“Because the poor are
plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
I will protect them from those who malign them.
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
I will protect them from those who malign them.
(Psalm 12:5 NIV)
---------------------------------------
Mark Twain once addressed the propensity
for the religious in America to send missionaries to China. He suggested that
those missionaries might be better placed within the lynching fields of America
imbued as they were with the likes of the Ku Klux Klan. Likewise, I think there
is a tendency for us to assume that “relatively speaking” everyone in America is
wealthy. An image arises in our mind of emaciated children in some foreign land
with distended bellies gazing toward us in dispassionate desperation. No doubt those
born in America are fortunate in many ways. However, this in no way eliminates
the fact that many in America live in poverty and the continual stress as to
whether there will be enough money to pay the rent and to buy food--there are
many that must assiduously account for a mere $20 that represents their set-aside
for food to last out the month.
This is all to say that I
believe that Psalm 12:5 quoted above relates not only to far-off countries, but to many
in our own country.
Sometimes it is frankly quite
difficult to discern where good practical sense ends and ethics begins. Consider
the tax plan recently made into law. The role of ideology can be illustrated by
a perceived ambiguity in national affairs. That is, since the phenomenon
observed is somewhat hazy we all feel justified in a Rorschach application of
values derived exclusively from our own experiences and prejudices. Since it
seems that no position is QED provable, we ascertain that our subjective view
must be right and should be passionately pursued as if it were.
The Republicans have long
advocated a “trickle-down” approach in which the wealthy are “wealth creators”
and generate jobs and incomes for many through their investments. It is my
belief that history has not demonstrated the correctness of this principle.
Rather, it makes greater sense in my view to map out the true situation through
the economic process called “the Velocity of Money”. The following description
of the process is by Joshua Kennon. (https://www.joshuakennon.com/the-velocity-of-money-for-beginners/)
What Is the
Velocity of Money?
Simply
defined, the velocity of money is a measure of the economic activity of a
nation. It looks at how many times a unit of currency ($1 in the case of
the United States) flows through the economy and is used by the various members
of a society.
All else
equal, the faster money travels (the higher the velocity of money) and the more
transactions in which it is used, the healthier the economy, the richer the
citizens, and the more vibrant the financial system. The velocity of
money tells you how efficient $1 of money supply is at creating economic
activity…..
Ultimately,
economic growth is the result of consumer demand. Thus, you
want money in the hands of people who will spend it, in turn,
increasing the velocity of money. Tax cuts that only [preponderately*]
benefit the rich, rather than the average school teacher going into Target to
buy a box of cereal or a video game for her child, are a failure. [*bracketed word my addition].
There are many religious groups who foresee a coming apocalypse due to the divisive centrifugal forces rending our society. It is also possible in my view to see God acting in history in ways that concurrently increase abundance and economic justice.
Transcending Doctrinaire Ideologies
Transcending Doctrinaire Ideologies
