Last week, we considered the dire warnings of the prophet Amos. We asked if God was actually in the business of destroying nations, and if ancient laws and out-dated constitutions should bind us in a completely different technological and societal context, or if we should instead focus on the spirit of those laws and constitutions.
I stated that love and liberty are more important than the particular rules that governed misogynist and racist cultures, in Hebrew-ruled Palestine of three thousand years ago, of Roman-occupied Palestine of two thousand years ago, of the white colonialist America of two centuries ago. I’d go so far as to say that even the Ten Commandments, while reflecting some values that are universal and eternal, are a product of a particular time and a particular place, the southern Kingdom of Judah somewhere around 2600 years ago.
This week, we will turn to the spirit of the prophet’s words and find that some of them are incredibly concrete and relevant to our lives today, for bad business is bad business, in ancient theocratic oligarchies and in modern neo-liberal oligarchies.
But first, let’s recap. The prophetic ministry of Amos takes place when there are two Hebrew states. The prophet, from the southern Kingdom of Judah, hears God’s call to speak for the poor in the northern Kingdom of Israel. He is a border-crossing trouble-causer who speaks out against the rich and powerful, complete with that “Real Housewives” moment when the aristocratic women in Bethel bellow for drinks.
In today’s reading, Amos focuses specifically on the merchants. He notes that they observe the religious rules, closing for the new moon festival and the sabbath, but that as soon as they re-open for business, they cheat their customers. They make the containers smaller and use false weights and scales, offering poor quality product and cheating the needy and the helpless.
Dishonesty in business is a consistent theme in the Hebrew Testament, also mentioned by the prophets Hosea and Micah, included in the Torah in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and in the wisdom literature of the Book of Proverbs, where it is denounced four times.
Corrupt business practices are as old as the market itself, and when it comes to wickedness, there is nothing new under the sun. Selling smaller quantities for the same amount of money? Happens every time we go to the grocery store. Exploiting the needy and helpless? Let’s talk about the 9.1% inflation year-on-year reported on Wednesday. Corporate media and neo-liberal politicians blame this on supply chain disruption and labor costs, or more recently, on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is true that there have been disruptions. And the labor market is smaller. More than a million Americans have died from Covid, and surplus deaths are even higher, for while Covid may have reduced things like traffic accidents, it has contributed to a surge in overdoses, deaths from undiagnosed and untreated illness, deaths from what we can only describe as despair.
Older family members who provided childcare are no longer there and no affordable alternative exists in America. And sometimes, people have just walked away from bad jobs and bad bosses.
But if supply chain disruptions and labor shortages were the actual cause of inflation, prices and profits would match those costs. Instead, corporate profits have soared during the pandemic, and the consolidation of wealth has accelerated. The petro-trafficking company ExxonMobil is expected to post an $18 billion profit for just the second quarter of this year. Tyson Foods reports a year-on-year increase in profit margin of more than 50%. That is profit after costs. Costs are not driving inflation. Greed is driving inflation.
We can tell ourselves that the democratization of corporate ownership through 401k’s and other forms of retirement savings means we are all benefiting from those profits, but that simply isn’t true. Hedge funds and private equity funds are constantly gaming the system, transferring value from the market to the wealthy, and even if the market was a level playing field, and God knows it is not, but even if it was, the helpless and the needy do not own stock, do not have 401k’s, and they still need to eat.
CEOs have been bragging about surging corporate profit, have been caught on investor calls bragging that they have used the pandemic as a cover for price gouging. And while this might be the source of inconvenience for many of us, it is life and death for others, rolling back generations of advancement for the poor and the marginalized, for historically oppressed communities. I’d say we are one step away from the bad old days when seniors on fixed incomes were eating dog food, but even dog food is too expensive at this point.
The way we run our economy is a faith issue.
The economy, business, is a complex globalized system, and since the horrific decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, it is politicized in the U.S. Every dollar you spend may be a dollar that funds attack ads, the supports autocracy and theocracy, that fuels hate or the forced birth movement that treats women like livestock..
And I admit that sucks. Sometimes I just wanna go out and have dinner and not worry about the politics. Sometimes I want country-fried steak and a biscuit and don’t want to think about Cracker Barrel’s longstanding policy of firing LGBTQ+ employees. But I have no choice. This is the nation and the time in which I live, and pretending isn’t gonna change that. Every purchase I make is a reflection of my faith, whether it is mindless or mindful.
Yes, we must elect better candidates, which means we are going to need party leadership that isn’t stuck in the mid 20th century. We need to purge to judiciary, now completely corrupted by an extremist minority. But we must also be clear that spending is voting, because corporations and billionaires are bankrolling extremists, whether we like it or not, and we should strive, where we can, to align our spending with our values.
