Pope Francis Tweets "Inequality is the root of social evil”

[jimmy]

One more reason for Catholics to abandon “trickle down wealth” economics.

That is a very biased translation and interpretations. iniquitas also means injustice, iniquity, unfairness. Nowhere in the tweet does it mention social.

The reality is that socialism and communism are evil. The rich will always be rich, but in those systems the average man has no potential to prosper.

 

[Robert_Sock]

No. Having a job will allow a person to move up on the economic ladder. Without a job, one is stuck. So the question is, does increasing the minimum wage help more people to obtain jobs?

Advocating low-wage jobs is to force people into severe poverty.

LOVE!

 

[ishii]

Advocating low-wage jobs is to force people into severe poverty.

LOVE!

I’ve had low wage jobs and nobody forced me into poverty. However, the low wage job did motivate me to study hard, work hard at my job in order to move up, and put together a work history that would allow me to compete for higher paying jobs. My first two jobs were very low paying. My third job was double the wage as the first two, but very demanding. But the low wage jobs were necessary parts of my work history and I am glad that I had those experiences.

In summary: low wage jobs give people vital work experience, build character and give people a work ethic and hopefully also teach the value of a dollar. Low wage jobs should be meant for people passing through on their way up, or for people supplementing their income, or for even retired people looking to make some money or keep busy.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

How is raising the minimum wage making everyone equal? And why do you think that there cannot be economic growth with it? If we took away the minimum wages that exist today, would that lead to greater economic growth, and make things more ‘fair?’ Any trustworthy data to back up these claims?

LOVE!

Hi Robert, I was merely pointing out that economic growth in a strong free-market society is the best way to get people out of poverty. Dictating to businesses and individuals what wage they should agree on is the wrong way to get people out of poverty. If you look at economics 101, you would understand that labor, like any commodity, is subject to the law of supply and demand. If government fixes the price of labor above what the market decides, then that will decrease employers’ demand for new workers - creating a surplus of workers. Or, to put it another way, creating more unemployment. I don’t think creating more unemployment is a very good way to help people out of poverty, do you Robert?

Ishii

 

[jimmy]

Advocating low-wage jobs is to force people into severe poverty.

LOVE!

Bill Gates, who happens to be pretty liberal, advises against raising the minimum wage because it will only lead to massive unemployment in the future when those very same jobs that receive a pay hike are eliminated and automated by technology. raising the minimum wage will only increase the incentive of corporations to automate the jobs.

 

[ProVobis]

Bill Gates, who happens to be pretty liberal, advises against raising the minimum wage because it will only lead to massive unemployment in the future when those very same jobs that receive a pay hike are eliminated and automated by technology. raising the minimum wage will only increase the incentive of corporations to automate the jobs.

Good points. Actually driving up the cost of anything will increase such incentives.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Bill Gates, who happens to be pretty liberal, advises against raising the minimum wage because it will only lead to massive unemployment in the future when those very same jobs that receive a pay hike are eliminated and automated by technology. raising the minimum wage will only increase the incentive of corporations to automate the jobs.

Why not heavily tax corporations who automate, and provide tax cuts to those that don’t? Surly there must be a way to raise the wages of those who are at risk of severe poverty.

LOVE!

 

[ProVobis]

Why not heavily tax corporations who automate, and provide tax cuts to those that don’t? Surly there must be a way to raise the wages of those who are at risk of severe poverty.

LOVE!

Then they would have to tax all those who use phones, computers, tv’s, lawnmowers, etc. They are jobs in automation so you have to keep on bettering yourself because one day you become replaced yourself. It’s always been that way. Look how many jobs were lost when the Gutenberg press came to be.

If one wants to look at inequality, all one needs to look at is the evil behind the Federal Reserve, which prints money for the well-to-do and well-to-do corporations, letting them drive up the prices of oil and food, while doing virtually nothing for the disadvantaged, who don’t make it in the Too-Big-to-Fail world of the Fed.

 

[ishii]

Why not heavily tax corporations who automate, and provide tax cuts to those that don’t? Surly there must be a way to raise the wages of those who are at risk of severe poverty.

LOVE!

Would you prefer that we had a bunch of rickshaw pullers instead of taxi drivers? If your kind of thinking had been around in the early 1900’s when the automobile was invented, we would still have blacksmiths and horse saddle makers, buggy industry workers, etc. around, LOL. Robert, the best way to help those at risk of poverty is to give them opportunities to get jobs and also to be able to move up and get better paying, more rewarding jobs. This comes from economic growth in a free market society in which business is allowed to flourish ** without ** excessive taxation and regulation.

