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1. Amsterdam-Facebook-Travel+Leisure
2. Netherlands
Edited with added, Book of James related, Bibliography for academia.edu entry on July 10, 2022
The Guardian January 19
Cited
Larry Elliott, economics editor, and Ed Pilkington The Guardian, Monday 19 January 2015
'New Oxfam report says half of global wealth held by the 1% Oxfam warns of widening inequality gap, days ahead of Davos economic summit in Switzerland'
Cited
'Billionaires and politicians gathering in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to tackle rising inequality after a study found that – on current trends – by next year, 1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%.'
Cited
Ahead of this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the ski resort of Davos, the anti-poverty charity Oxfam said it would use its high-profile role at the gathering to demand urgent action to narrow the gap between rich and poor. The charity’s research, published on Monday, shows that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the best-off 1% has increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, while the least well-off 80% currently own just 5.5%. Oxfam added that on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016.
Cited
'Oxfam made headlines at Davos last year with a study showing that the 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50% (3.5 billion people). The charity said this year that the comparison was now even more stark, with just 80 people owning the same amount of wealth as more than 3.5 billion people, down from 388 in 2010.'
Cited
Byanyima said: “Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined? The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.”
Cited '• Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers.'
End Citations
'1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%.'
Oxfam added that on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016.'
I was not clear initially in regard to the statistics when I heard the story online.
But seeing it in print it is assumed that 1% of the population will have more wealth than 99% of the population and own more than 50% of the wealth also.
'Byanyima said: “Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined?'
No, but as a Christian theologian and philosopher that is a moderate conservative, I also do not want socialistic large government non-solutions which damage economic and business growth and individual initiative.
I do not want to be under the excessive economic or political control of governments or corporations.
Or any human controlled religion.
'Cited '• Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers.''
I do agree with the concept of a 'living wage' or 'working person's wage. That being a wage within an economy by where a person can survive.
I have significant difficulty with corporations ethically placing fiduciary responsibility to shareholders above a living wage for employees.
Just because persons will work at a certain wage level, as in market value does not mean it is a living wage, but rather economics and other factors may pressure persons to accept the seemingly best deal possible and corporations should not use the economic argument that if someone will work at a certain wage then it is ethically acceptable, even if legal.
There needs to be other ethical and moral issues considered.
Corporations should put persons and their welfare, including a living wage for all employees above fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.
Biblically consider James
James 5:1-6
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Misuse of Riches
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of [a]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have [b]fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and [c]put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Footnotes: James 5:4 I.e. Hosts James 5:5 Lit nourished James 5:6 Or murdered New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Wealth is not inherently wrong, but its misuse is...
Vox January 24
Cited
'Be careful with that viral statistic about the top 1% owning half the world’s wealth Updated by Ezra Klein on January 22, 2015, 2:50 p.m. ET'
Cited
'In recent days, there's been a startling statistic going around. The number comes from Oxfam, and warns that the combined wealth of the richest one percent will pass that of the other 99 percent next year, at least if current trends hold. The statistic has been reported in the Guardian, the New York Times, and FiveThirtyEight, among others. Even Hillary Clinton is using a version of it. But it doesn't mean quite what it looks like it means.'
Cited
'To see the problem, here's another version of the same number: the combined wealth of my two nephews is already more than the bottom 30 percent of the world combined. And they don't have jobs, or inheritances. They just have a piggy bank and no debt. Oxfam presents the statistic, which is derived from data published in Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Databook (pdf), as a measure of wealth. But it's technically a measure of net worth: assets minus debts. As such, what it's picking up isn't just massive inequality in wealth, but also massive inequality in the ability to access credit. So for the purposes of Oxfam's calculation, a farmer in China's rural Sichuan province with no debt but also very little money is wealthier than an American who just graduated from medical school with substantial debt but also a hefty, six-figure income. By any sensible standard, the medical student is richer, but because her student debt still outweighs her financial assets, the net worth measure counts her as poorer than the Chinese peasant.'
But the author notes....
Cited
'Update: My explanation of the wealth distribution chart was confusing. So, to clarify, that chart mixes countries and continents, but I'm further breaking it down by country, which you can find on page 107 of the Databook. North America doesn't have the second-highest number of people in the bottom decile, but among countries, the US does.'
