By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
It happened once before, and it could happen again. The Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929 reshaped a materialistic and hedonistic culture. It was caused by the unrestrained greed of the wealthy and public euphoria. It forced a majority of Americans to endure economic hardships, but restored the virtue of providing for the common good in politics.
America’s most prosperous years followed the deprivations of the Depression and World War II, and planted the seeds of racial justice that saw fruition in the 1960s. Recessions like those of 2009 don’t have the same cathartic effect. Congress reacted to that recession by bailing out those on Wall Street who caused it, and then ignored Main Street.
Our booming economy provides the illusion that all is well; but like the Roaring Twenties, it isn’t. An overvalued stock market, dangerous disparities in wealth, excessive government, corporate and personal debt, along with uncertain monetary policies, portend an economic crisis--that is, unless there are fundamental changes in American values and politics.
The values and standards of political legitimacy in a democracy are shaped by the majority of its voters, and America’s values have deteriorated over the last 50 years. Providing for the common good must counter the divisive partisan identity politics that have polarized America’s politics, but neither the church nor either political party has taken up the challenge.
It will likely take an economic crisis or a war to wake America from its moral malaise, and the church is more a part of the problem than its solution. An unlikely coalition of white Christians and the super-rich of Wall Street elected Trump; and prospects for defeating Trump are dim with most Democratic presidential hopefuls advocating leftist economic policies.
The white Christians who support Trump and his billionaire buddies as their political saviors may go to church, but they are believers in the prosperity gospel (whether they acknowledge it or not). They sacrificed Jesus on the altar of partisan politics in 2016, and now they must resurrect his altruistic teachings in America’s politics to save us from ourselves.
How so? They must make the altruistic moral teachings of Jesus standards of political legitimacy. Those moral teachings are summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, including those of other races and religions. Trump’s white Christian supporters who have denigrated blacks, immigrants and Muslims in the past must treat them as their neighbors, promoting a politics of reconciliation.
Most Americans still claim to be Christians, but it will take more than a new awakening to make the altruistic and universal values taught by Jesus standards of political legitimacy. It will likely take a disaster like a depression or a war to force Americans to abandon their selfish materialistic and hedonistic values and restore a spirit of altruism to their politics.
A depression would be preferable to a war to promote more altruistic politics in America, but the pre-emptive strike in Baghdad on January 3 altered those priorities. It’s reminiscent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that was based on false fears of WMD. Given those who now control U.S. foreign policy, another war in the Middle East may be more likely than a depression.
With or without a war, a recession is inevitable. While consumer confidence is now strong and Wall Street pundits and the Federal Reserve assure us that all is well, they also acknowledge that overvalued stock, excessive debt, dangerous disparities in wealth, and uncertain monetary policies make Wall Street a bubble that will burst. The question is when?
Notes:
A recent report of the Federal Reserve found that Trump’s tariffs raised prices, cut employment and hurt US manufacturers. See https://www.salon.com/2019/12/30/federal-reserve-report-finds-trumps-tariffs-raised-prices-cut-employment-and-hurt-us-manufacturers/.
Robert Samuelson described 2019 as the year of inequality. “The economic debate took a dramatic turn in 2019. To be sure, much attention was paid to the familiar standbys: jobs, interest rates, inflation and trade. But superseding these well-worn subjects was a growing fixation on the lopsided nature of American prosperity. ...Economic inequality continues to rise at a steady pace; the further you go up the income scale, the larger the income gains, both relatively and absolutely. What’s also discouraging is that economists don’t fully agree on the causes. ‘Research has not yet led to a consensus,’ says the Congressional Budget Office. ...The great danger here is social and political. It is the creation, or the expansion, of a multi-tiered society where the largest income gains are enjoyed by relatively small groups of people near the top of the economic distribution. The rich and the near-rich feel stigmatized unfairly for their success, while many Americans below the top tier resent that their hard work hasn’t given them the security and stability to which they feel entitled. President Trump has already exploited this mood and, by all indications, will do so again in 2020. It’s not a happy prospect. See
Democratic presidential candidates have proposed trillions in spending amid debate over what’s doable. With a $23 trillion national debt, Toluse Olorunipa has noted that Democratic spending proposals are fiscally irresponsible. “A Washington Post review of the major spending proposals of the leading Democratic presidential candidates found 10-year costs ranging from about $4 trillion to more than $50 trillion. The annual federal budget now is about $4.5 trillion. ...The rapidly rising price tags and expansive reach of the current plans has led to charges of socialism from Republicans. But in recent weeks,
more-moderate Democrats have been the most vocal critics of their liberal colleagues’ spending plans.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/we-have-the-resources-democratic-presidential-candidates-propose-trillions-in-spending-amid-debate-over-whats-doable/2019/12/28/1d8a74e0-28c6-11ea-a14c-412f7b9e2717_story.html?utm_campaign=todays_headlines&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Newsletter&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
Market Watch has reported that Americans are gorging on debt, thanks to the Federal Reserve. “The Federal Reserve raised official interest rates four times 2018, and investors were expecting more of the same this year. As we know, that didn’t happen. The stock market plummeted in the fourth quarter of 2018, spreads between lower-quality fixed-income investments and government bonds widened, and with an effective fed funds rate of only 2.25%-2.50%, investors, bondholders and nearly everyone else clamored for the Fed to not only give up its interest-rate hikes, but to reverse course and lower rates. In the previous two economic cycles, the fed funds topped 5%. So why did a mid-2% interest rate prompt such distress in the U.S. economy? The answer is a whole lot of debt. ...With the Fed lowering rates, consumers took this as a cue to gorge more by borrowing as opposed to paying down loans. Consumers are increasingly financing their cars, and rising interest rates mean higher monthly payments for more people. Another large problem area is corporate debt. Businesses have been the biggest debt hogs in this expansion, increasing their debt by roughly 40% relative to U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP. (See chart below.) This money has gone mostly to shareholders through increased dividends and a stock-repurchasing frenzy unmatched by history. Given these burdensome piles of debt, even a slight increase in interest rates creates millions more in interest payments for consumers and corporations.” https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-keep-gorging-on-debt-thanks-to-the-federal-reserve-2019-12-10.
