Saturday, April 08, 2006

To Keep Our Taxes High, Let Us Pray to the Lord

HT to Terry Berres---

The Wisconsin Bishops' Conference has taken a position against the TPA.

In the 'short version' of the Summa Theologica (A Tour of the Summa, Mgr. Paul Glenn, TAN Books) we find:

"Since man has a natural need to procure, to dispense, and to use material goods, it is lawful for him to possess such goods as his own. But in the use of such goods, man must be willing to give or share, according to reason and justice, to a neighbor in need." (P 229, #66, 2)

On the other hand, the Bishops spake thus:

“No law or amendment, however cleverly named or well-packaged, can protect us from the moral claims of our neighbors. No amendment can shield us from the claims of our children to a quality education, of the elderly to income security, of the ill to health care, of the poor to necessities of life, or of our descendants to the good stewardship of the natural resources left in trust to us by our ancestors.

One trusts that the Bishops understand that the obligation to "give or share...to a neighbor" is NOT an obligation to "give or share through the Government."

We have argued, although not on this blog, that the amount of charitable giving is necessarily reduced by excessive taxation, insofar as those who tax have the power of arms and enforcement.

And as Provincial Emails points out, leaving "the judgment of elected officials" to have its way with money is dicey. In fact, having surveyed that "judgment" over the years, the PEOPLE have demanded that the "judgment" of the elected officials be constrained.

5 comments:

Billiam said...

Just more reasons why I left the Catholic Church. Bummer.

Dad29 said...

Billiam,

Sorry to hear you jumped off the ship--and a Bishops' Conference is the WORST POSSIBLE reason to leave.

But then,there are lotsa 'worst possible' reasons to leave--which is to say that there are NO reasons to leave.

Billiam said...

I left for more than that. I still believe in God, and Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. I just don't consider myself Catholic anymore. Too many things I can't seem to find in the Bible. Believe me, it was a shock to my family. I was an altar boy, went to Catholic grade and high schools. I recieved an excellent education. They taught me to think and never stop learning. I will be forever grateful to them for that.

Dad29 said...

Well, you've been taught to think--which is good.

But you've been hoodwinked, Billiam. Next time you're driving through Mke, post a comment and we'll see if we can't have a cup of coffee.

Billiam said...

We can do one better. The next time I go to Waukesha to visit my Mom and Sister, I'll buy you breakfast at the Machine Shed. Sound like a plan?