tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post1968903229611529853..comments2024-03-25T14:27:40.121-05:00Comments on Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength: From each according to his ability ...Weekend Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-51878538031894211242008-10-31T07:56:00.000-05:002008-10-31T07:56:00.000-05:00And don't get me started on what professional ...And don't get me started on what professional entertainers / athletes are paid ... <BR/><BR/>Take care & God bless<BR/>Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-45046845932771936092008-10-29T09:59:00.000-05:002008-10-29T09:59:00.000-05:00One of the problems in the economy these days is t...One of the problems in the economy these days is that people aren't paid according to their work or ability. For example, the person who cleans a hospital is extremely important to both the reputation of the hospital and to the success of the hospital. But they are, undoubtedly, on the low end of the hospital pay scale. The hospital can't exist without the doctors and nurses, but also would go down quickly without competent cleaners. There are other jobs there that are also essential, as well as many jobs that they could do without, for awhile, anyway. <BR/><BR/>Why is it that child care workers and elder care workers earn less than those who wait on tables in a fancy restaurant? Here I deliberately chose a group of workers who have to go to school to do their job in contrast to a group who doesn't. It doesn't mean that a waiter doesn't work hard. <BR/><BR/>We often focus on who earns more than we do. Or who gets more. It might be more "Christian" as well as more practical to look at actually paying each according to his ability and his work. <BR/><BR/>Is the CEO of the conglomerate who owns the Widget Maker factory actually worth 250 x more per hour than the widget maker on the assembly line, especially if that widget maker isn't paid enough to afford health insurance? <BR/><BR/>A few months ago, my son was let go from his job at an insurance/financial advising company. He was probably lucky to get out when he did and find another job (for less money, even though the prerequisites for the job were high). He was told that they were going to hire a woman for the job who didn't need to earn as much, and he was to train her. Of course, he protested. Because one part of his job, he knew how much many of the higher ups were actually earning, and he knew that they weren't hurting financially (unless they were WAY overextended.) <BR/><BR/>Side point: We've seen that the scammers are also on the high end of the economy, not just the loafers on the low end.LoieJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977264499770654307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-81829747500246595352008-10-29T09:52:00.000-05:002008-10-29T09:52:00.000-05:00Hey there,Thanks for your comments. No, I don't t...Hey there,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments. No, I don't think that Jesus' workers in the field parable is an economic teaching. God is generous with all - those who come early and those who come late. Also with the son who wasted away his inheritance. Also with . . . And as you said, God's generosity calls us to a faithful and generous response. But a Lord who is willing to go against basic economic orthodoxy, even as a sermon illustration, probably calls us to rethink a few things about money, neighbor, community . . .<BR/><BR/>I think it is terribly difficult to translate Gospel into governance, as I wrote earlier. Christians will come out on both sides of the issue, that's for sure. I simply see in the Scripture and Christian tradition a call for greater compassion and generosity than that which the Cult of Capitalism or Faith in the Free Market asks. The question is, then, what should Christians ask of their (secular) government (of a religiously diverse nation), vs. what should they ask of themselves? (Role of government issues are a huge question for me.)<BR/><BR/>In a sense, Jesus' ministry is not a good model for governance, actually. It got him killed in only three years. He was less interested in teaching the hungry to feed themselves than he was in simply feeding them directly. His was not a modern strategy for sustainable governance.<BR/><BR/>But whether we're talking about faith or simply about sound public policy, I don't think a growing divide in the income gap is good for anyone. The divisions create social tensions (see Gov. Palin's "Real America" comments) and strains on the (social, economic, transportation, etc.) infrastructure of our nation. We do better by "uniting, not dividing" (as George W. Bush used to say). Traditional conservative tax-cutting and government-stripping measures lead to more long-term problems than they do to long-term prosperity. I mean, if you cut taxes and want to starve government, then should we be surprised that we have little oversight on toys made in China or that we have a hapless response to Hurricane Katrina? <BR/><BR/>Luther spoke about a rather activist role for government in caring for the poor and needy (see my post from July, <A HREF="http://www.lutheranzephyr.com/main/2007/11/luther-on-gover.html" REL="nofollow">Luther on Government in Psalm 82</A>). Still, what does that mean, what does that look like today?<BR/><BR/>I'm not afraid of taxes or of government, for the government has the God-blessed task of restraining evil, maintaining order, and seeing to the common good. I don't call for a huge government or a uber-strong state, but I do call for a healthy government that is properly funded to do its God-given tasks. <BR/><BR/>Can government power be abused? Surely it can. Rights can be abridged and taxpayer money can be spent recklessly with few checks and balances, as we have seen in recent years. Christians should call on the government to be accountable and wise stewards of taxpayer dollars and guarantors of civil rights. But unlike most conservatives, I start from a generally positive view of the role of government in society.