THE CASE FOR THE JUBILEE
ECONOMIC RATIONALE
IT'S TIME WE KICKED THE RICH OFF THE DOLE!
(article)
In an era that touts free markets and limited government intervention, it is hard to imagine the rich benefiting from government largesse. But they are. Statistics from the current record economic expansion tell a disturbing story: wealth inequality has never been greater, the rich never richer, while the average American has benefited little and the poor have seen the weakest reduction in poverty ever. Why? Because those walking the tight rope of free markets, with a shrinking safety net to catch them if they fall, are predominantly the poor and the not so rich. Demonstrating anew that the USA economy operates on a double standard - Socialism for the rich and Capitalism for everyone else.
For the fortunate few, the Holy Grail of capitalism - market discipline, survival of the fittest, creative destruction - is often set aside, as they are rescued from predicaments of their own making. Consider the bailout of Long Term Capital Management in 1998. Chairman Greenspan was not about to let the discipline of the markets go to work. Arguing that he was trying to avoid a financial calamity he led a bailout of LTCM that liquefied financial markets. Hundreds of billions in wealth were created, and, given that the wealthiest 20% of American households own over 90% of the country's financial wealth, it added to the already great inequalities in wealth distribution.
The bailout of large losing institutions, usually to prevent crises of their own making, did not start or end with LTCM. Beginning with the bailout of Mexico in 1982 the great bull market has been fueled by such bailouts from Drysdale securities, to the stock market crash of 1987, to Mexico again and the Asian contagion to name a few. Like Pavlov's dog large speculators have not only learned to become fearless in their resolve, but they have also developed a ghoulish and perverse view that they can and should benefit from someone else's misery. The moral hazard has become so great that even the littlest investor has learned the benefits of calamity and others' misery as they chant, "buy the dip."
In fairness, large financial players and their bankers are not totally unsympathetic to the benefits of market discipline. Market toughness is revealed in their attitude towards employment growth and wage gains. Each month they form a vigorously assenting chorus when financial gurus and the Federal Reserve wax poetic on the great peril associated with rising wages. As angst fills the market, more and more market participants urge a "pre-emptive" strike by the FED so that "excessive" workers' gains are snuffed out with tight money. What protects workers a bit from this righteous chorus of free marketers is the worry that tight money may also snuff out the less objectionable gains registered in the stock market.
Certainly the average American has benefited from the stock market boom? Or have they? The meaning of average is not very clear these days. Wealth has become so skewed in the USA that most Americans fall miserably short of the averages. In 1997 over 80% of American households had a net worth below the national average of $227,000. In fact, between 1983 and 1997, a period that saw a tenfold increase in the stock market, wealth for the average American fell. Yes wealth for the average American household has fallen since the great bull market took off. Then there is the 1 and 40 rule: the wealthiest 1-% in the US own almost 40% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 40% of the population own less than 1% of the wealth.
Such high levels of inequality in wealth are not likely to arise in a genuinely free market: but come from favoring large participants and from the rigging of market outcomes. We have allowed powerful players to destabilize markets in their rush for gains, and then, when they painted frightening images of impending calamities, we let them blackmail us into bailing them out. The rich have learned that if their careless investments and speculative excesses are big enough, we will rescue them. In a variation of "trickle-down economics," they have modified their rallying cry from, "what is good for the rich is good for the country," into, "what is bad for the rich is even worse for the country," and, thus justified, they press for massive bailouts.
At the very least, if we say we are going to rely on markets, we must let them work in an equitable way, allowing the creative destruction of markets to do its work, cushioning their effects only for the most vulnerable and least able to protect themselves. As for the wealthy, it is time we stopped subsidizing them, and kicked them off the dole.
"We must be the change we want to see" - M.K. Gandhi |
RELIGIOUS RATIONALE
The Jubilee amendment is based upon the Jubilee year as described in the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The following article, "Fulfilling Gods Vision of the Jubilee" is discusses why the Jubilee amendment is in the spirit of the Jubilee year.JUBILEE 2000: FULFILLING THE VISION "...[Y]ou shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces." Leviticus 25:9-12 NRSV
Sound the trumpets and begin the celebration! The year of the Jubilee (2000) is upon us. Churches are calling it a special time. But what is the Jubilee about? And how does a person of faith fulfill the vision God gave Moses for the Jubilee over 3,000 years ago in today's modern world.
Our forefathers felt the principles contained in the Jubilee were so important that they had the Liberty Bell inscribed with words taken straight from Leviticus: "...Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all its inhabitants thereof" (Lev.25: 10). Obviously the concepts underlying the Jubilee have something crucial to say with who we are not only as people of faith, but as Americans. Liberty: It's what the United States is all about. We take it for granted because we assume all Americans have it. But do we? Liberty, for us, stands for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from tyranny, etc. But was this the Liberty God was talking about in the Jubilee?
