Looking back at 2012 and forward to 2013

Christmas is a magical time of the year, especially for kids who are filled with excitement about this special season of giving when they are the recipients of gifts expressing the love of their parents and family.  This is truly the season of love, a time to reflect on the immense love of our God who miraculously came into the world for our benefit and at His great expense.  I’ve often wondered how God could leave the unimaginable happiness of heaven to suffer and die here on earth.  The only rational explanation is that He loves us so much, He would give up everything for our benefit.  What’s even more disconcerting is that He did so, despite our foolishness and sinfulness.   In human terms, it’s unimaginable.  In some small way, we imitate this love when we make sacrifices out of love for our children.  Despite their selfish nature and lack of understanding, we go to great lengths to give them many gifts and special memories while commemorating the birth of Our Lord so many long years ago.

We are all God’s children and Christmas reminds us that we are loved and cherished by God Our Father, even though we often forget the sacrifices He has made on our behalf.  Looking back at 2012, much has happened that reflects our collective selfishness and forgetfulness.  As a nation we seem to be turning our backs on the Truth as revealed by God.  He has revealed many truths in the very nature of life and of our bodies, but somehow we no longer believe these truths.    With five states that now approve of gay marriage, several are also promoting gay marriage openly in public schools.  In Massachusetts the state approved curriculum states that gay marriage is “natural and wholesome.”  Parents who objected to this, lost their appeal in court to have their children excused from this indoctrination.  Although the very nature of our bodies demonstrates the untruth of this teaching, it is the official law of the land and all children will be taught what is lawful, even when the law is a lie.

2012 culminated in a contentious election that represented the choice between two competing and opposite ideologies.  One party advocated a culture of death which promoted abortion even to the point of forcing employers and taxpayers to fund them.   As the party in control of government, they also refused to enforce the duly passed laws protecting marriage, and adopted support for gay marriage as part of their party platform.  The other party officially opposed abortion while supporting marriage and advocating economic reforms, but lost the election.  Our nation has chosen to continue the course it is on, which will bring with it the continual decline of birth rates, putting us on the same path already tread by Japan and much of Europe.

In every country that has adopted these policies which depress birth rates, economies fail.  Japan is in dire straits now as a result of decades of declining birthrates which have devastated their economy.   This isn’t just my opinion.  Here’s a quote from a stock analyst, published in an investing newsletter:

“Japan is literally dying. It's got the worst demographics ever recorded. The number of senior citizens, or "silvers" as they are called because of their silver- colored hair, is growing faster than both the number of new workers needed to support them and the number of children needed to replace them.  Between the low birth rate and aging population, Japan will lose more than 33% of its population by century's end.   Japan has experienced a tremendous shift in education, how young people are employed, and a dramatic polarization of younger versus older members of their society. Haves and have-nots are not the issue.  What seems to be at stake is the sentiment that the older generation has had it all, while leaving tremendous burdens to the younger generation that they didn't sign up for.  With declining birth rates, Japan is now expected to drop from 2.8 workers supporting each retiree in 2008 to 1.5 by 2050. 

Of course, with the fiscal cliff approaching, the tax debate is now front and center. But lower birth rates also mean much of the debate is misdirected.   It's not so much a matter of taxing the rich as it is how we deal with declining revenues. No matter how you cut the moral debate about taxing the rich or having more people pay in, fewer workers will mean future tax receipts go down.   And that, in turn, means there will be even less to spend when the rapidly graying population needs it the most.” (The Oxford Club, Dec 2012)

Japan has run up outrageous debt they cannot repay and they are the most indebted nation in the world.  Their combined government, corporate, and private debt now exceeds 500% of GDP. Their stock index, the Nikkei, is down 74% from what it was in 1989, and their economy shrank another 3.5% just in the last quarter.  While their elderly population continues to expand, the number of workers is shrinking and no amount of government taxation and spending can fix these problems.  Japan just elected its sixth prime minister in 6 years and he ran on a platform of more government spending to stimulate their shrinking economy, but this will only exacerbate their already intractable problems. 

This is where the USA is headed because we continue to spend 40% more money than our government takes in, and at the same time, we seem to have embraced policies that discourage tradition marriage and families… the only source of new life.   The Oxford Club letter summed it up this way in the headline for their article: “If you don’t have new children, you cannot replace your population.”  This has serious long term consequences for our economy because fewer consumers means fewer jobs and lower tax revenue collected by the government.  For more than 100 years we’ve been hearing about the dangers of excessive population growth, and apparently millions of people have bought into this misguided advice.  The real reason worldwide population has grown has nothing to do with birthrates, and everything to do with increased longevity. 

Here’s the problem in a nutshell:  At the end of World War II there were 42 workers for every person collecting Social Security, and Medicare did not even exist.  In 1960, the worker to beneficiary ratio of the social security program was 5.1 workers to one person receiving benefits.  In 2009, that figure fell to 3.0 workers per beneficiary.  According to the Social Security Administration's Trustees report, that number will fall to 2.2 workers per beneficiary by 2030. But with birth rates falling, that number could be even lower than expected.   There are implications in terms of health care rationing, too.  It will affect home care, assisted living, traffic, mobility, technology, and taxes. Especially taxes...  

We cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity.   There simply are not, and will never be, enough tax payers to fund all our existing entitlement programs, especially with our declining birth rates and 47% of American workers paying no federal income tax at all.  The tax increases called for by the party in the White House offers only a modest reduction in the rate of growth in our national debt.  The chart below shows federal tax revenue in green and the effect of the tax increase in blue.  The red area represents the amount of spending that exceeds our federal revenue.  Most of the spending associated with Obamacare begins in 2014 when the Medicaid expansion and subsidies for State Exchanges begin.  With 10,000 baby boomers reaching Medicare and Social Security eligibility age every single day, our national debt will bury us, even with huge tax increases, assuming that these taxes will actually be collected.

