Economic Recovery Thoughts

This post is not a lectionary based comment.  It is a reflection on the way we as a nation are approaching the current economic situation.  I have been very concerned with the effort to "recover," as in return to life the way it was, instead of seeing this as a time to reconsider and revise our approaches.  My understanding of Jesus is that he cared for the poor and oppressed, the marginalized of his day as a category but his solutions were personal, one-on-one.  So much of the basis for this time of trouble is the separation of bankers and lenders and money managers and stock brokers from the people whose homes and savings they were manipulating, and I think we need some fundamental change.  What follows has been sent to the Hawk Eye as a letter to the editor - a bit long, I suspect - and to politicians for this area.  Comments very welcome!

Op-Ed columnist Bob Herbert wrote in the New York Times on 2-28 about the high proportion of workers ages 19-29 that is unemployed or underemployed.  In this difficult economy, it is this age group bearing much of the brunt of layoffs.  Many others are either working jobs for which they are overqualified – college grads taking jobs that do not require a college degree – or working less than full time.  Herbert is worried about the damage that may be done to these young workers as they lose opportunities for learning working skills, for being mentored in the workplace and for developing the confidence and creative skills they will need to succeed.

I share Herbert's worry.  As one admittedly influenced by the work of William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations, I believe that these young workers and the children and youth now in our schools need to be given a key role in addressing the economic and social challenges of our times.  They need to be the "soldiers" and "junior officers" in a fight to rebuild our strength as a nation.  Judging by the suicide and PTSD rate among our military forces, actual soldiering is not as successful at producing future leaders as WWII was.  Yet we need an effort as important and honorable as that epic battle. 

I have doubts about the value of using billions of government dollars to support banks and businesses that have not proven themselves worthy of public trust, but not because I do not think the government should take a lead role in this troubled time.  Instead, I would urge all parties in government to look for ways to do genuine good for our people and in the world through direct or nearly direct employment.  As an example, what if we temporarily expanded the AmeriCorps program and sent an army of young people out to rebuild areas affected by hurricanes and flooding, to work as tutors and after-school program leaders or wherever they can work alongside folks who could use another mind or pair of hands.  Rather than just extending unemployment benefits, lets put our younger workers to work in ways that teach teamwork and community spirit.  They will learn valuable skills, and our communities and nation will benefit.  Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps as a temporary means to provide work that has benefitted our nation for over 70 years. 

Is it government's role to create jobs for people?  Not in the long run, no.  But a public service job that builds skills and generates the pride of worthwhile work has far longer benefits than a tax rebate that buys a day's worth of groceries or a new pair of jeans.  The banks and securities sector is important in our world, but we have experienced the result of having layers and layers of money pushers whose only goal is to trade for profit without regard for the products and people represented by the shares of stock and mortgage instruments they shuffle.  It is time to re-personalize work.  I believe putting people to work in direct ways on worthy projects should be an important part of the process.

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This is a heads up to my reader, in case the paper picks this up.  It is also me thinking about teaching ethics to CENTER/LEARN/SEARCH folks - how do we make political decisions that reflect our faith.

Blessings All!

Marlea

Extremes

Scripture:  1 Corinthians 6:12-20

"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial."

I'm spending more and more of my time reading about our current political and economic situation, and find that it gives me a lot of food for thought.  We are, I believe, at an important transition point, not just the beginning of a new presidency (for which I am very grateful!), but also, with so much of our economy in disarray, at a significant transition in our understanding of capitalism and consumption as well.