 

[FollowChrist34]

It always amazes me what we take for granted in the US - just go outside the country for awhile. The free market has won the eliminating poverty argument. But it’s silly to deny that the inequality between the 1st and 3rd world countries is not a huge problem for the conscience of any Christian. I believe that capitalism that morally, socially, and environmentally regulates itself, but doesn’t cripple itself in the process, is the best option - keeping in mind that you will only ever achieve the highest quality of life for the most people, not eliminate poverty or create pure equality. I support limiting the free market in view of environmental concerns and ensuring fair working conditions, etc. But you will always have the rich and the poor, and plenty of suffering in this world. We’re not trying to turn the stones into bread. I realize this is abstract but without a clear definition of what your ultimate goal is how can you work through the minutiae.

Also, I think I am middle class, somewhere in there, maybe even lower. My family never had money to speak of. I don’t hate the rich or blame them for where I am in life. I feel just fine where I am although I do fear for my future. (I think the Pope probably has much better job security, health care and retirement benefits than I do. ) And that applies to many in the Church … I struggle along and do a lot of praying. Also, I’ve seen a lot of pretty messed up rich people, not too many happy ones. Are they better off than me? I don’t believe so.

Last point - my aunt was a radical leftist, could not shut up about the plight of the poor, women, the downtrodden, victims of Republican ravaging of social programs, etc., etc., etc. Just about the most self-obsessed, cold-hearted person I ever knew. And it’s a pattern, believe me. Some people just latch onto ideas to justify their own lack of personal humanity. Makes you look good and no emotional cost whatsoever, other than your perpetual rage at your intellectual opponents and everybody who’s oppressing you or your “victims” comfortably off there in abstractville. Love humanity, hate the person. Disclaimer: this isn’t every liberal. It does apply to some conservatives too. But, as applicable, you can’t deny conservatives tend to carry their hatred and inner turmoil a little more openly …

 

[KyrieEleison17]

The free market has won the eliminating poverty argument.

It most certainly has not. It can and should in theory. In practice, however, it has mixed success. Nowhere has the free market managed to eliminted the absolute need for certain minimum guarantees, social benefits, regulations and active -even heroic- charity and generosity toward the poor.

The law of the jungle reduces us everywhere to brute animals no matter what guise it takes. We cannot dispense with reason and ethics. The free market does not eliminate greed, rapaciousness and the willingness to exploit the needy and the vulnerable. The free market absolutely requires a strong moral norm and code in society otherwise it becomes a system of mass degradation and even, in effect, slavery for the masses.

What actually manages to eliminate obvious mass poverty in society is charity and social relief. Other systems typically elevate a portion - even a large portion - of the poor from poverty but leave behind many entirely. We still need a leave-no-man-behind ethic otherwise people will be left behind in obscurity and poverty.

 

[FollowChrist34]

It most certainly has not. It can and should in theory. In practice, however, it has mixed success. Nowhere has the free market managed to eliminted the absolute need for certain minimum guarantees, social benefits, regulations and active -even heroic- charity and generosity toward the poor.

The law of the jungle reduces us everywhere to brute animals no matter what guise it takes. We cannot dispense with reason and ethics. The free market does not eliminate greed, rapaciousness and the willingness to exploit the needy and the vulnerable. The free market absolutely requires a strong moral norm and code in society otherwise it becomes a system of mass degradation and even, in effect, slavery for the masses.

What actually manages to eliminate obvious mass poverty in society is charity and social relief. Other systems typically elevate a portion - even a large portion - of the poor from poverty but leave behind many entirely. We still need a leave-no-man-behind ethic otherwise people will be left behind in obscurity and poverty.

Uh, are we disagreeing? I am on board with everything you say, as I understand it. I want a regulated free market. I am a Christian. I guess I just assume a social ethic of charity, maybe that’s a mistake. I am all for a stronger religious and in particular Christian charitable presence in society. That helps tremendously with supporting the poor. I support social government programs within limits. If you break the government, you’re not going to be helping many people. The trick is to strike the best balance.

 

[Darryl1958]

Everyone is equal. It is just that some are more equal than others.

 

[PTL]

I don’t agree with communist sentiments, no matter who says them.

 

[BChartowski]

As I mentioned earlier, and has been mentioned afterward, I truly do believe that the Latin tweet is the one that carries the most weight and is likely more true to the sentiment of the Pope than any of the other language translations, which all contain the word “social.” The Pope knows full well that making everyone equal means taking away the individuality in all of us. He knows this. When everything is equal, everything is the same. Injustice, however, reveals more of the plight that the Pope sees. I have been blessed to have been able to travel to several countries in the world, as well as see much of the United States - where I am a citizen. I do a lot of traveling in the Appalachian region of the US, and let me tell you the poverty and injustice that is prevalent in that area is heart wrenching.

