I have constantly been struck by what we hear when we listen to Scripture. Should I be greatly concerned about Jesus' words to the people in the Temple when he tells them that there will be horrible things that happen before He comes again. There will be persecution, killings and torture, but all of those will give the disciples a chance to bear witness, to testify, to proclaim the good news. He says even your family will forsake you and let you down. But then he says "Still, not a hair on your heads will be lost." (Common English Bible). You see, that worries me because I have already lost most of the hair on my head. Does that mean I am not among the chosen, the saved, those written in the book of life?
The second issue that I found in reading Luke 19 was that passage about paying taxes. What fascinates me it the fact that Jesus says the money belongs to Caesar. It is the government's money. When I look at our money in the USA it says it is the governments money. The money has all over it the claim that it is the government's. Federal Reserve Note. "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private. " The United States of America is across the top of it. But when it comes to paying taxes in this country most people seem to think it is their money. Listen to all those radio people and they say "It is your money, you should be able to spend it like you want." Jesus says if it is the government's money give them what they want. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Give to the government the things that are the government's. If the government needs money to pay for the things that are for our common good, render unto the government the government's money.
It is not my money and it only has value as long as the government stands behind it. There is a lot of confederate money running around that now has no value (except as Antique Roadshow) because there is no government backing it up. It is not my money and it will not be in my use for very long as the foolish farmer who built more barns found out. It is the government's money and Jesus does not seem to be concerned about how much of its money it wants back.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Radical Economics : Business in a non-growth world
The big picture of the ever expanding population, the climate change, the shortage of water, the ever increasing solid waste problem, and the limits of the earth size makes for incredible problems for those who spend time thinking about them.
There have been a few efforts to get our attention and works like "Small is Beautiful" have pushed the idea of living and having smaller things. But the radical reality for all business, cities, countries and economies is that we are going to have to stop the constant and demanding pressure to grow larger. Businesses, cities, economies of nations are going to have to start pushing for this years business to be less than last years. That this years sales are equal to or less than last years sales. That the population of our community is 2 % smaller now than it was five years ago. Henderson, where I live, is dealing with a community whose population is stagnant and there is no growth. This world cannot survive if population growth continues, there will not be water enough, there will not be enough of anything for India and China and Japan and Africa to become roaring economies like the USA and Europe.
The standard for business leaders will be how to manage a company that is not focused on growth. In Vance County we have had a number of companies close their stores because the growth in our outlets did not meet the corporate goals of a certain level of growth. But they were profitable and people were working in them. They were just doing the same level of business year in and year out. That will have to become the new target. How to maintain a business without focusing on growing the business. Or even better if we can begin to lower the population and reduce the demands on the earth, it may be that businesses will have to focus on how to remain profitable in a steady decline of sales.
The idea that there will be constant growth and that there will never be a time or a place where there is an end to that growth is delusional. It seems to me from what I read that Business leaders in graduate school need to start thinking about how to teach new leaders to manage companies in a non-growth manner.
There have been a few efforts to get our attention and works like "Small is Beautiful" have pushed the idea of living and having smaller things. But the radical reality for all business, cities, countries and economies is that we are going to have to stop the constant and demanding pressure to grow larger. Businesses, cities, economies of nations are going to have to start pushing for this years business to be less than last years. That this years sales are equal to or less than last years sales. That the population of our community is 2 % smaller now than it was five years ago. Henderson, where I live, is dealing with a community whose population is stagnant and there is no growth. This world cannot survive if population growth continues, there will not be water enough, there will not be enough of anything for India and China and Japan and Africa to become roaring economies like the USA and Europe.
The standard for business leaders will be how to manage a company that is not focused on growth. In Vance County we have had a number of companies close their stores because the growth in our outlets did not meet the corporate goals of a certain level of growth. But they were profitable and people were working in them. They were just doing the same level of business year in and year out. That will have to become the new target. How to maintain a business without focusing on growing the business. Or even better if we can begin to lower the population and reduce the demands on the earth, it may be that businesses will have to focus on how to remain profitable in a steady decline of sales.
