Capitalism – Veracity Quest

China’s Influence on Hollywood

If you keep up with the goings-on of the internet, you’ll no doubt have heard about John Cena’s transformation from a modern Chuck Norris into a groveling mess at the feet of communists. Last year, as part of an interview promoting Fast & Furious 9, he said (in Mandarin) that Taiwan would be the first country to see the film.¹ China does not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country, but as a part of China itself. Realizing his mistake in the eyes of Chinese audiences, Cena then posted a video on the social media platform Weibo to apologize. What ensued was a flurry of articles and a blizzard of memes.

One of America’s poster boys for masculinity and success had kowtowed to communist lies. What happened? If it wasn’t obvious already, the answer is money. It usually is. Many American movies make significant profits in China, but the Fast & Furious series is more popular than ever. Fast & Furious 9 ended up making over $40 million more in China than America. Whether he was approached by Universal, a Chinese official, or nobody at all, Cena knew his best chance to continue making the big bucks in Hollywood was to smooth things over and keep his largest source of income happy.

Money Money Money

This has become a growing trend. From the NBA to Tiktok celebrities, Americans are bending over backwards to make money off the Chinese market. They’re all too willing to step in line for a slice of the pie. But why is this? And what can be done about it?

In a capitalist economy, there’s a profit motive for work. This is a good thing. It harnesses humanity’s selfish desires to innovate and create value for society. Check out this post for more on that topic. But what happens when there’s money to be made overseas? This complicates things. All of the sudden, you’re faced with an interconnected global market instead of one isolated in America. You can save money by outsourcing labor to areas of the world where people will gladly work for less. You have to consider foreign policy and what’s allowed to be shipped across the borders of each nation. And you can’t ignore that more people out there might want to buy what you’re selling.

Part of a businessman’s job is to find out who wants his product. Only then will his effort be worthwhile. Unfortunately, one of the largest markets in the world just so happens to be under strict communist rule. China is overrun with state surveillance, policy indifferent to human rights, and all kinds of overbearing authoritarianism. Most of the population is hopelessly indoctrinated by the government and ignorant of their lack of rights. How do you market to a nation like that?

As it turns out, the only way to get to the Chinese people is by satisfying the Chinese government first. If you don’t, your product is subject to censorship or outright rejection. You lose out on all that potential profit. Businessmen don’t want that, so they compromise and tailor their product until it passes under the scrutiny of the state. It only makes sense when your goal is profit.

The Problem

What, if anything, can be done about this? Is it even a problem? In one sense, it is. We have an instinctual reaction whenever we see someone obviously forgoing their commitment to character for the sake of cold hard cash. We don’t like it when people “sell out.” Why is this? Because deep down, nearly everyone recognizes the value of integrity. We know there are truths we cannot abandon, history that must be respected, and principles we ought to live by.

Seeing a person we trust cast aside their integrity, ignore truth, deny history, and reveal a lack of principles is like being stabbed in the back. It feels wrong. They were supposed to stick to their guns. We trusted them and they’re now using and abusing our trust so they can maintain a high standard of living. It seems so hollow and soulless.

Yet that’s exactly what John Cena did. He repeated lies and bended the knee to a horrible government just to win over the people of China. Was it worth it? Here lies the crucial detail. Even with a global economy, the oppression of the Chinese government, and businessmen all too eager to appeal to their corruption, one bastion of freedom remains: the public opinion.

People’s Choice

Don’t get me wrong. I hate cancel culture. It’s a toxic machine of insane witch-hunting perpetuated by misinformation and exploited for political gain by social media companies. But ignoring that for just a moment, we have to consider the real-world implications of catering to a communist state. Sure, you get to share in the profits of the Chinese market, but at what cost? John Cena’s reputation has taken a sharp nosedive in America since last year. And remember, his actions weren’t rumor or hearsay. Everything about it was public. It was just announced that he would be starring in a new Looney Tunes movie, and already I’ve seen many people bring up his Fast & Furious incident.