I have been to Mexico twice in the last several years, and many people there suffer a similar plight. I find it ironic that the area of Mexico often referred to as “The Mayan Riviera” is so desperately impoverished in so many communities. I spent some time in a small town that was built around a church. There were little shops and places to eat directly adjacent to the town square, but literally just behind these shops and eateries were the saddest sights of “homes.” These were not homes, you could see completely through them. At best, these were shelters that would serve only to keep most of the rain off of you, built of any materials that the people could scavenge. Save for the laughter of the children who knew no better, the overall sadness of sights like this is almost too much to bear. The feeling of being compelled to give everything you had to make even a small improvement for those people was undeniable.

Appalachia and Mexico were two of the most impoverished areas that I have seen, and I know that Africa and Asia are home to countless other examples of such injustice, not inequality, per se. It’s not government who can bear the sole burden of being unjust. It’s us, too. Many of us (we’re all guilty) spend more time telling others how the government should or should not get involved to take more money from one person to give it to others. This will never work, and it’s theft anyway. Those that do not want to willingly give simply will not give. It’s up to you and me to help these people; the people in our own backyards.

Inequality is so broad that it can be taken to mean fiscal inequality, marital inequality (homosexual “marriage”), inequality between the sexes… a million things. The true inequality is in the injustice dealt to the least among us.

Maybe today, each of us on here can do one thing - anything - to hear the Pope’s message of unequal justice, and do something for anyone in need. Any person at all. No traveling far and wide necessary. The least among us don’t have to be simply poor. They might be your neighbor right next door to you… Instead of us taking the 5, 10, 15 minutes to post our next thought in this thread, how about we take that allotment of time and do or give anything to someone in need.

 

[FollowChrist34]

As I mentioned earlier, and has been mentioned afterward, I truly do believe that the Latin tweet is the one that carries the most weight and is likely more true to the sentiment of the Pope than any of the other language translations, which all contain the word “social.” The Pope knows full well that making everyone equal means taking away the individuality in all of us. He knows this. When everything is equal, everything is the same. Injustice, however, reveals more of the plight that the Pope sees. I have been blessed to have been able to travel to several countries in the world, as well as see much of the United States - where I am a citizen. I do a lot of traveling in the Appalachian region of the US, and let me tell you the poverty and injustice that is prevalent in that area is heart wrenching.

I have been to Mexico twice in the last several years, and many people there suffer a similar plight. I find it ironic that the area of Mexico often referred to as “The Mayan Riviera” is so desperately impoverished in so many communities. I spent some time in a small town that was built around a church. There were little shops and places to eat directly adjacent to the town square, but literally just behind these shops and eateries were the saddest sights of “homes.” These were not homes, you could see completely through them. At best, these were shelters that would serve only to keep most of the rain off of you, built of any materials that the people could scavenge. Save for the laughter of the children who knew no better, the overall sadness of sights like this is almost too much to bear. The feeling of being compelled to give everything you had to make even a small improvement for those people was undeniable.

Appalachia and Mexico were two of the most impoverished areas that I have seen, and I know that Africa and Asia are home to countless other examples of such injustice, not inequality, per se. It’s not government who can bear the sole burden of being unjust. It’s us, too. Many of us (we’re all guilty) spend more time telling others how the government should or should not get involved to take more money from one person to give it to others. This will never work, and it’s theft anyway. Those that do not want to willingly give simply will not give. It’s up to you and me to help these people; the people in our own backyards.

Inequality is so broad that it can be taken to mean fiscal inequality, marital inequality (homosexual “marriage”), inequality between the sexes… a million things. The true inequality is in the injustice dealt to the least among us.

Maybe today, each of us on here can do one thing - anything - to hear the Pope’s message of unequal justice, and do something for anyone in need. Any person at all. No traveling far and wide necessary. The least among us don’t have to be simply poor. They might be your neighbor right next door to you… Instead of us taking the 5, 10, 15 minutes to post our next thought in this thread, how about we take that allotment of time and do or give anything to someone in need.

Thanks for this post. You make a good point. We can also always just give to our local Catholic Community Services or charity of choice - doesn’t have to be lot, every little bit helps. (It can be your penance for getting mad at the Pope … $20 every time you call him a communist )

 

[Saint_Cunigunde]

I would be very careful when rushing to lessen inequality, or increase equality, economic or otherwise.
Remember that many churches were leveled during the French Revolution in name of equality. Because the churches were taller than most other structures, they had to be demolished. It was unbearable that the un-democratic buildings could remain standing. They actually called the churches “undemocratic” and this, of course, is the same sort of deluded language that many people(not just Americans) use regarding the “inequality of traditional marriage”, or the “equality of gay marriage”.

Well, I had family who were slaughtered during the French Revolution, so you will forgive me if I don’t share this peculiar and dangerous anti-Catholic madness.

Now, how does this relate to Pope Francis? Don’t know, and I actually love the current Pope. I don’t think that this tweet, whenever it happened, shouldn’t be taken all too seriously. I think one should perhaps take a look at the allocution of Pope Pius IX on the Nobility as being a gift from God.