In closing there seems to be much speculation in regard to the statistics and economics, but one can be concerned about the wealth disparity, even from a moderate conservative perspective.
Cited
Larry Elliott, economics editor, and Ed Pilkington The Guardian, Monday 19 January 2015
'New Oxfam report says half of global wealth held by the 1% Oxfam warns of widening inequality gap, days ahead of Davos economic summit in Switzerland'
Cited
'Billionaires and politicians gathering in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to tackle rising inequality after a study found that – on current trends – by next year, 1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%.'
Cited
Ahead of this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the ski resort of Davos, the anti-poverty charity Oxfam said it would use its high-profile role at the gathering to demand urgent action to narrow the gap between rich and poor. The charity’s research, published on Monday, shows that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the best-off 1% has increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, while the least well-off 80% currently own just 5.5%. Oxfam added that on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016.
Cited
'Oxfam made headlines at Davos last year with a study showing that the 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50% (3.5 billion people). The charity said this year that the comparison was now even more stark, with just 80 people owning the same amount of wealth as more than 3.5 billion people, down from 388 in 2010.'
Cited
Byanyima said: “Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined? The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.”
Cited '• Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers.'
End Citations
'1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%.'
Oxfam added that on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016.'
I was not clear initially in regard to the statistics when I heard the story online.
But seeing it in print it is assumed that 1% of the population will have more wealth than 99% of the population and own more than 50% of the wealth also.
'Byanyima said: “Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined?'
No, but as a Christian theologian and philosopher that is a moderate conservative, I also do not want socialistic large government non-solutions which damage economic and business growth and individual initiative.
I do not want to be under the excessive economic or political control of governments or corporations.
Or any human controlled religion.
'Cited '• Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers.''
I do agree with the concept of a 'living wage' or 'working person's wage. That being a wage within an economy by where a person can survive.
I have significant difficulty with corporations ethically placing fiduciary responsibility to shareholders above a living wage for employees.
Just because persons will work at a certain wage level, as in market value does not mean it is a living wage, but rather economics and other factors may pressure persons to accept the seemingly best deal possible and corporations should not use the economic argument that if someone will work at a certain wage then it is ethically acceptable, even if legal.
There needs to be other ethical and moral issues considered.
Corporations should put persons and their welfare, including a living wage for all employees above fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.
Biblically consider James
James 5:1-6
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Misuse of Riches
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of [a]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have [b]fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and [c]put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Footnotes: James 5:4 I.e. Hosts James 5:5 Lit nourished James 5:6 Or murdered New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Wealth is not inherently wrong, but its misuse is...
Vox January 24
Cited
'Be careful with that viral statistic about the top 1% owning half the world’s wealth Updated by Ezra Klein on January 22, 2015, 2:50 p.m. ET'
Cited
'In recent days, there's been a startling statistic going around. The number comes from Oxfam, and warns that the combined wealth of the richest one percent will pass that of the other 99 percent next year, at least if current trends hold. The statistic has been reported in the Guardian, the New York Times, and FiveThirtyEight, among others. Even Hillary Clinton is using a version of it. But it doesn't mean quite what it looks like it means.'
Cited
'To see the problem, here's another version of the same number: the combined wealth of my two nephews is already more than the bottom 30 percent of the world combined. And they don't have jobs, or inheritances. They just have a piggy bank and no debt. Oxfam presents the statistic, which is derived from data published in Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Databook (pdf), as a measure of wealth. But it's technically a measure of net worth: assets minus debts. As such, what it's picking up isn't just massive inequality in wealth, but also massive inequality in the ability to access credit. So for the purposes of Oxfam's calculation, a farmer in China's rural Sichuan province with no debt but also very little money is wealthier than an American who just graduated from medical school with substantial debt but also a hefty, six-figure income. By any sensible standard, the medical student is richer, but because her student debt still outweighs her financial assets, the net worth measure counts her as poorer than the Chinese peasant.'
But the author notes....
Cited
'Update: My explanation of the wealth distribution chart was confusing. So, to clarify, that chart mixes countries and continents, but I'm further breaking it down by country, which you can find on page 107 of the Databook. North America doesn't have the second-highest number of people in the bottom decile, but among countries, the US does.'
