Occupy Wall Street and the 1%. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The aforementioned movements, terms and people all entered the public consciousness over the past decade. I’m not an expert on any of them. I’ve mostly read about OWS and spent a little time at Zuccotti Park in late 2011 to hear from the protesters first hand. I have never (and likely will never) cast a vote for BS or AOC. As the author James Mumford might say, “I don’t like the packages they offer.”
However, I am reasonably well informed on the primary matter that animates all of them: the gap between the haves and have nots. Of course, this gap that has always been there, and will be there long after myself or anyone reading this has passed. Jesus Himself seems to suggest that the poor will always be among us. Implicit in the economic system we all tacitly bought into is that capitalism and free markets disproportionately reward winners. And its most ardent apologists claim (with good reason) that it improves the lots of the least of these better than any other approach.
Yet at this moment, several months into the CV-19 pandemic that grips our city and nation overall, income and wealth inequality feels more pressing than ever. The negative health shock from the virus and the associated economic shock stemming from our policy response seems to weigh most heavily on the most vulnerable among us. Several months ago, I would often hear statements like, “We’re all in this together- CV-19 does not discriminate by race or socioeconomic status”. As we sit here on Memorial Day weekend, that ruse has been exposed.
If you are economically poor in NYC, CV-19 hits harder along every possible dimension. Poor people have many more family members living in tight spaces, which makes the virus easier to transmit. Rich people escape to second homes in the suburbs of NYC with lots of open spaces. Rich people have jobs that make working from home feasible with comparatively less disruption to their economic opportunity set. Poor folk work in retail or restaurants- many of which have been completely shut down over the past several months. While the school closings and online learning has been a challenge for every parent, rich folks have high speed internet access and multiple tablets and laptops to facilitate learning. Poor people have spotty internet and a few devices are shared among more kids.
Finally, by design the Paycheck Protection Program and stimulus payments from the CAREs Act are inaccessible to the many undocumented workers who are paid cash off the books. Regardless of where one stands politically on this issue, the sight of increased numbers of restaurant and retail workers joining the ranks of the homeless should break all of our hearts. These individuals are more visible than ever around Manhattan, and listening to their stories about how this latest episode pushed them over the edge will make even the most ardent supporters of strong borders weep. A couple weeks ago, I saw a man hunched over behind some ConEd construction materials, and I approached him because he appeared to be hurt. It turns out he was defecating since all the public bathrooms in the parks were closed, and when my eyes met his, it was too late to turn away. He cussed me out in anger and shame as I caught him in a completely undignified position. I gave him the privacy to finish, and approached him after he completed his business with a bottle of water and some cash to indicate that I come in peace. He softened at my gesture, and to hear him express how defeated he feels at this moment allowed the fullness of his humanity into our interaction. The fellow’s name is Sal.
Meanwhile, the situation among the asset owning class becomes increasingly disconnected to these realities. As of this writing, the stock prices of technology giants- Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, etc- are all increasing above their pre-CV19 levels as the investor class rightfully expects all of these behemoths to emerge in an even better position vis-a-vis their competition in the post-CV19 world. That’s all fine and good, but the most disturbing thing about the policies that this administration and Federal Reserve are implementing is how they primarily support the interests of capital owners. The details go beyond the scope of this post, but it is fair to say that the Federal Reserve is committing to printing dollars to bail out asset owners whose poor investment decisions should result in significant losses. This would be the natural result of a truly “free market”. But the federal government is once again picking winners and losers in a manner that fundamentally contradicts first principles of the American social contract. IMO, this is the greatest heist of all time, and it is happening in plain sight. Note, this is related to but goes far beyond the recent bailouts of the airlines, and the bailouts of the banks during the financial crisis of 2008. I am reminded of the signs I saw held by OWS protesters in Zuccotti Park asking “Where’s my bailout?”
These actions should make us sick regardless of our political persuasion. For the record, these are policies that have been going on for decades- they began under Bush 2, were accelerated under Obama, and are in overdrive under Trump. This has nothing to do with Left/Right, Blue/Red, Democrat/Republican- it is purely about the haves and have nots.
All this reminds me of a common refrain stated in the Scriptures: “How long, oh Lord?” How long can all this go on? But a related question is, “What can be done? What can we do?” A natural place for the fortunate among us is to ponder how we can allocate more of our financial resources towards those organizations and persons who are on the front lines serving the least of these. Of course, I say yes and amen to this. At the same time, I am becoming increasingly aware of the basic truth that there are some things that money cannot buy. Exhibit A would be the $100 million donation that Facebook founder Zuckerberg made to the Newark school system, which was matched dollar for dollar by other wealthy donors. It was announced with much fanfare on the Oprah Winfrey show- the ultimate “Instagram moment” made years before the company that would one day purchase this IG platform. A total of $200 million dollars was placed in a foundation to revamp the school system, but a simple google search will fill your screen with articles about what was accomplished (TL;DR: Not much).
At its best, the Church is a powerful volunteer organization that possesses something that money can’t buy: a people that have been ruined by the unconditional love of the Creator, and compelled by a desire and willingness to be obedient to the radical demands of our Savior. I witnessed this most powerfully during my time serving inmates in Rikers Island. I was part of a motley crew from various segments of the faith community committed to teaching these men everything from the basics of financial management, debating skills, how to father while on the inside, and of course, introducing (or re-introducing) them to life with Jesus. We may not have been experts or even particularly credentialed in our fields, but I do believe that being motivated by the Love of TheOneTrueKing made all the difference.
As the financial and human resources that we might normally deploy towards producing in-person gatherings have been disrupted for the foreseeable future, my mind begins to imagine the possibilities of redirecting this energy towards Jesus’ commands in Matthew 25 regarding how we serve the “have nots.” There is a quote attributed to the founder of the Vineyard movement that goes something like this:
“We’ve turned an army into an audience”
If the legacy of CV-19 for the Church is that we rediscover what it means to be the most powerful and effective army of volunteers serving the least of these, then I dare say that this pandemic would not have been in vain. Something as redemptive as this would have the fingerprints of Jesus all over it, and would be an undeniable signal to those far from Him that the Kingdom of God is indeed at hand.
Come Holy Spirit.
