As with many of you, I was shocked at the report out of Tampa, Florida about a homeless woman with 15 children who bemoaned that someone has to pay for her children: “Somebody needs to be held accountable, and they need to pay.”
Interesting perspective on accountability, wouldn’t you say?
As I thought further about it, the attitude of “I’ll do whatever I want and someone else will pay the bill” is not limited to those with meager means; it afflicts those with their hands on staggering piles of money as well. Hers was but a small-scale example of a major problem in today’s world: profligacy and dodging the consequences – I play, you pay.
Sever, Delay, Shift
Separating consequences from actions has always been an attractive activity for those who seek power, wealth, and fame – he who robs Peter to pay Paul will always have the vote of Paul. And if the consequence cannot be cleanly severed from the action, then at least it can be distorted, delayed, or fobbed off on someone else.
Many of our recent financial troubles can be traced to such a shifting or postponement of consequences from actions. A few examples:
- Government, in its desire to guarantee equality of outcomes, imposed affirmative-action quotas on the mortgage industry in 1995, and then in 1999 instructed Fannie Mae to buy more subprime paper. Investments in mortgage-backed securities thus had the implicit guarantee of a government-sponsored entity and freed bankers and other lending institutions from the consequences of their actions. In other words, banks didn’t have to be as careful to whom they gave loans because government would take the risk. A classic definition of moral hazard – one party gets the rewards and another party the risks – if there ever was one.
- We all know the stats – our national debt is now equal to our annual GDP, government will spend at least $120 billion more this year than last year, and federal spending overall is 5% greater than it was in 2010. Has our population grown that much? Do inflation and population growth over the last 12 months equal 5%? Didn’t think so.
Lest my progressive friends feel I am unfairly singling out their messiah, I also hold Bush 43’s feet to the fire. For his first six years in office, the man didn’t veto a single spending bill, not one. So far in this century, there has been absolutely no meaningful resistance in Washington to runaway budgets from either Republicans or Democrats. But when it comes to profligate spending, Obama is Bush on steroids.
(The borrow-and-spend pattern can lead to serious though comical conundrums. Erskine Bowles noted recently that America has a treaty obligation to come to the defense of Taiwan if it is attacked by China. But we would have to borrow money from China to do it, he said.)
- Then there’s Europe in panicked consultations this week to protect the euro. And why? Because some nations spent more than they should on non-productive investments (aka consumption) and expected their neighbors to bail them out. Talk about Germans as ants and Greeks as grasshoppers. So now, will 17 nations give up a measure of fiscal sovereignty to right the euro-zone boat? Will they allow the Brussels sprouts (the EU bureaucrats) to control national budgets? Goes against human nature, but we’ll see.
Some day, the fobbed-off-onto next generation will wake up and ask, “Why should I pay for the meal someone ate before I was even born?” And then the streets around the buildings of power in our national and state capitals will be filled with more than graffiti.
Revisit the War in Heaven
As I grew up in Springville, Utah, I was taught that Lucifer’s plan was to force us to do good so we would be guaranteed to return and live with Heavenly Father. I don’t think that correctly captures it because, as Mormon spoke and Moroni recorded:
But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, … ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one…. (Moroni 7:17)
Satan didn’t want us to do good; it has never been in his nature. He only wants to break or distort the link between action and consequence so the law would have no power over the children of men and, therefore, no sin could be committed, man’s agency would be diluted along with his accountability, God’s purposes would be thwarted, and Satan would take all power and glory. Note his MO (emphases added):
- Nephi explaining how the devil will rage in the hearts of men “…lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this….” (2 Nephi 28:8)
- Satan allowed Lamoni’s line of Lamanite kings to believe in a Great Spirit so he could influence them with a sinister deviation: “Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, they supposed that whatsoever they did was right….” (Alma 18:5)
- Korihor, the great anti-Christ, taught that “…every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.” (Alma 30:17)
- Moroni, taking over his father’s records, taught that in the last days “…there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day.” (Mormon 8:31)
No crime, no sin, no punishment – do whatever you want.
The Lord’s principle of agency is that we have the right to choose but must be held accountable for our choices. Satan’s philosophy leads to only one outcome: the loss of personal responsibility and the ensuing weakening of society. Unfortunately, too many people and organizations – caring only about gratification, votes, power, and wealth – are buying into this philosophy.
It is wrong when one party gains while pushing the risk to another party that must bear the price. This kick-the-can strategy is especially wrong when the bearing parties are our children and grandchildren.
The society that separates, distorts, or shifts consequences from actions will soon pay a terrible price.
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Gary Lawrence’s book “Mormons Believe … What?! Fact and Fiction About a Rising Religion” answers 24 misconceptions and rumors about the Church. Visit MormonsBelieveWhat.com
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