The massive triumph of the rich is illustrated by stunning new data. “A new analysis prepared by Gabriel Zucman — the French economist and “wealth detective” who has become famous for tracing the hidden wealth of the super-rich — illustrates that ...among the bottom 50 percent of earners, average real annual income even after taxes and transfers has edged up a meager $8,000 since 1970, rising from just over $19,000 to just over $27,000 in 2018. By contrast, among the top 1 percent of earners, average income even after taxes and transfers has tripled since 1970, rising by more than $800,000, from just over $300,000 to over $1 million in 2018. Among the top 0.1 percent, average after-tax-and-transfer income has increased fivefold, from just over $1 million in 1970 to over $5 million in 2018. And among the top .01 percent, it has increased nearly sevenfold, from just over $3.5 million to over $24 million. ...Zucman’s bottom line: ‘The U.S. tax system is slightly progressive at the bottom and in the middle of the distribution, and then it becomes regressive at the very top.’” See https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/09/massive-triumph-rich-illustrated-by-stunning-new-data/?utm_campaign=post_most&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=.
The prospect of an impulsive and unpredictable Trump involving the U.S. in another Middle East war was made frighteningly clear by Trump’s pre-emptive air strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed General Suleimani, a powerful Iranian general, following a siege of the American embassy earlier in the week. See
Trump ignored the predictable reaction of Iranians and Iraqis to the killing of Suleimani. In the Middle East Islamists who would otherwise be fighting among themselves see the U.S. as a common enemy; and with friends like Saudi Arabia, the U.S. doesn’t need any more enemies in the MIddle East. See
The killing of Suleimani disrupted the stock market on January 3, and future disruptions are likely to occur and precipitate a downturn in the economy if events threaten a war in Iran or Iraq. See https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/dow-futures-after-us-air-strike-kills-iran-top-military-leader.html.
Related commentary:
On the greatest commandment
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(10/13/18): Musings on a Common Word of Faith and Politics for Christians and Muslims
(2/23/19): Musings on Loving Your Enemy, Including the Enemy Within
(7/20/19): Musings on Diversity in Democracy: Who Are Our Neighbors?
(11/23/19): Musings on Jesus and Christ as Conflicting Concepts in Christianity
(12/14/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Prophets, Scripture and God’s Truth
On Christianity and capitalism:
(3/8/15): Wealth, Politics, Religion and Economic Justice
(8/9/15): Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities
(10/18/15): God, Money and Politics
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(6/4/16): Christianity and Capitalism: Strange Bedfellows in Politics
(10/1/16): The Federal Reserve, Wall Street and Congress on Monetary Policy
(2/11/17): The Mega-Merger of Wall Street, Politics and Religion
(3/11/17): Accountability and the Stewardship of Democracy
(9/9/17): The Evolution of the American Civil Religion and Habits of the Heart http://www.religion
(9/16/17): The American Civil Religion and the Danger of Riches
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(1/20/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Morality and Religion in Politics
(1/27/18): Musings on Conflicting Concepts of Christian Morality in Politics
(2/17/18): Musings of a Maverick on Money, Wall Street, Greed and Politics
(6/15/18): The Prosperity Gospel: Where Culture Trumps Religion in Legitimacy and Politics
(4/27/19): Musings on the Legitimacy of Crony Capitalism and Progressive Capitalism
(6/29/19): Musings on a Politics of Reconciliation: An Impossible Dream?
