Redistribution of Wealth

A Commandment or a Sin?  (or neither)

8 June 2012

Over the last couple of years I have often heard LDS Conservatives speak of the “redistribution of wealth” in a derogatory manner and I have been baffled by their argument that it is part of “Satan’s plan”.  The present day issue that has stirred such talk is Obama’s Health Care Reform.

Health Care Reform was signed in to law in March 2010 despite those conservative members of congress who were opposed.    The United States ranks last among developed countries in overall healthcare for its citizens.  Health Care Reform is an attempt to improve the care available to all in the US.  How this is done exactly, or the efficiency of the plan is beyond the scope my understanding, I am just going to be honest about that- it's a big document with a lot of number crunching and medical legal talk that bores me.  However, it is assumed that it does come at a cost to its citizens- and that cost will be paid by a 3.8% tax on the “unearned income” of “high earners”.

High earners are being defined as:  Those whose tax filing status is “single” will be subject to the new unearned income taxes if they have Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of more than $200,000. Married couples filing a joint return with AGI of more than $250,000 will also be subject to the new tax.

Unearned income is the income that an individual derives from investing his/her capital. It includes capital gains, rents, dividends and interest income. It also comes from some investments in active businesses if the investor is not an active participant in the business. The portion of unearned income that is subject both to income tax and the new Medicare tax is the amount of income derived from these sources, reduced by any expenses associated with earning that income. (Hence the term “net” investment income.) 

Conservatives are calling this a “redistribution of wealth”- taking from the rich (“high earners”) and giving to the poor (the under insured and unemployed).   Perhaps it is.  However, LDS Conservatives are also calling it “part of Satan’s plan”.  Heavenly Father’s plan in pre-mortality was to allow each of His children to continue to use the gift of Agency.   Thereby coming to earth and gaining a body we could make choices- for good or for evil- but ultimately to be agents unto ourselves- responsible eternally for the choices we make on our own behalf.  Satan offered salvation for all without choices being necessary- promising that no one would “fail” as there would be no choices to make, and asked in return for all the honor to go to him. 

Agency is a Gospel Principle

Agency is a gospel principle.  President David O. McKay stated: “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct our lives is God’s greatest gift to man. Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift to every normal being. … To man is given a special endowment, not bestowed upon any other living thing. God gave to him the power of choice. Only to the human being did the Creator say, ‘… thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; …” (Moses 3:17). Without this divine power to choose, humanity cannot progress” (“Man’s Free Agency—An Eternal Principle of Progress,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1965, 1073).  

We make a big deal of agency, and rightly so.  But I believe that applying the principle of agency to “redistribution of wealth” is a poor application at best.

Agency is an Eternal Law

It is God given and cannot be taken by another.  I think too often in the Church we use the words agency, freedom and liberty interchangeably.  This is not correct.  Personal freedoms and liberties can be limited by another individual, the environment in which we live or as a consequence to choices we have made in the past.  Agency cannot.  Agency is by its very nature and definition eternally linked with our spirits.  Synonymous with agency would be our conscious and the Light of Christ.

“This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 62). 

Therefore, this whole argument that I keep hearing from LDS Conservatives- that “new laws and taxes are Evil because they take away our (God Given and Eternal) Agency”- is completely erroneous.  It is such a misapplication of the Gospel Principle of Agency that I have to wonder if the Lord finds it offensive.  Would he not be offended that his covenanted Saints believe someone or something can take from them His Eternal Gift?

Is the taking of Freedoms a Sin?

Possibly, but I suppose this would depend on the motive for which the freedom is taken.  Most would agree that loss of freedoms is an appropriate consequence for those who have maliciously harmed another.  Furthermore, one’s choices are often limited in life because of poor choices they had made before.  (I cannot be a school teacher if I have a criminal record.  I cannot serve a mission if there are certain transgressions in my past.)

Is imposing a tax that presumably has consequences if not paid, a sin?  I suppose it depends on the purpose of the tax.  Here is where many will differ in their opinions of what things have value and are righteous as opposed to what things are not only a waste but a sin.  However, we are commanded in D&C to obey and honor the law of the land. 

However, as stated above, the tax increase has not caused a loss of agency, in fact- quite the opposite- one’s choices just became greater- will I pay the tax, or will I not (and thereby suffer the consequences)?

Seeking Answers thru Gospel Principles

When I was teaching seminary, I often found myself telling my class of basically good, righteous LDS teens “the challenge of your lifetime as far as the Gospel is concerned, is going to be sorting through and making the BEST choices”.   I would try to explain to them that as they get older and are faced with life’s toughest decisions the waters are going to become more and more murky.  The line between right and wrong, good and evil, will be harder and harder to decipher. 

Truth

We have to know how to apply TRUTH to our decisions.  D&C 93:24- "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come..."  God's Truths are eternal.  If we understand what these eternal truths are, they can be applied to anything.

Conflicting Gospel Truths

So what does one do when one feels there are conflicting truths?  This has happened since the beginning of mortality.  Adam and Eve were told to multiply and replenish the earth, yet they were also told to not partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  In order to live one commandment, it was clear that they needed to break another. Traditional Christianity has translated the Adam and Eve story as a the Original Sin- The Fall of Man, for which we are all held responsible.  LDS see the Fall of Adam as one of the greatest choice ever made.

How do we “prioritize” gospel truths when faced with this issue?

Which is the Greater Commandment? 

In this case, the answer is clear for me.  In Mark 12:28-31 a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is.  Jesus responds, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these.”  This makes it pretty clear.  Love the Lord and love others.  There is no other commandment greater than these-none.