In closing there seems to be much speculation in regard to the statistics and economics, but one can be concerned about the wealth disparity, even from a moderate conservative perspective.
BARCLAY, WILLIAM (1976) The Letters of James and Peter, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press.
BAUER, WALTER. (1979) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Translated by Eric H. Wahlstrom, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
BRUCE, F.F. (1987) Romans, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
CAIRD, GEORGE B. (1977) Paul's Letters from Prison Paperback, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
CARSON T. (1986) ‘James', in F.F. Bruce (ed.),The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
COURSON, JON (2005) Application Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.
DUNNETT, WALTER M. (2001) Exploring The New Testament, Wheaton, Crossway Books.
ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.
FEE, GORDON (1987) The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
MARSHALL, ALFRED (1975)(1996) The Interlinear KJV-NIV, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Burlington, Welch Publishing Company.
THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT (1993) Stuttgart, United Bible Societies.
The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms, (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.
You can certainly see your enthusiasm in the work you write.
ReplyDeleteThe sector hopes for more passionate writers such as you who aren't afraid
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ReplyDeleteThe boys had been up in the attic together helping with some cleaning. The kids uncovered an old manual typewriter and asked her, "Hey Mom, what's this?"
ReplyDelete"Oh, that's an old typewriter," she answered, thinking that would satisfy their curiosity.
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"Wow! This is so cool!" they exclaimed. "Someone should have invented this a long time ago!"
…..Copyright 2014 Mike Atkinson (www.mikeysFunnies.com) by way of “Christian Voices” (ChristianVoices@att.net)
Some time ago, I was cooking some corn and stuck my fork in the boiling water to see if the corn was ready. I missed and my hand went into the boiling water....!!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine, who was a Vietnam vet, came into the house, as I was screaming, & asked me if I had some plain old flour...
I pulled out a bag and he stuck my hand in it. He told me to keep my hand in the flour for 10 minutes.
He said, in Vietnam , there was a guy on fire and in their panic, they threw a bag of flour all over him to put the fire out...Well, it not only put the fire out, but he never even had a blister!!!!
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"When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others"
delete this as soon as you read it (thanks)
ReplyDelete"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great
ReplyDeletepleasure."
> - Clarence Darrow
"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading
ReplyDeleteit."
> - Moses Hadas
> "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
ReplyDelete> - Stephen Bishop
> "He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
ReplyDelete> - John Bright
> "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
ReplyDelete> - Charles, Count Talleyrand
> "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
ReplyDelete> - Forrest Tucker
> "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
ReplyDelete> - Oscar Wilde
> "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I'm afraid this wasn't it."
ReplyDelete> - Groucho Marx
Why Does God Care About Me?
ReplyDeleteRANDY FRAZEE
"The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:8 (NIV)
Psalm 121:8 makes a proclamation that is hard to believe: "The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Does the Lord really watch over me perpetually? How is this even possible? I didn’t have a mental model for the mere scope of this assignment. That is until my daughter introduced me to an app called RunKeeper.
This app tells me how far I’ve run, the average time per mile and my overall time, down to the second. It graphs the various elevations and shows me an overview map of exactly where I have run. If I showed you my run history, you would see maps of beaches, mountains and all kinds of locations and terrains around the world.
Here’s what’s even more amazing. RunKeeper not only tracks and records my locations, it does so for 10 million other runners as well! If humans can invent a piece of technology to track the steps of 10 million people simultaneously, is it really much of a stretch to believe God can track 6 billion of us?
I guess not. God is transcendent; He is above all. God is also immanent; He is near. Very near.
How near? A few verses earlier the writer tells us "… the LORD is your shade at your right hand;" (Psalm 121:5b, NIV).
So, I now have a mental concept of God’s capacity to watch and track all of my comings and goings, now and forevermore. Yet, I am still left with one more puzzling question — why?
Why would God want to do this? Most of my days would make an insomniac fall asleep. Personally, I love my routine and the minor assignments on my "to do" list. I just can’t see how this could possibly be a good use of the Divine Creator’s time.
The answer is not hard to find. It is stamped on almost every page of Scripture. God watches over our coming and our going now and forevermore because He loves us andcares deeply for us.
Easy to understand, but hard to grasp that the one true God over all deeply loves and cares about us.
