[Plantagenet]

Read it again----nowhere in the parable of Lazarus is there an injunction for the redistribution of wealth.

In Christianity (and Judaism, Islam and most other religions) the wealthy are expected to show charity to the poor, but nowhere in these religions is there a call for the poor to attack the wealthy and redistribute their wealth.

[Ferretlover]

*Eye surveys thread* I'm watching...

[ROCKMAN]

We might want to reserves judgment of V (if he is actually telling the truth) until he tells us what he does with all that wealth. My owner is truly wealthy: a self-made $billionaire...a former college professor who grew up as the son of a Gulf Coast fisherman. He has a staff that strives to minimize his tax bill in every legal way. One method is the write off he gets from the tens of $millions in salaries he pays the 400+ employees (including the Rockman) of the dozen or so companies he founded. I once saw him give a 30 something analyst that had an exceptional year a seven figure bonus. His regular salary was only $45k per year. My owner is a big believer in performance based income. Another method is the $100+ million he has donated to medical research with a focus on childhood cancer. There are a fair number of folks in the country that have made a great deal of money. What's really nice is that the prime source of his wealth has come from other folks who were also rather well off. One of my favorite memories was watching him work a crowd for his charities. Question: who do millionaires want the be friends with...a billionaire. LOL. He invited me to a small concert at his home...big name jazz musicians he flew. Very nice wine and snacks. Got several dozen millionaires feeling very good. Then he tore into them like a hungry tiger. My guess is he pulled in at least $700k in 'voluntary contributions'. And he had me be the bag man...used a cripple to good advantage. LOL.

So let's give V chance to tell how he's been utilizing his wealth.

[JV153]

Recently I've been re-reading that old text, a point being that the word dead in Luke 16:31 (transliteration nekros), besides meaning physical death also means "disappearance", "destitute of force, or power - inactive", a "church in declension", or "faith without works".

[Shaved Monkey]

Pope says he is not a Marxist, but defends criticism of capitalism
Pope Francis says trickle-down economics do not help the poor

Defending his criticism of the "trickle-down" theory of economics, he added: "There was the promise that once the glass had become full it would overflow and the poor would benefit. But what happens is that when it's full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing ever comes out for the poor

..
interesting article in the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... ot-marxist

and a real breath of fresh air

Uruguay's president José Mujica: no palace, no motorcade, no frills
In the week that Uruguay legalises cannabis, the 78-year-old explains why he rejects the 'world's poorest president' label

The president is a former member of the Tupamaros guerrilla group, which was notorious in the early 1970s for bank robberies, kidnappings and distributing stolen food and money among the poor. He was shot by police six times and spent 14 years in a military prison, much of it in dungeon-like conditions.

Since becoming leader of Uruguay in 2010, however, he has won plaudits worldwide for living within his means, decrying excessive consumption and pushing ahead with policies on same-sex marriage, abortion and cannabis legalisation that have reaffirmed Uruguay as the most socially liberal country in Latin America.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... ose-mujica