Senator Rick Scott, and with him, many of his fellow Republicans, are taking their aim at the poor, the needy, the vulnerable. They want to find ways to make the poor pay more and more to society, even if the poor do not have the means, while making sure they receive less and less in return for what they give. Scott and his compatriots are doing this, it seems, so as to make sure that the rich and powerful do not have to pay their fair share for society, and in doing so, letting them get richer on the backs of the poor. This is why they consistently promote reducing taxes on those who can afford them the most, while increasing them on those who can’t. They are aiding and abetting a takeover of society by the rich, and in doing so, undermining those in need, those who are destitute. This includes making those who have already paid quite a bit to society to pay much more, as can be seen in the way seniors are being told that they have become an undue burden to society, and so they should expect to pay more, not less, taxes because they continue to live (how pro-life is that?!). Scott, and fellow Republicans, likewise desire to make it so federal laws will have to be voted on every five years for them to remain in effect, paving the way to cut back more and more what the government does for people, including, and especially, in regards the social safety net (which at best, will be held hostage for the sake of culture war objectives, and at worse, will be entirely dismantled once enough people who want them removed get in power). While we might hear some voices, like Mitch McConnell, saying he does not agree with this plan, we must not discount the way Mitch will follow the lead of the rest of the Republicans (and how he will say whatever he thinks people want to hear, and then do the reverse when he finds he can do so).
According to the Joint Economic Committee Democrats’ report, we see the kind of destruction Scott’s plan for America would bring, including the establishment of a minimum income tax on all, as if no one paid taxes in other ways (property taxes, gas taxes, and of course, sales taxes):
The Scott plan to raise taxes on working families, seniors and active-duty military would impose financial pain and hardship on many Americans. Recent analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that imposing a federal minimum income tax of $100 for single filers and $200 for couples filing jointly would be a severe economic burden on many Americans. It would especially burden the millions of families and workers who receive the refundable Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. In addition, millions of seniors on Social Security who are currently exempt from federal income tax and active-duty military receiving tax-exempt combat pay would have to “pay some income tax to have skin in the game” according to Senator Scott. [1]
Many of the poor would find that extra hundred dollars that they will have to pay to the government an excessive burden. While some might suggest that if they are so poor, they do not have to file taxes, that is not true, as they are required to do so in order to receive governmental aid. The notion that the poor needs to have some “skin in the game” is the same kind of rhetoric which has been used by those wanting to dismantle Medicaid, saying that those who receive it must likewise have “skin in the game”; they are told that they should have to pay something, even if they don’t have the money to do so, if they want health care. It’s clear, many of those who need governmental assistance have little to no money of their own, meaning, they cannot afford to have “skin in the game.” Being told they have to pay what they don’t have is a way to make sure they will be cut off from the social safety net.
It is also clear that Scott’s plan is being suggested because it offers a way to dismantle the way the federal government offers aid to the states:
The Scott plan to end federal support to state and local governments would defund jobs for public school teachers, police and firefighters. The federal government provided $3.9 billion to state and local law enforcement for fiscal year 2022, which funded hiring programs, technology upgrades and efforts to fight opioids. Similarly, the federal government provided almost $43 billion in grants and aid to public K-12 schools nationwide and $720 million in grant programs for firefighters in fiscal year 2022. Nationally, there are 795,000 police officers and detectives, 317,200 firefighters and 3.2 million full- and part-time public-school teachers serving local communities. Senator Scott’s proposal to “eliminate all federal programs that can be done locally” would defund federal support for these critical state and local jobs. [2]
It should be clear that President Biden was not being an alarmist when he pointed out the dangers inherent with a Republican takeover of Congress, because the people running for office are indicating they want to dismantle the social safety net, and in doing so, threaten the lives of countless number of peoples.
“Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all who are left desolate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, maintain the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 39:8-9 RSV). We must not shrug off the threat. We can’t just say we should just let everything burn down. Those who understand the need for the safety net can’t say, because it is not perfect now, they will just let the system collapse. The perfect should never be the enemy of the good. Knowing what happens if and when those who want to dismantle the system are put in power should be enough to fight against them, even if those who are standing up against those wanting to destroy the social safety net seem unable to improve the system. We must do all we can to make sure things do not get worse, even as we must elect more and more people who would make thing better, realizing things will only get better once we reach a critical mass of politicians in leadership positions working for the common good. We are not there yet.