 

The chart, prepared with data from the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congressional Budget Office, demonstrates that tax revenues remain flat because the working population will be about the same, while the number of people receiving social security and Medicare benefits will increase significantly over the next 30 years, and because health care costs are increasing faster than inflation.   In other words, we’ll be in the same predicament as Japan in 30 years or so, unless we act now to curb spending. 

2013 will be an interesting year.  Not only will congress have to deal with the “fiscal cliff,” but we’ll face another battle over increasing the federal debt limit again in Spring.   Sadly, our problems are far more complex than simply trying to balance a budget.  Our nation faces a crisis that is rooted in morality.  In our enthusiasm to cast off traditional morality in the name of personal freedom, we are suppressing religious freedom and simultaneously committing national infanticide, at the very time when we need growth in the population of our productive members of society.  Rather than admit to this dilemma, we continue on the path that has been disastrous to Japan, and has already begun to destroy European economies as well.  Although no one on the left will admit it, we desperately need to return to a culture of life, a culture that promotes marriage, childbirth, and families.  We also need to accept responsibility for our spending, and learn to live within our means, rather than heaping mountains of debt on our children and grandchildren.  This is the path to recovery, the path to growth and prosperity.  It involves personal responsibility and a return to the commitments and virtues required to be good parents and citizens who take responsibility for themselves and their family.

Joy to the (troubled) World

Today is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday in Advent when the Church boldly proclaims Joy to the World, and lights the rose colored candle on the Advent wreath.  In the wake of the horrific events of the past week, the message of joy may seem out of step with current events.   The world appears to have gone mad with so many mass murders this past year, each one more atrocious than the last, culminating in the senseless killing of 20 little children last week.   Isn’t it time we come to our senses and realize that this violence is a symptom of the culture of death which is tightening its grip on our world?   Can there be any doubt that we’ve become desensitized to murder and mayhem when it’s ubiquitous on television, video games, movies, and the media?  How many people sport skull and cross bones tattoos, shirts, hats, and coats, without a thought to the fact that they represent death?

Our country is in shock and rightfully horrified by the atrocity at Sandy Hook school, but nobody takes notice of the 3000 or so babies murdered every day in abortion clinics.  Anyone who raises an objection to abortion is labeled an intolerant bigot.  In the meanwhile, we pass laws legalizing marijuana and assisted suicide without a thought to the direction we’re headed.   How can anyone be expected to feel joyful at times like this?   As the result of deteriorating morality and the suspension of inhibitions, we’re more apt to feel remorse or even despair at the many problems our nation faces, fueled by the pursuit of personal freedom and happiness.  It seems the world’s idea of happiness is more about self-gratification than anything else.  But does that really bring happiness?   Does the freedom to act as we please really make us happy?  

The word Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice,” a word seldom heard these days.  But today’s scripture makes it clear that no matter what’s going on in the world, we do indeed have cause to rejoice.

“Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love.”  (Zephaniah 3:15-17)

“Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:4-7)

Despite all the angst in the world, all the disappointment in the sinfulness of the world, and the grip of evil, we can still find peace that leads to joy.  This peace is not the kind brokered by politicians, or enforced with weapons and threats, but the peace of heart and mind that can only be attained by faith.   Without faith we are lost souls in a world gone mad.  Without faith, we have no hope and easily fall victim to depression and despair.  Without faith, we lack the ability to sustain the onslaught of bad news and the consequences of our collective sinfulness.  But with faith, we discover that, despite our sinfulness, we are forgiven.  Regardless of our worthiness, we can be redeemed.  Despite the burdens of the world, and the foolishness of our government leaders, there is hope for peace of heart and mind because God is in our midst.   In his letter to the Philippians quoted above, Paul gives us the recipe to find this peace:  “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

This is the peace of soul that enables us to discover joy in a broken world, precisely because Christ is in our midst.  This is the locus of hope in our lives, without which we have no hope of joy, and without joy, how can we possibly love one another?  The three “theological virtues,” faith, hope and love, are related to one another in mysterious ways.  Faith leads to hope, and hope enables us to love.  Who can love when they despair?  Who can find peace when they are so anxious about the troubles of the world that it clouds their thinking?  Faith is a great gift, and the source of peace and joy.  God has come into the world to give us these gifts of faith, hope and love.  This is the reason be joyful, and now is the time of the year we are reminded of these precious gifts from God, who entered our world precisely to give us these gifts that “surpass understanding.”  Joy to the world !

Advent, Purgatory, and the Light of Christ

It’s hard to believe another new year is upon us.  The older we get, the faster the years seem to go by, perhaps because each successive year is a smaller percentage of our lifetime.  When you’re 8 years old, a year is more than 12% of your entire life, but at 66, it’s only 1.5%.  And the older we get, the more aware we become of our mortality and the brevity of life, in contrast to the vastness of eternity.  Looking back over the years, it is increasingly apparent that life is loaded with metaphors that seem to be pointing us in the direction of eternal truths which we cannot quite grasp.  Perhaps these truths are too much for us to comprehend because they are so far beyond our experience and understanding of life.  As St. Paul said to the Corinthians:

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”   (1 Cor 13:12-13)

It is as if our eyes cannot see clearly, the depth and richness of life in all its complexity and fullness.  Nor can we comprehend the overwhelming power and majesty of God’s love.  When Jesus began His public ministry, one of the first things He said, was a quote from the prophet Isaiah:

“The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”  (Matt 4:16)

Jesus was describing Himself as this great light which we now refer to as “The Light of the World.”  The Light of Christ dispels darkness, and enables us to see the truth of God’s love and creation.  But there is only so much we can comprehend and withstand.  It’s often easier to live in self-imposed darkness, than to face the light of truth.   Sin dims our perception of these truths when we choose selfishly, or take the easier path of avoiding the responsibilities of love when it requires sacrifice. 