This is what gives me hope. As long as we still have free markets where people have a say in who they give their business, businessmen will be forced to consider them in the products they create. Celebrities will have to be careful how they present themselves. If they make the choice to cater to communism, leaving truth and justice behind, they’ll eventually lose the respect and the money of free nations.

I know that sounds idealistic. In reality, there are plenty of Americans willing to put up with morally bankrupt actors so they can laugh at their favorite comedies in willfully ignorant bliss. But even this is not the end of the world. After all, capitalism isn’t supposed to measure and reward morality. Putting that kind of responsibility on human leaders would be disastrous. Instead, it’s supposed to balance between selfish greed and harmful corruption by letting the people choose who they support. Nobody is immune to the court of public opinion.

So if everything is basically operating as usual, what can we do? Well, firstly, we can boycott businesses we disagree with. Vote with your wallet. In enough numbers, angry laymen have the power to radically alter the market. The less we put up with people like Cena, the less we’ll see of them. But even more importantly, pay attention to your government. Watch the ballot for legislation infringing on free speech and then vote against it when it rears its ugly head. Refuse to believe everything your TV tells you. Look into what your government is doing so you can be an informed citizen. Arming yourself with the truth is the only way to see corruption coming. Don’t let America become the next China.

Leave a comment if you have thoughts about all this. Enter your email below if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Daniel Van Boom, “John Cena’s China apology: What you need to know,” CNET, May 26, 2021, https://www.cnet.com/news/john-cenas-apology-to-china-everything-you-need-to-know/

The Fundamental Difference Between Socialism and Capitalism

Two topics that rarely seem to collide nowadays are religion and economics. It seems Christians are content to separate “church life” from the world we live in every day. We may receive God’s Word on Sunday, but we receive whatever the world is feeding us the rest of the week. It’s all too easy to believe the TV and fall into whatever worldview fits our friend group the best.

But why do we do this? Why is it that so many Christians are content to view the world through the lens of the world rather than the lens of the Bible? I say we ought to apply God’s truth to all aspects of our lives and allow it to shape our worldview accordingly. Today, we’ll attempt to do exactly that regarding an important part of the conversation on macroeconomics.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.’ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:5, 9 (ESV)

The Problem of Evil

Everyone knows about the problem of evil, and I’m not speaking lightly. Literally everyone knows about the problem of evil. We’re surrounded by it every day. It’s in our very bones, slowly rotting us to death and aching beneath our skin. We know something is wrong. We know we aren’t what we should be. We know the world isn’t what it should be. We see it in war. We see it in homelessness and starvation. We see it in the greed and lust of humanity for money and power. We see it in the hatred between people groups. We see it in the abuse between a husband and a wife. We see it in ourselves in our selfishness, our carelessness, and our anger. What can be done about it?

Now, I don’t plan to answer that question today. It’d take a bit more time than either of us planned, I wager. Instead, let’s take this premise and apply it to another topic. What does the problem of evil mean for economics? That’s still a large question, but the idea is that it does matter. Evil affects every aspect of our lives. Surely it’s important when talking about our economy as well.

Capitalism & Socialism

Let’s take two economic systems and look at how they deal with the problem of evil. Note that I’m speaking very broadly here. This isn’t an economics class and I’m not an expert. This is philosophy class and your teacher needs to make a point.

Capitalism is known for greatly rewarding those who are ambitious and able to sell products or services to the masses. It also does a decent job of creating a fruitful society for those who just want to work for those people and take home a paycheck. It isn’t very favorable to those who are inactive in the market, as it’s centered on capital and trade between private parties. As such, the unemployed, broke, or disadvantaged can fall behind. The government usually focuses on enforcing law and order, fighting off outside threats, and maintaining things like currency, roads, and market competition. It’s historically the most successful economic system in the world. It promotes growth of economy and wealth of all citizens, though it does skew over time towards the rich and those with the most dominance in the market. We usually see it supplemented with social programs such as welfare and public services. Common criticisms include lack of care for the lower class, unfettered corporate greed, and unchecked profit motive leading to the abuse of the working class.

