A Catholic friend of mine claims he is Democrat because the Democratic Party (DP) has demonstrated its Preference for the Poor (PFT Poor), where the Republican Party (RP) has demonstrated its Preference for the Rich.
For my friend, the political need to show a PFT Poor evidently trumps the immoral issues of Abortion and Homosexual Rights that the DP has enshrined in its platform, and which the RP has explicitly rejected. For some Catholics a PFT Poor is a secondary concern to abortion and homosexual issues, but for my friend it is the poor that need protection.
Care for the Poor
I cannot disagree with him about the need to show a preference for caring for the poor.
But, while the DP mantra claims it cares for the the poor, the physical actions of the two parties, indicates to me that the RP is the clear winner when it comes to actually living out a PFT Poor.
Let me make my initial case for how the Republicans have a Preference for the Poor by referencing pages from the RP 2012 Platform. I stopped after 14 pages, there's too much, at least in the Republican philosophy, that provides a positive, pro-active agenda that will lift society's fiscal and moral fabric. And perhaps that is my best reason for voting for the poor by voting Republican.
Here are preliminary notes... I only examined the first 14 pages of 63.
The RP has a preference for the poor by embracing a philosophy that allows any U.S. citizen to pursuit their dreams. GOP, in his platform, stands for the Great Opportunity Party. The RP believes in equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
The DP and particularly the Obama Administration (OA), have articulated their desires for equal outcomes, through the redistribution of wealth regardless of merit, effort, or investment. This belittles the recipient and robs them of the self-worth and the dignity that can only be achieved through productive work.
The Party of Providence (page i-ii)
The RP has a preference for the poor by embracing Providence's Natural Law (God) to govern a people rightly. If under God's rules the poor should be cared for, then the RP has placed itself there. From the Preamble throughout the platform, God's principles of order and right are the guiding light. The RP Platform quotes George Washington's inaugural address:
The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.
The RP has a PFT Poor by adopting a philosophy that focuses on the solution and enemy of poverty — prosperity. The RP claims that the poor can be prosperous through "self-discipline, word, savings, and personal investment." For me the RP is the glass is half-full party.
The RP has a PFT poor by wanting to restore opportunity and prosperity of American citizens by freeing people to use their "God-given talents, combined with hard work, self-reliance, ethical conduct and the opportunity, to achieve great things for themselves and the greater community."
This is in contrast to the OA's policies that under the guise of showing a PFT Poor, "expand entitlements and guarantees, create new public programs, and provide bailouts," and in the process create a "culture of dependency, bloated government, and massive debt," which to me DO NOT show a preference for the poor, but a marginalizing of the poor.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by believing in the "economics of inclusion, enabling everyone to have a chance to own, invest, build and prosper."
The RP shows its PFT Poor by favoring the lowering of taxes and reduced regulation that promotes substantial economic growth, business formation and job creation, and at the same time increases government tax revenue (from the more robust economy) which allows for the financing of a safety net for the abject poor. Heavy taxation, reduces job creation, tax revenue, and hurts the poor through fewer jobs and less government money for carrying for the indigent.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by pursuit of free market policies that boost employment, create job growth and economic prosperity for all.
The RP shows a PFT Poor by encouraging small business growth which creates the vast majority of jobs, patents, and U.S. exporters. But small businesses are the least likely to afford the bureaucracy of regulation and complex tax codes. By reforming the complexity of the tax code and the implementation of necessary regulations, small business can thrive and hire more of the unemployed.
Tax Relief (page 2 & 3)
The RP reveals its PFT Poor by articulating that proper role of taxation should be to "fund services that are essential and authorized by the Constitution such as national defense and THE CARE OF THOSE WHO CANNOT CARE FOR THEMSELVES.
The RP shows its PFT Poor (in the U.S.) by wanting to reduce the world's highest corporate tax rate (which double taxes stock holders) so that more corporate earnings come to and and stay in the United States in order to foster jobs. As it is, jobs go over seas because the taxes of earnings here is so high compared to other countries.
(BTW: When "jobs are shipped over seas" we're helping the poor wherever those jobs go. That was precisely one of my three motivations for printing WHAT CATHOLICS REALLY BELIEVE in the orient. The other two was that the cost was 1/3 of what it would have cost to print here and thus made the book a financial loss, and the third was that I hopped that some of the books would be smuggled out of the plant in the predominately pagan city where it was printed, bound, and shipped.)