The date for Christmas was established to coincide with the pagan holiday of the Winter solstice and the lengthening of daytime with more light.  Advent is that special time of the year when we are called to prepare not only for the celebration of Christmas, but to prepare ourselves to receive the Light of Christ, both now and at the end of our earthly lives.  This preparation is meant to help us become more receptive to the Light of Christ and God’s truth about our lives.  Are we mere mortals, little more than thinking animals?  Or were we created for something much greater which our human experience and intellect cannot fully comprehend?   Of course the “good news” of the gospel as revealed by Jesus Himself, is that the latter is the real truth.   Our salvation consists of the Light of Christ coming into the world to reveal the truth of God’s love, a truth so outrageous that it seems too good to be true:  God created us to live with Him for all eternity, embraced in love that so far exceeds our human experience that we cannot possibly imagine its depth and richness.  If fact, we are so ill-prepared for life in the Presence of God, that upon our death, we are likely to experience the pain of facing all this truth at once. 

This brings me to a brief discussion about Purgatory.  As children, we were taught that we would most likely have to spend some time in this interim step or place, paying for our sinfulness.  It’s a childish notion, given that there is no time outside human life, as far as we know.  When I taught RCIA, I described purgatory not as a place, but as an experience of being “purged” of our sinfulness when we come face to face with God.  Words may not be able to express this painful experience, but it might be a combination of embarrassment and sorrow for our sins, regret at the pain we may have caused others, and the pain of letting go of our sinful attitudes toward ourselves, others, and God Himself.  The main point is that we could not possibly bear to live in God’s Presence with these human flaws that separate us from the love of God. 

Recently, I read a great little article about how purgatory might be likened to a person who obtains sight as an adult, after being born blind.  People who have actually experienced this, report that it is an unbearably painful experience for which they are completely unprepared.  As it turns out, the human brain has to be completely retrained to comprehend light and vision, after a lifetime of blindness.  Perhaps this is what death will be like.  When we come face to face with God we will be completely unprepared for the Light of Truth of God’s love.   Human love and the capacity to love may be so far short of God’s love that we have to completely recondition our understanding of life when faced with the experience of the love of God in all its fullness.  In one of life’s great metaphors, human life may be similar to the gestation period of an infant, living in the darkness of the womb, completely unprepared for life.  Our temporal lives may well be nothing more than the gestation period for eternal life.

In the meanwhile however, we live in a culture that celebrates the imperial autonomous self; in a modern world that detaches sex from love and responsibility; with an ethos of immediate gratification and intergenerational irresponsibility.  Advent is about overcoming all this and dispelling the darkness of sin, by taming our ego and adopting instead, a culture of life that embraces faith, hope and love.  When personal freedom trumps love and responsibility, we diminish ourselves and our culture.  The word ego has been described as an acronym for “Edging God Out.”  Advent is a reminder that there is more to life than what popular culture perceives.  Open your heart and soul to the Light of Christ this Advent and look beyond the secular holiday to “see the great Light” of God’s amazing, transformative love, and His promise of our salvation for all eternity.  Prepare yourself and your family to accept and receive this greatest of all gifts, now and for all eternity.

Christ the King and Unveiling the Truth

Today is the feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the liturgical year.  Today’s gospel has Jesus standing before Pilot, revealing that He is a king, but not of this world.  Importantly, He also reveals the reason why He came into the world, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."   If there is one thing we and our world need badly, it’s Truth.   It’s nearly impossible to know what is true, and what is hype these days, depending on your source of information and the agenda of the author.   Jesus came into the world to testify to the Truth of God’s love.  Several times in the gospels Jesus points out that there are times when people do not see with their eyes or hear with their ears.  Apparently He was referring to the fact that at times, we just don’t want to hear the truth, even the truth of God’s love as revealed by Jesus Himself.

Daily scripture readings these last few weeks before Advent, have been from The Book of Revelation, also called “Apocalypse.”  The word “apocalypse” means “unveiling,” and is derived from the same word used during Jewish wedding ceremonies when the groom unveils his bride.  This cryptic last book of the bible is often misunderstood and taken out of context, but it contains numerous references to the truth of God’s plan for our salvation.  Although steeped in exaggerated images and metaphors, it reveals the role of Jesus as the Lamb of God, and attests to the importance and Truth of God’s word as revealed in scripture.  For example, it describes Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega, our beginning (our creator) and our end (our destiny in eternity). 

All of us could benefit from facing the truth, especially when it comes to acknowledging the mistakes we have made and the problems we face in our lives and relationships.  The same goes for our legislators who are all too likely to ignore, deny, or distort the truth of the problems we face as a nation.  Perhaps the new congress will be willing to openly and honestly address (“unveil”) the serious issues we face as a nation.  For starters, it would be nice if everyone could agree that we need to curb the spending binge we’ve been on.  Last year our federal government took in $2.45 trillion in revenue but spent $3.54 trillion – adding $1.1 trillion to our national debt.  In fact, we’ve added $1 trillion in debt each of the last four years, the equivalent of $17,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.  The interest alone on our $16+ trillion debt amounts to $258 billion a year, more than the annual budget of the departments of  Energy, Education, State, Interior, Justice, Commerce, and Homeland Security, combined.  And this is with interest rates at historic lows.  Of course, the biggest expenses we face are Medicare and Social Security which carry unfunded liabilities in excess of $128 trillion.

The sad fact is that these problems are fixable if the two political parties could agree on common sense solutions which have already been posed but ignored due to partisan rivalry.   The thorniest of our fiscal problems is Medicare and there is a viable solution that was vilified during the election cycle, accusing Romney and Ryan of destroying Medicare, when in fact, their proposed solution was a bipartisan proposal co-authored by Paul Ryan and the liberal democrat from Oregon, Ron Wyden.  The name of the bill is actually the “Wyden-Ryan Plan” which has been endorsed by the liberal Brookings Institution and the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force, headed up by the former chief of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration. 

