November 3, 2008

Hmm, Spreading the Wealth

McCain and Palin have made a lot of hay out of Obama's "spread the wealth" comment. You would think that McCarthy still roamed the halls of the Senate, or that the over-riding danger for the world was communism. McCarthy is gone and reviled (except by the far right) and even the communists aren't really communist.

But that fear works among so many, and so many are religious conservatives who seem to think that Jesus was a capitalist, and as Natalie put it: "the Christians who support McCain probably think that the phrase 'God helps those who help themselves' is found in the Bible."
Anyway, I can't bring myself to vote for someone so critical of Leviticus 25, of jubilee, of 2 Corinthians 8:14-15 and Acts 4:34. When God provided manna in the wilderness, those who accumulated too much found their hoarded manna spoiled."

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

How much of someone else's money will Obama feel that Streak is "entitled" to?

How much of what Streak has "earned" will Obama feel that Streak should be allowed to keep?

How will Streak "feel" about the decisions that Obama makes? Stay tuned.

Streak said...

yes, Jackie. Read the blog post and then ask those questions.

Sigh.

"This is not the blog you are seeking."

steves said...

The Bible is pretty clear on helping others in need, but there is nothing that says it has to be done through the government. OTOH, there is nothing that says it doesn't have to and it is also pretty clear that people should obey the government. I don't believe that the Bible explicitly supports solcialism or anti-socialism, though if an elected gov't decides to spread the wealth, Christians have no basis for not sharing.

Streak said...

Steve, no argument there. I am not saying that the Bible is socialist either, but it is clearly not pro-wealth and pro-hoarding of wealth.

Anonymous said...

Sharing is when you voluntarily give something you own to someone else. But when you take something from someone else, against their will, even if it is legal to do so, and give what you have taken to another, that is not sharing.

Streak said...

Ok. Thanks for stopping by.

Off you go.

steves said...

I am not saying that the Bible is socialist either, but it is clearly not pro-wealth and pro-hoarding of wealth.

Absolutely. It is also a whole lot of other things that many people have trouble following.

Monk-in-Training said...

Streak,
I think that is a great point about Lev. 25. It is clearly NOT what is viewed in American Capitalism.

thx

Anonymous said...

Who is the government? Lest we forget, it is us.

Bootleg Blogger said...

This whole redistribution talking point has irritated the the shit out of me- just another example of how politicians think we're basically stupid. Neither candidate has proposed canceling all taxes. ANY tax takes money from those taxed redistributes it through the bazillion different ways it's spent. We can argue over HOW it's spent, but it's still redistribution.

Signed
Idiot Citizen

Anonymous said...

Heh. Thanks, BB, for the moment of clarity! I'm glad another idiot citizen was able to realize that!! And for all those who are so intent on the rich keeping their money, remember that those who hoarded manna in the desert saw their extra manna spoil. There was no trickle-down manna policy. It didn't work thousands of years ago, and it won't work now.

steves said...

Dear Idiot Citizen,

I think he is talking about tax policies like credits for certain things that, depending on your income, can mean that some actually get back more than they pay in taxes.

I am kind of tired of it, too. I would prefer to discuss specifics.

Signed,
The Voice of Reason

P.S. I doubt most voters know anything about the actual redistribution of wealth and what that is a reference to.