge drinking or gambling, you don't say to the children: "Everyone is going to have to sacrifice a little more to get us out of this mess."
If the truth be told, the
If the truth be told, the Republicans' first agenda is to get rid of Obama. Everything else holds a distant, very distant second place. Consequently, even reason is sacrificed and the failure of our economy let slide. These are not leaders, these are tyrants who hold the public good at arm's length, if at all! Wake up, Mr/Mrs/Ms Citizen and take hold of our democracy, or we will not have it soon!
tax the rich 95% they won't
tax the rich
95%
they won't even notice in their satyricones
disband entirely the military form produciton through delivery
declare PEACE
and disband totally the military
love the enemy
and so find money to heal the sick and clothe the naked and feed the hungry and shelter the homeless and all the other good stuff Jesus commands us
I just finished reading John
I just finished reading John Grisham's "The Appeal" Copyright 2008 and if that isn't a prelude to this story, I don't know what is. A conspiracy of gigantic proportions.
In response to "Jesus Christ
In response to "Jesus Christ didn't tell us to ask the government to do it, he didn't tell us to ask the person we perceive as rich to do it -- he asked us to do it. Government exists for another purpose."
Jesus made it clear in "Lazarus and the Rich Man" that the rich man who continues to "step over" conditions of poverty has no place in the Kingdom of God. Jesus made it clear in "Judgment of NATIONS" that a nation will be judged on how it treats the poor, sick, stranger, prisoner. If one is unable to perceive Christ in the poor, sick, stranger, and prisoner they have no place in the Kingdom of God. This goes not just for individuals but the community, the state, the nation, the world. One's level of compassion for the poor is simply an indicator of whether one has found the Kingdom of God. It is my hope that America will find, in the not-too-distant future, the WILL to have compassion for the Least, and stop worshipping money.
Thank you Tom, for your
Thank you Tom, for your excellent commentary.
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The argument posited by some that only 50% of Americans pay taxes is evidence of how skewed our understanding of wealth distribution has become. The bottom 40% owns less than 1% of the nation's wealth. The top 1% own 38%, and the top 10% owns a whopping 71% of our nation's wealth. This level of income disparity is the highest it has been in a century, and the gap has widened at an alarming rate since the cult of deregulated, trickle-down economics that put down policy roots in the 1980s.
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First of all the “50% pay no taxes claim” is not true. Federal income taxes themselves are only about 40% of the total Federal revenue stream, and even smaller amount of total national tax burden. Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes; gasoline taxes, phone and other excise taxes and user fees; state and local sales taxes (which in some states include tax on food); real and personal property taxes which have been forced to go up as a result of Federal cutbacks — are all taxes that are assessed to everyone. But even adding all those taxes together, the total US tax burden is lower now as a share of national income than it's been for over 50 years, since 1958. Corporate taxation as a percentage is the second lowest in the world.
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Despite these historically low tax rates, our economy remains weak and unemployment is still sky high. We are in a downward self-feeding spiral that requires government intervention, and yes, progressive taxation and spending to create infrastructure jobs that will increase consumer demand for goods and services, broaden the tax base, and which will in turn prompt private for-profit entities to begin hiring again to meet demand. Without demand, the private for-profits will continue to sit on their money. Just one example that today is taken for granted, the Interstate System of Roads, which was a massive federal project from decades past — a deregulated for-profit entity could not have achieved what the government was able to do which both stimulated the economy and put citizens to work… all while debt as a percentage of GDP continued to decline to new lows from post-WW2 highs.
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Timid half-measures don’t work. It requires serious government policy planning, not the ongoing Wall Street style gambling and partisan bickering. Ongoing recession, austerity and joblessness, exacerbate debt and downward GDP spirals. Government investment in breaking the spiral pays big dividends — this is not the time for making bad matters worse with cuts that hurt the most vulnerable who are already losing ground while corporations grow richer and hoard their assets. The success of our economy for everyone has always depended on a thriving middle class with living-wage jobs, yet the middle class is now sinking into growing poverty as the result of failed across-the-board policy, including but not limited to regressive taxation, deregulation, a sickness-and-death-for-profit health care system, and a nationalist penchant for waging endless war on borrowed money. Government doesn't have to be the enemy, but both neocon and neo-liberal policies are making it the enemy.
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The medical community no longer bleeds patients to heal them… somewhere along the way it was learned that the blood loss weakened and killed the victims of this technique. It was self-defeating to drain out the life blood of the patient. Apparently our government is not yet that advanced in its Beltway group-think.
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A summary of this issue here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/07/tax-fairness
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Another worthy read that captures the current political dynamic is Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”.
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Thanks for the informative
Thanks for the informative response. I agree with your assessment. However, I would also like to add, that although the government doesn't have to be the enemy, it does need to function. I believe that there have been attempts made over time that have made it difficult for the government to function properly. I'm holding both parties accountable....the House of Representative is gerrymandered so completely that very little actual choice is involved in voting, why bother voting at all ??? The tax laws are a nightmare ? Social Security would be ok if they hadn't robbed it to pay for the wars. The biggest entitlement is the Military Industrial Complex, yet the blame is placed somewhere else...Who benefits from things being the way they are ? Certainly not most of us. If the system is not completely broken, it's not far from it.
We just can't let the
We just can't let the Democrat's spend, spend, spend,and we must protect the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy. How else are the rich going to provide more jobs. I wonder why no one in congress talked about one of the biggest problems this country has, our TRADE DEFICIT. Are they all just plain stupid? We don't have any jobs because we allow foreign countries to have a free U.S. market, in addition, allowing our major manufactuers to use foreign workers because of their cheap labor. Can you find anything in Wal-Mart or Costco that is made in this country. I think it's time to get people in Congress that represent us, not their big supportes.
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