<BR/><BR/>OK, that's enough for now. Not sure I'll be back for more, but thanks for the post and conversation.Chris Duckworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15569502792071232013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-50392536321927839982008-10-29T07:31:00.000-05:002008-10-29T07:31:00.000-05:00Hi ChrisYou know, I almost added a section about t...Hi Chris<BR/><BR/>You know, I almost added a section about the "workers in the field" parable, and the only reason I didn't was that I wanted this post to focus exclusively on the slogan "From each (etc.)". <BR/><BR/>I think it's a fundamental mistake to interpret the workers in the field as an economic parable; that would make about as much sense as interpreting the parable of the talents ("your mina has earned ten more!") as an economic parable; I'd reject both interpretations equally, even if one (so misinterpreted) would be communist and the other capitalist. Neither one is about economics. <BR/><BR/>The point we can and should take from the workers in the field is about generosity in general and God's generosity in salvation in particular. Jesus isn't intending to teach the economic point "everyone should be paid the same regardless of how much they work". <BR/><BR/>The point that can be legitimately taken is that God is generous with us and therefore we should be generous with each other. With that I'm in full agreement. Whether generosity should be interpreted an entitlement for someone who works less to receive as much as the one who is working hard by taking from the one who is working hard regardless of his consent, that's where you and I might part ways, depending on your stand there.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of the bailout, I think it was a horrible idea. My rep voted for it and did an interview on public radio in which he said he hated it too and thought it was horrible, but he believed it to be better than the alternative. <BR/><BR/>I don't think charity-based scams are necessary "chump change". The sub-prime lending crisis was charity scamming run amok. Same for Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac. What percentage of our recent bailout is actually coerced charity? What percentage of our current economic crisis is that the charity systems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took on too many charity cases and collapsed? I'm serious about the questions, they're not rhetorical at all, and the questions (if you'll notice) is that I actually want to know what percentage. If the news industry was doing a better job, we might know that answer. Suffice it to say I don't think charity scamming is negligible; it's gone institutional. <BR/><BR/>I'm not denying it exists on the individual level also; I personally know a fellow who is in his 50's and has basically lived on government handouts all his life. He's resentful that he doesn't get more, and considers most jobs that he could get beneath his dignity. So you and I are supporting him. But as you say, individual abuses are chump change. <BR/><BR/>The part that concerns me about most talk of "economic justice" is it is used to imply that "justice" is the correct term for taking from a hard worker and giving to someone who does not produce according to his ability; that is actually a form of injustice (if done by coercion) or generosity (if done voluntarily). <BR/><BR/>So to me the real question is this: how do you get optimal productivity so that "from each according to his ability" covers the people who are able to take care of themselves actually being required to take care of themselves, *and* provides for economic justice for both those who are incapable of meeting their own needs, and economic justice for the productive. <BR/><BR/>Take care & God bless<BR/>Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-26895637440010690442008-10-29T06:35:00.000-05:002008-10-29T06:35:00.000-05:00Good reflection, though I disagree with the genera...Good reflection, though I disagree with the general direction of your argument. Two points:<BR/><BR/>You write, "Danger: There is a certain injustice if the one who produces more is not also receiving more."<BR/>Though admittedly it is hard to translate the Gospel into governance, I'm not sure that Jesus agrees with your statement. Check out the parable of the workers in the field, Matthew 20:1-16.<BR/><BR/>Also, you write with some concern about scammers milking the welfare system. This sounds much like President Reagan's ridiculous (and mythical) notion of the "Welfare Queen." I've worked in the inner city and never met anyone who <I>wanted</I> to be on federal assistance. Are there abuses? Sure there are. But abuses of food stamp programs or rent assistance is chump change compared to the Wall Street scammers and corporate welfare that Washington doles out with impunity. In this country we love to assail assistance for the poor but we think it patriotic to send taxpayer dollars to Wall Street. Please.<BR/><BR/>Again, I have no doubt that some of the dangers you outline are indeed legitimate. But at the same time I question our country's love of capitalism over community, personal accumulation over concern for the poor. <BR/><BR/>God has given humanity all it needs to survive, yet we defend with patriotic fervor a system that is wrought with grave inequalities. There's a log in our American eye.Chris Duckworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15569502792071232013noreply@blogger.com