For those of you not familiar with the Wyden-Ryan plan, it proposes to let seniors choose between staying in their existing Medicare plans, or, if they can get a better plan, purchase one in the free market with the assistance of federally funded vouchers.  This would be very similar to the current Medicare Advantage program in which seniors choose among insurers who compete on the basis of cost, quality and access to providers and drug lists.  The Medicare Advantage insurers are paid by Medicare to assume the insurance risk of their Medicare-eligible customers.   Now that Rose and I are eligible for Medicare, I shopped around and found that there are dozens of Medicare Advantage plans available to us, many at no additional cost, other than the federal Medicare premium we pay for Parts B and D.  The coverage is so comprehensive, that unlike the standard Medicare plans that require seniors to purchase supplementary coverage at their own expense, no additional coverage is needed, so we save quite a bit of money.   This is the plan that the Obama campaign referred to as “destroying Medicare.”   This plan would move Medicare in the direction of fiscal viability by transferring some of the risk to private insurers who would have strong incentives to operate efficiently while offering competitively priced, attractive plans with excellent service.   It is a responsible, viable plan that has already been accepted by those who understand health care on both sides of the aisle, but during the election cycle it was demonized ad nauseam.  

Similarly, Social Security will run out of money in less than 20 years unless minor changes are made in eligibility age for younger Americans.  I still like the idea of making at least a portion of Social Security a defined contribution program, rather than a defined benefit.   When Bush 43 proposed this, he was ridiculed, but I’d feel a lot more secure about my social security benefit if at least a portion of it was actually in an account with my name on it, rather than sitting in a trust fund that is easily raided when the government needs money.

So as the liturgical year and the 112^th  Congress both wind down, lets’ look forward to the Light of Truth coming into the world, and a bit more willingness to be truthful among our politicians so that we can move toward the “unveiling” of solutions for a change.

Thanksgiving, Lincoln and Civil Rights

Most of us associate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, but it wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln established it as a national holiday.  Here’s an excerpt from his Thanksgiving Proclamation:

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens …to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens.   And I fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”  

Motivated by his religious and moral beliefs, Lincoln wrote this in the midst of the Civil War when he was the most hated man in America.  Yes, hated.  He was reviled by the South for abolishing slavery, and deplored by many in the north for waging the bloody civil war which had already taken over 100,000 lives   100 years later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be jailed for his non-violent protest against the violation of civil rights imposed on minorities.  Both men were motivated by their religious belief that freedom is God’s gift to all humanity. 

Lincoln’s plea for peace is apropos once again, as our country has just come out of a contentious election cycle that has divided the nation along ideologies.  From my perspective, the issues today are similar to those faced by African Americans 50 and 150 years ago.   The Obama administration insists on violating the civil rights of our most vulnerable citizens, the unborn.  Many at the Democratic National Convention (perhaps a majority) wanted to remove all references to God from their platform.  The Obama administration is violating the religious freedom of people who belief that abortion is intrinsically evil, by using federal tax dollars to fund abortions.  Planned Parenthood receives about $1 million every day.   Every employer is now required to pay for contraceptives, abortifacient medication, and surgical sterilization, even though many Christians believe this violates their moral convictions and religious belief.  

All of the great advances in civil rights took place because of the religious convictions of people like Lincoln, King, and their followers.   But rather than celebrate faith in God, our nation has moved in the direction of criticizing Christians for speaking and acting on their religious beliefs.  The government has made itself the arbiter of which religious beliefs are to be tolerated, and which are not.  Christians who object to gay marriage, or the use of their tax dollars to fund abortions, are now labeled as intolerant and accused of waging a war on women.  Employers whose religious convictions preclude them from funding abortifacient mediation and sterilization, will be severely fined unless they are officially deemed to be religious organizations according to the narrow definition of the government.   Let’s hope that the 33 lawsuits brought by more than 100 large employers, challenging this violation of religious liberty, make their way to the Supreme Court before next August when the grace period for imposing fines expires. 

Sustainability and the “Tsunami of Secularism”

The term sustainability has become commonplace of late.   It is used to convey the notion that everyone has a stake in maintaining our environment.  The business world has adopted it as a mantra for identifying a myriad of issues necessary to compete and thrive in a world of increasing energy costs and heightened consumer demand for the products that are ecologically safe.  Companies are not only expected to manage their carbon footprint and produce “green” products, but to develop strategies for attracting and retaining talent and customers on the basis of being sufficiently “green.”   Failure to accomplish this threatens the sustainability of the business. 

Whether you believe in global warming, climate change, or the effect of human activity on the weather, there seems to be a consensus that “sustainability” is important to our culture and our economy.  And yet, no one seems to notice that the greatest threat to the world is secularism and its broad array of consequences.  At the opening of the recent synod of bishops, Cardinal Wuerl called upon the Catholic Church to “roll back the tsunami of secularism that has swept over modern society in recent decades.”   He said, “The secular world does not see a role for faith, for the belief that we are created in the image of and likeness of God, that there is a moral order that is objective and that we cannot change.” 

What, you may ask, does this have to do with “sustainability?”   The answer lies in recognizing that as the world has become more secular, culture has eroded, families and marriage are in decline, and international demographics have begun to cause economic failure in country after country.  Secularism has redefined the common good and what it means to be a just society.  George Weigel points out that, “­Secularism seeks to drive out of the public square, any consideration of what God or the moral law might require of a just society.”   Our secular educational systems teach that the only moral absolute is that there are no moral absolutes.  Individualism is now taught to be the foundation of society.  Individuals are set free of any moral duties and their only goal is self-preservation and self-interest.  In this context schools teach a new definition of marriage and sexual mores. This stands in opposition to the millennia-old concept of natural law in which the natural family (father, mother and children) was the foundation of society and the root of moral order.

