Sentamu’s done it again -a particularly germane comment on our present economic crisis that merits a post in its own right:
“the President of the United States recently announced a $700 billion bailout plans for banks and financial institutions. One of the ironies about this financial crisis is that it makes action on poverty look utterly achievable. It would cost $5 billion to save six million children's lives. World leaders could find 140 times that amount for the banking system in a week. How can they now tell us that action for the poorest on the planet is too expensive?"
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1 comment:
Totally agree. Whilst not bailing out the financial services companies would place our whole system and futures (jobs, pensions, houses etc etc) in jeopardy (though many would say that that may be a good thing for humanity/the kingdom in the long run) I do feel very strange about the fact that it is the greed induced perpetrators of this mess who are getting the help whilst our societies and the worlds poorest victims get nothing. $700 billion could change this planet's future for ever if it went to the right places but it would be the developed west that found the balances equaled/lost out relative to our current situation of privilege and power (and that don't get you economic growth=elected).
I like Sentamu's reasoning but realistically this makes action on debt/poverty less likely not more -unless there was a ground swell of opinion where the politicians believed that the voters cared more about global poverty than their own tax bills and property prices.
How do we use this time to speak up and live out for the Kingdom of God - is it micro responses or political lobbying or both or something else???
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