Socialism is known for taking power away from private parties and placing it in the hands of the government, though most realized forms of it utilize a pseudo-free market to a large extent. The government is generally in charge of the means of production and uses high taxes in order to provide goods and services to all members of society. It’s common to work for companies that are either integrated with the government or part of the government. This system rewards those who are in power in the government and attempts to treat everyone else as equals. This discourages ambition, but allows for the government to support the unemployed, broke, or disadvantaged with the money they make taxing the general populace. Sometimes the government uses its power and money to pursue social causes such as progressivism, feminism, or environmentalism. I think it’s safe to say this economic system has seen its fair share of historical failures, while also producing some successful outcomes when combined with a healthy dose of the free market, not to mention international support. Common criticisms include lack of motivation to innovate and produce wealth, unfettered corruption of the state, and unchecked wealth mismanagement leading to crashing economies and worthless currencies.

The Difference

The fundamental difference between capitalism and socialism is that socialism assumes man is basically good, while capitalism assumes man is basically evil. Only one of these is supported in the Bible.

Capitalism exploits the natural selfish desire to succeed and build wealth. It does this by allowing a free market to determine what rises to the top. Only the best (and most crafty) survive. It’s a terrifying, yet brilliant concept. Take the people who tend towards selfish ambition and put them to work for society by allowing them the space to work as hard as they want on whatever motivates them. Their success is determined by what the general populace wants. This usually leads to amazing leaps in technology and luxury. Just look at the rise of the smartphone. The only reason we have this tech today is because Apple decided to take the concept of a touchscreen phone and make it simple and marketable to everyday people. Their success in creating an appealing product led to a staple of modern life. Capitalism is effective at delivering new and exciting things while making the people behind them very rich. The two balances to this system are the market and the government. If a company does something reprehensible, they can be boycotted by the people or punished by the government. This keeps selfish ambition in check to some extent.

Socialism does not take this natural selfish desire into account. In fact, it willfully ignores it in favor of wishful thinking. Instead of creating a space for fierce competition to check itself, it tries its best to eliminate the chase for wealth by controlling the means of production for various industries, imposing high taxes on successful people, and eliminating some of the downsides of being lower class. The end result is that the most ambitious and successful people are active in the government (if they haven’t left for a capitalist country already). When you remove the profit motive, the only thing left to grasp is power. You see, socialism assumes that the state knows what’s best for the people. The state will provide for their needs. The state will restrict what is harmful. Thus, the state is given all the power. But this assumes the state is not corrupt. What is a government except a collection of people running a country? People are fallible and selfish. They will eventually turn to their own interests.

In capitalism, selfishness only works as long as you provide value to society. You will be abandoned and your profits reduced if you become unpopular with the masses. This cannot happen to a government because there’s nobody to compete with. There are no checks or balances. The government can hold a gun to your head and tell you to shut your mouth and get in line. They can take as much of your money as they want and use it to do whatever they want. The general populace has no say. It takes a coup or violent revolution to undo the effects of a tyrannical government. We’ve seen it happen time and time again throughout history. I think it’s safe to say market upsets are preferable to bloodshed and anarchy, but maybe that’s just me.

This is also the fundamental reason why government programs and services are usually stagnant, inefficient, and generally awful. Without a profit motive, there’s no reason to improve wait times at the DMV. There’s no reason for the USPS to stay out of debt. There’s no reason to fix the potholes all over Michigan. The government gets your money whether they use it to help you or not. This means they usually spend enough to keep you quiet, then take the rest for their own interests. Private companies only get your money when they’re actively creating value. They’re motivated to improve because competition is fierce and there’s profit up for grabs. This is why I lean libertarian when it comes to privatization of industry. Greedy businessmen always do better work than the government.

Now, you might say I’m being unfair here. Not every socialist state ends up in ruin. Not every capitalist society checks itself very well. That’s true. But the trends are unmistakable. Socialist countries that display success are inevitably using the free market in some fashion. They have to allow some aspects of capitalism in order to function properly. They’re usually smaller countries relying on outside help in regards to military power and innovation. Capitalist countries can struggle to keep corrupt businessmen in line, but this frequently goes hand in hand with government influence and corruption via subsidies, loopholes, and bribes. Keep the government smaller and you have less of these problems, though any government attracts corruption.

