| July 1, 2005 To Hell In A Handbasket by Geoff Kennedy, insurgent49 A man in a business suit tries to snatch the purse of an 87-year-old woman defending herself with an umbrella. The cop you call accuses you of "class warfare," hands the purse to the mugger, grabs the umbrella and beats the woman with it. Hold that metaphor. Some 20 years ago, I reacted cynically when the US Catholic bishops advocated government's sharing the responsibility for caring with the poor. I thought the bishops assumed our politicians were honorable, not crooks whose compassion extended only to the rich who contributed to their political campaigns. I feared government poverty programs would consist of bailouts for Chrysler, savings and loan associations and airlines. Turns out I wasn't cynical enough. As workers' real income declines during this economic "recovery," as pensions and retirement plans vanish, and as corporations reward CEOs with hundreds of millions of dollars in raises for laying off thousands of workers, our politicians intervene in the economy, all right ... on the side of the rich. If your spouse leaves you with the kids, if wounds from the Iraqi war cost you your job at home, if your job gets outsourced, if a catastrophic illness or accident puts you on life support like Terri Schiavo, the government rescues the credit card company that recruited you so aggressively by making it harder for you to declare bankruptcy. Now, if you get that catastrophic illness or accident from your employer's irresponsibility or a defective product you buy, or, like the Schiavo family, through medical malpractice, the government rescues that employer, product manufacturer, or health care provider by capping the damages you can claim. Of course, if enough of you win your lawsuits, that company can still avoid paying what it owes you by declaring bankruptcy. As Leona Helmsley might say, personal responsibility, like taxes, is for little people. When the mega-rich are spared taxes on income they inherit and on capital gains they don't work for, their share of the tax burden falls on those who have to work for a living. Jesus says being rich jeopardizes our eternal salvation, and neglecting the preferential option for the poor lands us in hell. Where will a preferential option for the rich land us? Of course, only people go to hell, not countries. Or do they? Look what happened to France when Marie Antoinette persecuted the poor, and to Russia when Czar Nicholas did the same. Can a country survive when its behavior completely reverses the teachings of Christ and His church? Is our country's "going to hell in a handbasket" only a metaphor? Geoff Kennedy is a radio journalist and former member of 'Billionaires For Bush' who resides in an undisclosed location in Alaska. He can be reached at geoff@insurgent49.com. |
-
Columnists -
|
||||||
| Copyright
2005
Insurgent Media. All Rights
Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
|||||||
