I have been in the church for a long time, so my view of equity may be too far afield for the secular world and our capitalist culture, but if we believe that we are good people, we should be guided by principles that, if not moral, are at least ethical. I firmly believe that you don’t have to believe in God to be good. I also know that there are lots of people who proclaim their faith in a loving and just God who are not all that good. I only know this by their words and actions, not their mistakes and flaws. While we all should be trying to become better humans with age, we are also flawed and we mess up. It’s just human nature.
That said, I have been watching, with some alarm, the strike that has been going on among people who work in the film and television industry. It has escalated recently; actors have joined in and have raised the stakes. This standoff is getting ugly, and a lot of hard-working people will be facing challenging, even desperate times. According to Vanity Fair, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” one source told the trade. The ultrawealthy leadership plans to “bleed them out”. This level of vitriol and hubris is deeply concerning, considering that the 10 top CEOs in the trade make between $180-500 million each. Yes – half a billion dollars. With a B.
Over the years, there have been times I have gone 2 or 3 years without a raise so my staff could get a small increase. After 2 years, I would ask for something small, like another Sunday off or extra education time, which the church was happy to give to me. It wasn’t that my congregation was being cheap; it was that we rely on the generosity of our members, and sometimes they aren’t able to give as much as we need. This has improved over the years, but there are still times when things can be tight. For me, as the pastor, it is my responsibility to make sure our employees get fair compensation. these folks work hard, even though the jobs are part-time, and they deserve fair compensation. As do I. Churches, too often, do ministry on the back of their staff, and that isn’t fair. It seems that media corporations do the same.
It is not just greedy behavior here – it is bad leadership. It is immoral. It is unethical. It is people who make enough money in one year to cover the costs of the union’s demands saying let them eat cake. This isn’t what they make in a lifetime; it’s in a year. And while I don’t know all the details, I can see pretty plainly that this is on more example of the powerful taking advantage of the people who have made them wealthy. To resue my favorite Scrooge quote, “Then let them die and decrease the surplus population!” This is not capitalism; this is not the marking making adjustments. This is pure greed, something God condemns in every way. I hope those CEOs who are saving their pennies for their fourth home or third jet are prepared to meet their maker. It might get ugly.
Prayer – Keep us from our lesser angels, God of the oppressed, so that our lives might be lived with generosity and fairness. Amen.