Across my lifetime, I never thought the Republicans were the best party for social justice, although I’m told they once were. I spent a career in the private sector, during which I generally thought the Republicans were best for economic wisdom. As a lifelong registered Democrat, I voted Republican a number of times. But, I have felt growing concern with how the world and our country have changed in recent years.  And after a year (2013) studying economics in London, and observing for a year since,  I have concluded that the “Grand Old Party” has lost its wisdom on economics (and a few other important attributes) along the way.  I am now planning to look to the Pope for more economic guidance than to the Republicans.

Quoting Pope Francis: “To our dismay we see technical and economic questions dominating the political debate, to the detriment of genuine concern for human beings. Men and women are reduced to cogs in a machine, items of consumption to be exploited.The result is that when human life is no longer useful to the machine, it is discarded without qualms, as in the case of the terminally ill, the elderly who are abandoned and the children who are killed in the womb. It is a great mistake when technology is allowed to take over, and there is a confusion between ends and means. It’s an inevitable consequence of throwaway culture and uncontrolled consumerism.” These characterizations apply to the US as much as to Europe, if not more so, considering that our inequality and social mobility is worse than that of most European countries.

I don’t agree with all of the Pope’s views, abortion rights as an example. However, I do agree with much of what this Pope stands for. He’s a great transforming voice in the Catholic church and in religion today. Of course, some will say, what does the Pope know about economics? And what kind of economic message is conveyed in his views? He is calling for countries and companies to restore recognition of people as human beings, as opposed to units of production, who can be discarded as soon as capitalism finds better alternatives for production, without obligation to help re-train and re-deploy, without obligation to provide gainful and equal opportunity for all. He is insisting that citizens are not just automatons whose fulfillment is met only by constantly increasing consumption. I relate to his objection to selfish lifestyles and opulence, when there remain hundreds of millions in poverty, significant segments in most all countries in the world. The US Census Report says we have 45.3 million US citizens living in poverty, as of 2013.

These are most definitely economic factors. They are reflections of the harmful excesses of an unrestrained capitalism, the American version of which may be the most harsh on the middle class and poor. These behaviors cost our country and our economy. These are reflections of the Tea Party, the Libertarians, the Conservatives, mostly represented by the contentious and fractionalized Republican Party of today–the party now distinguished for its inability to propose any meaningful legislation, focusing all its attention on criticizing President Obama and the Democrats, and reducing government, at the expense of schools and infrastructure, as well as worker protections and social welfare.

What the Pope is decrying can be considered under the broad umbrella of “inequality,” a term Republican refuse to use and consider. They prefer “poverty” because that term suggests I can choose to help if I want to, whereas “inequality” suggests I am responsible to help–I failed to provide for others as I should have. Republicans don’t want any obligation assumed, since that would invite another pejorative word–“redistribution.”  Some find that the essence of this position by the Right is based on deep seated ideology, such as value of the individual (as opposed to the group), the belief that anyone can make it here (and if you haven’t, it’s your own fault), and favoring opposition to government doing much more than protecting private property rights, rule of law, and national defense. Unfettered capitalism should be left to do the rest. 

In contrast, the Democratic view can be summarized as valuing the collective, recognizing that equal rights means equal opportunity that requires work and protections to sustain. Democrats understand that some citizens simply need support from the state, which should be active in its partnership with capitalism, and should restrain some of the excesses of uncontrolled capitalism. Consider the agreements reached for the Millenium Development Goals. The much debated process ended up agreeing that while markets drive economic growth, they need the public sector to support them. The MDG goals also ended up agreeing that poor countries must have active support from rich countries. We were a major party to these global MDGs. Have we forgotten–government has a significant role, and we should concern ourselves with the needs of developing countries and their citizens? Consider what might happen if we really applied these principles in our trade and immigration policies.

As to the Republicans, I’m forced to agree with the views of Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein. They wrote a best selling book in 2012. Mann is a Senior Fellow at Brookings, a centrist Think Tank, and Ornstein is a scholar at The American Institute, a conservative think tank. Indicating they have come to stark conclusions of today’s Republican Party with regret, they write, “We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.”

I hold Republicans largely responsible our high inequality, driven by their economic policies since around 1980, sometimes called “neoliberalism.” There are other contributing factors, such as technology, globalization, and financialization, but Republican policies have significantly influenced these as well. 

So, just how severe is our inequality in the US? Just how successful have the Republicans been in advancing this set of views?

The answer is very successful. We are now back to the 1925 peak of inequality, the “robber baron” peak. We enjoyed a period of improvement between 1925 and 1975.  Recognizing that some “re-balancing” of the power of labor and capital may have been necessary in the 70’s and 80’s, the pendulum has now swung way too far to the Right. Republicans have done an excellent job of persuading Americans that Democrats and big government are responsible for their lackluster wages and poor jobs prospects, by arguing that the Democrats have hobbled capitalism with too much government and regulation–just get rid of all that, and everything will soon be hunky-dory. The Republican argument is that all we need is more growth! More growth comes only from unfettered capitalism. That’s the argument.  

There are two main problems with this argument:

First, it is certainly not evident that growth alone will reduce inequality, without any form of redistribution (either via increased taxes on the wealthy, or by simply re-allocating the existing government budget–federal, state, or local–to such as education and infrastructure from such as military or excessive government support for the relatively wealthy elderly, as examples).

Yet, the conclusion that inequality reduces growth will certainly remain disputed disputed. Even the findings of such entities as S&P, the OECD, and the IMF will undoubtedly be disputed by conservative economists. 

• However, I certainly haven’t found any studies arguing the contrary–that high and rising inequality enhances growth.

• Second, there is no dispute about the social and moral negatives to high and rising inequality, at least none other than the Libertarian response that we are all on our own, and that somehow this is what God intended. 

• Furthermore, Republicans should take note–regardless of their arguments, there is a growing chorus of concern expressed across the spectrum from liberal to conservative. Politically, it is time for Republicans to pay attention.

• Finally, even if growth should be slightly restrained by actions taken to improve equality of opportunity, or even to gradually redistribute by modestly increased taxation on the wealth and those of higher incomes, the trade offs would certainly be more acceptable to Americans than continuance of present trends.  

It does seem abundantly clear that Americans are not happy with the trends of the last 30, 20, or 10 years. It’s getting worse (for middle class and below). The recent mid-term election results suggest Americans have been persuaded to blame their frustrations over poor jobs, low wages, and reduced opportunity on the Democrats and big government. The reality is that these ills are largely the result of Republican policies over the last 30 years.