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Hickman Causes
Website last updated: 2/16/2009
Plum Tree Farm Publishers
This website was created by Joshua W. Hickman on December 26, 2002, for the purpose of sharing information. Please enjoy!
joshuahickman@yahoo.com
The New Plan: the War on Unemployment
An Editorial on The Stimulus Plan
By Joshua W. Hickman
February 10, 2009
This editorial is written in favor of supporting the $825 Billion Stimulus Plan before the United State Senate this week. Before stating my argument, let us agree on a few general truths and common knowledge statements first as a starting point for this debate. These common truths are: the economy is cyclical; America is a capitalist nation but not a completely free market; the last administration championed the philosophy of trickle-down-economics; this recession is the worst since the Great Depression. If you agree with these common truths then you’ll be able to follow my argument. If you disagree with the above common truths, then you might need to do some research and figure out why I believe those to be common knowledge before you debate the Stimulus with me.
My first point and agreement with President Obama is that we should not take a “do nothing” approach to this problem. Even though the economy is cyclical and one may argue that we could “wait this out,” what happens in the mean time? Do millions more hard working American lose their jobs become desperate and turn to who know what for help? This paper is written from the perspective of a person who looks to Christ for solutions before trying conventional wisdom. How does Jesus feel about the un-employed? How does Jesus view the relationship between the employed and the unemployed? What economic philosophy should an employed follower of Christ support? If we wait, this problem will grow worse before it gets better such as it did during the Great Depression. Therefore, as Christians who are also citizens of America we must support a plan to care for those effected by this crisis whether permanent, temporary, makes long lasting changes or those changes are reversed after we pull out.
God calls us to take care of people first, before we complain (if at all) about why they’re in that situation. In Luke 4, Jesus begins his mission by reading Isaiah, where he declares good news to the poor. In Luke 6, the beatitudes are begun with “blessed are the poor.” In Matthews 25, Jesus gives us 6 specific ways to physically follow Him. We are to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Cloth the Naked, Welcome the Stranger, Sit with the Sick, and Visit the Prisoner. In none of these situations are we to take a “Wait and See” approach to those issues. Paul declares “Faith Alone,” saves us, and I agree. Likewise James warns us, “Faith without works is Dead,” as to which I also agree. Could it be that works are a part of Faith? Though not quantified like our capitalist mindset may seek to do, works are not faith entirely however still a part of faith. So doing nothing is simply not an option.
Secondly, The plan DOES create Jobs. The GOP Chairman said on Monday the plan created “work but not jobs.” In all fairness, what I gather Michael Steele meant is that it created temporary jobs that have an endpoint and would only employ hardworking recently un-employed workers for 18 months at the least in most cases. What that means, if these individuals start work in (for sake of argument) March of 2009 they’d be employed through November possibly December of 2010. The Chronicle for Higher Education, Semiconductor Industry Association, and other research agencies forecast the end of the recession to be some time in early to mid 2010. Some conservative pro-free market analysts have forecast the end of the recession much sooner, most likely out of a hope to encourage spending. What ever their motivations for their forecasts are, it is more likely than not that the recession will be over in 2010. If that’s the case then what is Michael Steele’s problem with a plan that creates temporary employment when people who are willing to work need work now? Aren’t jobs better than handouts, my free-market capitalist conservative naysayer friend? People are jobless today, pay them to do something today. Even a free-market capitalist can agree that putting money in the hands of those without money equals more money in circulation. It’s a Push-Up Economic philosophy, or it could be a Suck-Up philosophy depending on where you’re standing. (More on that another time) Could the GOP Chairman really be interested more in partisan politics that dictate he disagree with President Obama no matter what, instead of simply doing the right thing? That seems to happen more that the opposite.
*Hey Rich People, giving to the poor is good for you too!
Third of all, this has become a bi-partisan effort more than it’s being criticized for not being. Politically speaking, President Obama and the Democrat controlled Congress have a short window of time to cash in their free pass chips. Knowing this coming inevitably pass, Republicans have been using this point to support their argument that the stimulus plan is partisan. Ironically, their has been much dialogue as we saw last week between GOP and Democrat Senators and many amendments and subtractions have been made to this plan by both sides. The current form of the bill has become very different from the original and Republicans should be proud of the influence they’ve made on this bill instead of complaining about. The GOP Senators and constituency should consider that neither their opinions nor their votes were and are necessary at this time to pass this bill, but both were valued in spite of that truth. The Democrats and Obama may be cashing in one of their complimentary chips or get out of jail free cards on this bill, but they haven’t done it unwisely or arrogantly.
Fourth and Finally, when considering each point and program of the stimulus plan a Christian should ask the questions inspired by Matthew 25.
Does the plan feed the Hungry? $90 Billion for construction means jobs for legal construction workers. $142 for education to rebuild and modernize school means more jobs. $54 Billion to build and enable renewable energy and weatherize low income homes means more jobs. People with jobs can feed their families. Not to mention $20 Billion to literally FEED THE HUNGRY.
Does the plan give drink to the thirsty? The $90 Billion given to building and rebuilding infrastructure is also for repairing and building dams for reservoirs. It builds and rebuilds water treatment and sewage plants. It provides us with a more efficient use of our existing water. If Jesus meant more that literal water and was using “drink” as an analogy for education, then $142 Billion for Education should cover that possibility as well.
Does the plan Cloth the Naked? If Jesus meant more than just immediate clothing and was also speaking housing, well it’s putting better roofs on low-income housing. Considering that this acknowledges the presence of and seeks to improve upon existing government low-income housing, well then it agrees with housing and clothing the naked and homeless.
Does the Plan Welcome the Stranger? Here are two ways of defining stranger: there are strangers between one citizen and another locally; and we can consider other countries strangers. Where this plan appears to be mostly inward focused for America, putting money in the hands of citizens in need puts money into the American economy which is connected to the world economy. Since we now live on a Flat Earth, we are developing more communal economic relationships with other countries than ever before. Also Individually speaking, if we are all in this mess together it’s time we stop looking at the people on the other side of town as “Them” and start welcoming in those strangers.
Does the Plan Sit with the Sick? The plan gives $20 Billion to modernize the health care system, an additional $39 Billion to Cobra which is healthcare for those who have recently lost their employment, and $87 Billion to states so they don’t have to cut Medicaid. However, all the money they want to spend on these programs may help sick people, but you, Christian, still need to go and sit with the sick.
Does the program Visit the Prisoner? You may be one of those people reading this last point who says “who cares,” but I’m not. If Jesus said we’re to do it, and doesn’t specify which prisoners as some conservative evangelists have done, then we do it. Where this bill doesn’t literally give money to prisons, for those of you who are wondering, it does give $4 Billion to State Law Enforcement. These may not be the same thing, but if you have a friend, relative, or parishioner (I’m writing to you Ministers and Deacons) in prison, then doesn’t having the worry or homelessness, hunger, and total poverty off your back give you the peace and maybe time to visit those prisoners? However, where you visiting them before?
Let us put petty partisan politics aside and pass this Stimulus Plan. Let us like our great grandparents before us embraced President Roosevelt’s New Deal and embrace President Obama’s New Plan, and declare War on Unemployment.
Oba
The Storytelling Donkey
by Joshua Hickman