Think I’m exaggerating?  Consider the fact that religion has been under attack throughout Europe and more recently in the USA.  A new law in France will now ban the use of the terms “father” and “mother” with regard to marriage.  When this new law goes into effect, all references to father and mother will be erased from civil code and replaced with the term “parent.”  This is being done to correspond with the new definition of marriage which states: “Marriage is the union of two persons of different or same gender.”  Closer to home, the Obama administration has declared its intent to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act; attempted force a church to retain a gay minister (but lost their case in a 9-0 Supreme Court decision); has defined religious organizations so narrowly that any organization that serves or hires people of a different faith, will be denied exemption from the new HHS mandate.  This latter issue is now the subject of 33 federal lawsuits with more than 100 plaintiffs, including the largest 14 dioceses in the country, numerous Catholic hospital systems and Catholic social service agencies, and a number of employers including Chik-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby.  The HHS mandate is a clear violation of the First Amendment.  The federal government is now dictating that employers, including Catholic hospitals and social service agencies, must provide services, even if they violate their religious convictions.  This same government is attempting to redefine marriage and if that becomes the law of the land, as it is now in France, the Church will be accused of intolerance and discrimination.  Several large Catholic social service agencies have already been forced to close because of their refusal to offer adoptions to gay couples.  The US Catholic Bishops have already declared that if necessary, they will close down Catholic hospitals and social service agencies if necessary, rather than comply with the HHS mandate.  By the way, there are approximately 1600 Catholic hospitals which comprise more than 20% of all hospital beds in the country, and many of these are in urban areas abandoned by for-profit hospitals.

All of this represents an aggressive move toward secularism, and inevitably to the moral decline of our nation.   This threatens our sustainability for several reasons which should be obvious to anyone who looks seriously at what happened in the communist countries where religion was denigrated.  As marriages decline, so do families and the civilizing influence of the moral responsibilities of marriage and family.  Crime increases, as does poverty, and more people look to the government for support of unsustainable social welfare systems.  Rather than fix broken social systems, socialist governments (the more genteel heirs of communism) attempt to sustain society by spending more and more on social welfare and bigger government (70% of all jobs in Greece are government jobs).  But in an era of declining birthrates, the number of workers is not growing fast enough to keep up with the burgeoning elderly population and the increasing number of people expecting government assistance. 

Common sense dictates that the federal government cannot continue to spend $1.40 for every $1.00 of revenue it takes in.  In addition to the $16 trillion national debt, the US faces more than $128 Trillion in unfunded liabilities.  The solution does not lie in simply raising taxes, nor can it be solved by drastic cuts in spending.  True sustainability depends on returning to the moral values that formed the basis for founding our country and made our nation great in the first place, that is, belief in “the laws of nature and nature’s God.”  We violate nature when we deny the truth of our bodies and the nature of marriage and family as the basis of civil society.  No nation can sustain itself when it kills its children.  Fifty-five million Americans have died at the hands of abortionists over the past 38 years.  Imagine how much creativity, productivity, and genius, not to mention earning power and tax dollars, these Americans would be contributing if alive today.  The culture of death is simply not sustainable. 

In the face this worldwide “tsunami of secularism,” the Catholic Church offers a solution, albeit one not well-marketed as yet.  The New Evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II over twenty years ago, is now revving up.  It offers hope amidst the despair of everything going to hell in a hand basket.  The bishops’ primary role is to teach or “catechize,” and they hope to make a concerted effort to do so in the coming year.  They are devastated by the fact that half of all Catholics voted for President Obama, despite the bishops’ efforts to explain the ramifications of participating in the intrinsic evil of abortion by voting for pro-choice politicians.  Pope Benedict XVI has declared this coming year to be a “Year of Faith” and the US Catholic bishops will attempt to reconnect with all Catholics by instructing them in the primacy of the culture of life, the importance of marriage and family and the implications of losing our freedom of religion.   If successful, more Catholics will come to realize that freedom of conscience is not merely doing what we “feel” is right, but rather, discover the hope and beauty of the moral truths as revealed by Jesus Christ.  By establishing a well-formed moral conscience, Catholics will embrace the culture of life and assume their natural roles as fathers and mothers, taking responsibility for educating their children in the moral truths which are so ridiculed and maligned by secularism.  This is the hope of America.  This is what made us the envy of the world.  This is what our children need from us, rather than the deceit of individualism and the mountain of debt our government seems determined to heap on them.  I urge you to learn more about The New Evangelization.  It is not only the path to sustainability, it offers hope in the face of secularism, and it will benefit our children and grandchildren immensely for generations to come.

Post-Election Meditation

Two thoughts occupy my mind as I contemplate the results of this week’s election.  The first is, “What will become of our country over the next four years?”  The second is, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful.”   Let me explain each separately. 

Several years ago a book entitled The Tipping Point ,by Malcolm Gladwell, was a best seller for quite a while. It’s about sociological change, what causes it, and how it can happen so quickly.  Gladwell described trends that seem to come out of nowhere and sweep the nation, changing styles, behavior and even language and beliefs. In his exploration of this phenomenon, he describes a small subset of people who can have a huge influence in changing our styles, trends and culture.   He categorizes them as Connectors (masters of social media), Mavens (intellectuals) and Salesmen (charismatic persuaders), each playing a specific but crucial role in effecting changes that spread rapidly, almost like a virus, changing styles, attitudes and beliefs.  It’s a fascinating book and I won’t elaborate on it here, but I believe our nation is close to a “tipping point” brought about by a small group of people whose ability to shape thinking, spread ideas, and sell them to the public has moved our country “forward” in a new direction.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I believe our country is headed in a new direction.  The Democrats and President Obama are transforming America from the country that has become to the most prosperous in the world, to one in which the redistribution of wealth and economic equality are the highest priorities, even if it means racking up mountains of debt while inhibiting the creation of new jobs.  They have redefined the pursuit of happiness as the right to do whatever we please, as long as it makes us happy, rather than the opportunity to succeed through ambition and hard work.  According to the Democratic platform, civil liberty is granted by the state which now funds contraception, abortion, and eventually, euthanasia, to ensure that no one is inconvenienced by unwanted children or illness in old age.  Religious liberty has been redefined as the right to worship in private, but not the right to act according to our beliefs, if those beliefs are contrary to the wisdom of the government. Those who disagree with government decrees and mandates will be fined or prosecuted for intolerance and refusal to act according to government dictates.  Freedom is no longer an inalienable right, but one granted by government, subject to the state’s definition of marriage, morality and fairness.

