Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said* and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child who's got his own, who's got his own
Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child who's got his own, who's got his own
*Likely a reference to Matthew 25:29, which can be translated as "For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Consider the possibility that the meaning behind Billie Holiday's lyrics and Matthew 25:29 is not prescriptive but descriptive: that those who own land will always receive land rent, while those who do not have it must pay those who do have it for access to it (to have a place to live and a place to work), and thus will always be poor, particularly if, in addition to paying someone for access to land, they must pay taxes on their labor and/or on their purchases, in order to support Caesar (who was not part of the community) or to pay for the provision of public goods (schools, roads, courts) for the community. Landlords in high-rent areas receive lots of rent; landlords in low-rent areas -- including small towns and agricultural land -- receive far less -- but it is still the landless who are paying them, for access to something whose value the landlords didn't create.
And then hear the words of Leona Helmsley: "WE don't pay taxes. The little people pay taxes." She knew whereof she spoke. Property taxes in the places she did business were rather low, but her customers and workers paid significant taxes on their purchases and wages. Deep down, she likely knew that she didn't make the sites of her buildings valuable: we all did.
A simple tweak of our taxation system can change it all: we can collect from landlords and other landholders some significant fraction of the annual rental value of their land, and use it to fund our public spending, instead of taxing sales, and buildings, and wages. Not only would it be just and reduce the concentration of wealth and income, but, as the 2008 OECD study showed, it would promote economic growth.
I find it much easier to accept the idea that the gospel verse is descriptive than to believe that a loving god would intend it to be prescriptive. You might explore wealthandwant.com for "The Crime of Poverty."
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