Justice and the 99 percent - Part 1 - Introduction

I'm only an observer of the protest movement called "the 99 percent" that's now beginning to make headlines in mainstream news. In fact, I've only been introduced to it within the last couple weeks. Part of what I see is a people deeply concerned about the increasing difficulties of surviving in tough economic times. The other part is anger and resentment towards the privileged. So how ought Christians think about social justice, wealth, and government? Christians have experienced hard times like this before, so what wisdom have they to pass on? Part 1 - An Introduction...


Thanks to various media outlets covering the riots on Wall Street people have been introduced to a movement that has, apparently, been around for over a decade. They call themselves the 99 percent, a homage to 99% of people who share a proportionately smaller share of national (and indeed international) wealth than the top 1%.

During the economic boom through the late 90s and before 2007 a movement of people disenfranchised with with the rich/poor divide was barely noticeable. But as the recession hit those of us who used to live comfortably with secure jobs suddenly found it hard to pay bills. The United States in particular started witnessing unseen numbers of home foreclosures, and for many more going to the hospital was strictly for emergencies only. After nearly four years of hardly any recovery, the top 1% continue to earn in greater numbers.

It seems there were cracks in the system. Now it's left in a state of woeful disrepair. A movement like this shouldn't be surprising.

Economies rise and fall. There are times of growth, and times of recession. But this recession has shown something remarkably different, and not just in its size and scale. In the past, as recessions hit and demand for products and services diminish, a proportionate amount of the workforce would be laid off. As demand began to return, so would the workforce. In this case, however, increased demand hasn't been bringing back the workforce. Instead, the workload has increased for those who are still lucky enough to have a job. For a variety of reasons employers aren't bringing back the workforce.

And this is where movements like this begin to get angry. Because more work is being accomplished with less labour (typically through what's called company restructuring) this leads to much higher profit margins. Business are sitting on much more money than they have in the past and are either too fearful to spend it or they spread it amongst their own top earners. Hence the big bonuses and pay-raises of the 1%. Apparently "trickle-down" economics just isn't working like it's supposed to.

If the top 1% are taking more for themselves and not spreading it around this leaves a much smaller share of the overall monetary fund for the other 99%. Things are getting tight and now they're beginning to protest. The demands are simple and straightforward. Decent wages, accessible healthcare, and affordable food and shelter. Only they're taking straight aim at what they call the corporate takeover of American democracy.

So where do Christians stand in the crisis? And what does Christianity say about social justice in a suffering system? Check back for part 2...