Results tagged “economic system” from Marilyn Sewell

Let us be clear: the Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil--it says that the love of money is the root of all evil.  Money is merely a means of exchange.  I give my time and energy to some pursuit, and I am given money in return, so that I can exchange it for what I need to sustain myself and others.  It's a mere convenience.  Without money, we would be spending much of our time trading and bartering. 

As societies grew more sophisticated, more complex economic systems evolved.  These systems are based on conceptual models, and they espouse certain values.  This country's system of capitalism assumes that (1) competition is good and yields the best products at the lowest price for the consumer; and (2) when it becomes out of balance in one way or another, the system will "right" itself by market forces.  It is self-regulating, and ultimately serves the greater good. 

All this sounds dandy--except that it just doesn't work quite that way.  The system doesn't take into account (1) the endless and impossible demand for "growth" and "products" (as in GNP), which overtaxes our natural resources; (2) the cost of production to the earth and to living creatures (these costs are dismissed as "externalities"); (3) the needs of those people who fall through the cracks when the market doesn't need them any more; (4) and finally, what this system does to the character and integrity of people and their relationships in a given culture.  It is perhaps this number four that is the least mentioned, but that is perhaps the most pervasive and the most dangerous, for it infects almost every element of our living.

Consider the following:

1.  Drug companies spend more money on gifts and stipends to doctors than they spend on research or consumer advertising.  They give free drug samples, free food, free medical refresher courses, and they pay doctors handsome stipends for marketing lectures.

2.  The popular culture offers very little of value, and yet billions upon billions are spent on producing artistically degraded films, derivative music, and escape literature.  Meantime, serious poets and independent filmmakers, artists and musicians who have much to offer, languish without support.

3.  We are inundated with advertising of all kinds, all day every day.  Billboards ruin our cityscapes and countrysides; radio and television ads can hardly be avoided.  There is no escape.

4.  News shows are really entertainment now, with very little hard news or enlightening analysis--"if it bleeds, it leads."  Their job is not to thrive, but simply to survive.  So how are citizens truly informed in what is supposed to be a democracy?

5. We have been told since the '50's that we need more (of everything from  beautiful hair to bigger houses), and we can't get off the cycle of getting and spending.  There is never enough.

6.  Our best and brightest students, we are told, have been majoring in "finance" for years and years now, and their goal is to get a lot of money--quickly.

I could go on . . . and so could you, but we both get the picture.  How did we get stuck with a system that seems to bring out the worst in so many of our people, that sets people apart instead of bringing them together, that is laying waste to the earth? 

You tell me--I don't know.  But I do know this: the first step in change is awareness.  We have accepted the assumptions of this economic system far too long, and we are sick of heart and sick of character.  We need to stop.  (Well, maybe the economic downturn pushed us to this step.)  We need to re-imagine how we want to live together and how we might more equitably share the resources of the earth. 

As President Obama said today in his press conference, "These changes won't be done in the first 100 days, or in the first year.  But one day we will look back, and we will say, yes, this is when we started, this was when the great change began."

How do you want to live?  Begin to imagine it.  Then begin to go there, as fully as you are able.  We don't have a moment to waste. 

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I just watched the Inuguration of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States.  One of the memorable phrases that he used in his address was recognizing "the triumph of hope over fear" at this time in our nation's history.

I feel that I just woke up from a bad dream, after the past eight years of Republican rule.  During that time everything that I hold dear about my country has been violated by the Bush administration: torture, in violation of the Geneva convention; pre-emptive war, in violation of international law; inept and wasteful handling of that war, once started; ignoring of the protections of habeas corpus; spying on American citizens; refusing to recognize scientific knowledge in making policy; allowing the short-term gains of the few to endanger the life of the planet; power and position given to those whose main virtue was their support of the President; deregulation, leading to shameful economic inequity and finally the breakdown of the economic system.  I could go on, but let's stop there.

Now in office is a man who embodies change.  The underprivileged son of a black man and a white woman, he is young, highly intelligent, compassionate, and a man of great integrity.  In his very person, he says YES to this nation, YES WE CAN.  Yes to all of us, not just some of us.  And in a time when so many of us have been beaten down by seeing our ideals dashed to the ground, we can once again choose hope over fear.  No wonder my tears were flowing so freely as I watched the Inauguration on television this morning.  It was a great letting go, and a great coming forth. 

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I don't know anyone who is not fearful about this nation's economic plight these days.  Since pension plans have mostly gone by the board, workers have invested their money in the stock market, thinking that they would retire, and they now wonder if and when they will.  Those who are working wonder if their jobs will hold.  Retailers and small businesses of all kinds face lean times, and many of them will close.  Those who provide services of various kinds, from massage to house cleaning to car washes, will find that their customers cannot afford to come so often, or perhaps not at all.  Restaurants will see empty tables more often.  Recreational facilities, from state parks to ski resorts, will experience fewer visitors. 

Yes, everyone is worried.  But there are some among us who will be receiving the brunt of this economic crash, and they would be the 20% or so at the bottom of the economic scale--the ones who were working part-time because they could not find full-time jobs, and now the part-time job has been cut; the ones who are among the 30% of young people who drop out of high school; the workers who live so far out that they can't commute to their low-paying jobs in the city; the families who were depending upon help from another family member who is now unable to provide it; the families who were healthy previously but could not afford health insurance and now have had a major illness or accident.  These folks will be wondering how they will pay the rent and buy food, knowing that they can do one, but not the other.

So how to be thankful?  Well, I would say that those of us who don't have to worry about losing our home or where our next meal is coming from or how we're going to pay the electric bill, I would say we have a lot to be thankful for, right there.  If our basic needs are met, let us then understand that all the rest is really icing on the cake.

My family and I have decided not to give one another Christmas gifts this year, and to instead give that money where it might be better used.  Personally, I'm giving my gift money to the Food Bank, because I know that that agency is desperate to meet the increasing demand, and I am distressed that families, including young children, might be hungry--at any time, but especially during the holiday season.  Our Alternative Gift Mart at the church also suggests many other worthy alternatives. 

I'm afraid greed has won the day, and the house of cards that has become our economic system is falling to the ground.  With the wise leadership of our new President, I believe we will begin to build an economy that is responsive to all the people, not just the 1% at the top. But this building of a new economic system will take time and patience.  Many will suffer, both in our country and in the rest of the world.  Let us be mindful of those on the fringes, who will suffer the most.  Let us understand that Love asks us to share the bounty of our lives, such as it is. 

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