I am going to share with you my thinking, as one person of faith, about my personal spending. This is not the official position of The Park Church, nor is it an official position of the United Church of Christ, though our General Synod has passed countless resolutions of witness on matters of economic justice over the years.
This congregation could adopt a similar set of standards to guide our institutional spending and investing, and commend those standards to members of our faith covenant for consideration.
I consider both value and values equally in any economic decision, because I can afford to do so. Then I follow a general hierarchy in selecting companies and providers.
I understand the role of capital in starting a business, and believe that the risk taken by an investor should be rewarded, but I also believe that the business model that is the most just and best governed is that of an employee-owned business or cooperative. In the Congregational and United Church of Christ tradition, we believe in democracy, believe in the power of making decisions together. Why should our economic activity be any different? This includes, by the way, most fair trade products, which often come from cooperatives, small hold farmers, and artisans.
One of the first things I looked for in Elmira was community-supported agriculture, and this first full season in the region I am receiving most of my vegetables from Muddy Fingers Farm, locally owned and with an outreach to those in financial distress.
In the age of shareholder primacy, where corporations are required to pursue exploitative and malign practices if they ultimately profit the shareholder, I prefer corporations with a benefit charter, sometimes certified as B Corporations. These companies are legally allowed and committed to considering all stakeholders in making corporate decisions, including the impact of those decisions on local communities, workers, and even the environment. Notice that I said stakeholders, not shareholders. Certified B Corps include King Arthur Baking, Cabot Creamery, Ben & Jerry’s, and Stonyfield Farm, all found in the grocery aisle at Wegman’s, and clothing companies like Patagonia, Bombas, Toms, and Eileen Fisher. When you buy Chunky Monkey, you are supporting better business.
Where possible, I prefer unionized businesses. I recognize the important role unions have played in workplace safety and in the quality of life generally. Not every sector is unionized, of course. More than anything, I do my best to avoid businesses that oppose unionization. For example, though I have not completely extricated myself from the Amazon technosphere, I have dramatically reduced my purchasing from that company in light of recent revelations about their unethical and possibly unlawful actions to prevent unionization.
Where I can, I choose made in America, though this is not from the sort of pseudo-patriotic nationalism promoted in corporate media, which, by the way, is completely globalized. The same company that is promoting domestic manufacturing on the evening news is making money hand-over fist selling Marvel films in China. No, I try to buy things manufactured in America because I don’t support communism or authoritarianism, because I care about the environment and worker safety, and as corrupt and flawed as our own system is, it is better than conditions in places like China. Though I’ll happily buy wine and cheese and other goods made in countries I believe are reasonably free and sane.
I do not, ever, under any circumstance, willingly do business with businesses that are trying to strip me of my civil liberties as an LGBTQ+ person, that are part of the forced birth movement that recently triumphed in a corrupted Supreme Court, that seek to turn America into a white nationalist evangelical theocracy. I don’t care how tasty Chick-fil-A is, I’m not going to give them money that they are going to use against me. And that tube of paint at Hobby Lobby is going to fund treason, so I’m just not going to do that.
Where I can, I go green, including choosing to pay more for energy that is renewable. Though environmental groups often oppose wind farms and hydropower, and most solar manufacturing takes place in China, so I’ll be darned if I know what the right answer is.
And, of course, given that capitalism and America’s corporate structures are designed to be amoral, there are simply going to be times when companies are just plain evil, whether they are pushing opioids or manipulating the housing market.
Don’t get me started on coporate sports, from the cheating Astros, the sexual predator running the Washington football franchise, or the golf-washing of the murderous Saudi state. I still have not completely freed myself of that particular idolatry, sports fandom, and I’m not sure I ever will, but I am certain that the biblical prophets would have a thing or two to say about building massive stadiums for billionaires while bridges and schools crumble.
It isn’t easy. Some companies are good on one thing and bad on another. A product might come from a cooperative and be produced under conditions that reduce poverty, but have a large carbon footprint for transportation. A product produced by a minority-owned business might not be a particularly good product. And sometimes my budget can only stretch so far.
I’m not always perfect, but that isn’t the goal. Being a Christian is not about perfection. We are, absolutely, a church of sinners saved by God’s generous grace. The goal is to be mindful, to try as best I am able, to align my spending, the way I vote almost every single day, with what I say it is I believe, to not be the sort of hypocrite Amos is calling out in today’s text, religious on religious days, and a villain in the marketplace.
In the end, our time with Amos has been a reminder of the simplicity of our faith, which is found not in complex rules, not found in grace doled out by bishops and popes, but is found in simple rules and daily life. Love your God above all things. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. That’s the hierarchy, the test: God first, others second, yourself last, but you must still love yourself as well, for you are what God has made. Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly. And be mindful. In a system that is thoroughly sinful and corrupt, we should, we must, be a force for good. Amen.