To the ancient Hebrews liberty meant something different. To Israelites liberty was associated with the emancipation of slaves. It pertained to economic rather than political liberty, implying the freeing of people from economic hardship --- call it financial tyranny. Look at the specific remedies God prescribed to Moses with the Jubilee celebration: cancellation of debts (Dt. 15:1, 15:9, 31:10, Neh. 10:31; Jer 34:14), the freeing of slaves (Lev 25:39, Ex 21:2), returning land purchased to its original owner (Lev 25:23-24). Today such remedies are no longer applicable, slavery has been almost totally eradicated and the importance of land has diminished as we are no longer an agrarian society. But have things really changed? Are we correct to think that liberty no longer has anything to do with economic freedom?
All of the actions God was prescribing in the Jubilee were about removing the shackles of wealth that eats at you if you don't have it, and makes you fat when you do have it. Think about it. Cancel debts. The poor borrow money and end up working to pay off interest that the rich earn simply because they have money to lend. Give back land. The land feeds you and gives you goods to sell if you are rich; and if you're poor, well, you suffer and go hungry. God wanted people to return to their inheritance: "In this year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property"(Lev 25:10). God was telling the Israelites to give back what they had gained and begin anew. Think of it like a game where some of us fall so far behind that we can never catch up; But in a game they blow the whistle to end the game and declare the winners. God realized that wealth and financial inequality amongst people was inevitable and the Jubilee was the remedy to bring back harmony and equilibrium. It was about redistributing wealth.
God also talked about generosity when outlining the Jubilee: do not work the land on the sabbath year (7th year) and share whatever bounty it produces with all its people and animals (Lev 25:3-7) and give freely, whatever is needed, to anyone who has fallen into poverty. God wants us to share with the poor; "Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land" (Dt 15:11. See also Lev 25:35-38; Dt. 15:7). God was asking the Israelites to share as he was sharing with them. All we have is given to us; God says in Lev. 25:23 that "the land is mine" not the peoples'. Implicit is the concept that the Israelites were redeemed out of Egypt and owe all their prosperity and good fortune to God. And they are asked to remember "that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you." (DT. 15:15) The Jubilee is a remedy to the concept that our lives are sustained independently of God; all that we are comes from the grace of God.
The Jubilee was a radical idea. The wealthy and prosperous were to return all of their material gains and give freely to the poor. The rich no doubt felt that these were gains they had justly and fairly earned. How could it be fair or just to return something earned or traded for within the law? Returning equilibrium meant drastic, wholesale transfer of wealth. The Jubilee did not come about in Moses' time. Perhaps it is time to put forth the idea once again. The agrarian society is long gone. We now live in a capitalist/industrial society and are fast moving into a new information age. But one thing has not changed - poverty and wealth inequality.
The USA is in the midst of a record economic recovery and yet poverty is having one of its weakest improvements ever. The rich have never been richer. Sadly, along with that prosperity we have wealth inequality like we've never had it before. Consider the 1 and 40 rule: the top 1% of American households own 40% of the country's wealth while the bottom 40% own less than 1% of the country's wealth. The affluent skew the wealth numbers so much so that over 80% of American households fall below the national wealth average of $227,000 (in 1997, most recent statistics). And how has the booming stock market affected wealth? It has unjustly profited the rich. Between 1983, the year after the bull market for stocks began, and 1997 the stock market increased tenfold while wealth for the average American fell. Yes, wealth fell for the average American while the stock market exploded in value and the rich got richer. But that's not surprising since the top 20% of wealthy Americans own over 90% of the country's financial wealth.
God had it right with the Jubilee. It's all about wealth inequality. So how do we fulfill God's vision of the Jubilee? How would God approach it today? How could we get the rich to let go of some of their wealth - the icon of security -- in a world that worships the stock market rather than God and puts more trust in money than the Creator?
How? By using our rights as American citizens: we could vote for it in a democratic fashion. We could vote for something I call "The Jubilee Amendment." The Internet Age has provided a powerful medium for us to make a more democratic and equal world. Are we up for the challenge? This web page jubileeamendment.org has been created for you to register for a ballot petition to have the Jubilee amendment placed on state ballots for vote. Registering people on the Internet for a state ballot petition has never been done before, but we are on strong legal footing. The Internet reduces the need for a large organization to mount a petition drive. Not all states have a ballot initiative law, but we are proposing a national ballot initiative so we ask that everyone register even if your state does not have a ballot initiative. The number of registrants (signatures) required to get an amendment on the ballot varies from state to state, but on average is 8% of the number of voters at the last election. Given that voter turnout is on average less than 40% we would need only 3.2% (8% X .40%) of the state voters. Just think that if you and your friends could get your fellow church members to spend an hour emailing friends within your community you could get the Jubilee Amendment placed on your state ballot.
The Jubilee amendment seeks to redistribute wealth by taxing the assets of the rich, defined as those with wealth above the national average, and redistributing it to those falling below the average. Will the rich suffer? Not much. Is this radical? Certainly. Am I crazy to suggest it? Crazy, Yes. But why? Because instead of using the Internet for e commerce to further expand wealth imbalances, we are using to reduce wealth imbalances? I have worked on Wall Street for many years. I've seen the numbers. It can be done. More explicit details about the Jubilee appear on this web page, jubileeamendment.org.
