The next time Uber-Conservative, Trickle-down advocate Paul Ryan, complains about the "Economics of Envy" -- someone should ask him, if THIS is what he's talking about ...
Matthew 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
Footnotes:
[a] A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.
Nice work if you can get it, eh?
What other WWJD "Unemployment" morals can we draw from this under-appreciated story?
1) JC apparently supports Full Employment, the way anyone and everyone was hired.
2) JC apparently supports a Full-Time Living Wage, the way that everyone who was hired, was paid a generous wage. No Questions asked.
3) JC apparently does NOT support Trickle Down Incentives to get the Rich Landowners to hire. They should just Do So, from the surplus of their own Generosity.
Surprise, surprise. I wonder what Rep 'Money-Changer' Ryan has to say about those Rich should Help Everyone lessons?
Well, I can hear Paul Ryan's critique now:
Those were different times. They didn't have the sophisticated capitalistic system we have today. They didn't have the same 'standard of living', nor the unbearable Tax-burdens on the wealthy -- THAT we have today.
How in the world, are we supposed to fund that 'Full Employment' theme, being plainly discussed in that quaint historic story -- in Today's dog-eat-dog world? Huh?
Well, once again we should ask our Conservative complainers, WWJD:
Luke 20
Taxes for Caesar
20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Now tell us -- is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
26 So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.
If only hypocritical Republicans could learn such "economic" lessons.
Could learn to what it means to be silent ... and to just help others in need.
Instead of only talking about it.