Pope Francis demonstrated once again that he is clueless as to economics:
At the center of the Pope’s speech was an overarching theme of placing human dignity at the center of global development, despite the barriers of suffering, poverty and injustice.
“Economic models, therefore, are also required to observe an ethic of sustainable and integral development, based on values that place the human person and his or her rights at the center,” he said.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of millions of people whose dignity is wounded, nor can we continue to move forward as if the spread of poverty and injustice had no cause,” Pope Francis continued.
The Pope told the leaders gathered at the event that it is a “moral imperative” to create inclusive conditions that benefit the good of society, rather than furthering self-centered individualism.
By rejecting the “throwaway” culture, Pope Francis said, leaders can strive for a better future, by “increasing the quality of productivity, creating new jobs, respecting labor laws, fighting against public and private corruption and promoting social justice, together with the fair and equitable sharing of profits.”
The Holy Father also encouraged “wise discernment” for world leaders, asking them to support authentic values that will foster the prosperity of all.
Go here to read the rest. The Pope acts as if the word profit is obscene and that the economy is a government program to be manipulated by the State like silly putty. God save us from the economic delusions of most clerics.
Maybe he should study Venezuela if he is truly interested in finding the “cause” for the “spread of poverty and injustice”. I’m guessing he’s much more interested in simply being a demagogue on these issues.
Would we put much stock in PF’s advice on Bill Belichick’s football coaching?
He is infallible when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals. On economics, whatever that is, he is no smarter than you or me.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of millions of people whose dignity is wounded, nor can we continue to move forward as if the spread of poverty and injustice had no cause,” Pope Francis continued.
Well, most clerics live in an economy which runs on donation and endowment income, do not choose their locus of employment as long as they stay on the reservation, and receive stipends which have no relation to metrics of productivity or to what any other employer might be willing to pay them. They may have sensible ideas about how the world works, but that’s because they’re not using their own palpable world as a model for that understanding. Francis last bout of ordinary employment was about 60 years ago when Argentine wage earners were very much in thrall to the Perons. There may have been no time period wherein the collective bout of the Stupids which has so disfigured Argentine public life was more severe.
If he weren’t ignorant, he’d realize that ‘poverty’ is primarily a consequence of human capital deficits and those deficits are the default condition of mankind. A secondary cause is disorder manifest in social and political decomposition. That’s not a discretely economic problem. Attempting to mediate and tamp down civil strife is the work of clergy on the scene. Setting up schools to improve vocational skills and literacy is likewise, with the assistance of missions from more affluent parts of the world. The Holy See itself doesn’t have much to offer beyond exhortation toward these ends. Of course, these sorts of exhortations wouldn’t be of the character the Pope prefers, which is rude rebukes to people he despises for aesthetic reasons, for people who critique him, and for people who thwart his imperious will.
“whose dignity is wounded” PF is starting to sound like Anthony Kennedy and his dictum of dignity for the sodomites and their demand to matrimony. Dignity is the reflection of humanity in sovereign personhood. Sovereignty is forfeit for those who violate “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” Dignity is for the innocent and those who fight for the common good in good will. We have no dignity for those communists who do not respect the dignity of the sovereign person.
“Well, most clerics live in an economy which runs on donation and endowment income, do not choose their locus of employment as long as they stay on the reservation, and receive stipends which have no relation to metrics of productivity or to what any other employer might be willing to pay them.“
While this is certainly true, I think there more to the why of how many clerics take the views they do on this matter. For instance, I, like most people, have never had to meet a payroll. But yet, it is pretty easy for us to understand that there are significant challenges in doing so. I also understand how difficult working in the private sector on the side of both the employer and employee can be, particularly in the face of governmental intrusion although I have not worked in the private sector since I was eighteen, save for a brief stint with a defense contractor after I got out of the Navy. And I am almost 52 now.
After all, just like tax dollars, where do these clerics think the source of these donations and stipends come from? They know. The groupthink that is so much a part of the left has taken over the institutional Church.
After all, just like tax dollars, where do these clerics think the source of these donations and stipends come from? They know.
They know what? The younger priests these days typically did have a decade or more of ordinary employment, so my observation is somewhat dated. The thing is, certain ways of thinking about the world are somewhat counter-intuitive and need to be taught. Also, some sorts of education (and I think legal education is one) can work against a familiarity with other modes of thinking.
For instance, minimum wage laws are broadly popular. Their theoretical (and empirically verified) effect is to distribute some extra income to people at one spot in the wage strata at the expense of those a notch lower. Every few years they’re adjusted upward to no good effect. Mandated benefits have an even more injurious effect on the labor market (though the arguments for certain benefits are better than the arguments for minimum wage laws).
What sort of people are recruited by the Democratic Party to stand for election to the state legislatures which enact these laws? Well, back in 2005, a clown posse ran for mayor in my home town. One was an attorney, one was on the staff of a local state legislator (and had held elective office since the age of 24), one was a middle school principal, and one was a police officer (of a certain sort. He had an MPA and was famous for hiring consulting firms to undertake studies which were either ignored or incorporated recommendations which had no discernable effect on the crime rate. BTW, this cop was elected and the crime rate during his tenure was higher than it had been before or after). The outgoing mayor was a lapsed social worker. Google ‘Fast Ferry’ if you want to see the sort of public policy people like this produce.
And they also do things like jack up the minimum wage and pass laws which wreck the market for household medical insurance.
From what I’ve seen, many newly ordained priests are a bit older and have private sector experience and were somewhat successful. But yet, once they get into the institutional Church,they’re parroting the “company” line, so to speak. I also see this with many permanent deacons who are still running businesses. And this didn’t just start happening after the 2013 Conclave.
The clerical view of economics is unrealistic because the product they sell has a mandatory demand. Consequently there little motivation to demonstrate that the product actually works by holiness of their lives, and thus little desire to encourage others to use the product effectively. If the requirement to attend Sunday Mass were abolished demand would collapse. Hopefully this would motivate the clergy to make effective use of their product thereby demonstrating it value by being saintly.
My guess the day is coming when this will happen. But the Church will have few members.
In other new, a certain carpenter shop in Nazareth was forced to close down by the head rabbi after it was found to be charging more than it’s cost for its wood products.