The idea that there will be constant growth and that there will never be a time or a place where there is an end to that growth is delusional. It seems to me from what I read that Business leaders in graduate school need to start thinking about how to teach new leaders to manage companies in a non-growth manner.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
More Precious than Gold
There is now a population in the earth planet of about 7 billion people. The United Nations predicts by 2020 there will be 10 billion people living on the earth. There is one reality that has nothing to do with politics. That reality is that there will be more and more fighting over water.
There are already fierce battles over water in Palestine. The west coast has been wrestling with a drought and their limited supply of water. The African desserts are suffering for lack of water. Water is essential for all life. Not just water, but water that is drinkable. Polluted or contaminated water is not good for humans or plants.
This issue of water will not get any better regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in political power. There are at least two major issues before the state of North Carolina that involve the question of water. One is the coal ash spill on the Dan River and the existence of coal ash storage places near a number of other water ways. Those sites have been found to be leaking as well. The other issue is the issue of Fracking. The history of Fracking in other states is not without problems. The testimony concerning Fracking seems to depend on whether or not you think we need the energy or you have an economic interest in doing it.
The long history of Progress Energy, Duke Power, Carolina Power and Light, whatever you name it with the state government has been very beneficial to the power companies. The state regulators under Democratic leadership were very cosy with the power companies. When the regulators cited the power companies for violations in their storage ponds, there was little support for enforcing those fines. The spill in the Dan River has motivated a few people to sound tough, but Duke Power continues to claim that they will have to raise rates to pay for all the clean ups.
One of the things that makes me very frightened about what I am told by spokesmen for the various energy people is that their track record is not very good. BP claimed they did not need to put the safety device on the Gulf well. Duke Power tells us that their ponds are safe and one spills. Hog Farmers say that the hog waste ponds are good, but there are spills. Japanese atomic energy people claimed that their power plant could withstand everything. Then the tsunami washed it away.
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, earthquakes, a lot of the natural disasters can be rebuilt, but when we have contaminated our water, depleted our water supplies, or changed the landscape so that the water does not perk, then we are going to be in serious, serious trouble. Water is going to be more precious than gold and we better begin to put protection of water ahead of a lot of other concerns.
There are already fierce battles over water in Palestine. The west coast has been wrestling with a drought and their limited supply of water. The African desserts are suffering for lack of water. Water is essential for all life. Not just water, but water that is drinkable. Polluted or contaminated water is not good for humans or plants.
This issue of water will not get any better regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in political power. There are at least two major issues before the state of North Carolina that involve the question of water. One is the coal ash spill on the Dan River and the existence of coal ash storage places near a number of other water ways. Those sites have been found to be leaking as well. The other issue is the issue of Fracking. The history of Fracking in other states is not without problems. The testimony concerning Fracking seems to depend on whether or not you think we need the energy or you have an economic interest in doing it.
The long history of Progress Energy, Duke Power, Carolina Power and Light, whatever you name it with the state government has been very beneficial to the power companies. The state regulators under Democratic leadership were very cosy with the power companies. When the regulators cited the power companies for violations in their storage ponds, there was little support for enforcing those fines. The spill in the Dan River has motivated a few people to sound tough, but Duke Power continues to claim that they will have to raise rates to pay for all the clean ups.
One of the things that makes me very frightened about what I am told by spokesmen for the various energy people is that their track record is not very good. BP claimed they did not need to put the safety device on the Gulf well. Duke Power tells us that their ponds are safe and one spills. Hog Farmers say that the hog waste ponds are good, but there are spills. Japanese atomic energy people claimed that their power plant could withstand everything. Then the tsunami washed it away.
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, earthquakes, a lot of the natural disasters can be rebuilt, but when we have contaminated our water, depleted our water supplies, or changed the landscape so that the water does not perk, then we are going to be in serious, serious trouble. Water is going to be more precious than gold and we better begin to put protection of water ahead of a lot of other concerns.
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