No matter what system of economics you use, society will never evolve into utopia. Both capitalism and socialism have major issues. My goal here isn’t to argue that capitalism is perfect. Only that it does a better job of taking selfish motives into account and harnessing them for the betterment of society rather than tyranny.

Man is Basically Evil

Let’s finish by taking a look at what the Bible has to say regarding evil.

“God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
Psalm 53:2-3 (ESV)

There are no exceptions. All of humanity is evil. If you ascribe to the Bible, this point cannot be argued. But what is evil? This verse gives us a clue by identifying those who do not understand and do not seek after God. What does this mean? We are all naturally inclined away from God. We don’t care to understand the mysteries of his nature. We seek to understand the world and how we can best exploit it for our personal gain. We see this in economics and we see it in our private sins.

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:22b-23 (ESV)

Sin is how we demonstrate our evil. We actively oppose God in our actions of selfishness and hatred. This is what condemns us. Even something as “innocent” as hurling an angry insult is out of alignment with God and is enough to justify damnation. Jesus makes this clear.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV)

This was, no doubt, a shock to many of the practicing Jews in Jesus’ day. They followed the letter of the law, seeking to live a life technically meeting all the requirements to be in good standing with God. What they missed was the heart motive. Hatred may not produce the same earthly effects as murder, but it is equally as evil.

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”
James 2:10 (ESV)

This might seem harsh, but it’s only right and just when we’re talking about a perfect and holy God. We have no right to stand on equal footing with our Creator, for we have all rejected him. Where does that leave us?

The Solution

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Psalm 118:22 (ESV)

As Jesus makes clear in Matthew 21, this verse is a prophecy referring to him. We have all rejected Christ, but he has become the cornerstone, the foundation, the rock. This thread is woven throughout the Bible. You can read more about it in 1 Peter 2. What it boils down to is that Jesus is our only salvation. We can only hope to find redemption through him. Rather than deny or ignore our sin, we ought to acknowledge it, repent from it, and throw ourselves at the feet of the Lord. He promises to make us whole.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9 (ESV)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 (ESV)

Leave a comment if you have thoughts about the nature of evil as it relates to economics. Enter your email below if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Could automation and wealth redistribution replace the 40-hour work week?

No. The answer is no. Let’s talk about that.

Last week, we discussed inflation and productivity in the workplace. Click here to read that post. Today, we’re continuing a series on the anti-work movement by talking about automation and wealth redistribution.

Automation

Something I’ve seen pop up time and time again in the anti-work community is the idea that automation is reducing the number of jobs, and that we might be able to automate pretty much everything at some point. This would free up a lot of people who were previously needed in the workforce, potentially leading to a society where people don’t have to work at all if they don’t want to. As you can probably tell, this train of logic is about as solid as paper mache. Let’s break it down.

The first point to tackle is automation. There are thousands of examples to draw on, but one that comes to mind is the lamplighter. We no longer need someone to go around town and light the lamps at the appropriate time each day. We now have an electrical grid that powers lights throughout our cities automatically. Does this mean we’ve eliminated the need for labor? You might say yes, at first. When the lights turn on, everything works and nobody needs to do anything, right? Wrong. Electric lights are machines. They break down and need repairing sometimes. They need power from a source in order to function. How is this done? With repairmen, electricians, and city leaders using taxpayer money to ensure local power plants are operational and feeding power to all the lamps at the right times. There are thousands of hardworking humans behind all of that infrastructure. By automating street lights, we haven’t removed labor at all. We’ve only shifted it into a more manageable and convenient form.

The Math Doesn’t Add Up

This brings to mind the first law of thermodynamics, which teaches us that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Much like energy, labor cannot be removed from a functional society, at least not without consequences. To remove labor removes the results of that labor. To replace the labor of a lamplighter with a fraction of labor across hundreds of engineers, maintenance workers, and politicians is not the same as removing it.

