Posted on 12/12/2013 7:11:26 AM PST by what's up
Pope Francis said in the first peace message of his pontificate that huge salaries and bonuses are symptoms of an economy based on greed and inequality and called again for nations to narrow the wealth gap.
He attacked the "widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs", calling on governments to implement "effective policies" to guarantee people's fundamental rights, including access to capital, services, educational resources, healthcare and technology.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
We already do this and I would argue it is good. We allow anyone to enter any hospital emergency room in these 50 states to get treated. I dont think we should be turning anyone away from an emergency room. That is healthcare.
Why doesn't what the Pope said concern any of the other nations besides the US as well?
I believe he is condemning totalitarianism. Totalitarian governments attempt to control all aspects of social life including economy. (Wikipedia)
Not sure why this message from the Pope is assumed to be exclusively directed at the US.
Amen, but Reuters says this message is all about the Good Ol’ US of A and many Freepers eat it up!
OK, he’s a socialist. Now you know why he’s on the cover of Time.
Couldn’t he say that? As it is, even if everybody is taking his words wrong—they have been taken— it’s too late.
Obama was already using his words, many on the left are. They are using the Pope’s words to support their actions or desire for action.
The pope will be too late if he clarifies his words after government has used his words to support their tyranny.
It’s not always about us! :)
The D(evil) works where he is most effective. You should know not to trust the mainstream media. Investigate from trustworthy sources.
I'll go one step further. Today, half of all Catholics with a keyboard and an Internet connection want to be Jay Carney and spin the Pope's words, telling us what the Pope "really" meant. Given the repeated speeches on the same subject, would it not make sense for the Pope himself to come out and clarify his thoughts, if the Pope believes that he is being misunderstood?
“Like allowing private ownership in communist countries which I assume you would be for. I am not sure how pushing for this type of policy would be socialist in that circumstance.”
It appears from the “translation” we have access to, that el pope is referring to non-communist nations that have income disparity. I do not see any “translations” aimed at allowing private ownership in communist countries.
I am against income disparities caused by crony capitalism - as we see in the US and the revolving door between politics, government agencies and industry. That doesn’t account for all the income disparity here.
El Pope should know this before he speaks about things outside his training.
"We allow". You mean the "Gov't allows"...right? Those aren't free choices by hospitals.
The Pope is not just addressing the US. He's addressing income inequality everywhere. But he knocks "trickle down" which is a buzz phrase for free markets and Reaganism. And the statements about Gov't policy for the "common good" are typical of those given by leftists, not capitalists.
>> “I believe he is condemning totalitarianism. Totalitarian governments attempt to control all aspects of social life including economy.” <<
.
Absurd to the max!
Those totalitarian regimes do not pay out “Mega-salaries.”
"Is there some society you know that doesn't run on greed? You think Russia doesn't run on greed? You think China doesn't run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy, it's only the other fellow who's greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn't revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you're talking about, the only cases in recorded history, are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worse off, worst off, it's exactly in the kinds of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear, that there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by the free-enterprise system."
-Milton Friedman
Well gosh Pope, Obama is quickly turning this nation into the U. S. S. R., so there’s still hope. Don’t give up on us yet.
I try not to be too disrespectful, but some of this Pope’s comments take it right out of my hands. He’s destroying his own credibility on financial matters.
The Catholic Church is the richest in the world. Maybe he will spread some of that wealth around to the individual. I could use an extra $50-thousand.
But it turns out to be surprisingly difficult to understand exactly how rich the church is. That’s in part because church finances are complicated. But it’s also because, in the United States at least, churches in general are exempted from the financial reporting and disclosure requirements that otherwise apply to nonprofit groups. And it turns out, that exemption may have undesirable consequences.
The main thing we know about Catholic Church finance is that in cash flow terms, the United States is by far the most important branch. America is a rich country with a large population of Catholics. What’s more, America’s Catholic population is a religious minority. That’s meant that, rather than using political clout to influence the shape of mainstream government institutions, as in an overwhelmingly Catholic country such as Brazil, the Catholic Church in the United States has created a parallel state: a vast web of schools, hospitals, universities, and charities that serve millions of clients.
Our best window into the overall financial picture of American Catholicism comes from a 2012 investigation by the Economist, which offered a rough-and-ready estimate of $170 billion in annual spending, of which almost $150 billion is associated with church-affiliated hospitals and institutions of higher education. The operating budget for ordinary parishes, at around $11 billion a year, is a relatively small share, and Catholic Charities is a smaller share still.
Apple and General Motors, by way of comparison, each had revenue of about $150 billion worldwide in Fiscal Year 2012. Legally speaking, there is no such thing as “the Catholic Church,” which is why these finances get so complicated. As far as the law is concerned, each diocese is a separate legal entity, incorporated in the states where it operates. Generally speaking, they are organized as what’s known as a corporation sole—a legal corporation wholly controlled by the individual bishop rather than a board of directors—and not officially part of any larger transnational spiritual organization. This has led to conflicts during the sex abuse scandals. Lawsuits have caused disputes about how deep the church’s pockets go and who should pay.
We tried that access to capital.
In 2008, we were shown just what a swell idea that was.
Heck, five years, that was such a long time ago. It would be easy to forget... /s
...unless you still don’t have a job, or are making less than 50% what you were prior to the easy access to credit bubble burst.
The leader of North Korea doesn’t look like he living the same lifestyle as his people.
And the part where Jesus said we should demand that Caesar raise taxes and spread more of the wealth around.
“Everyone seems to be getting sucked in by Reuters implying that the Pope it talking to the United States exclusively. There are plenty of communist and totalitarian regimes in the word that his words apply to more aptly.”
You are quite right. In fact, the statement is as much a critique of the Marxist-materialistic view of the world, such as valuing people on their worth to society,as it is a critique of unbridled capitalism.
There is nothing in this statement that contradicts what the previous popes and the Catechism of the Catholic Church have said on this subject.
More importantly, there is nothing here that contradicts the teachings of Jesus Christ. The central message of Christianity is not ‘get as much as you can as long as you don’t steal.’Christianity does not fall neatly into the left-right paradigm because it is about something deeper than an economic system.
It is also troubling that many here interpret any criticism of the market economy is socialist. Laissez-faire capitalism is just as unworkable and destructive as communism. Some people with economic and/or political power will always abuse that power and limit others’ access to the same. As they say, ‘the rich don’t want company.’
He isn’t paid a salary.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.