"Like so much that is said glibly by Barack Obama, raising taxes on “the rich” has serious — and potentially disastrous — implications for the whole country that have been ignored amid the political euphoria."
- Thomas Sowell
Read the rest of his post.
(HT: JT)
7 comments:
One of the things that scares me most about the "emerging church movement" is its staggering acceptance of forced giving under threat of IRS audit and jailtime (vs. traditional charitable, and most importantly, voluntary, christian giving via conviction and generosity).
Thus, the stunning number of Christians who apparently have converted to the theology of using government (and primarily the federal government) as a substitute for individual and corporate christian good works, in an effort to "stick it to the rich guy" by making successful people pay for their college, health care, and whatever else suits their fancy is troublesome.
The fact that there are so many who willingly buy into this very un-Christian worldview, mainly because it simply makes them feel good, makes me incredibly worried for our future as a nation.
The Sife,
This is an interesting comment. I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, particularly in your second paragraph about theology.
Are you saying that the "emerging church movement" believes that God has called them to "stick it to the rich guy" by requiring him to pay excessive taxes and using the money to go to college and the doctor?
And how does this "theology" threaten our future as a nation?
"Are you saying that the "emerging church movement" believes that God has called them to "stick it to the rich guy" by requiring him to pay excessive taxes and using the money to go to college and the doctor?"
- Yes, that's what I'm saying. The emphasis on "social and economic justice" along with the emotional draw of "helping people" has caused many in this movement to see government as the means by which they "help people". We used to believe in individuals helping other individuals because of Christian generosity. Now, this group see the government as the means of delivering those services and help.
The Christians I see who are drawn in by Obama's empty rhetoric do so because it makes them feel good, not because it does good. There is a book written by Stanford economist Thomas Sowell entitled "Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy". In that book, he shows that many of the "social programs" of the last half century which appealed to folks because they were designed to "help people" not only did not end up helping the intended recipients of the help, but in some cases it actually made those recipients worse off. The only thing those social programs succeeded in doing was to make the proponents "feel good" about what they were proposing. You should read it.
More importantly, this movement seeks to shift individual responsibility (outlined under the Bible as our obligation to our fellow man) from a voluntary, individual act, to a government mandated, IRS enforced, confiscation of money through taxes under threat of jail time. No idea could be more un-Christian. It removes individual initiative and generosity, and puts in its place FORCED giving. Again, NOT a Christian concept, despite too many in "emerging church" pulpits from advocating that it is.
"And how does this "theology" threaten our future as a nation?"
There are numerous reasons, that I could discuss at length. A few notable examples, which require people to ponder their meaning are:
1. The WSJ recently printed an article indicating that approximately 40% of American "taxpayers" actually pay NO federal income tax. Think about that. In a democracy, you have 40% of the electorate that can vote, but who make NO contribution to the system. In other words, you have a bunch of people who simply demand that others pay for their standard of living. No student of history or politics can argue that having 40% of eligible taxpayers NOT paying taxes (but voting) is healthy for a democracy.
2. Related to #1. I forget the political philosopher, but one notable one commented that democracies tend to have a short shelf life. The reason for that is that eventually, the majority discovers that it can merely VOTE ITSELF the money of those in the minority (i.e., the 'rich'). Once they figure that out in large numbers, the democracy crumbles, for obvious reasons.
3. As one small example, the Hawaii Children's Health program had to be disbanded. The director the program's comment was "well, when people figured out that they could get it for free, they stopped paying for it on their own." Think about that and apply it to other issues on a large (national) scale.
Taxation is not a biblical issue. Stop pretending like it is one. It's not Un-Christian to think that higher taxes aren't the sign of the end of the world. The Christian notion is to pay your taxes and to 'render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar'. I didn't see Jesus or Paul telling the early Christians they were paying too much in taxes and that was against God's will. (BTW, they paid much higher taxes than we do)
High taxes also don't prevent you from giving to other areas. It just might require more sacrifices than we as Americans are comfortable with...
If you don't want to vote for Obama because he supports abortion, that's good. But don't try to make the rest of the Conservitive agenda into the 'Christian' platform, because it isn't, and it drives me insane when people try to do so.
Note of disclaimer before I get labeled a 'radical un-Christian liberal boogyman': this comes from someone voting libertarian this election...
Well, you're wrong, in my opinion.
that's great biblical support for your argument ::rolleyes::
"that's great biblical support for your argument ::rolleyes::"
- I already gave it to you, you just chose to ignore it. If I could make it simpler for you, I would.
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