Thought for the Week: February 2nd 2010

How Can the Poor Become Richer?

The report is ‘Unequal Britain: richest 10% are now 100 times better off than the poorest’. From this the question being asked is ‘What can we do so that the poor become rich(er)?’ It is presented as a problem of poverty.

We are in the time when the banks are making sacrifices by limiting their bonus to no more than a million. Yet when we look for guidance on the minimum wage we find ‘There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1 October 2009 are: £5.80 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older, a development rate of £4.83 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive and £3.57 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.’ 

The gospel from Luke chapter 4 reads  ‘16When he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’’

Could it be that a competitive society is about staying ahead of the pack; whereas the religious view of life sees all as valuable and worthy of care and indeed reward?

Certainly the former offers immediate reward for the winners, but the question might well be does the latter offer the long term answer?

If this is so then the problem lies with the rich!