{"id":20292,"date":"2014-12-02T05:30:38","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T10:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=20292"},"modified":"2014-11-30T17:21:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T22:21:06","slug":"the-pope-and-the-koch-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/the-pope-and-the-koch-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pope and the Koch brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Philanthropists John and Carol Saeman<\/span> explain why they support both<\/em> Pope Francis\u2019s concern for the poor and<\/em> the Koch brothers\u2019 crusade for free market economics and limited government.<\/span><\/p>\n

From John and Carol Saeman<\/span>, Pope Francis, the Kochs and how the wealthy can help the poor \u2013 The Washington Post:<\/a><\/p>\n

Known in the church as \u201csocial teaching\u201d or \u201csocial justice,\u201d [Catholic teaching on the subject] rests on three pillars, as laid out in papal encyclicals: the dignity of the human person, solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity stipulates that society should join together in pursuit of the common good; subsidiarity requires that social ills be addressed at the most local level possible.<\/p>\n

\n

All three principles are actively under assault by the growth of government and the concentration of power in Washington.<\/p>\n

Welfare policy provides a clear example of how federal policies can undermine human dignity. To our society\u2019s credit, the United States has devoted much of its national treasure to combating poverty \u2014 January marked the 50th anniversary of the \u201cWar on Poverty,\u201d on which we have spent some $22 trillion. Unfortunately, some of our country\u2019s anti-poverty programs are so poorly designed that they harm the poor, encouraging dependency where they should encourage upward mobility.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis has rightly declared that \u201cwhere there is no work, there is no dignity.\u201d In light of these words, the U.S. welfare system can actually deny dignity while claiming to grant it. Some government assistance programs can be more lucrative than work. This unfairly \u2014 but understandably \u2014 incentivizes some to stay out of the job market, abusing the social safety net designed to help those who truly need help. In so doing, it traps people in the poverty they\u2019re trying to escape.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s rejection of subsidiarity contributes to this crisis. Every new federal law seems to create or empower a federal agency to regulate another facet of the U.S. economy and Americans\u2019 lives. For the poor, this results in two problems.<\/p>\n

First, Washington typically addresses complex social problems with one-size-fits-all solutions. This often creates more problems than it solves. Subsidiarity, on the other hand, recognizes that private associations and local or state governments are better equipped to address most social issues. They have a better vantage point from which to identify and address local problems. And since local and state communities are most invested in the success of the individuals and families who comprise them, they\u2019re more likely to recognize and reform a broken program, whereas Washington\u2019s solution would be to expand it.<\/p>\n

Second, Washington\u2019s centralization of power saps the vitality of the wider economy. Washington\u2019s insatiable growth annually siphons trillions of dollars from the economy \u2014 some of which philanthropists like us could give to local charities and businesses could use to create the jobs the poor desperately need. Instead, the money is lost in Washington\u2019s alphabet soup of government agencies.<\/p>\n

This centralization \u2014 which misconstrues the principle of solidarity by conflating big government with the common good \u2014 also leads to the corrupt capitalism that Pope Francis has condemned. The Holy Father witnessed firsthand in South America how capitalism can degenerate into cronyism when government becomes too powerful. There, politicians and bureaucrats hold the keys to the kingdom. Entrepreneurs must kiss the regulators\u2019 ring or bribe the local bureaucrat at every turn. Bureaucrats and businesses also collude to protect politically favored companies and crowd out competitors \u2014 an arrangement that invariably keeps the rich rich and the poor poor.<\/p>\n

This phenomenon isn\u2019t found only in Third World dictatorships. It\u2019s increasingly evident in Washington, where corruption, special interests and lobbyists are more prevalent and powerful than at any point in our lifetimes. The poor are an afterthought when there are hands to be shaken, subsidies to be grabbed and favors to be dispensed.<\/p>\n

[Keep reading. . . ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philanthropists John and Carol Saeman explain why they support both Pope Francis\u2019s concern for the poor and the Koch brothers\u2019 crusade for free market economics and limited government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15,35],"tags":[3469,869,3468,2481,1919,2124],"class_list":["post-20292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economics","category-ethics","category-philosophy-2","tag-catholic-social-teaching","tag-free-market-economics","tag-koch-brothers","tag-pope-francis","tag-roman-catholicism","tag-subsidiarity"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pope and the Koch brothers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philanthropists John and Carol Saeman explain why they support both Pope Francis's concern for the poor and the Koch brothers' crusade for free market\" \/>\n<meta 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