Therefore, the best automation can do is help us be more efficient with our labor. The industrial revolution has played a huge part in this. Instead of planting seed by hand, we use machines to do it very rapidly, for example. But this does not point to a future where our labor will be so efficient that it will disappear altogether. If anything, it reveals that our nation has grown rich and prosperous as a result of capitalism. After all, it takes many hours of difficult labor to create the machines that assemble the farm equipment that we use to plant seed. It also takes a lot of labor and valuable resources to fuel and maintain these machines. How on earth do we manage to pay for all of it? With our immense wealth, of course.

The Riches of Capitalism

One thing capitalism does very well is reward ingenuity with cold hard cash. Regardless of your opinion on trickle-down economics, the reality is that capitalism does lead to more prosperous nations overall. But that’s a topic for another post. My point is that the road to automation is paved with the gold of businessmen. Yet these are precisely the people the anti-work community wants to steal from in order to fund their utopia. They’re obsessed with revolting against the evil bourgeoisie and letting the government take care of everyone “equally” using their wealth. But is that feasible?

Surely, we don’t need the rich hoarding all their money away from us. If only we could take it from them and give it to the masses. We could live for a while on that, right? Well, that’s what the anti-work community seems to think. Let’s take a look at the numbers. Right now, the combined net worth of all American billionaires is about $5 trillion as of October 18, 2021.¹ If we liquidate and divide this money equally among every U.S. household (roughly 128 million), how much would each household receive? The answer is just under $40k, assuming it’s tax-free. This allows all of America to live modestly for a year or so. After that, the money is gone. And remember, we liquidated the net worth of all our billionaires to get that money. This means all companies, products, jobs, investments, and innovations they’re responsible for are gone. In the act of giving everyone a year off work, we would cripple our economy. It’s not realistic, feasible, or ethical on any level.

Conclusion

The anti-work community seems intent on taking full advantage of the automation afforded to them by capitalism while rejecting the system entirely and feeding all wealth into a common pool for everyone. They believe that this will lead to a society where wealth is distributed equally, everyone can have a modest standard of living, and the vast majority of jobs are automated by machines and robots. They think the future is sipping tea on their porch playing board games with their buddies, writing blog posts in the evenings, and sucking the government teat to pay their bills and buy groceries delivered by self-driving cars.

The reality is that wealth redistribution doesn’t work long-term, automation doesn’t eliminate the need for labor, and removing all incentive to work or create value for society will, as a matter of fact, reduce the jobs being done and the value being created in our society, leading to our standard of living plummeting into the far reaches of the earth.

Next week, we’ll be taking a step back and looking at what the real underlying reason might be for the anti-work movement’s recent popularity. Enter your email below if you want to be notified when that goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Chuck Collins, “Updates: Billionaire Wealth, U.S. Job Losses and Pandemic Profiteers,” Inequality.org, Institute for Policy Studies, October 18, 2021, https://inequality.org/great-divide/updates-billionaire-pandemic/.

Why inflation shouldn’t stop you from being a good steward for Christ

Last week, we talked about the power of the free market and why the anti-work community misses the point when it comes to fighting exploitation. Click here to read that post. Today, we’re continuing the series by looking at another of their most common arguments. They say inflation has caused the buying power of the U.S. dollar to plummet and wages haven’t risen enough to compensate. This means that many jobs no longer provide a “livable wage” for Americans. But is this true?

Inflation

Especially this year, Americans are feeling the effects of inflation and how easily it can get away from us. What happens when the price of milk and bread goes up, but you don’t get a raise? Your money, and in turn your job, are worth less and less. It can feel hopeless. But is that really what’s happening?

I decided to look into this for myself. Here’s what I found. The typical wage for a bank teller in 1944 was around $1.00 per hour or $160.00 per month.¹ Adjusting for inflation, how much should that job be worth today? The buying power of $1.00 in 1944 is roughly equivalent to $15.79 in 2021.² How much do bank tellers actually get paid right now? My wife worked as one up until this year. Her wages started around $15 per hour in her first month. By the time she switched jobs, she was making $16.70 per hour.