Attending the North American Academy of Liturgy seminar group "Liturgy and Culture" last week introduced me to a book I am still working through called Consuming Religion: Religious Belief and Practice in a Consumer Culture by Vincent J. Miller.  Already it has affected the way I write liturgy, and I expect it will continue to do so.  The author offers a very convincing analysis of the way we in our society disconnect nearly everything from its foundations and treat it like an object that can be used or adapted as we wish without reference to its history or original purpose. So, some religious seekers visit Lakota sweat lodges, wear hematite jewelry, practice yoga and join prayer circles.  Each practice has its own roots or story, but none is connected to the other except by the person practicing them.  Ultimately, such eclecticism is usually neither respectful of the original tradition, nor does it truly ground the person in a way that leads to true faith.  That is not to critique any particular practice necessarily, but to observe how easy it is to make it mean what you want it to mean and avoid the challenges from faith and history.

I think this is a fair critique of both some religious seekers and of our consumer culture as a whole.  We used to associate places and products:  Colby Cheese from Wisconsin; fine steel for knives from Sheffield, England, and building steel from Pittsburg, fabric from mills in New England and the Atlantic states.  These used to be based on craft, the knowledge and skills of those who made them.  But first the skills were taken over by the managers, then the jobs, now mostly unskilled, were relocated to lower the cost of production.  The connections from person to product were broken in order to make more and sell more.  Then advertising created demand for more by appealing to our insecurities and the markets for the products were created.  No longer limited to mass-marketed products, one model for everyone, now there are niche markets and products to suit every taste.  Well, almost any taste - not always mine, but then...    

It seems to me that such disconnections leave us all subject to distress in ways we might have trouble identifying.  It has been a long process, and we have accommodated ourselves to each change and benefitted in many ways from them.  Innovation and self-expression have blossomed.  But the more we abstract things from their roots, make them commodities, the more we create the kind of shell games and ponzi schemes that have come crashing down around us.  A mortgage should be a contract between a borrower and a lender. But it has become a commodity, a source of income to be sold for quick cash, and bundled into funds that were sold in shares and then speculated upon.  Businesses and individuals borrow to fund future activity, but there should be some connection between the activity and the funding rather than borrowing against the expectation of inflated prices.  I sold a house a few years ago to a couple with no cash at all.  They borrowed 104% of the house price so they could pay for their housing inspector, and buy appliances and a fence.  They did not go through a local bank, but a national lender and they lost that house in a year. (The lender is broke now, too.) 

I like stuff as much as the next person.  My computer is crammed to the gills and slowing down and it is easier to buy new than to weed out the old.  I bought a new camera when my original digital was still functioning pretty well.  I really don't want to look at the labels of every little thing to see where and how it was made.  But, I am coming to be more and more convinced that I need to pay more attention.  That I need to buy more locally made and craft produced items.  I bought some gifts from "SERRV" and "A Better Footprint" and our UCC Coffee Project this year, but I also bought stuff from discount stores made in China or where ever. Every place needs jobs, and factories in China can be paths out of poverty for some.  But for others it is a move from self-sufficient, if somewhat primitive, agriculture, to grueling and meaningless work for very poor wages that must then be spent to acquire what used to be produced at home.  The US used to be the land of opportunity and had jobs for many.  The low-wage, low-skill jobs in service fields are still there, but they rarely lead to a life even close to what we all see on TV and in advertising.  

To re-establish a true Middle Class, I am convinced we need more work that requires skills accessible to a broader range of people (blue, green and white collars). We need an appreciation of objects for the work that goes into them and people for the work they do (teachers for example).  We need an attitude toward business that values stability and sufficiency over ever-higher profits.  And, perhaps most difficult, a willingness to say enough. To spend a little more, but on fewer things.   

But there are millions whose livelihoods have depended on all those financial instruments, on marketing and design and corporate management.  As much as we worry about the jobs in manufacturing being lost, true economic change will cause disruption in other areas, too.  There are no easy answers, only faithful questions and a set of values that places people and communities before GDP and DJIA*.

God, you know us, you have made us, you dream wholeness and peace and connectedness for each of us.  We pray for wisdom and courage to reshape our world into a reflection of your realm as you have made us as a reflection of your image.  Guide us, please.  

Blessings and Peace,

Marlea

*Gross Domestic Product and Dow Jones Industrial Average.