On election day we learned that a majority of Americans agree with this new direction.  We seem to have forgotten that America’s amazing prosperity has been the result of the freedom to succeed on the basis of ambition and hard work, not the redistribution of wealth in pursuit of economic equality.  Entrepreneurs who make sacrifices, take risks, and succeed in creating jobs, are now categorized as selfishly refusing to pay their “fair share,” despite the fact that the top 10% of income earners pay 71% of all taxes, while 47% pay no tax at all.   People of deep religious conviction are now considered bigots for their intolerance of this new social doctrine which has redefined marriage, morality, and even the right to life, which has been superseded by the right to privacy.  This is the liberal ideology that people voted to continue, defining it as moving “forward.”

Conservatives on the other hand, believe that a robust economy is not only an economic imperative, it is a moral and cultural imperative as well.  What made America the economic powerhouse it has become, is the belief that prosperity is linked to creativity, responsibility and generosity, not the redistribution of wealth.  According to Catholic social doctrine, as described by Pope John Paul II in his 1983 and 1991 encyclicals, empowerment of the underprivileged depends on a robust economy which gives everyone access to honorable work which makes it possible for them to be responsible for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones.  In those same encyclicals, the pope warned about the creation of a nanny state in which social welfare discouraged the virtues of self-reliance and hard work.  The pope also explained that in the post-industrial world, wealth resides not so much in natural resources as in human creativity, skills, work habits, and entrepreneurial instincts. 

Have we abandoned these beliefs in favor of social equity, as enforced by the state who has declared itself the arbiter of the new morality?  Have the mavens of liberal doctrine succeeded in discarding the traditions and principals that resulted in America becoming the most free and most prosperous nation in the world?  President Obama has promised a “fundamental transformation of America.”  It seems he is succeeding in this promise, and perhaps we are a tipping point in this new direction.  Or not.

My second thought on all this is that despite the angst of the election, and all the disappointment among the slight minority of voters who opposed the president, all is not lost.  America is still the most free nation in the world.  Secularism, while on the rise, has not yet won the battle for hearts and minds. If we dwell on the negative aspects of the election, it would be easy to adopt a cynical point of view which only contributes to the polarization of our nation.  The old adage, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful” is worth remembering, especially now.  We have much to be grateful for, and must never take our freedom and prosperity for granted.  Although liberals would have us move in the direction of Europe, where the combination of secularism and socialism have destroyed economies, we are still far better off than any other nation in the world.   As recent census data shows, demographic trend favors conservatism.  Liberals have fewer children, and over time the conservative population will grow faster.  Moreover, the effects of liberalism will soon become evident as our economy heads into the fiscal cliff.  It’s only a matter of time before we come to our senses with respect to deficit spending which cannot go on forever.  I’m confident the pendulum will swing back to the right as the effects of liberalism become more evident.  In the meanwhile, let’s all give thanks for our free nation and redouble our efforts to pray for a return to the virtues and values that have made America the envy of the world.

The Truth of Our Bodies

Today’s readings are all about marriage and children, starting with the Genesis creation account which declares,

"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.”

In the gospel, when Jesus is asked whether or not divorce is lawful, He replies with unequivocal support for the sanctity of marriage:

“But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."

Our culture has forgotten, or chooses to ignore the fact, that marriage is more than just a legal contract, it is a sacred institution conceived by God and revealed in the truth of our bodies.  When God created us male and female, He did so out of love for us, and to ensure the continuation of humanity.  In creating us male and female, God made men and women different but complementary, as revealed in our physical differences.  He designed our bodies to be united in love (one flesh) and for that unity to be the genesis of new life, conceived in love and commitment.  These two aspects of physical love, unity and procreation, have long been upheld by the church as the central components of marriage and the marriage act.  Men and women are intended to love each other as they love themselves, as St. Paul points out in his epistle to the Ephesians (5:28).  Paul also points out that Christ’s love for the church is like that of a husband for his wife.  In Theology of the Body, John Paul II explains that married love is participation in the inner life of the Trinity because it is self-giving and reflects the unity and life-giving nature of the Trinity.  For thousands of years people seem to have intuited this, and therefore the marriage of a man and a woman has been held sacrosanct by societies from every culture in every age… until now. 

Over the past 50 years, marriage has been in decline, reduced to little more than a social contract with even less legal protection than business contracts which cannot be broken without cause.  Divorce statistics are dismal and disheartening.  Divorce has been the source of untold emotional damage to children whose families were destroyed by the notion of disposable spouses, and perhaps an impediment to adult children of divorce’s ability to make commitments to marriage.

So after thousands of years, what has been the cause of the demise of marriage?  The answer can also be found in today’s gospel: 

"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

When it became technically possible to separate the marriage act from the possibility of procreation, God’s plan for humanity was ripped asunder.  With no responsibility for conceiving children, sexual intercourse moved from an act of self-giving and commitment, to one of self-satisfaction and pleasure.  Even Sigmund Freud recognized that this was a recipe for disaster.  Sex without commitment to love and responsibility is not unitive, it is selfish.  As a secular culture, separated from God’s truth about our bodies, we now put the individual first in all matters.  As such, we no longer view others in terms of our responsibility and commitment to them, but rather, we see the world and other people as sources of pleasure and personal fulfillment.  No wonder then that when we tire of someone, we cast them off, just as we would any other impediment to our perceived happiness.

We all know that the bodies of men and women are different in many ways.  Besides the differences in appearance, our bodies produce different hormones, and elicit different emotions to situations.  Testosterone is present in both men and women, and among other things, it gives us our sex drive.  Men have 20 times more testosterone than women, accounting for their perpetual eagerness for sex.  However, marriage brings with it a taming influence over men’s instinctual nature.  The love of a woman gives a man the determination to exercise self-control over hormonal urges, out of love and respect for his wife, and responsibility to his family.  But when the wife’s fertility has been suppressed, and responsibility for procreation removed, the woman can become an object for man’s pleasure rather than respected for her personal dignity.   This is why Pope Paul VI prophetically warned that contraception would inevitably lead to more divorce and the decline of marriage.

