Why I Am Conservative - Economics

I find it odd that issues surrounding macroeconomics divide Christians.  The Christian left seems primarily concerned with social justice issues and the disparity between rich and poor and the Christian "right" seems more concerned with personal responsibility and limited government.  To be clear, neither side thinks the poor should be ignored, the question is how to best manage a national and global economy - debates about helping the poor are about the balance between government program and private charity and that would require a different post.

For me, the matters related to economy and government are fairly simple.  But I need to be clear that I do not believe there is a prescribed economic system in the Bible.  The Old Testament deals with Jews under a theocracy, the New Testament deals with Jews and Christians living under Roman rule. Neither is directly parallel to being citizens of a constitutional democratic republic.  Theories about Capitalism, socialism, Marxism, had not been developed.  Neither Adam Smith nor John Maynard Keynes  nor Milton Friedman were around in the 10th century B.C.  (More)

We are given a few broad principles in scripture. We're told to pay our taxes (at least twice in the NT).   Tax collectors are told to collect honestly.  We're told that debt is a bad thing.   We're told to be wise.  That's about it.  Yes, we are told to care for the poor, but what role a Federal government should play is hardly a developed notion.

So economic conservatism is not primarily a matter of Biblical commands.  It is more subtle.  And for me certain things are obvious.

First, debt.  Our fiscal political system is beyond broken - it is completely wrecked - totaled.  According to the US Debt Clock website, our leaders in Washington have run up a debt that is currently approaching 15.8 trillion dollars.   That amounts to a personal debt of over $50,000 per citizen.  And since we are reaching a point where only half of citizens actually pay taxes, the actual debt per taxpayer is estimated at over $138,000.  This is not only immoral, it is unsustainable.  We now have $119 trillion in unfunded liabilities for things like Social Security and Medicaid.   We are a slow motion train wreck as I write.

Democrats have controlled congress for the last three years.   In three years they have failed to pass a budget.  That is not only irresponsible, it is illegal.   Yet here we are.  Twice our president has proposed budgets that no one in congress voted for, including those in his own party.  And the only thing I have heard from the political  left with regard to economics for at least 25 years is that conservatives are "for the rich" and "against the poor and middle class".  Exactly how is running up a bill of $50,000 per person helping the poor or middle class?   (Yes, republicans share in the guilt) 

Second, and related to the first, government programs tend to be inefficient and wasteful.  And the farther the government agency is from the location of the constituency, the more wasteful it is.  A dollar given to any government program from military to transportation to the social safety net, goes to pay for salaries, office space, logistics, technology, printing, postage, and more.  Then what remains may actually get returned to a local need.  And on top of that, because I believe in human corruptibility, I am neither shocked nor surprised to hear of fraud, embezzlement, political payoffs and other corruption in big government agencies.

If I have a choice between spending a dollar to directly help an individual or an organization in my own community vs sending a dollar to some unseen bureaucracy in Washington DC, I prefer to keep my money local.  Local solutions usually trump federal solutions.  There are exceptions.  Yes, military spending is wasteful.  But we can't have 50 different state armies.  There are benefits to a federal highway program.

Still, those closest to most problems can usually apply solutions more effectively.  So I am for reducing the size of federal government and returning more power to local and State governments for no more complicated reason than efficiency.

Third, I am for capitalism.  Though it is not a perfect system, if it is tempered by the moral framework of Judeo-Christian values (which are eroding rapidly), it creates incentive toward personal responsibility.  As a rule, those who create products or services generally create things others need or desire - whether that be food, shelter, clothing, transportation, technology, home appliances, and on and on and on.   It takes a particular mindset and temperament to be an entrepreneur, but generally folks who create businesses add something positive to society and those who purchase products or services do so because the product or service is of value to a customer.  For  those who are not entrepreneurs, the fact is that entrepreneurs, if successful, need help - and they hire others - jobs are created.  The constant drumbeat of the left to increase taxes on corporations is counterproductive.  Increased personal income in the pockets of taxpayers increases tax revenue without raising a tax rate.  Smothering business depresses tax revenue.

Yes, there is corruption in the private sector.  But we have laws that deal with fraud, monopolies, ponzi shemes and other abuses of the system.  Still, the system itself works because most everyone benefits.  And business people are often able to give large sums of cash to local charities, reducing the dependence on the social safety net.  We currently have 46 million on food stamps and 22 million unemployed.  Far better if more of those have jobs.

It has been said that the left wants everyone to get an equal slice of the pie while the capitalist wants to make more pie.  One view is to divide up a limited pot - to ration what is there which requires centralized control and thus erodes freedom.  The other view is to reward innovation and creativity to increase quality of life for as many as possible - which requires unleashing personal freedom.

I've lived through the administrations of Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush 2 and now Obama.   Without question the Carter years and the Obama years have been among the worst for unemployment and the downgrading of personal income, not only for the poor but for the middle class and eventually even the wealthy.  It was reported by an annual study of a Boston Consulting group that the number of millionaires in US shrunk by 2.5% last year.  I'm hoping for change in November, but I honestly fear we may already be too far over the edge to prevent a fiscal catastrophe no matter who gets elected. 

None of these reasons for being a conservative can be directly linked to biblical commandments.  It is more common sense, but it is supportable by broad principles of responsibility, integrity, a measure of faith and good sense.  I left the Democratic heritage of my parents during Reagan's first term and have never looked back.  But it is not because I equate being a Christian with being a Republican as the Christian left and progressives like to constantly imply.  It's because I want to support ideas that actually work.