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Prov. 82:3-4 RSV). It is amazing to see how many politicians who claim to be Christian, or at least suggest they favor Christian ideals and will promote them, seek to put in place ideologies which stand against what Scripture and the Christian tradition says must be done to make for a just society. Jerome tells us that those who show mercy to the poor show their love and respect to God, while those who treat them with disdain, seeking to get as much out of them as possible, show no respect to God: “For ‘he who has mercy on the poor lends to God’ [Prov 19:17]. On the other hand, he who exacts from one who does not have does violence to God.” [3] Thus, it is clear, those who would hinder the poor, those who would make them suffer, those who would place more burdens on them, are among the wicked; if they claim what they want is Christian, what they offer us is a counterfeit Christianity, declaring what goes against the teachings of Christ as Christian. “But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 Jn. 3:17 RSV).
Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and other such programs, are a necessary part of the social safety net. Instead of weakening or dismantling them, they need to be reinforced and made better. Many people are alive today because of them. This does not mean the net does not need to be changed, to be improved. Various developments such as universal basic income and universal healthcare should be promoted. We need them to serve as a starting point for positive change. However, as many fight against those changes, what is in place needs to be defended. When more and more rich politicians speak of how the poor need to have “skin in the game” as an excuse to dismantle the social safety network, Christians must respond by following the social justice teachings of Scripture and tradition, making sure such politicians lose all support and are seen for what they are, cruel demagogues who will use religious aphorisms to lead people away from the best praxis promoted by religion. Oh, they might try to find excuses, such as those politicians who say their culture war objectives are more important than defending the social safety net. It is a deflection, using a lesser good to get in the way of a greater good, which is what evil would have us do. Thus, Jerome warns us not to let such lesser concerns get in the way of the common good:
But it can also refer to our rulers, if they wear down the people subject to them and publicly rebuke and “confound” the poor who transgress, but do not dare even to make a sound against those who commit worse sins. And the plunderer of the poor is in their houses, when they replenish their treasures and use the wealth of the church for pleasures, and they either keep for themselves public donations, which were given to support the poor, or they distribute them to their neighbors and turn someone else’s poverty into their own wealth and that of their family. [4]
We are called to help those in need. Moses established this as a core principle for the people of Israel: “And if your brother becomes poor, and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall maintain him; as a stranger and a sojourner he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or increase, but fear your God; that your brother may live beside you” (Lev. 25:35-36 RSV). While some might say that this was found in the Old Testament and was meant only for the people of Israel, Jesus and the writers of the New Testament affirmed it was meant for all (cf. Matt. 25:31-46; Lk. 6:38; Gal. 2:10; Jas. 2:5, et. al). We must remember, not only are the poor encouraged, and giving a blessing by Christ, the rich, those who follow the dictates of greed instead of the common good, are told by Christ that they will not like the consequences of their ways. “But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Lk. 6:24-25 RSV).
Those politicians who would undermine the needs of the poor, and have them needlessly burdened, follow an evil ideology. Though others, non-Christians, have their own reasons to reject such an ideology, many of which Christians can and should agree with, even if they did not, Christians have Scripture and tradition teaching them the same thing. Christians cannot accept policies which favor the rich and powerful, policies which suggest the rich should have less responsibility to society than the poor. For it should be understood that much is expected out of those who have been given much.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart” (Zech. 7:9-10 RSV). Those Republicans who threaten this principle show how little they care for the people they want to govern. They cannot be said to follow the teachings of Christ. Their ideology takes them far from the teachings of Christianity. They have no problem with the number of deaths which would come as a result of their policies. They can claim Christ, but their way is of the spirit of the Anti-Christ; they are trying to claim Christianity while undermining its teachings. Christians must make it clear. There are two ways ahead, one which puts into practice the teachings of justice promoted by Christ, the other, the subversion of those principles. If they want to stand with Christ, they must make their stand and stand for the poor and needy, for that is exactly what Scripture tells them to do, and what Christ did in his preaching.
[1] Joint Economic Committee Democrats, “Senator Rick Scott’s Plan To Raise Taxes On Working Families And Slash Essential Programs Would Cost Jobs And Reduce Economic Growth” (4-13-2022).
[2] Joint Economic Committee Democrats, “Senator Rick Scott’s Plan To Raise Taxes On Working Families And Slash Essential Programs Would Cost Jobs And Reduce Economic Growth” (4-13-2022).
[3] St. Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah in St Jerome: Commentary on Isaiah; Origen Homilies 1-9 on Isaiah. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (New York: Paulist Press, 2015), 739.
[4] St. Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah in St Jerome: Commentary on Isaiah; Origen Homilies 1-9 on Isaiah, 120.
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