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Yes I assume he was primarily addressing other countries, but our actions and policies also impact poor countries as well.
The phrase "trickle down economics" that he used is pretty clearly addressed at the united states. The rest, we could argue....but wether directed at us or not, the argument over it seems to be more that people want to avoid facing what he is saying. Kinda funny.
Pope-"Murder is wrong!"
"he can't be talking about us, he must be addressing some other countries"
or
"I cant believe this pope, he is a radical"
or
"yes but we murder cows, he cant mean be a vegetarian!"
Hey should really **** and worry about running his own corrupt church. When he gets his own house in order and, in about a thousand years of proving it, MAYBE I'll listen to what he says.
How about he starts with wealth inequality by selling the Vatican and donating the proceeds to the homeless? How about all of the other Vatican Museum riches? Lets sell them too and donate it.
Until then, he is just another worthless rich liberal. I want to do for the world: With other people's money.
The Pope is doing what a Pope should be doing - extolling the doctrines and teachings of Christianity, which have a large charity/helping the poor component. Exactly how the poor may be helped and which methods are justifiable may be debated, but I have to give credit to Pope Francis for at least caring about the issue. It should also be noted that his attitudes on the matter are nothing new for the Church, as another poster pointed out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed
Actually, debt is not outlawed in the Bible. Usury is something neo-Confederates, especially those who are Christian, embrace wholeheartedly
Huh? Neo-Confederates? Last I checked usury and debt was not a north vs. south issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
Sure we do only it's not what you think.
We are highly regulated.
That means only the really big boys get to play.
They have pretty much eliminated the competition through legal means.
The last open frontier is high tech.
All the other older industries are dominated by the few and high, costly regulations free them from worry about competition.
Just look at what "organic" has turned into.
Highly regulated, very costly to get that approval and the big boys now sell it to you in the supermarket.
Government took it over and now government can decide what is "organic" and what is not even if it's man-made.
Exactly - the real enemy of the people and the driver of current economic problems is corporatism which is both caused by and causes (by rent-seeking and regulatory capture) over-regulation and the strangling of small business and by extension competition, and by extension consumer choice and bargaining power; these same factors also suppress innovation, and by extension social mobility and economic growth, which is actually on a downward trajectory over the past 60 years despite the explosion of technology. Money-printing and inflation that is endemic to fiat currency creates bubbles, erodes the wealth of the working class, and rewards those at the top; all of these effects create deformations in the economy that may manifest themselves in the form of greater income inequality.
As a non-Catholic, I disagree with the Pope, since I believe income inequality, in and of itself, is only bad when it's a sign of a deeper problem in the economy, like what we see today. If there was growing inequality in concert with incomes at all brackets rapidly increasing, it wouldn't be much of a problem - this briefly occurred in real life during the late 1990's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dub dub II
to be fair, the guy never got laid...so, i mean, you know he's at least half crazy...
He, like some others, chose getting closer to God over getting closer with the opposite sex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish_bob
well its a shock to the kind of American protestant Christians who seem to believe jesus would be a republican voting student of Austrian economics who hates redistribution of wealth if he were alive today
Jesus wanted people to help the poor themselves by donating their own time and money to the cause; he didn't say to his followers "let's petition the Empire to take other people's money and give it to the poor". For obvious reasons, I think it's virtually impossible to tell what political views Jesus would have if he were alive today. For all we know he may have supported socialism and redistribution, but then again he may have supported a voluntary, capitalistic society. For what it's worth I get the distinct impression that the early Christians were relatively apolitical.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirdik
What does that have to do with unbridled capitalism?
Indeed. There is little correlation between economic freedom and income inequality, and the available data if anything suggests that there is a slight negative correlation between income inequality and economic freedom, i.e. the less capitalistic countries are less equal. That's probably an artifact of repressive regimes hoarding wealth, and correlation doesn't imply causation. Nevertheless, the data available doesn't lend a lot of support to the capitalism=inequality notion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finn_Jarber
I am pretty sure he was talking about heping poor countries. Not everything is about the US.
I'm sure he was talking about poor people and the disparities in wealth within countries, too.
Let me know when he drains the coffers dry at the Vatican... till then, say what you want and do what you want.. I know what he is doing... and he knows as well...
Hey should really **** and worry about running his own corrupt church. When he gets his own house in order and, in about a thousand years of proving it, MAYBE I'll listen to what he says.
How about he starts with wealth inequality by selling the Vatican and donating the proceeds to the homeless? How about all of the other Vatican Museum riches? Lets sell them too and donate it.
Until then, he is just another worthless rich liberal. I want to do for the world: With other people's money.
You don't know a whole lot about this pope do you...
I find it interesting that people are upset by what the Pope has to say. I mean, really? The leader of a religions who's founder's teachings often are centered around service to the poor and the weak, is against corruption and greed; This surprised people? How? The math adds up pretty nicely. Jesus said help the poor, the pope said help the poor. Just because our 'Christians' leaders, like Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry, are greedy hypocrites doesn't mean all Christian leaders are.
Side not, our 'religious right' has no real Christians in it. Anyone who is to appalled that their tax money goes to help the poor can't also utter a word about a nation with Christian values. It's an insult to our intelligence if they think we're dumb enough to think that they're good Christians.
Hey should really **** and worry about running his own corrupt church. When he gets his own house in order and, in about a thousand years of proving it, MAYBE I'll listen to what he says.
How about he starts with wealth inequality by selling the Vatican and donating the proceeds to the homeless? How about all of the other Vatican Museum riches? Lets sell them too and donate it.
Until then, he is just another worthless rich liberal. I want to do for the world: With other people's money.
The current Pope is not responsible for past corruptions of the Catholic Church. Why does it upset you that he is preaching what righteous men ar supposed to abide by? Don't you think that his moral compass is well calibrated and that he will address every issue with the same moral code? I never thought much one way or the other of any of the Popes, but this guy is addressing an issue that needs addressing and I don't think that there is anything that he wrote on the issue of inequality that can be argued...
“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed.”
That's crony capitalism where certain corporations in bed with the government picking winners and losers not free market capitalism.
It's the perfect example of people losing their savings and homes due to the greed of others while the taxpayer bails out the crooks. It's the same with the taxpayer paying for Medicaid and Food Stamps for the Walmart worker because they are not paid a high enough living wage. Walmart and companies like it take advantage of tax loopholes and undermine American jobs by outsourcing to line their family tombs, but fleece the public by making them pay for Walmart's workers subsidies. How about the destruction of public lands and water by pollution so that a corporation can make a few more billion?
Get it now or are just playing ignorant to be obnoxious?
Then let him give up his palatial digs and fancy robes.
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