Now, I’m no economist. I’m sure there are examples of jobs with wages that don’t match what they were 70 years ago. But on the whole, inflation is not a sufficient explanation for your financial struggles. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe inflation is a problem. It’s a big problem, actually. But it’s not an excuse, or at least not a good one in this case. Your job probably pays you a fair wage. But just in case, you can always compare what you make to the average for your profession. There are plenty of websites out there to help you do this. Stop complaining on the internet if you want to see real change in your life. If you feel like you deserve a raise, ask for it. If you want a new job, go out and interview for it. We’ll talk more about this mentality in a minute. But first, we slay another pitiful dragon.

What About Productivity?

Another common argument in the anti-work community is that productivity has increased substantially more than compensation has in the last few decades. This would imply that workers deserve higher wages because they’re more efficient nowadays, which is separate from the effects of inflation. But this raises an important question. What is “productivity?”

Well, as it turns out, the most commonly cited analysis on this issue, done by the Economic Policy Institute, defines for us what is meant by productivity. It says, “Productivity measures how much total economywide income is generated (i.e., for workers, business owners, landlords, and everybody else together) in an average hour of work.”³ This means we are not measuring efficiency of labor to produce product, number of tasks completed per hour, quality of service, or any other metric we might commonly think of when presented with the idea of being productive at our jobs. No, instead, the analysis is specifically talking about total income per hour across the board. I’m sure you can see how the term “productivity” might easily be misinterpreted by morons on the internet. Now that we have that clear, let’s take a look at the graph everyone loves to talk about.

At face value, this graph seems to show that total income per hour (productivity) has climbed steadily, while the typical worker’s compensation has stagnated. I’ve explained the first variable. Now we ought to look at the second variable, which is defined as “the average compensation (wages and benefits) of production and nonsupervisory workers.”⁴ By EPI’s own admission, this only accounts for the lowest paid 80% of the U.S. workforce. Already, we’re comparing apples to oranges. We’re not discussing the average worker. We’re discussing the average worker in the bottom 80%. It’s common knowledge that supervisory positions are paid significantly more than lower positions. That’s just how the job market works. It’s valuable to be able to manage teams efficiently. Removing these workers from the equation skews the results quite a bit, all in the name of representing “the common man.”

And that right there is the problem. This graph is frequently presented as representing how unfair the system is, such that more productive workers are not rewarded with higher wages as they should be. It’s designed to make the reader bolt upright and exclaim, “How dare they!” But it’s a lie. It’s not showing an increase in the work ethic of individual employees. It’s showing an increase in income throughout our economy. It’s not showing a stagnating wage for your average American. It’s showing that compensation is shifting in favor of supervisory positions. Unfortunately for EPI, honest data gets you a very boring graph rather than one that’s useful for pushing an agenda.

Another significant problem with this graph is that productivity is calculated using NDP (Net Domestic Product) while compensation is calculated using CPI (Consumer Price Index).⁵ In short, this is another case of comparing apples to oranges, a deliberate attempt to widen the gap artificially. Scott Sumner, an economics professor, says it better than I can. Read his article on the topic here.

“This is a pay/productivity gap being invented by using the slowly moving price index (NDP, which is similar to the PCE) to make worker productivity look better, and the faster moving price index (CPI) to make real wages look lower. That’s not kosher. You need to use the same type of index for both lines on the graph.”⁶

As far as I’m concerned, this is the final nail in the coffin. The argument that we’re all working harder than ever for less than ever is flat out wrong and needs to die. The anti-work community would do well to stop perpetuating it if they want to be taken seriously. Journalists should do better research before highlighting this rubbish as often as they have. Thankfully, there are some out there who have set the record straight.

One thing the data is clear on is that income inequality is growing. But this isn’t anything new. It tends to happen in all economies, not just capitalist ones. But this is a completely different topic for another day. For now, I’ll leave it at that.

What Then Shall We Do?

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the conversation surrounding income, inflation, and value of labor. How all these factors truly affect people is difficult to determine, even for experts. I don’t claim to understand it completely, but my research has convinced me that, if nothing else, inflation and the so-called “productivity gap” are poor excuses for financial woes in modern America. Stop using them as a scapegoat and take responsibility for the resources and time you’ve been given.