Right now I am sitting in a hospital room. My grandson arrived into the world yesterday. As he lies in his crib, I tower over him watching his every move — every twitch of his eye, and every move to the right or to the left. A yawn is big news. The smirk on his face evoked by gas sure looks like a genuine smile in my book.
To anyone else, this would seem like a colossal waste of time. Not for me or my wife or daughter or son-in-law. I love my grandson. Oh my, this is how God feels about me but with so much more depth and perfection. Somehow, we must all come to terms with this reality and soak it in.
Right now, my grandson has no clue of my intense love and protection over him. One day he will. The same is true for us with God. We wander through life unaware He has been tracking us morning and night. The goal is to one day become aware of God’s presence in our lives. When we do, we write our own Psalm — maybe not as eloquent as the one above, but just as meaningful. Maybe that day for you is today!
Dear Heavenly Father, I now understand that You have the capacity to watch over my coming and going now and forever more. How overwhelming! What is even more overwhelming is the reason You do this. You are driven to watch my every move because You love me and care for me. I don’t fully grasp why You have chosen me, but I am aware of it and it makes me feel safe. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
ReplyDeletePsalm 139:1-2, "You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar." (NIV)
Matthew 6:31-32, "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." (NIV)
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES:
Today’s devotion comes from a new book by pastor and author, Randy Frazee. Think, Act, Be like Jesus is a devotional book that covers 30 key ideas found in Scripture. It is also a companion to a new Bible engagement campaign for the entire church called Believe. To find out more about both, click here.
Enter to WIN a copy of Believe by Randy Frazee. In celebration of this book, Randy’s publisher is giving away 10 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here, letting us know why you’d like a copy for yourself OR whom you would give the book to, if you won. {We’ll randomly select 10 winners and email notifications to each one, by Monday, February 2.}
REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Do you believe God has the capacity and passion to watch over your coming and going now and forever more? Why or why not?
What difference would it make in your daily life if you are truly aware of and accepted God’s intense love and involvement in your life?
© 2015 by Randy Frazee. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Zondervan for their sponsorship of today's devotion.
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Obama taught “Destroy Middle Class,” October 12, 2012, Canada Free Press
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Obama's New State Of The Union Tax Hike On Middle Class 529 College Savers, January 19, 2015, Forbes
‘Some 85% of the middle class say they are worse off today than they were ten years ago. According to the Wall Street Journal, from the time Obama took office in 2009, ‘
ReplyDelete‘Obama's New State Of The Union Tax Hike On Middle Class 529 College Savers’
Thanks, Doug, these are troubling headers. My brother that lives in AZ says Obama is a communist. I figure he is a social democrat that can better his temporal future and worldly prospects by playing the pc political game.
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rnmwales: Hurry! It's your Fiverr bonus
ReplyDeleteOn the Briefing today, Albert Mohler was asking if post-Christian Europe would survive?
ReplyDeleteStating it was doomed as post-Christian.
Of course it will survive.
Note, I have EU/UK passport as well as being CDN born and with citizenship. I have lived in UK two years of my life and incidentally my Euro friend Anjela states I am Euro.
Anyway...the EU may change and lose some power...
When was Europe not very sinful, historically?
Was Christian Europe ever Biblically Christian?
You could definitely see your enthusiasm inn the article you write.
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On the Briefing Tuesday, Albert Mohler was asking if post-Christian Europe would survive?
ReplyDeleteStating it was doomed as post-Christian.
Of course it will survive.
Note, I have EU/UK passport as well as being CDN born and with citizenship. I have lived in UK two years of my life and incidentally my Euro friend Anjela states I am Euro. I think this indicates I do not think typically North American like.
Anyway...the EU may change and lose some power...
But I ponder.
When was Europe not very sinful, historically?
Was Christian Europe ever Biblically Christian?
I just do not buy this implied golden age of Christianity philosophy from very conservative Christians in regard to Europe and even America. The Western World has always been a very sinful realm. Jesus said his Kingdom was not of this world John 18 and Christianity has never been perfectly represented in it.
Europe Bloomberg
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Jan 30 Albert Mohler on the Briefing
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1) Legal win for Trinity Western Law school dodges choice between religious and erotic liberty