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Wealth, Poverty, Perspective

As we go forward in this New Year (and well beyond that, too), we would do well to keep a proper perspective in our relationships with those who have less than we do. In an honest essay, written with a humble sincerity that all college professors should emulate, Thomas Phillips helps us to keep the proper Christian perspective:

We should remember what Jesus taught in "The Parable of the Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37).²

1.  Thomas E. Phillips, "Global Poverty: Beyond Utopian Visions," in Christian Reflection [Global Wealth], 11-17. Available as a PDF document.
2.  And we shouldn't think that this is really about Samaritans: it could be entitled "The Parable of the Whatever" and remain relevant.

Part II: Stop the Circles! (Or, What Is the Sound of One Invisible Hand Clapping?)

There is a presumption among Christians that free market capitalism, while not a sufficient condition for it, is at least a necessary condition for democracy. The presumption is not without rational support.¹ But we ought not to let this lull us into quietly accepting the romantic notion that American democracy can only survive if the present economic structure remains intact, because the very opposite is true. If the present structure remains intact, we will continue to have more of the same samenesses: Same corporate control over federal, state, and local governments, within and outside of US borders. Same pressures to bend social policy to match the interests of large domestic, large multinational corporations, whose sole overriding interest is to increase company profits, more often than not at the expense of any social good. Same pressures to make foreign policy toe the line drawn in the sand by corporate decision-makers.

Whether Americans get a single-payer healthcare benefit, whether third-party political candidates get to debate during presidential elections, whether we are able to convert our infrastructure to environmentally clean, renewable energies, whether we are able to withdraw militarily from Iraq and Afghanistan, whether we can change our nation's moral direction from aggressive military might to thoughtful diplomatic solutions, whether all Americans realize their entitlement to meaningful work, and to a living wage—alas, such decisions are currently in the hands of politicians who will listen to whispers from moneyed corporate interests, and yet our loud voices are not heard. More important than this, however, are the voices of the poor in America. According to the Current Population Survey, 2008 Annual Social and Economic Supplement,² there were 37 million people living in poverty in the US. People who are hungry, broke, and without the basic necessities of life cannot participate fully in any democratic process.

The current crisis for capitalism may be a sign of systemic change. Perhaps we are witnessing the deterioration of free market capitalism; perhaps it is evolving, like an organism, into a new economic species; perhaps, like a chameleon, it is becoming another color, a form of camouflage, before changing back to to a color with which we are more familiar. It really doesn't matter. What matters is that we do not allow this transformation to occur by means of its own systemic mechanisms, for we may not recognize the creature that emerges from this transformation and, more importantly, we may not enjoy the affections of this new creature. Indeed, it may well be an uglier, more unfriendly, most unpleasant economic system, whether or not we can adequately classify it before being totally devoured by the thing.

But how to manage this system, as it writhes in pain and suggests for us its new forms? I say, at least: Do not feed this animal! Instead, we ought really to starve it, effectively deprive it of the nourishment it demands, until it shrinks to a form that allows us to tame it, to make it behave in ways that benefit all of its caretakers, without gnawing on the hands that feed it. We can do this by refusing to bend to the siren call of the oligarchs, as they bid us to spend and buy. But this is needed in order for our oligarchs to maintain their wealth. They have to encourage real estate trading, regular buying, heavy borrowing, and a total lack of self control among the population. Consumption must take place in order for this machine to be fed. Not for nothing, therefore, did President Bush say, "I encourage you all to go shopping more."³

As Christians, we should remember to be content with what the Lord provides (see Phil 4:11; 1 Tim 6:6; Heb 13:5), to avoid giving ourselves over to the eagerness for money (1 Tim 3:3, 6:10), and to give generously, doing so willingly (2 Cor 8, 9). This is not our stuff. We are aliens, strangers, mere sojourners here (Heb 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11). As we remember our place in this world, we should heed also our biblical obligation to be good stewards of wealth, whether more or less. The open-ended process of spending and buying is inconsistent with that obligation. It transfers wealth from individuals to corporations, to entities which are legal persons but immoral monsters.

1.  See specifically Reverend Richard John Neuhaus' Christianity and Democracy, his "Statement of the Institute on Religion and Democracy."
2.  See summary in Poverty: 2007 Highlights.
3.  Press Conference by the President, December 20, 2006. But see also "He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill Is Due," Washington Post, October 5, 2008.

Don't Look Down

On the last Friday of every month (at least whenever I don't have class or a meeting or other obligation) I volunteer as a server at a homeless shelter and food bank in Daytona Beach. I do this as part of a local church group. On that special day, I go in about 9:30 in the morning and help set up; at 11:30 AM I help serve a small group of shelter families. At 12:00 noon, usually about four waves of homeless file in for what is probably their only meal for the day.

On this day, last Friday, we ran out of food twice and had to go back to the kitchen for a variety of available replacements. During the first wave, our guests got a meal of Chinese chicken (pan cooked chicken with peppers and sweet sauce) on mashed potatoes, a big spoon of apple cobbler, green mixed salad, fresh cut pineapple, and cake for dessert. For the second wave, we ran out of the apple cobbler and substituted that with small sweet potatoes baked in the skin. For the third wave, we ran out of mashed potatoes and then put the chicken on a bed of rice; we also ran out of green salad and replaced that with cole slaw. For the fourth wave, we ran out of Chinese chicken and replaced that with breaded chicken breast. At 1:30 PM, we ended the food service and started cleaning up. I washed dishes; I still find that very therapeutic. I was done at 2:30 PM and then headed home.

What stands out is that there wasn't an unusually large number of persons eating. I mean, no more than I've witnessed in the past. With the ongoing horror stories of Wall Street mischief, weird things done with TARP money, Madoff thievery, billions wasted in Iraq/Afghanistan, portents of a $10 trillion hangover, and with Congress shoveling out our tax money, itself borrowed from the future, to the very people whose incompetence has left us with this fetid holiday surprise—well, I thought I'd be seeing guys in three-piece suits lined up outside the shelter, for their only meal of the day.

Daytona Beach has a strange economy, built almost entirely on beach tourism, retirement gaiety, building construction and sales, auto and motorbike celebrations, and the small companies that support these endeavors. When any one of these economic hot spots declines, both skilled and unskilled workers get pushed right out the door. Unemployment benefits can pay some of the bills, but not much. There are formulas to follow in determining individual benefits and the actual benefit period, but still the maximum weekly benefit amount is only $275. The mainstream news is reporting mass layoffs, but I think we haven't even begun to see the pain. Wasn't that how last year's Asian tsunami happened? Something on the horizon and then ....