The members of our Cherokee community are providing the funds to help our members who have been laid off. I also have noticed that there is a big support group in the Jewish community as well. But really Arthur, what is a government and a society for, if not to promote the general welfare of every citizen? The revolution has been betrayed by the economics Domain. Self Interest is not an invisible hand but a hammer to the head or a rope around the throat or a tumor in the brain. No one speaks of the poor arming themselves in the red states. Aside from the old Hippies who still thing of the police as "pigs" and consider themselves to be "libertarians" the bulk of the people arming themselves are preparing for the banks to foreclose.
REH From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Arthur Cordell Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 1:18 PM To: 'Ed Weick'; 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'; 'dissenters' Subject: Re: [Futurework] A few further thoughts on churches, food banks, etc. With the scenario you describe where will the churches get the funds to do the job you would have them do? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 10:46 AM To: dissenters; Futurework Subject: [Futurework] A few further thoughts on churches, food banks, etc. The world has undergone a bifurcation or, perhaps better, a trifurcation. The limited world that we and our governments dealt with a generation or two ago has gone global. Many of our corporations no longer hire at home. They hire in China or Southeast Asia. Our governments increasingly focus on globally determined issues such as trade pacts, making certain that our currencies keep us competitive, and creating conditions that bring investment in from abroad. Less and less official attention is being given to domestic stagnation issues such as university graduates desperately needing jobs to pay off their debts, to homeless families, and to people who can't afford decent food for their children. An increasing amount of slack needs to be picked up in our economy, which raises the question of who will pick it up. I've argued that government might do it, but there would be no quick or sufficient response. So it may be up to us. Fortunately, we have institutions at hand by which we can mobilize our efforts. Whether they recognize it or not, churches are looking for new roles. While they still see their role as sending believers to heaven, more and more people are no longer sure they want to go there or that believing in ancient mythology will get you there. And if there is a heaven, might not your chances of getting there be helped by doing something good here on earth? God would like that. I have no idea of what our world will be like in ten or twenty years, but what I'd like to see is churches and other charitable institutions organizing themselves to become an increasingly necessary sector that looks after the poor and displaced in an increasingly globalized society. And yes, I do see the poor and displaced growing in our society: Asian and at some point Africans will compete with us for jobs and many of those jobs will increasingly be mechanized, hence needing fewer people. Yours in gloominess, Ed
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