Examining the Story of the Cross, Part III: There Never Were “Seven Last Words” From the Cross

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 17 March 2011 10 Comments
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Question

When you realize that 10% of the population of the USA owns 87% of the wealth in your country and that this figure has been growing during the past 60 years, you may need to add wealthism (the belief that disparity of income and wealth is OK) to your list of unacceptable prejudices. Do you know how little the bottom of the USA population owns? Perhaps you could find out. That may convince you that capitalism as practiced is not working. How can this be allowed to continue in a country which still regards itself as nominally Christian?

Answer

Dear Nick,

I did not say that capitalism was perfect just that I see no economic system that has served the needs of more people better. Even the poor in the United States enjoy an easier life than the poor in any other society or nation I have ever visited.

That being said, I pointed out the dangers in capitalism and you have identified the most important one. An unbridled capitalism almost inevitably leads toward a situation in which the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. That always destabilizes a population and, if unchecked, ultimately results in either higher crime rates as the underprivileged seek to balance their lack with stealing or to revolutions in which the disenfranchised seek to destroy the government that has disenfranchised them economically. We see this happening today in countries as diverse as Venezuela, Mexico, Tunisia and Egypt. This is, of course, what Karl Marx predicted when he wrote his Communist Manifesto.

The gap between the rich and the poor has been growing exponentially in the United States since the 90’s. It grew enormously during the eight years of the Clinton administration. Its growth went off the charts during the eight years of the George W. Bush presidency. Even in this time of economic collapse, the poor have suffered more than the rich. The hope for redress lies in providing a safety net through which no one will fall. That net is built with affordable and universal health care, a healthy social security system, good quality public education, scholarship help for those who qualify for higher education and a fair and equitable tax system. When Steve Forbes, a billionaire, argues that a flat tax is fair since all people would the pay the same percentage of their income, what he is proposing is little more than smoke and mirrors. That would only increase what is a fact today, namely that the poor and middle class of this country pay a much greater percentage of their spendable income in taxes than do the rich. To make that figure more equitable would be a step in the right direction.

To give more purchasing power to the poor and middle classes is also good economics. For the engine of our economy is located in the spending power of the masses. To keep the debt of the nation rising while handing out tax breaks to the rich, as this nation’s government has just done, may be good short term political policy, but it is a prescription for long term disaster. I would still prefer to perfect capitalism than to opt for any other economic system yet devised. We run enormous risks, however, if we opt for maintaining the status quo.

~John Shelby Spong

 

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