http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf?/businessstory/wage05.html New Orleans voters passed a city charter change increasing the minimum wage in New Orleans and indexing it to inflation. Christians and other legitimately concerned with poverty should back such a change in Houston. The additional money for the working poor will allow them to pay for child care, perhaps buy health insurance and will actually save tax dollars as it will decrease the food stamps the working poor receive. Raising the minimum wage modestly has been shown to have little effect on employment rates, but quite an effect on the poverty rate. Many of the mimimum wage workers are employed by corporate giants in the fast food, nursing home and janitorial industries.
In your opinion, shouldn't Buddhists, Hindu, Jews, Muslims and atheists back the plan as well? Why single out Christianity?
glynch -- i assume you don't want my faith to be part of my feelings on government policy when it comes to issues like prayer in schools, abortion, etc....but you welcome it in this issue, huh? again...i don't think government mandated redistribution of wealth and Christian charity even resemble one another.
Madmax, I was raised in the Catholic Christian tradition. They believe that there is no contradiction between Christian charity and a progressive income tax enacted by political democracy. In fact Christianity would urge you to support it, recognizing that this is the most effective way to generate the large requried sums to have effective christian charity. Many Christians prior to the relatively new phenomenon of the 1970's of the Christian Right and the Moral Majority started by religious politicos like Pat Robertson did support government aid to the poor. It is only with the new melding of conservative politics and Christianity that Chrisitan charity to the poor and government aid to the poor were viewed as in opposition. Next thing you'll be giving me bible quotes to "prove" that taxation is non bibiblical or somesuch.
Interesting statement. Would you say that they're incompatible, or that "Christian charity" simply doesn't necessitate gmrw? Trying to figure out your position before I disagree with you
Don't know the scripture reference off hand, but somewhere in the Gospel's Jesus says something like, "Give unto to Caesar what is Caesar's..."