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)

Your decisions in spending habits, assertiveness at work, and standard of living are infinitely more impactful than any campaign in the streets to raise the minimum wage to outrageous levels. The harsh reality is that our economy adjusts for inflation out of necessity. As money decreases in value, the price for labor, goods, and services rises. That’s just how the market works. Could we fix things someday? Who knows? For now, focus on using what you have to honor the Lord as best you can. Be a wise steward. Remember the parable of the talents.

“And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'”
Matthew 25:20-21 (ESV)

Trust me, you don’t want to find yourself, a privileged American, before the almighty God shuffling your feet, admitting you failed to use your resources for the kingdom because inflation was scary. What a sorry excuse for a servant of the Most High.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

Whether it’s your time, money, or effort, it’s not your own. It belongs to the one who purchased you on the cross. Spend your time studying the Word, supporting your church, and reaching out to those who are lost. Use your skills and labor likewise, spreading the truth and helping those around you. Finally, be generous with the money God gives you, knowing you are building up for yourself treasure in heaven, where inflation does not erode value and the government does not tax.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)

Next week, we’ll continue our discussion of the anti-work movement. Enter your email if you want to be notified when the next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

The Regional War Labor Boards, Manuel of Going Wage Rates (Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1944), 175.
“$1 in 1944 → 2021,” Inflation Calculator, Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance. Accessed December 14th, 2021. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1944?amount=1.
“The Productivity–Pay Gap,” Economic Policy Institute. Accessed December 26, 2021. https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/.
Ibid.
Josh Bivens and Lawrence Mishel, “Understanding the Historic Divergence Between Productivity and a Typical Worker’s Pay,” Economic Policy Institute, September 2, 2015. https://www.epi.org/publication/understanding-the-historic-divergence-between-productivity-and-a-typical-workers-pay-why-it-matters-and-why-its-real/
Scott Sumner, “Pay/productivity gap graphs are nonsense,” TheMoneyIllusion, September 11th, 2015. https://www.themoneyillusion.com/payproductivity-gap-graphs-are-nonsense/

What can you do when your employer exploits you?

Last week, we talked about the emerging anti-work movement and why it contradicts both common sense and the Bible. Click here to read that post. Today, we’re continuing the series by tackling one of their most significant grievances: corporate exploitation.

Human Decency

The entire point of a business is to make money. Nobody wants to work for free (least of all the anti-work folks). This applies to business owners as much as it does to employees. But when greed or a hopelessly large infrastructure comes into play, individual humans are easily forgotten. It’s no secret that large companies tend to lose sight of their lower level employees on the path to success. The focus on cash flow seems to increase as a business grows, while the focus on quality service to customers and fair treatment of workers seems to fade. What you end up with is a lot of very successful corporations pinching pennies and squeezing every last drop out of their workforce to ensure they never fall behind the competition.

I sympathize greatly with those who have suffered under abusive bosses, bad work conditions, or exploitative companies. More and more stories are coming to the surface about these problems, and I’m glad the word is getting out. If companies treat their employees in a manner that isn’t in accordance with the law, the government should put a stop to it. But you shouldn’t count on the government to fix everything. They’re pretty bad at it, actually. Instead, you should let these companies know where you stand by using the buying power of your wallet and your time. You see, I’m a supporter of the free market, and despite what you’ll hear from anti-work folks, it’s key to a balanced economy where worker rights are taken seriously.

The Power Dynamic

The free market works by allowing choice. I get to choose to work for myself or someone else. Business owners get to choose who to hire and how to treat them. The beauty of this is that plenty of problems solve themselves. The uncomfortable part is that this can cause some swings in the economy.

Let’s take a look at the recent Kellogg’s situation. About 1,400 workers went on strike while their union negotiated with the company. A deal was not reached, so Kellogg’s stated they would plan to hire replacements for workers who went on strike. This created enormous backlash in the public, resulting in people spamming their hiring website with fake applications and eventually crashing it.¹ The governor of Nebraska and President Biden spoke out against Kellogg’s actions and encouraged further negotiations.² On the anti-work subreddit, people called for a boycott of Kellogg’s. One user found these stickers on cereal they had delivered to their home.

