Christianomics: A blog on economics, politics, and law

There is a growing lament among centrists and moderates that everything has become political (1). In Luke 11:17 Jesus says, “Every Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” And boy is America divided. From sports, to beans. Ice cream to pillows, politics (and the strife that it brings) seems to have invaded every aspect of our lives.(2) But how did we get here? The latest kerfuffle of the MLB All Star game is an excellent example. Following the drama of the 2020 election, the Republican-controlled legislature in Georgia passed a bill that changed election laws. The stated intent of the bill was to secure the integrity of their elections. Democrat politicians claimed this was a racist attempt to disenfranchise minorities. All of this is pretty typical for American politics. The MLB entered the picture when the Players Association threatened to move the All-Star game out of Georgia. After that it was game over. President Biden announced his support fo...

  "No amendment is absolute" - President Joe Biden Therefore I present what should be the newly revised amendments to the Constitution. AMENDMENT I Congress shall be allowed to pass laws establishing a religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and abridging the freedom of speech, and the press; and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and can limit the petition of the Government for a redress of grievances. AMENDMENT II The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, may be infringed. AMENDMENT IV The right of the people are not always secure against unreasonable searches and seizures AMENDMENT VI The accused shall sometimes enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial AMENDMENT VII A fact tried by a jury, may be re-examined in any Court of the United States AMENDMENT VIII Excessive bail may be required, also excessive fines imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. AMENDMENT XIII Slavery and involuntary servitude, may exist within the United State...

There are those on the political left (both non-Christians and professing Christians) who claim Jesus was a socialist (1). They point to verses like Acts 20:35 as evidence the church’s mission to care for the poor should also be the government’s mission. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” -Acts 20:35 While this sounds good on its face, this comparison misses a fundamental difference between the church and the government: freedom of association. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, [NOT] reluctantly or under [COMPULSION], for God loves a cheerful giver.” -2 Corinthian 9:7 When you join a church, you do so because you want to. When you tithe or support missionaries, you do so because you want to. Yes, we are told to, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,” (Malachi 3:10) , but no one gets fined or whipped or punished for refusing to tithe. Even if a bad church were to do such things, that church would not la...

 

The minimum wage is in the news again thanks to the Biden administration’s stimulus bill (1). While I’ve already written about the history of the minimum wage and its effects on the poor, I wanted to address the root source of the minimum wage fallacy: Karl Marx’ Labor Theory of Value. To put it simply, the theory says that someone should be compensated based on how hard they work. If you have an easy job and aren’t required to work very hard then you should be paid little. If you have a more difficult job and have to work hard at it, then you should be paid more (2). While this sounds good on its face, this assumption is very dangerous and can lead a country down the path of minimum wage laws, price controls, and government controls of production (socialism). --------------------------------- Meet Dr. Hank, an average (Level 5 out of 10), everyday brain surgeon. He has a good work ethic (8 out of 10) and a positive attitude (7 out of 10). As an average, everyday brain surgeon, Dr. Han...

https://thefederalist.com/2021/03/07/evangelicals-for-biden-feel-used-and-betrayed-by-biden-fulfilling-his-radical-abortion-promises/   I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I want to shout “I told you so”. But on the other hand I recognize it takes a dose of humility and appreciation of sunk cost to admit you are wrong. And that’s far more important. Welcome Biden voters. There is still much to do.

"Prices are communication. Price controls are government censorship." -Russ Nelson One of the most important factors (and one of the most overlooked) aspects of free market capitalism is the utility of prices. Without know anything about the product, a high price can tell you something is rare or hard to make. It might also hint at the quality of two similar products. Price controls (most often associated with top-down socialism and communism) removes these features. And that’s when you excesses (when prices are fixed too high) and shortages (when prices are fixed too low).