The thought of such a radical proposal as the Jubilee is as frightening today as was to the Israelites of old. But fear not, God told the Israelites and us today that we would be taken care of if we follow the remedies prescribed by the Jubilee. "Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land" (Lev 25: 18). God goes on to say that we will be more than taken care of, "I will send you such a blessing" (Lev 25:21). The conclusion is clear, have faith and follow God's vision and all will be good.
We the people, citizens of the USA, like the Israelites of old are a land of exiles, that either came or were brought here. Many of us have prospered some greatly. Yet in the face of the longest economic recovery on record and buoyant financial markets which are minting new millionaires each day many of us do not have economic liberty. The Internet age has brought about a new technology that can empower us to make a better world. Think about it. Is this the time, finally, to proclaim the Year of the Jubilee? Are we ready, as the people of God, to sound the trumpet? Go register now and tell all your friends,
Madis Senner
Why We Need to Have Compassion for the Rich
"Do to others as you wish them to do to you" (Mt 7:12, Luke 6:31)
I have asked for words countless times to write about compassion, but none have come. I know what needs to be said, but do not know how to say it. I guess the struggle I have with inspiring compassion is, that it is a struggle.
How does one find compassion for the rich? Particularly those that are selfish, greedy and uncompassionate; unwilling to share and thinking they have no responsibility to anyone or any community.
I think of other struggles and of the men and women that sacrificed for the greater good. How did they find compassion? What do they teach us? Then I think of others whom I refuse to emulate. I think of the crusades or a bomb exploding in a crowded market. Or a priest I admire spewing hate and venom as he acts judge and jury to a mayor whose policies towards the homeless and needy he finds mean and hateful. What do they tell us not to do: become self-righteous. While on this quest to bring about economic justice we must not become self-righteous.
Then the golden rule comes to mind: Do to others, as you wish them to do to you. If we become self-righteous, hateful and judgmental of the rich we become like them. To paraphrase Ghandi; we must act as we wish others to act, becoming the change we wish to see. If we want a more compassionate, caring and communal world we must acts so accordingly. We must exhibit that which we find so deficient in the rich!
Part of being human is to struggle. I have tried to write about compassion as best I can. I hope this will help inspire someone to better say what needs to be said. I look forward to hearing from you and reading what you say.
Madis Senner
LEVITICUS 25
25:1 The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying:
25:2 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord.
25:3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield;
25:4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
25:5 You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.
25:6 You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath-you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you;
25:7 for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.
25:8 You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years.
25:9 Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month-on the day of atonement-you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land.
25:10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.
25:11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.
25:12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces.
25:13 In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property.
25:14 When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another.
25:15 When you buy from your neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop years.
25:16 If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you. 25:17 You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.
25:18 You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.
25:19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely.
25:20 Should you ask, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?"
25:21 I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop for three years.
25:22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old.
25:23 The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
25:24 Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.
25:25 If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.
25:26 If the person has no one to redeem it, but then prospers and finds sufficient means to do so,
25:27 the years since its sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned.
25:28 But if there are not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.
25:29 If anyone sells a dwelling house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of redemption shall be one year.
25:30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, a house that is in a walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.
25:31 But houses in villages that have no walls around them shall be classed as open country; they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.
25:32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites shall forever have the right of redemption of the houses in the cities belonging to them.
25:33 Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites-houses sold in a city belonging to them-shall be released in the jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel.
25:34 But the open land around their cities may not be sold; for that is their possession for all time.
25:35 If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.
25:36 Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.
25:37 You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit.
25:38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
25:39 If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves.
25:40 They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
25:41 Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.
25:42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold.
25:43 You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God.
25:44 As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves.
25:45 You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property.
25:46 You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.
25:47 If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien's family,
25:48 after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them,
25:49 or their uncle or their uncle's son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves. 25:50 They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer.
25:51 If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price;
25:52 and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption.
25:53 As a laborer hired by the year they shall be under the alien's authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight.
25:54 And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year.
25:55 For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
SOCIAL RATIONALE
The fact is that wealth inequality has gotten to such extremes that it threatens our social fabric. And it has gotten to such extremes because we have continually pursued pollicies, which have favored the rich, as well as providing the rich an environment to flourish. As we noted in "It's Time We Kicked the Rich off the Dole" the government has been pursuing a policy of saving large speculators which has sent the stock market higher and disproportionately benefited the rich. What is going to happen when the stock market bubble busts and the economy suffers. Secondly, we live in a society that has order. What is the value of this to the entrepreneur or businessperson? Our economic and social stability allows business to flourish. Just look at countries were chaos reins, the armies and criminal rule. There is a value associated with this stability and part of the value is wealth equality. Then there is the cost of social capital to businesses and the wealthy. Social capital is a big concept we will address further. Should the entrepreneur pay a price for the technology that preceded his invention or the large corporation that has a skilled labor force at his disposable, etc., much more pending.Back to the Table of Contents