Kellogg’s workers were fed up, but not enough to quit.

Eventually, Kellogg’s agreed to resume negotiations and a deal was reached that provided better wages and benefits to employees.³ This is the free market at work. When someone doesn’t like what they are paid, they can leave their job. If enough people threaten to leave, they can use that leverage to demand higher wages. If negotiations fail, they can spread the word about how bad it is to work at Kellogg’s. If that message gets out and enough people refuse to work for them or buy their products, Kellogg’s is forced to raise wages or suffer huge financial losses.

This is all well and good. Most people cheer for the common man and his struggle against the rich jerks exploiting him. But the truth is that the free market works both ways, and that’s a good thing. When people are willing to work for a lower wage, Kellogg’s can offer a lower wage. When people want to work for them, Kellogg’s has the power to negotiate in their own favor when dealing with unions. When Kellogg’s doesn’t feel like a deal is worth it, they can refuse and simply hire more workers. When their current workers are angrily slapping stickers on cereal boxes, but still showing up to work for a low wage, Kellogg’s can ignore them.

Why is this a good thing? Because it’s what allows people to become so successful in America while simultaneously keeping them in check, to an extent. Insofar as people are paying attention, they have a lot of influence over the market. The power dynamic between employers and employees is not intrinsically unfair. Now, I understand frustration with government subsidies and loans to businesses, among other things that mess with the market. They prop things up artificially and it’s not healthy in the long term. If a company is failing or a product is rising in price, I say let it happen. That’s how the market is supposed to work.

Misguided Authoritarianism

At the end of the day, I have no problem with the anti-work movement encouraging people to negotiate for higher pay, leave exploitative jobs, or boycott shady businesses. I think it’s important for everyone to be aware of the power they have in the market and to wield it appropriately. My concern is that, for a large portion of them, this isn’t enough. They want the government to raise the minimum wage to an absurd level (which is another example of artificially propping up the economy). They encourage each other to lie to their employers. Strangest of all, they are somehow convinced that the very system giving them power is the cause of all their problems.

Ah yes, capitalism is to blame for my poor choices.

This is a meme from the anti-work subreddit. It’s one of the most foolish and backwards arguments you’ll find there. A movement taking full advantage of the free market wants nothing more than to tear it down. They’ve fallen head over heels for the communist fantasy of the lower class rising up and overthrowing capitalism so they can curb stomp all the evil CEOs. They don’t just want fair wages, they want free money. They don’t just dislike rich people, they want to violently steal from them. They don’t just want better benefits, t hey want to be free from obligations they agreed to.

But we’ll get to all this in future posts. For now, we ought to keep in mind just how significant our role is in a capitalist society where trade is king. We have the power to demand better jobs through unions and boycotts. We have the power to alter entire industries by spending our time and money elsewhere. We ultimately have the power to influence the direction of our country’s economy. And as Uncle Ben once said, with great power comes great responsibility.

Next week, we’ll talk about why inflation isn’t as big of a problem as you might think (yes, really). Enter your email below if you want to be notified when that goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Jonathan Franklin, “Redditors are spamming Kellogg’s job portal in solidarity with its striking workers,” NPR, December 10th, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/12/10/1063112624/redditors-spam-kelloggs-job-portal-striking-workers-union (accessed December 16th, 2021).
Corinne Moore, “Kellogg’s facing political pressure to resume contract talks,” Wood TV, December 14th, 2021, https://www.woodtv.com/news/national/kelloggs-facing-political-pressure-to-resume-contract-talks/, (accessed December 16th, 2021).
Scott Neuman, “Kellogg’s union members ratify a new contract, ending a nearly 3-month strike,” NPR, December 21st, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066326419/kelloggs-union-members-ratify-a-new-contract-ending-a-nearly-3-month-strike, (accessed December 21st, 2021)