with the resources to pay a just wage <\/a>should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and forced on to the dole at taxpayer expense, all while the execs who force us all to subsidize Walmart reap absurd salaries as they defraud their workers and us.\u00a0 This is one of those \u201csins that cry out to heaven for vengeance things\u201d.\u00a0 Only it doesn\u2019t involve sodomy (except in a metaphorical sense) and so, when I noted this on my FB page, I was met with a giant chorus of excuse makers for Walmart from the Thing that Used to be Conservatism. Turns out entitlements and Federal subsidies are *great* when its a giant corp getting them and any attempt to talk about just wages was really socialist, and utopian, and pro-abortion, and judgmental, and mean, and liberal, and \u201csocial justice\u201d Catholicism not *real* Catholicism (which recognizes only abortion and subsidiarity as the sole legitimate subjects for conversation). (\u201cSubsidiarity\u201d in that particular universe of discourse, does not mean \u201cThe people closest to the problem should typically handle it with an eye to the common good\u201d but rather, \u201cAyn Rand was right! Screw the state. Unrestricted capitalist self-interest will magically bring goodness to the world and if the weak get trampled by the strong, well \u2018if you have no education or skills, you are not worth much so get an education! Low wage jobs are for students, hs and college, part time and second jobs. Anyone making a career out of a low paying no skills job deserves what they get.'\u201d As one of my readers put it.) What few had to say was that, no matter how you slice it, Walmart is defrauding its workers of a just wage.<\/p>\nA couple days later, I noted this:<\/p>\n
The response was again immediate. The source of the graphic was ritually impure. The exec was an Obama supporter. I was secretly pro-abortion. I hate success. Sure the Church\u2019s teaching is right in some vague ideal sense, but it\u2019s impossible (even though Costco was living it out). People are \u201cfree\u201d to work for Walmart or not.\u00a0 (If they prefer starving, that\u2019s up to them.) Etc. blah blah. The bottom line remained: Walmart was mysteriously sacrosanct. Any call for it to actually abide by the Church\u2019s teaching on just wage was not only utopian, but actively evil.<\/p>\n
I remarked on how weird it was to hear all the excuses for this and somebody asked if I thought everybody defending Walmart was irrational. I replied, \u201cThe problem is not irrationality. The problem is lack of interest in a serious injustice and a deep desire to defend the status quo. If I went to a prolife meeting and everybody spent the whole meeting saying that trying to stop abortion is utopian, and I\u2019m probably a warmonger if I oppose abortion, and besides Planned Parenthood does a lot of good things too, and sure abortion is sad but poor people bring it on themselves and shouldn\u2019t expect anybody to care about their plight and besides they freely choose their predicament and also don\u2019t forget that there are a lot of things worse than abortion etc. blah blah, I would get the distinct impression that such a \u201cprolife\u201d group wasn\u2019t super interested in anything but lip service to the Church\u2019s teaching on the unborn. I get that same impression here from people who pay lip service to the Church\u2019s teaching on just wages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s reality: Walmart is freely choosing to treat its workers the way it does. The rubbish that its workers, living in a down economy, often uneducated and unable to find any other work are equally \u201cfree\u201d to work there or not is BS. Walmart has thousands of employees over a barrel and is functioning according to the pagan ethos that the strong do as they will and the weak suffer what they must. It is the ethos of slavery and that is what is being defended\u2013by Catholics who should know better. It need not be so, as both Costco and this gentleman demonstrate:<\/p>\n
Retiring grocer, 70, gives stores to his employees \u2014 for free Joe Lueken, seen below, is transferring ownership of his three stores as a thank you. \u201cMy employees are largely responsible for any success I\u2019ve had, and they deserve to get some of the benefits of that,\u201d Lueken explains. \u201cYou can\u2019t always take. You also have to give back.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2026that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and forced on to the dole at taxpayer expense, all while the execs who force us all to subsidize Walmart reap absurd salaries as they defraud their workers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[286],"class_list":["post-40195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-sins-that-cry-to-heaven-for-vengeance"],"yoast_head":"\n
It should not be controversial for Catholics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It should not be controversial for Catholics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-29T07:33:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-30T18:01:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html\",\"name\":\"It should not be controversial for Catholics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-29T07:33:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-30T18:01:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\"},\"description\":\"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It should not be controversial for Catholics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\",\"description\":\"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\",\"name\":\"Mark Shea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Shea\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It should not be controversial for Catholics","description":"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It should not be controversial for Catholics","og_description":"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html","og_site_name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","article_published_time":"2012-11-29T07:33:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-30T18:01:23+00:00","author":"Mark Shea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Shea","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html","name":"It should not be controversial for Catholics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-29T07:33:03+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-30T18:01:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5"},"description":"...that a giant corporation with the resources to pay a just wage should not keep a huge percentage of its workforce submerged below the poverty line and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/11\/it-should-not-be-controversial-for-catholics.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It should not be controversial for Catholics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/","name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","description":"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5","name":"Mark Shea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Shea"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}