Capitalism: serving God and Mammon? (video)

Fox News‘ and CNBC‘s squawking heads have a number of arguments that they like to marshal against raising the minimum wage; ranging from the following absurd gems:

It’s just more government assistance;
Minimum wage jobs are supposed to suck; and
If the minimum wage is that good why not raise it to $100,000 an hour;

To the disgusting and contemptible as epitomised by Fox News’ British presenter Stuart Varney:

“I know that you’re going to give us the emotional side of the story, people need $15.00 an hour to live on they’re starving without it. OK I got that. I want to ask you about the economics of it.”

Due to copyright restrictions in order to watch the clip you need to type or copy and paste the password: imincorrigible

Video © Comedy Central)

Pope Francis recently criticised capitalism and argued that it does not work for the benefit of all humanity. Indeed, he called “unfettered capitalism” the “new tyranny.” This has not gone down well with the world’s plutocrats and they have made their anger known through the various media groups that a number of them own.

On 30 December, CNBC published an interview with the billionaire founder of the Home Depot, Ken Langone in which he effectively issued a blackmail threat to Francis. As reported on the Examiner website, Langone said, should the pope continue to criticise the rich and rampant income inequality, the rich would stop giving to charitable causes.

Mr. Langone [who is a major donor to the Republican party] described the Pope’s comments about a “culture of prosperity” as “exclusionary” statements that may make some of the rich “incapable of feeling compassion for the poor.”

A number of people, from Republican Sen. John McCain to conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, have weighed in on Francis’ statements, with the latter calling it “pure Marxism.” Examiner 1 January 2014

Langone’s threat is proof positive, if indeed proof was ever needed, that relying on the whims of a few ‘philanthropic’ wealthy individuals to provide a ‘social safety net’ rather than a government organised welfare system underpinned by taxation is simply not an option.

password: imincorrigible

Back at billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, good Christian Varney says that he is disappointed that the pope has criticised so-called trickle down economics. He does not think that the pope should be engaging in politics. Similarly, “devotional” catholic convert, Larry Kudlow on CNBC claims that capitalism is on the “right side” of the Lord and that it is possible to serve God and be a committed capitalist.

But who said that you cannot serve both God and money?

…errr… apparently it was this guy…..