Kingdom Building
September 11, 2019
Scripture Reading: Psalm 14
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?
There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. –Psalm 14:1-4
This graphic poetry describes evil people who eat up God’s people as easily as they eat the bread of their table creating a sad scene but, I fear, a very real one. While the unemployment rate is low in the USA the underemployment rate is not. ($25,100 according to the Census bureau is poverty level for a family of 4) While large corporations make great profits for their investors and pay their CEO’s and other officers’ high salaries, many of their staff members’ low salaries are offset by food stamps, Medicaid, and childcare subsidies. Working class and middleclass employees pay a disproportionate share of the taxes that support these federal programs.
CEO pay is quickly outpacing yours. In 2016, the CEOs of the top 350 U.S. firms earned on average $15.6 million. … In 2015, CEOs made 286 times the salary of a typical worker and 299 times more in 2014. Compare that to 1978, when CEO earnings were roughly 30 times the typical worker’s salary*.
Big companies have long relied on strategies to reduce their tax bills. But the new tax law is making it even easier, with a new analysis finding that 60 profitable Fortune 500 companies paid no taxes on a total of $79 billion of profits earned in 2018**.
Doing justice requires God’s people to work to do what is right for all God’s children. Assuring that all workers earn a living wage*** receiving at least enough to meet basic needs is the right thing to do.
Prayer: Lord, teach us how to do justice regarding our economy and give us the courage to seek justice. Amen.
*https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/heres-how-much-ceo-pay-has-increased-compared-to-yours-over-the-years.html
**https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2018-taxes-some-of-americas-biggest-companies-paid-little-to-no-federal-income-tax-last-year/
***For more information on a living wage see http://livingwage.mit.edu/
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.