Of course there are many other consequences of contraception, including the well documented fact that it also results in more and more abortions because of contraception failure and misuse.  In Africa, a new study demonstrates the causal relationship between contraception and the increase in AIDS which is rampant in the heterosexual population.  Contraception and its effects (abortion and divorce) also account for declining birthrates worldwide, which is playing havoc with the world economy as countries struggle with deficits caused by entitlement programs growing at a much faster rate than the working population.

Despite all this, our government continues its attack on marriage, attempting to redefine it as merely a social contract between any two (or more?) people in love, regardless of whether they are capable of starting a family and raising children successfully.  The government also insists that every employer provide free contraception, chemical abortion, and surgical sterilization to their employees, even if it violates the moral conscience of the employer.  Under the new law, church-owned hospitals and social service agencies must provide these services, even going so far as to accuse those who object, of waging a war on women.

God’s truth is that we have been created in His image, male and female, with the potential to love as He loves, giving ourselves to one another in permanent, loving, and committed relationships which respect the inherent dignity of our spouses and our offspring from the moment of conception.  Our secular culture is blind to this truth and is paying the price in countless ways.   If our society is to survive, we need to rediscover this truth and realize that marriage and family are the basis of society, and neither can be sacrificed at the altar of radical individualism.  Pray for marriages, for respect for every human life, and for our country to wake up to “The Truth” as revealed in our bodies, our marriages, and our families.

 

The Book of Job and the 1%

This week the daily first reading is from the book of Job.  It is the story of Job, a wealthy herdsman with a large family, until God allowed Satan to take everything away from him, including his health.  Despite the disastrous events in his life, Job refused to curse God for the calamities he suffered, even though the prevailing belief at the time was that setbacks like his were the result of God’s punishment.  Job was clearly among the 1%.  He was wealthy by the standards of his time, the patriarch of a large family, and the employer of many who relied on him for their income and sustenance.  He was ridiculed by his friends for his refusal to blame God for his misfortune, but Job never gave in to despair.  Losing everything, including his family and friends, Job adamantly remained faithful and respectful of God, much to Satan’s disappointment.  Although the book of Job is not considered historical in nature, it is instructive in many ways.  Job’s losses impacted his family and no doubt, the local economy.  Nobody was better off when Job lost everything, in fact, many probably shared in his suffering.

With the US economy struggling to recover, and unemployment rampant, a lot of criticism has been directed at the wealthy, or the “1%,” as if redistributing their wealth would solve all our economic problems.  A year ago the Occupy Wall Street crowd declared themselves the 99% and railed against the unfairness of the 1% growing richer, while the ranks of the unemployed swelled.  Media rhetoric has further confused the issue by giving so much attention to the false impression that if the wealthy would just pay their “fair share” of taxes, employment would rise, poverty would decline, and all would be well with the world.  In fact, redistributing wealth would do none of these things. 

The top 1% of income earners are comprised of approximately 7 million American families.  They pay an average federal income tax rate of 29.5% which amounts to 40% of all taxes paid.  Included in these numbers are much smaller number of “super-rich” who pay less tax because they take their income as long term capital gains and dividends which are taxed at 15%.  These super-rich make up less than 10% of the top 1% and are comprised mainly of highly paid CEOs, sports figures, Hollywood stars, and those who inherited wealth.   Even if they were taxed to the hilt, it wouldn’t make a noticeable dent in the federal deficit.  Taking them out of the equation, 90% of the 1% are those who earn more than $250,000 a year and pay federal taxes greater than 30% of their income.  Add in payroll, state, and local income taxes, and most are being taxed at 50% or more of their income.  This group is made up doctors, lawyers, small business owners, senior managers, IT professionals, and those who have special skills.  This is a hard-working group of people who have earned their income by getting a good education, learning special skills, working long hours, and investing hard-earned capital to start businesses.  Raising the taxes on this group will do little to reduce the national debt, but it will dampen the prospect of creating new jobs because it reduces the amount of money people spend or invest in growing their businesses. 

If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, the 1% whose income is taxed as ordinary income, rather than long term gains, will see their federal income tax go up about 3%.  In addition, their payroll taxes will increase by about $2200, and the tax provisions of Obamacare will increase their Medicare payroll taxes an additional .9%.  For a person making $300,000 this amounts to about $1200 a month.  That’s $14,400 a year in additional federal taxes which will not be spent in the economy or invested in growing businesses.  History shows that every time federal rates are lowered, federal revenue INCREASES.  This paradox is just simple economics.  When people pay less tax, they have more money to spend and invest.  When people spend more money, it passes through five or six different hands in the course of a year (the “multiplier” effect).  That $14,400 can add $70,000 to the economy in the course of a year.    Increased consumer spending creates more income, more jobs, and with it, more tax dollars.  This upward spiral grows the Gross National Product and along with it, tax receipts for state and federal government.  President Reagan lowered taxes three times in eight years and each time, federal tax revenues increased because GNP increased.  This resulted in a robust healthy economy that yielded more than 12 years of continuous economic growth.  Despite this success, his detractors derided “Reagonomics” as faulty “trickle-down” economics.  President Clinton rode the wave of this success through his entire presidency, but Democrats still refuse to acknowledge Reagan’s contribution.

The real reason for our high unemployment has to do with education, job training, burdensome regulations, and the uncertain economy.  Consider this: The unemployment rate for people with college degrees is 4.9% and only 2.9% for people with advanced degrees.  For those with high school diplomas, the rate is 9.4% and for those without, 14%.   According to Fortune magazine, there are 3 million job openings that remain unfilled because companies cannot find people with adequate job skills.  Despite all this, we allow people to remain on unemployment compensation, without requiring them to participate in job training programs.  The real reason for high unemployment is that unskilled labor is cheaper in foreign countries than it is in the US, and there are not enough people with the right job skills to fill job existing job openings.  In addition, uncertainty about taxes and the economy prevents employers from investing in their companies.  The vast majority of American firms are profitable, but a great many are sitting on cash rather than grow their business because they are so uncertain about the future.  Government regulation has expanded exponentially over the past four years adding complexity, bureaucracy, and tax burdens to the cost of doing business.

