“Thou shalt not steal”.
We have been discussing God’s divine social design in the areas of Family, Church, The State, and most recently – Labor. As we have explored the biblical view of labor, we have examined Economic Principles found in the word of God. To date we have considered four Economic Principle:
1. All things belong to God. (Psalm 50:7-12)
2. God appointed man to be a creative steward of his goods with “ownership” rights. (Genesis 1:28)
3. Theft of another’s goods is wrong…(Exodus 20:15)
4. …and coveting another’s goods is wrong. (Exodus 20:17)
Our discussion of principles 3 and 4 included the issues of Economic forms of theft (Excessive/oppressive/improper taxation; Forced “redistribution” of wealth) and Economic forms of covetousness (Class envy; Demand for “redistribution” rights). When I opened this morning’s newspaper (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 18, 2009), I saw this headline:
Poll: Let rich pay for health reform. “Many Americans don’t want to shoulder the cost of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul themselves. They think the rich should pay for it.” (Emphasis mine)
The house bill would impose a 5.4% income tax surcharge on individuals earning $500,000 a year, and households making more than $1,000,000. Apparently it does not matter to our federal legislators, (or most Americans for that matter) that high-income groups already pay a large share of the federal tax burden. According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2004 the top 1 percent of all taxpayers paid 37 percent of all individual income taxes. The CBO also found that the top 1 percent bore a staggering 59 percent of the corporate income tax burden (under the assumption that the burden takes the form of lower capital income for individuals). To be sure, this group paid only 4 percent of payroll and other social insurance taxes and only 5 percent of excise taxes. Combining all of these taxes, though, the top 1 percent still bore 25 percent of the federal tax burden. It is not widely recognized that one-quarter of the costs of federal services--such as Social Security, Medicare, national defense, and the FBI--are paid by a mere 1 percent of the population.
The idea of taxing the rich to pay for “health care reform” is a prime example of a violation of principle three – “theft of another’s goods is wrong.” It is an also an example of covetousness (see principle four), manifested in the form of class envy and an expectation of “redistribution rights”. The comments of Mary Pat Rondthaler of Menlo Park, California are insightful: “You know, I mean, why not? If they have that much money, it should be taxed?”
The fact that a majority of Americans, according to the poll conducted by Stanford University think that a tax surcharge on the group already paying the majority of federal taxes is acceptable is an indication that this is not viewed as “theft”. Theft is “taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.” Is that not EXACTLY what this is? And is not the attitude expressed by Ms.Rondthaler, and many others, an expression of class envy?
The intent of our discussions throughout The Truth Process has been to examine the culture, and to examine ourselves to identify the areas in which “false truth claims” have corrupted our thinking. It is obvious that the culture in general has been deceived in this area. I fear that the worldview may not be much different among believers.
I recently came across this excerpt from Is God a Socialist? By Joel McDurmon:
“Today we have witnessed a reinvigoration of radical socialist ideology in government, including radical activists in congress, the judiciary, labor unions, teachers’ unions, universities, and numerous posts in the White House itself, including the Presidency. The arguments of socialism—welfare, socialized health care, regulation and taxation of business, attacks on “the rich,” etc.—resound throughout America like never before.
Most Christians are unaware that the arguments of socialism and the welfare State are nothing less than the ancient pagan view of the State forged by the fires of Moloch worship, ending in human sacrifice and slavery to the ruler’s desires. Worse yet, many Christian leaders call for socialism under the guise of Christian virtues like helping the poor and needy. Some leaders have worked hard to find biblical support for the State robbing from some and giving to others. Christians must learn to discern the devious rhetoric, and expose the wolves in sheep’s clothing that deceive Christians into Statism using Christian language and Bible passages.
The only avenue to repairing this ruin is through obedience to Jesus Christ. This path requires us to return to God’s word, and rebuild our lives, our families, churches, states and social order based upon God’s revealed way of life. The choice between God and socialism is the same as the choice between God and Satan. One leads to paradise, the other delusion and hell.”
McDurmon’s word are profound, and are applicable to every area of life. The only avenue to repairing the ruin of our culture is through obedience to Christ. We must return to His word and rebuild our lives, including every social sphere we have discussed, based upon God’s revealed design.
May it be so.
In Christ -
John
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