Audit the Fed and Reestablish a Metallic Basis for U.S. Currency (page 4)
The RP policies show its PFT Poor by desiring to control inflation (a hidden tax on all citizens), and
stabilize the value of the U.S. dollar by increasing the Federal Reserve's transparency and returning the U.S. dollar to a gold or silver standard. This would stop practices such as the OA and the Federal Reserve from trying to "stimulate" the economy by printing more money, borrowing from China, and devaluing the money the poor have in their pockets.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by opening up the opportunity for all citizens, especially the poor, a "decent place to live, a safe place to raise kids, and a welcoming place to retire." Under Democrat control congress, the Dodd-Frank Act was passed that, in an attempt to help the poor, actually strangled the investment of money in the housing industry, making the housing market flatter. It requires that regulators create 243 rules, conduct 67 studies, and issue 22 periodic reports. The burden of regulation, enforcement and reporting burden "disproportionately harms small and community banks, ...reduces jobs in the construction industry" and hinders citizens from investing in real estate. The RP wants to replace the Dodd-Frank Act with legislation that is based on competition, not regulation, free enterprise, not bureaucracy, and a return to a housing industry that promotes personal responsibility on the part of the borrowers.
Rebuilding Homeownership (page 5)
The RP shows its PFT Poor by downsizing the FHA, which under the OA crowds out competition of the private sector and faces the risk of a bail-out to keep it solvent. (Bureaucracy of government is never efficient as the private sector.) The FHA must be limited to "helping first-time homebuyers and low- and moderate-income borrowers."
The RP shows its PFT Poor by pursuing a policy by which,
the federal government has a role in housing by enforcing non-discrimination laws and assisting low income families and the elderly with safe and adequate shelter, especially through the use of housing vouchers. Homeownership is an important goal, but public policy must be balanced to reflect the needs of Americans who choose to rent. A comprehensive housing policy should address the demand for apartments and multi-family housing. Any assistance should be subject to stringent oversight to ensure that funds are spent wisely.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by seeking to stop the bullying tactics of big unions to restrict an individuals right t work and earn well-earned raises without the unions approval, based on merit and performance and not political loyalties.
Ultimately, we support the enactment of a National Right-to-Work law to promote worker freedom and to promote greater economic liberty. We will aggressively enforce the recent decision by the Supreme Court barring the use of union dues for political purposes without the consent of the worker.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by affirming the Defense of Marriage Act, that the Obama has decided not to enforce, thus breaking his inaugural oath. The integrity of a society around the concept of one man, one woman marriage, is the foundation of social justice, subsidiarity, and solidarity. Without it, the poor will get poorer as they are encouraged to leave the responsibilities of marriage behind.
Living Within Our Means (page 10)
The RP shows its PFT Poor by wanting to set the standard for all institutional spending by passing a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment (as 33 States of done), and thus preventing spending beyond our means, as every family should do. Poverty is often brought on by over spending, over borrowing, and then facing bankruptcies.
Federalism and Subsidiarity (page 10-11)
The RP shows its PFT Poor by embracing a Natural Law hierarchy of responsibilities enshrined in the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, thus setting a role model for states, local governments, families and individuals. The Tenth Amendment states:
The powers not delegated to thePoverty, in many cases, is the result of turning subsidiarity on its head, and depending on others when the individual should depend on themselves or an authority closer in the authoritative hierarchy.
United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people.
The RP shows its PFT Poor by defending life from conception to natural death. Unborn babies are perhaps the poorest of the poor. By rejecting abortion rights, the RP shows its greatest preference for the poor. At the other end of the timeline, assisted suicide also devalues the importance of life in its end stages and even when suffering is present. Those that suffer, regardless of financial status are emotionally and physically poor. Suffering, especially in a Catholic understanding of it, is redemptive when put under the authority of Jesus Christ, and in light of His salvific suffering. Not only does the OA support abortion rights, but Obama has voted three times to legalize the withholding of life sustaining necessities to newborns from botched abortions. That's murder.
...and there are 50 more pages of this stuff.
You want to help the poor. Vote Republican.
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