At the end of the Book of Job, God restores Job’s good fortune and he rebuilds his life.  Punishing those who have worked hard to achieve success, damages our economy by stifling growth.  We most definitely need to solve the problem of our national debt, but the answer lies in reducing spending and stimulating economic growth, not by taxing people who are the most vibrant participants in the economy and thereby suppressing consumer spending and investments in the private sector. 

What does it mean to "serve others?"

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In last Sunday’s gospel we heard Jesus call us to pick up our cross and follow Him.  This Sunday He admonishes the disciples for arguing and tells them that the greatest among them is the one who is a servant to others.

As society moves inexorably in the direction of becoming more secular, the values held up as “normal” are self-fulfillment and personal freedom, rather than authentic freedom which comes from acquiring virtues through commitment and self-sacrifice.  When God gave us the 10 Commandments, He laid out a prescription for developing a virtuous life and a healthy society.  The vitality and strength of our society depends on our willingness to make personal sacrifices in order to achieve personal excellence, and in service of one another.  Disciplining our minds and bodies requires sacrifice (picking up our cross), and it is the opposite of radical freedom to do as we please.  Serving one another builds trust, strengthens our communities, and secures our future.  The free-market economy rewards discipline and sacrifice.  Businesses that serve their customers well, operate efficiently enough to have competitive prices, and invest in their productive capacity are rewarded.  Competition on the basis of quality, cost, and service reinforce these principles over and over again in the marketplace.  Organizations that have no competition become inefficient, lose touch with their customers, and become self-serving.  For this reason, we have laws against monopolies… except when it comes to government entities. 

Over that past half century our government at all levels has allowed labor monopolies to dictate terms that have made city, state, and local government inefficient and bloated.  With no alternative labor force, city, state, and local governments have little or no bargaining power with the unions that staff their schools, police, fire, and maintenance divisions.   The Chicago teachers strike is but one example of unions dictating terms to city government.  Despite being among the highest paid teachers ($76,000 average salary) in the country, with a student-teacher ratio of only 16-1, the union demanded and received a pay raise, despite that fact that recent census data reveals that tax payers funding this increase have lower average incomes than seen in 20 years.  Moreover, union pensions and benefit plans are far richer than those of constituent taxpayers.  In this same school district, nearly 80% of eighth graders are below proficiency levels in both math and reading.  Never the less, teachers successfully resisted an effort to increase the percentage of their annual reviews based on student outcomes from 30% to 40%. 

This scenario has been repeated over and over in many cities whose school districts face mounting deficits.  The Chicago school district faces a $1 billion deficit over the next fiscal cycle with no means of balancing the budget now, other than increasing taxes.  In the private sector, when a business, or school for that matter, fails to achieve results and/or goes into deficit, it is forced to shut down, and is replaced by its competitors.  Not so with government entities. Instead, the unions of government employees spend billions of dollars endorsing political candidates who agree to continually raise taxes in support of the inefficient, and in many cases ineffective, government programs.  None of this serves the best interest of students or society.  As Jesus admonishes, those who serve others are the greatest, not those who serve their own interests first, in deference to the needs of the community and the inability of the community to pay for government employees to have better pay, better benefits, and better pensions than the average tax payer in the private sector. 

In this day and age we need to ask ourselves what constitutes serving others effectively?   While there’s certainly a place for financial support for the poor, the sick, and the unemployed, when does such support become a hindrance to personal growth and authentic freedom?   I was working in Wausau Wisconsin when then-governor Tommy Thompson passed a statewide welfare reform that was to serve as the model for a national reform of welfare programs a few years later.  Before the new state law took effect, everyone was fearful of the impact it would have on the poor and the unemployed.  To the shock of many, the program was a huge success.  People required to participate in job training, and to seek employment, did so.  Not only did unemployment decrease statewide, incomes went up, productivity increased statewide and with it, tax receipts increased.  Government funding of schools improved, and the state began to run a surplus.  Many of the chronically unemployed reported enhanced self-esteem at learning new skills and obtaining jobs.

Unfortunately, our nation has been going the opposite direction in recent years.  The requirement to seek work, which was the crucial centerpiece of National Welfare Reform, has been removed, benefits extended to 99 weeks, and food stamp assistance has been dramatically expanded.  This has been referred to as “the welfare trap” because it is so hard to let go of these benefits, especially when they add up to more money than people can make in entry level jobs.   Does this serve the poor, or does it ensnare them by discouraging the development of the virtues of self-reliance and industry?   In communist countries where totalitarian governments attempted to create a workers paradise, the lack of market incentives resulted in poor quality, inefficiency, and a miserably failed national economy.   With no opportunity to benefit from their labor, or acquire property, employees had no incentive to hone their skills, no reason to work hard, and no repercussions for shoddy workmanship.  In the case of Russia, it also contributed to rampant alcoholism, depression, and rising suicide rates.  All this also contributed to declining longevity, especially for men whose life expectancy fell to about 60 years old, compared to 77 years old in Germany.  See the attached article for details on this: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/19/russia.../index.html

The best way to serve our country is to return to the values and virtues that have made us a great nation with the strongest economy in the world.  Rather than promote the growth of inefficient government programs that lack the disciplines of the private sector, we should be encouraging self-reliance, personal growth, and success built on hard work, determination, and competition.  It is the private sector that made us the great nation we have become, precisely because of risks and rewards of the market economy.  When we excuse the government sector from the rigors of competition, we invite mediocrity and failure.  Rather than castigate those who have succeeded in the market economy, we should celebrate their success, learn from it, imitate it, and encourage others to do so as well. 

When I was in a leadership role in the private sector, I attempted to be a ‘servant-leader.’  I don’t think I succeeded in this effort as well as I would have liked.  It meant being honest with people when they failed, and allowing them to suffer the consequences of their failures.  But it also meant reinforcing success at every opportunity, and helping every person develop their personal strengths.  This is the way to promote healthy success, and we need national leaders who are able and willing do this.  We are not helping anyone when we accept and reward mediocrity, and pay for it by taxing those who have achieved a modicum of success.