(8/24/19): Musings on How a Recession Could Transform Religion and Politics in 2020
(9/28/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Polarized Politics of Climate Change
(12/28/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the End as a New Beginning
On religion, morality and politics:
(12/29/14): Religion, Violence and Military Legitimacy
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(6/28/15): Confronting the Evil Among Us
(7/12/15): Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/07/reconciliation-in-race-and-religion.html
(8/9/15): Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities
(8/23/15): Legitimacy as a Context and Paradigm to Resolve Religious Conflict
(8/30/15): What Is Truth? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/what-is-truth.html
(11/15/15): American Exceptionalism: The Power of Persuasion or Coercion?
(1/16/16): Religion, Politics and Public Expectations
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
4/30/16): The Relevance of Religion to Politics
(5/7/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(5/28/16): Nihilism as a Threat to Politics, Religion and Morality
(7/2/16): The Need for a Politics of Reconciliation in the Wake of Globalization
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/how-religion-can-bridge-our-political.html
(9/24/16): The Evolution of Religion and Politics from Oppression to Freedom
(11/5/16): Religion, Liberty and Justice at Home and Abroad
(12/24/16): Advent: The Coming of a Light that Shines in the Darkness
(12/31/16): E Pluribus Unum, Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(3/4/17): Ignorance and Reason in Religion and Politics
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(6/17/17): Religious Exclusivity: Does It Matter? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/06/religious-exclusivity-does-it-matter.html.
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17): Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/29/17): Speaking God’s Truth to Man’s Power
(8/5/17): Does Religion Seek to Reconcile and Redeem or to Divide and Conquer?
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism
(8/19/17): Hate, History and the Need for a Politics of Reconciliation
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(10/21/17): The Symbiotic Relationship between Freedom and Religion
(11/18/17): Radical Religion and the Demise of Democracy
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(1/6/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(1/13/18): Nationalist Politics and Exclusivist Religion: Obstacles to Reconciliation and Peace
(1/27/18): Musings on Conflicting Concepts of Christian Morality in Politics
(2/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Freedom and Legitimacy
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(5/19/18): Musings on Morality and Law as Symbiotic but Conflicting Standards of Legitimacy
(6/15/18): The Prosperity Gospel: Where Culture Trumps Religion in Legitimacy and Politics
(7/21/18): Musings on America’s Moral and Political Mess and Who Should Clean It Up
(8/4/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Problems and Solutions in Politics
(8/11/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Changing Morality in Religion and Politics
(8/25/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Moral Priorities in Religion and Politics
(9/1/18): Musings on the American Civil Religion and Christianity at a Crossroads
(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism
(10/6/18): Musings on Moral Universalism in Religion and Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/10/musings-on-moral-universalism-in.html.
(10/27/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Migrant Tidal Wave
(11/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and the Legitimacy of Democracy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/11/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on.html.
(1/5/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Building Political Walls or Bridges
(2/16/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America the Blessed and Beautiful--or is it?
(3/30/19): Musings on What the Mueller Report Doesn’t Say About Trump’s Wrongdoing
(4/12/19): Musings on Religion, Nationalism and Libertarian Democracy
(4/20/19): Musings on the Resurrection of Altruistic Morality in Dying Democracies
(4/27/19): Musings on the Legitimacy of Crony Capitalism and Progressive Capitalism
(5/4/19): Musings on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(5/11/19): Musings on the Relevance of Jefferson’s Jesus in the 21st Century
(5/18/19): Outsiders Versus Insiders in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
(5/25/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Divinity and Moral Teachings of Jesus
(6/8/19): The Moral Failure of the Church to Promote Altruism in Politics
(6/22/19): The Universal Family of God: Where Inclusivity Trumps Exclusivity
(6/29/19): Musings on a Politics of Reconciliation: An Impossible Dream?
(7/6/19): Musings on Democrats, Busing and Racism: It’s Deja Vu All Over Again
(7/13/19): Musings on Sovereignty and Conflicting Loyalties to God and Country
(7/20/19): Musings on Diversity in Democracy: Who Are Our Neighbors?
(7/27/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Love Over Law and Social Justice
(8/3/19): Musings on the Dismal Future of the Church and Democracy in America
(8/10/19): Musings on Christian Nationalism: A Plague on the Church and Democracy
(8/17/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Shame in Religion and Politics
(9/7/19): Musings on the Self-Destruction of Christianity and American Democracy
(9/14/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Chaos as a Prelude to a New Creation
(9/21/19): An Afterword on Religion, Legitimacy and Politics from 2014-2019
(10/5/19): Musings on the Moral Relevance of Jesus to Democracy
(10/12/19): Musings on Impeachment and Elections as Measures of Political Legitimacy
(10/26/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Discipleship in a Democracy
(11/2/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Polarization and Reconciliation
(11/16/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Irrelevance of Morality in Politics
(12/7/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Triumphalism and Politics
(12/21/19): Musings on Advent and a Not-so-Merry Christmas for American Democracy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2019/12/musings-on-advent-and-not-so-merry.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment