Yesterday, The Lead ran a video on wealth disparity in the U.S. It has gone viral. Susan Thistlewaith comments at Occupy the Bible:
“When did we see you, Lord?” (Matthew 25:31-46) Right here. Right now.
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This video, using vivid graphics, shows how much income inequality Americans think we have (a lot!), what would be fair (a medium amount), and the actual and staggering amount of income inequality that is so large it goes off the charts.
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The vast income disparities we now have in the U.S. are a set up, a system devised to transfer wealth upward. That’s the real “Rapture,” when most Americans are “left behind” in this economy.
Here’s the good news: once you see it, you can recognize this inequality as a system somebody devised for their own benefit, you can judge it as unrighteousness, and you can confront it directly. And you can change it.
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It is a staggering display, but I’m equally staggered at the fact that most people don’t realize how big the discrepancy is.
However, I’m not sure the inequality is a result of a system “devised” — but more likely the result of undesign than design. Even Jesus observed that those who have will get more, and those with less will lose even what they have. Any “free” market will eventually produce disproportionate wealth for the very few. It takes regulation, planning, and will to produce a more equitable distribution. Left to itself, the stats show what happens.
Which is why I am at heart a Christian Socialist who utterly opposes the myth of “trickle down.” Money does not trickle down, it floats to the top, where it attracts more of itself.