The Role of Government in Addressing Poverty

As I mentioned in my response to Jorob's comment on the first entry, I think that an examination of the role of government in scripture could be used to justify either a conservative or liberal approach. Since scripture covers many years and many different circumstances, that is not particularly surprising. Therefore, the task becomes determining how to apply the underlying Biblical principles to my country and my generation. I don't think this can be done without looking at individual issues.

Take poverty, for example. If addressing poverty means providing financial assistance, the church is certainly better equipped to do that, as experience has shown. On the other hand, I don't think the church has a lot of ability to create jobs.

Another aspect of poverty relates to generational poverty. Generational poverty refers to multiple generations living in poverty. There was a time in Brett's and my life when our earnings were below the poverty level, but neither of us grew up in poor homes. While we can certainly relate to the challenges of surviving with scarce resources, our experience can't compare to someone who has only experienced poverty.

First, there is the psychological impact. It is difficult to know how to get ahead in a free market society, if you've never had role models to demonstrate the skills needed. There is also a despair that is difficult to overcome when there is no clear path out of the situation. Brett and I never had to deal with that; we always knew that our situation was temporary and that if disaster struck, our family would be there to rescue us. Those whose families are unable to provide that safety net have a hard time taking necessary risks.

Secondly, there is the problem of access to the assets necessary to get ahead. Families pass on acquired assets with each generation benefiting from the assets of the previous generation. This provides a "leg up," that is not available to families locked in generational poverty. Racial considerations come to play in this issue. White Americans benefited for multiple generations from the labor of slaves, who themselves received no economic compensation. Each generation of white Americans was able to climb the economic ladder a little higher, yet at emancipation, efforts to provide released slaves with a small plot of land were defeated. This failure, combined with years of Jim Crow laws, significantly disadvantaged African Americans and is largely responsible for the current racial disparity in income in America.

The church certainly has an important role in addressing the psychological and spiritual components of poverty, and its role in meeting urgent needs is critical. However, I question whether the church has the resources to address problems as complex as generational poverty. While the church may not have the resources to adequately address poverty, we still have to figure out if government is able to do any better. I want to address that next time, but for now I've concluded that poverty has to be addressed by both the church and government.

Proverbs 29 on Leadership

I was reading Proverbs 29 this morning and in light of the ending of the Democratic National Convention and the beginning of the Republican National Convention, I found the following verses interesting. I'm going to try to create a list of similar verses from other passages of the Bible. They will become my prayer for the next president and other elected officials and will help me decide who to vote for in November. They are in The Message version.

2 When good people run things, everyone is glad,
but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.
. . . .
4 A leader of good judgment gives stability;
an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.
. . . .
12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip,
all the workers get infected with evil.
. . . .
14 Leadership gains authority and respect
when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.
. . . .
16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,
but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.

Each of these verses specifically mentioned leadership or being in charge. If you find similar verses, please add them. And join me in praying that God will send a leader who fulfills the wisdom of these verses.

The REAL Question

I’ve been striving years to reconcile my understanding of the Bible and Christian faith with my understanding of democracy, policy, and the political process. While there are many pieces to be discussed, I believe that it is critically important to think about the question that comes before all the other questions, the one that usually occurs at the end of an argument about faith and politics, but that is generally ignored until one feels hemmed in by the opponent’s use of scripture or moral reasoning. Interestingly, it is a question asked, and then turned into a contention, by both Democrats and Republicans, and it tends to move the discussion away from questions of morality. Yet, it is a foundational principle and important to any discussion of public policy. The question I’m referring to is, “What is the proper role of government?” or when discussing a particular policy, “What is the role of government in solving x?

Conservatives ask the question when the topic moves to economic morality. When the issue being discussed is poverty, health care, or discrimination, conservative Christians typically agree that Biblical imperatives exist that obligate one to care for “the least of these,” but they argue that this is the responsibility of the church or the individual, and they stress the responsibility of the poor and disenfranchised to care for themselves.

Liberals, or progressives as they are becoming known, ask the question when it comes to individual and behavioral morality. Politically liberal Christians, when confronted with issues like pornography, homosexuality, and abortion, tend to stress the role of the church in addressing moral behavior, and they emphasize the responsibility of the individual to choose virtuous ways of living. Of course, conservatives assert the active role of government in behavioral morality, while progressives assert the active role of government in economic morality.

Only Libertarians and Communists are consistent in their answers to the question of the proper role of government. For Libertarians the answer is an unwavering “as little as possible” and for Communists it is always “as much as possible.” Yet, with the glaring failures of Communism and the untested notions of Libertarianism, few are willing to embrace the consistency they offer. And, in fact, the complexities of life give most people an ample supply of exceptions to the simplistic suggestions of the two extremes.

Therefore, the question remains, “What is the proper role of government?” As a Christian, I really wish that the writers of the Bible had been citizens of a democracy! As it is, the Bible gives very little direct instruction. Gleaning any help from scripture in answering that question requires a great deal of responsible scholarship. However, even with the most studious interpretations, the question requires that we look outside of scripture.

Charles Wesley taught that Christians could not look to scripture alone (sola scriptura) for an understanding of God’s will, but must also consider reason, tradition, and experience. These things must also enlighten the answer that we seek to the proper role of government.

I have some ideas about this myself, though not fully formed. However, I’m now called to focus on the responsible interpretation of Introduction to Quantitative Analysis, so my ideas will have to wait. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What is the proper role of government?