What do Christian politicians offer the meek?

[RobertUrbanek]

What do Christian politicians offer the meek? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth� (Matthew 5:5)

What are Christian politicians doing to fulfill the promise of Jesus? Will they pursue economic policies that reward those who are less aggressive and take fewer risks? Will they appoint cabinet officials who are modest and self-effacing?

[East of Eden]

Considering the poverty level is higher than it has been in years, I would ask what is the Christian politician Obama doing for the meek? There is a tremendous amount of societal good that comes from economic growth such as we had in the '80s and '90s.

[Haven]

Considering the poverty level is higher than it has been in years, I would ask what is the Christian politician Obama doing for the meek?

Obama has done nothing for the meek. He is a neoliberal capitalist imperialist, just like GWB, Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan. He supports the same corrupt hyper-capitalist system (the Washington Consensus) that has been the "global consensus" since the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1973. The poverty level is the highest it has been in years because of globalization and international neoliberal capitalist economic policies pushed by the G8 nations and international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

There is a tremendous amount of societal good that comes from economic growth such as we had in the '80s and '90s.

This is false. The "economic growth" that came from Reaganian neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and the 1990s went only to the top one percent of society, while the middle and working classes have seen their incomes (adjusted for inflation) and standards of living stagnate or decline in that time frame. Additionally, the level of income inequality -- the gap between the rich and the poor -- has greatly increased since 1980. Gini coefficients (one key measure of income inequality) have skyrocketed in the USA since the end of the Johnson administration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coeff ... _over_time

When it comes to economic issues, there is no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. Both are neoliberal capitalist parties who love globalization and multinational corporations, and both will ensure that the standard of living for the poor, working class, and middle class will decline while the obscenely rich become richer.

[East of Eden]

Considering the poverty level is higher than it has been in years, I would ask what is the Christian politician Obama doing for the meek?

Obama has done nothing for the meek. He is a neoliberal capitalist imperialist, just like GWB, Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan. He supports the same corrupt hyper-capitalist system (the Washington Consensus) that has been the "global consensus" since the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1973. The poverty level is the highest it has been in years because of globalization and international neoliberal capitalist economic policies pushed by the G8 nations and international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

There is a tremendous amount of societal good that comes from economic growth such as we had in the '80s and '90s.

This is false. The "economic growth" that came from Reaganian neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and the 1990s went only to the top one percent of society, while the middle and working classes have seen their incomes (adjusted for inflation) and standards of living stagnate or decline in that time frame. Additionally, the level of income inequality -- the gap between the rich and the poor -- has greatly increased since 1980. Gini coefficients (one key measure of income inequality) have skyrocketed in the USA since the end of the Johnson administration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coeff ... _over_time

We need to be concerned with equal opportunity, there will never be equal results. In stead of the haves and have nots, it is often the do an do nots.

When it comes to economic issues, there is no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. Both are neoliberal capitalist parties who love globalization and multinational corporations, and both will ensure that the standard of living for the poor, working class, and middle class will decline while the obscenely rich become richer.

I'd say there is a big difference between the Obama economy and what happened under Reagan:

"According to a 1996 study from libertarian think tank Cato Institute:[45]
On 8 of the 10 key economic variables examined, the American economy performed better during the Reagan years than during the pre- and post-Reagan years.
Real median family income grew by $4,000 during the Reagan period after experiencing no growth in the pre-Reagan years; it experienced a loss of almost $1,500 in the post-Reagan years.
Interest rates, inflation, and unemployment fell faster under Reagan than they did immediately before or after his presidency.
The only economic variable that was worse in the Reagan period than in both the pre- and post-Reagan years was the savings rate, which fell rapidly in the 1980s.
The productivity rate was higher in the pre-Reagan years but much lower in the post-Reagan years.
Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute stated that "no act in the last quarter century had a more profound impact on the US economy of the eighties and nineties than the Reagan tax cut of 1981." He claims that Reagan's tax cuts, combined with an emphasis on federal monetary policy, deregulation, and expansion of free trade created a sustained economic expansion creating America's greatest sustained wave of prosperity ever. He also claims that the American economy grew by more than a third in size, producing a $15 trillion increase in American wealth. Consumer and investor confidence soared. Cutting federal income taxes, cutting the US government spending budget, cutting useless programs, scaling down the government work force, maintaining low interest rates, and keeping a watchful inflation hedge on the monetary supply was Ronald Reagan's formula for a successful economic turnaround."

