According to Globalrichlist.org…
$1300.00 per year would place you in the top 50.11% of
income earners in the world.
$13,000.00 would place you in the top 11.62%
$20,000.00 would place you in the top 3.65%
$75,000.00 would place you in the top .11% (only 6,645,708
people in the world are wealthier)
$150,000.00 top .06% (only 3,457.946 are wealthier)
$174,000.00 (Pay for one Congressmen) 0.05% (only 3,006,534 are wealthier)
$500,000.00 0.02% (only 1,111,734 are wealthier)
$900,000.00 0.01%
(only 638,859 are wealthier)
Finally, a minister who will
confront our wealth! In the Episcopal
Church, the practice is for the priest to preach the sermon on the Old
Testament, New Testament or Gospel reading for that particular day. On this Sunday, October 11, 2015, Mark 10:17-31 is the tract
from the Gospel. In this reading, Jesus
confronts what is perhaps the greatest challenge to Christians in the United
States. A rich man famously asks Jesus, “What
must I do to inherit eternal life?" and Jesus eventually replies, “…go,
sell what you own, and give the money to the poor….” I
have heard this story on numerous Sundays and usually left disappointed that
the person giving the Sermon would take a timid approach to this lesson if he
or she would talk about it at all. On this particular Sunday,
10/11/15, the Reverend Corky Carlisle points out that everyone in this
congregation is wealthy. One could feel
a sense of unease in the congregation.
He cites globalrichlist.com
where data on a citizen of the world who makes $1,300.00 reveals this person to
be among the top 50.11% globally. He
goes on to state that $13,000.00 a year puts a global citizen in the top 12%. The congregation, me included, squirms. Fascinated, I go to this website later in the
day and find that $20,000.00 a year would be in the top 4%. An individual making $174,000.00, equal to
that of a member of the US Congress, would be in the top 0.05%.
The topic of individual wealth disturbs most of us in the
US because our stubborn “pursuit of happiness” has financial ramifications that
are at the core of our “exceptionalism.”
In this country, median household income as cited by the U.S. Census Bureau was $51,000.00 in
2014(in the top 0.29% in the world according to globalrichlist.com). Yes,
many would argue that the cost of living and life style expectations adjust the
definition of poverty. Given the political focus on income inequality and the
astronomical incomes of those in the “top 1%” in the United States, it seemingly
makes annual global income more abstract and irrelevant to the economic
circumstances in this country. Such
data also provides political fodder for those decrying “class warfare” when
people dare question the salaries of executives or investment bankers as
opposed to basic laborers. “People are
doing fine in the U.S.,” some might argue.
Most have cars, TVs, appliances etc.
In his New York Times op-ed. piece, “The Most Important Thing, and It’s Almost a Secret”, William Kristoff writes that the world has actually witnessed a dramatic
fall in poverty and birth rates. He uses
data from http://iresearch.worldbank.org to argue that there is actually
hope in a world where political factions use income inequality to divide us
while presenting poverty as intractable.
However, Kristoff uses dramatic worldwide reductions in extreme poverty,
those earning under $1.25 per day (That would be $456.25 per annum which, being
so low, I could not get to register on the globalrichlist.com
calculator), as his evidence that poverty is declining and income inequality is
lessening. Although Kristoff’s premise
seems hopeful his treatise does not begin to address impoverished living
conditions of those who make $1,300.00 per year or the stressors this places on the world at large. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an individual
in this country under 65 who makes $12,316.00 is impoverished (the top 14%
worldwide according to globalrichlist.com).
I would dare say that the vast
majority of those sitting in the congregation on this Sunday could not
comprehend living on $12,000.00 per year. $1300.00 per year would be unconscionable. This simply illustrates that poverty is relative and despite Kristoff's claims, the reduction in extreme poverty might not indicate a potential eradication of financial want.
Some would
use U.S. poverty statistics, when compared to the rest of the world, as proof that
income inequality is merely a phrase to exaggerate the state of the poor in this country. However, I would argue that the
numbers cited above actually exacerbate the economic realities we face when
addressing quality of life and global resource management. While Kristoff acknowledges that things are
tough for many in our world, he argues that the reduction in severe poverty is
evidence that the condition of humankind is improving. What he does not address is that those of us
with wealth refuse to see the global ramifications of continued hoarding of
resources. When just over 3,000,000 individuals around the world earn over $174,000.00 while 3.5
billion make less than $1300.00 per year the concept of inequality becomes a
profound understatement.
Jesus’
teaching about wealth challenges the current form of global capitalism at its
core. The Reverend Carlisle made this
very clear. Our ongoing self-denial in
regard to obscene abundance in a world where millions of individuals die of
starvation promotes a global socio-economic dystopia. In this lesson from Mark Jesus makes two
very profound points: First, there are
more important things in this world than individual wealth and two, God can
forgive the human incapacity to let go of material possessions. Moreover, the call for the rich man to let it
all go might just mean that we have an obligation to take action before
expecting God to forgive our materialistic insecurity.
Although
statistics show me to be very wealthy, I allow the cultural mythology of
American consumerism to make me feel financially insecure. We have so much and we tell ourselves it is
never enough. It is in our cultural DNA
to feel inadequate through a commercial narrative that hammers this home
through every form of media. This
ironically causes us to retreat to ourselves while protecting our property from
others. This profoundly drives home
Jesus’ claim that …”it is easier for a camel to move through the eye of a
needle.” I then take his statement that “in
God all things are possible” as a salve to forgive my wanton materialism as a
rationalization for my current economic state. In other words I hope William Kristoff's reading of the global economic tea leaves is God pushing me through that needle's eye.
On my 8 mile
journey to and from work I witness most socio-economic levels evident in our
country, from homelessness to profound wealth, while my comfortable car keeps
me apart from interaction. Perhaps the
greatest consequence of our economic strata is our profound isolation caused by
misappropriated goods and resources.
Jesus calls the rich man to engage and Mark tells us he walked
away. Every day I drive to and from
work Jesus calls me to engage and, too often, I walk away.