I don't often do this, but I ran across a blog post the other day that has sparked my thinking, and I want to respond to it. I may link to the post when I'm finished.
None other than The Lord, Jesus Christ told us that "we're always gonna have po' folks." Poverty will not be done away with. I hate that there are po' folks, but the truth is that personal mindsets, circumstances, situations, geopolitical forces, wars, etc. will always converge to create a substantial group of impoverished people. I am going to preface this by stating the obvious. I am a simple man, with a simple mind, and express my thoughts in a simple way. So, don't look for anything profound if you choose to read the rest of this.
I think somehow there is a misconception among some that great wealth is a contributor to great poverty. In other words, because one fellow has 40 billion dollars, another fellow is poor (or millions of folks are). Now, that may be true in the case of Dictators that gather the wealth of their nation to themselves, and deny the populace the freedom to acquire. But, that's simply not true in a free society such as we enjoy here in the US. Oh, sure, by force of law the $40 Billionaire could have his fortune reduced to 1 billion, and his assets given to the poor. But there is something inherently counterproductive, and unrighteous about that.
I have been reading this particular blog for a good while, but have never commented. I started to, but my comment got so long that I figured I'd just do a post. The writer seems to be a very decent person, with a very good heart. And, some decent points are made about the manipulation of Government by the ultra-wealthy.
There seems to be an underlying resentment against the ultra-wealthy in the piece. But I'll tell y'all, I can't force my spirit to resent the ultra-wealthy. The writer drops two names. 1) Bill Gates, 2) Warren Buffett. Now, these are certainly two of the wealthiest humans on the planet. But, how did they get that way?
In the "comments," someone poses a question. "Wow! Any ideas about how to earn a billion?"
To which the author of the piece answers, "The first and most important step in becoming a billionaire is to choose your ancestors carefully. The condition is often inherited. If your parents and grandparents were obscenely wealthy, there is a statistically significant chance that you will be obscenely wealthy too.
Failure at this crucial point has been fatal to many aspiring billionaires.
At a bare minimum, one should choose to be born into the upper 5% income bracket.
Further instructions can be purchased for the bargain price of $1,000,000 + S & H. Supplies are limited. Act now!
Now, that's pretty funny. I almost tried to scare up a million to get the full instructions...
The writer states the reality that if your Daddy was a Billionaire, you'd likely be one, too. Kinda' reminds me of the great Olympic Marathoner, John Campbell, who said, "If one will be an Olympic Champion, he must choose his parents very carefully." Fact...inherited physical traits, and green rectangles do normally make quite a difference in outcomes. But, was Bill Gates a child of "privilege?" Well, I'm sure that his family was quite "comfortable," considering their professions, etc. But he was no Billionaire by birth.
Was Warren Buffett a child of "privilege?" Not so much. His father was a US Congressman, but from what I can tell, he had no more advantage than the average upper-middle-class/locally important father's son.
And how about ol' "All Ears Ross?" Certainly he had the benefit of not being "born into poverty," but a Public High School diploma in Texarkana, TX is not necessarily a ticket to Billionaire-hood.
And, he certainly didn't make it on his good looks. Just sayin'...
I think the thing that concerned me most about this post is that the author writes, "Remind me again why these folks shouldn't pay some serious taxes. What if we taxed these people right down to their last couple billion. What would happen? Why, poor, poor Bill Gates would have to live like Paul McCartney. How tragic. Boo hoo."
Well, here's a news flash...These folks DO PAY SOME SERIOUS TAXES! They pay the lion's share of the bill for every hare-brained scheme of Congress, and every legitimate function of government. And even though I don't have the figures at hand, my rememberer tells me that if the US government seized all the wealth of every US Billionaire, it would not pay the entitlements, hand-outs, and legitimate functions of government for more than just a few months. In fact, here is a breakdown from that evil "right-wing" news organization, CNN of how the tax burden breaks down.
So, the reality is that if you make a Billionaire poor, it will not make a poor man rich. It will only set back in time the day that the well completely runs dry. (In truth, it already has...we're drinkin' Chink water right now, if you didn't know it).
Jesus, our Savior, certainly instructed us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, etc. But, I can not find in His teachings anything about "take what the rich guy has from him by force (or threat of force), and use the fruit of his labor/good fortune/etc. to take care of po' folks." No, Jesus told YOU to do those things. Jesus never called us to petition government to take money from the wealthy (or ultra-wealthy) to accomplish "charity" toward the poor. He told us to dip into our own pockets, and just do it.
The mindset that resents the "ultra-wealth" of some really stumps me.
One of the comments in this post was this, (emphasis mine)
"i have this argument with my husband all the time. he carries on about how higher taxes on the wealthy discourages them from creating businesses which create jobs, yada yada. and yes, i understand the argument. but those kind of numbers you throw around compared to the poverty in the world. sorry, to whom much is given much is required. though this is in no way a grand endorsement of the government's ability to manage whatever taxes it collects in a responsible manner."
Certainly, "to whom much is given much is required." This is obviously a paraphrase from Christ's Parable of the Faithful Servant, found in Luke 12:48. It has always puzzled me why this teaching of Christ is projected upon the financial wealth of others. Most ALL of us have been "given" much, in contrast to the poor of this world. It is not our responsibility to make sure that some Gozillionaire lives up to his/her requirement. It is our responsibility to make certain that OUR responsibility is lived up to.
As a side note, the three men mentioned in my little piece here have proven time and time again to be "quite generous" with what they've been "given." Look it up. I mean, The Gooble is wrong...but you can fish out the details about what Gates, Buffett, and Perot do/have done with what they have
The idea that the world would be a better place if the rich were "not so rich" falls deaf on me. Of course, there are exceptions in world history. Think Saddam Hussein hoarding the oil wealth of Iraq, building 40 palaces, and subjecting his people to squalor. But, that is the evil that fulfills the prophetic words of Jesus..."we're always gonna have po' folks."
Okay, I decided to link to the post. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Y'all can correct me if I did. (I'm a married man, and am used to it).
