"Extreme"

Some say that measures to "redistribute the wealth" are and extreme.  Some call it un-democratic and radical.  Some call it alarming and unreasonable.  Some call it aggressive class warfare.

85 people in the world own 50% of the WORLD'S wealth, leaving  the rest of us... 7,142,819,700 with the other half...

1% of Americans (3 million) control over 40% of the wealth of our nation... leaving 99% (314 million) with 60% of it.

Our representative government, OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE...
    House - 362 men, 76 women (51% of our population)
    Senate - 83 men, 17 women
    House - 361 white, 44 black, 25 Hispanic, 7 Asian, 1 Native American (2012 figures)
    Senate - 96 white, 0 black, 2 Hispanic, 2 Asian, 0 Native American

15.1% of Americans live below the poverty line = 47.5 million plus
    70% of those are women and children

Billionaires pour money into politicians' pockets, SO...
    Voter Suppression, especially among black and brown and politically left leaning voters
               is actively being waged in numerous states, as if the gerrymandering already
               implemented has not already stolen enough votes...
    Corporations are now considered as people and given rights a citizens in controlling
               the government they have bought, leaving the lives of real people behind...
    Lobbyists continue to buy politicians and control their votes for their own favor,
               and it is working very well for them in the courts as well...
    De-regulation of pollution, waste and destruction of our environment continues
               while we deny the effects of climate change due to those assaults on the creation
    Regulation over women's own bodies is heightened and rights denied
    Drone attacks are done with impunity around the world, creating more enemies for us
    Wire taps of our own citizens continue in the interest of "national security"
    Unequal Education persists, funded on the basis of property taxes, rather than equal
               student needs and rights, so that those from wealthy school districts maintain an
               advantage over those who are not...
    Private schools are being pushed so that for-profit schools can exclude the poor and cater
               to those who can pay...
    Private, for-profit prisons are on the rise, so that those who are arrested for misdemeanors
               will have extreme sentences and be available to farms and factories as the prison
               ships out its prisoners for profit...
    The unequal prices in the grocery stores, gas stations and in home owners' insurance
               continue, to keep those in poverty IN POVERTY
    The unequal taxation of those among the working poor and lower to middle, middle class
               continue as the highest in income pay a MUCH lower percentage of their wages
               in taxes...
    Corporate welfare continues at 3x the cost to our nation that public assistance does, yet
               when government spending cuts happen, it is for families on unemployment or
               on public assistance and not corporate welfare recipients...
    The "Job Creators", turned Job Eliminators, still demand help from the government,
               while screaming "LESS GOVERNMENT" in regulations and when it comes to
               helping the poor THEY have created... actively trying to defeat any efforts to
               raise the minimum wage or make it a LIVING WAGE, so that people CAN move
               up economically and buy goods from American companies... like them!
    The disparity of wages grows, so that executives make 300x what an AVERAGE worker
               makes in any company... 100% profit goals have been replaced with 300% profit
               goals, and worker lay offs mean bonuses for those who perpetrate them...
    Lives lost on Wars means big profit for military suppliers and industries, so we continue
               at great cost to the nation's economy and lives to wage them
    Healthcare benefits are begrudged by the wealthy, because they have bought politicians
               to safeguard their profits over the most sick in the nation
  
Yet, those who advocate for equality and equity in the workplace, a living wage and help for those with the least in our society are labeled EXTREME and UNREASONABLE... even UN-DEMOCRATIC????   Really?

These are extreme times.  If you do not see that, then you are mentally, emotionally and spiritually asleep, deficient or complacent because you have enough for yourself (right now) and don't care about anyone else.

I believe extreme times call for extreme action.  Non-violent, assertive action is called for in leaving behind the oligarchic plutocracy and returning to a DEMOCRACY of, by and for THE PEOPLE... ALL the people...

I cannot ignore Jesus' teachings on how we are to be with one another, especially "the least of these" in THIS PART of God's Kingdom... I must advocate for justice, equality, equity and fight greed, lust for power and self-indulgence as an entitlement because of that...

Which is the most extreme?

Pastor Jamie