Wikipedia

[RobertUrbanek]

Our problems did not just begin with Bush or Obama. Back in the 1980s, I dated a woman who was an underwriter. She was told not to verify the income claims of people applying for home mortgages. So the whole precarious house of cards that collapsed in 2008 had been under construction for a long time.

Republicans want to return to the Reagan era of the 1980s. Democrats want to return to the Clinton era of the 1990s. None of the politicians want to face the present reality. The era of "I want it all and I want it now" is over. A "meek" and humble attitude would be more helpful in dealing with our problems.

[Haven]

Our problems did not just begin with Bush or Obama. Back in the 1980s, I dated a woman who was an underwriter. She was told not to verify the income claims of people applying for home mortgages. So the whole precarious house of cards that collapsed in 2008 had been under construction for a long time.

Republicans want to return to the Reagan era of the 1980s. Democrats want to return to the Clinton era of the 1990s. None of the politicians want to face the present reality. The era of "I want it all and I want it now" is over. A "meek" and humble attitude would be more helpful in dealing with our problems.

So, so true. This crisis was in the making for a very long time, and no one politician can take the blame. The entire capitalist system is inherently corrupt, and the entire system must fall in order to ensure a safe, just, and prosperous future for humankind and the environment.

[dianaiad]

Our problems did not just begin with Bush or Obama. Back in the 1980s, I dated a woman who was an underwriter. She was told not to verify the income claims of people applying for home mortgages. So the whole precarious house of cards that collapsed in 2008 had been under construction for a long time.

Republicans want to return to the Reagan era of the 1980s. Democrats want to return to the Clinton era of the 1990s. None of the politicians want to face the present reality. The era of "I want it all and I want it now" is over. A "meek" and humble attitude would be more helpful in dealing with our problems.

So, so true. This crisis was in the making for a very long time, and no one politician can take the blame. The entire capitalist system is inherently corrupt, and the entire system must fall in order to ensure a safe, just, and prosperous future for humankind and the environment.

Would you care to explain what you would replace it with, who would implement it, and who would be in charge of it? (If you look at history, you will find that those who begin such revolutions are SELDOM the folks who run things later)

[dusk]

That is often the problem with voices that reject the current system completely, they lack a reasonable alternative.

I think a social welfare state which is basically also a capitalist system works just fine. The big problem is the same the EU currently has. They need to work together for everybody's sake but don't want to because the populists and nationalist would vote them out of the office if they don't act patriotic enough.
What the EU would need is a real EU government with the current countries being more or less states with all the decision power that doesn't need be on the EU level. The EU government obviously needs to be elected by the base voters with some system that gives small states enough weight.
It is impossible to implement but in a way the whole world needs something similar for global finance. Some laws would be beneficial to all but are impossible to implement because whoever opts out can reap the benefits. Like environment stuff, financial regulation, tax evasion, financial transaction taxes ....

I think the globalization is the way it currently is a bad thing but I am very pessimistic towards the possibility that a solution will be found any time soon. I think in 30 years or so it may come to pass but in the mean time we just have to survive somehow.

The problem is just too complex compared to the simple rantings of populists and that is why politicians are voted in place that destroy a countries economy like the greek's or give out money.
"Après moi le déluge! is every capitalist politician's campaign slogan." - Karl Marx, Das Kapital. MEW 23, S. 285