A Biblical Interpretation of Increasing Income Inequality

A satirical & sarcastic piece

In one lecture for a sociology class, our professor, David Halle, played a clip of Santana's "Maria Maria" because it contained lyrics that he felt are expressive par excellence of a popular sentiment: that "as the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer." He then proceeded to show us graphs, articles and essays to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of this claim. 

An infographic showing the trend reffered to in this piece

Among other things, he showed us how the marginal income gains of the top 10 or 15% of income earners far outstripped the gains of (or even possibly losses) of the bottom 20% of income earners from the 1980s to the present, and how the ratio of C.E.O to Employee income increased from about a dozen:1 in the 1950s or so to hundreds:1 in the present day¹.

It must be obvious that I do not recall the exact details of the data from the class. My apologies, professor. But the details are not particularly relevant.

 

This propensity for divergent financial incomes, however, is definite and the evidence for it as a general trend, especially in the face of burgeoning neo-liberal economic doctrine, is incontrovertible. The only disputable aspects to quibble about focus on the minutiae of details and the methodology used to procure the data².

Clearly, wealth and income are being consolidated into the hands of the few, into the firm grasp of the notorious top 1% of wealthiest Americans and top 1% of income earners, whereas from below we face the diminution and gradual dissolution of the American middle class, a group of people that have money just slipping out of their, out of our, fingers. Obviously this is a problem, requiring immediate deliberation and action. We must dispatch the most intelligent of thinkers to ponder solutions to this.

Conservative American thinkers, the neo-liberal economists, believe in supply-side economics, which, briefly stated, provides incentives, in the form of tax breaks and reduced regulations, to suppliers or producers so that they will invest in our economy and the community, which will consequently provide jobs and therefore income for others.

That seems sensible enough until you ask yourself, if given these incentives, are they absolutely certain to invest? How can we be sure they will not use the tax breaks to invest elsewhere? How can we be sure the reduced regulations do not cause more harm in comparison to the benefit derived from them?

A large majority of these thinkers do not or will not consider this; they believe in its functionality so firmly it is unquestionable in their minds. When one encounters the dogma of these thinkers, it assumes an almost religious attitude, an obstinate, unwavering faith that it will work without fail.  Where does this religious fervor come from?

So they proceed to demand tax-breaks for the wealthiest, reductions in the inheritance tax, lowered capital-gains taxes and so on and so on.

When you think about these particular taxation policies in a different way, in layman’s terms, the logic behind them almost seems to defy common sense. It seems to be a strain of thought tantamount to saying “I’m going to make you richer by giving them more money! You get it?” Meanwhile, we’re all left scratching our heads trying to understand.

If this is how it seems to be in layman’s terms, then it makes you question why a considerable number of Christian conservatives vigorously support these policies. Am I missing a piece of the puzzle? Does the clockwork of my mind have a cog jammed or a screw loose?

Then, when I was thumbing through the bible as I do every now and then, I came upon The Beatitudes, and the puzzle piece issued forth, illuminated so brightly that it unjammed the cogs of my mind and tightened the screws of my intellect.

¹And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,  ³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  ⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:1-6

²⁰And he [Jesus] lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.  ²¹Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.  ²³Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven:

 Luke 6:20-21,23

All of the pieces of the puzzle coalesced into place to form an accurate picture of the truth. These people, this top 1% or 10% of the wealthiest, are hoarding all the money and riches so that the rest shall be without, so that the rest shall be meek, hungry, and poor in spirit so as to inherit the earth and reach the kingdom of heaven.

Preventing economic progress for the middle and lower classes is, in fact, the ultimate pursuit to maximize enrollment in God’s Kingdom. If our economy could be characterized as a rising tide that lifts all boats then this would entail that we would all be richer to some extent, which would subsequently reduce our chances of admission into heaven. After all, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24). Conversely, when we approach the pearly gates poor and malnourished our likelihood of entry increases by about 300% at least. 

When viewed in this light, cuts to medicare and social security and other programs to help the poor to make possible tax cuts to the wealthiest make perfect, surreal, spiritual sense. These are policies oriented toward the actualization of the supreme goal of heaven for the most, hell for the few. 

In this supposed zero-sum game, those who earn more at the expense of the rest are therefore making a spiritual sacrifice for our gain. The next time you or anyone complains about how corrupt CEOs arrive to congressional hearings in private multimillion dollar jets, or about how some pay $500,000 plus just to transport their horses from one mansion to another, remember that they do so for our sake.  

In this regard, their self-sacrifice makes the wealthy emerge as the holiest of all of us. We ought to praise them as saviors for they are striving to save our souls from eternal damnation by stripping us of riches in this life. So do not let anyone fan the flames of class consciousness. Learn to push away all inclinations to class warfare. Instead, pity the rich for they have received their consolation in this life (Luke 6:24), but will suffer in the next.

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[1] And by "the present day," I mean the present day when I took the class back in 2008, prior to the start of the Great Recession. Certainly these income gaps has widened since September of ’08.

[2] http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2011/jul/06/it-true-rich-are-getting-richer/

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 William Shakespeare: Sonnet 146

Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,
Feeding these rebel powers that thee array,
Why dost thou pine within and suffer dearth,
Painting thy outward walls so costly gay?
Why so large cost, having so short a lease,
Dost thou upon thy fading mansion spend?
Shall worms, inheritors of this excess,
Eat up thy charge? Is this thy body's end?
Then soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss,
And let that pine to aggravate thy store;
Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross;
Within be fed, without be rich no more:
So shall thou feed on Death, that feeds on men,
And Death once dead, there's no more dying then.

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