Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

The connection between the wealth gap, monopolies, affordable housing and biblical truths

OpinionL.A “Tony” Kovach  |  November 17, 2021

The first 346 words that follow the headline “The U.S. wealth gap presents both a political challenge and a spiritual problem” on Baptist News Global by Todd Thomason are packed with data that Christians of all stripes should carefully consider. The conclusion he lays out beginning with the subheading “Grotesque injustice” is laced with fine Scriptural references that aptly explain why Baptists and other biblical believers should be engaged in seeking solutions.

Thomason modestly admits the solution is “beyond the scope of this article and above the pay grade of the author.” He is to be commended for raising these issues, as is BNG for publishing it. That said, the middle portion starting with “Of course, this is not how the ‘Reaganomics’ experiment was supposed to turn out,” while a common refrain among numbers of thinkers, is respectfully subject to an entirely different interpretation of the facts Thompson aptly laid out.

Tony Kovach

For those who believe in providence working through free will, it surely is no coincidence that Thomason’s thesis was published at the same time as Ivory Mewborn’s op-ed on BNG relative to how affordable home ownership impacts wealth distribution.

Before proceeding, let’s stress that authentic facts are not political, although partisans may and do use them. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8.32) is the Lord’s dictum that can bring together the core of what both Mewborn and Thomason laid out.

With a spirit of fraternal correction, here are some facts that Thomason and others should chew on in terms of the facts and their scriptural implication.

To briefly frame this issue historically, economically and spiritually, let’s jump back in time to the period around the U.S. revolution and the early days of the American Republic.

When the Boston Tea Party occurred in 1773, there were at least two undercurrents, one of which was related to the British crown’s tax on the tea. The other was that rebels were protesting that the tea was part of a royal grant of a monopoly.

“The American revolution was an economic, political and religious break with England.”

We must keep in mind that the American revolution was an economic, political and religious break with England. As the Declaration of Independence framed it, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

While no human event, person or organization is perfect, our Republic’s revolution explicitly aimed at weaving together Godly principles with economic, political and social principles.

George Washington said in his farewell address that “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.” That principle arguably applied then, now and should until the Second Coming.

Fast forward to the debate after the American Revolution of what became our current U.S. Constitution.

On Dec. 20, 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote his friend James Madison to say what he thought was lacking in the draft. “I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies … .” That “restriction against monopolies” was followed by “trial by jury in all matters” — checks on government and economic power.

We know that most of these suggestions made by Jefferson were adopted, but the check against monopoly power only came decades later.

“The check against monopoly power only came decades later.”

Jumping ahead to the 1800s, there were various economic and political battles in America over banking, finance and economic issues.

After the Civil War and the freeing of slaves, there was a battle over monopoly power. Sen. John Sherman famously said, “If we will not endure a king as a political power, we should not endure a king over production, transportation and sale of any of the necessaires of life.”

It is not easy for most who have not studied the harms caused by monopolistic forces to realize just how pernicious they can be.

For an expert view from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, James A. Schmitz Jr. and David Fettig are among economic researchers that noted that monopolies can become “Silent Spreaders of Poverty and Economic Inequality.” This pattern of what they dubbed “sabotaging monopolies” may subtly or obviously impact housing, health care and several other segments of the economy. Like Mewborn, Schmitz and others have advocated on behalf of a greater access to more manufactured homes.

As a disclosure, Mewborn and this writer — while independent of each other — produced a joint statement that reveals how existing federal laws could be used to overcome artificial zoning barriers.

That said, Mewborn was quite correct in saying that manufactured homes are an attainable “home ownership” option that “is a proven and common tool for building generational wealth. The nation’s affordable housing crisis is raging, and the only solution is to provide more new housing that is affordable.” Lawrence Yun with the National Association of Realtors said something similar.

Citing a range of important facts and evidence that support Mewborn’s thesis, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson praised manufactured homes as an achievable means of building that generational wealth.

Let’s draw to a close by pondering for a few moments what Jesus did in what’s sometimes called “the cleansing of the temple.” Why did the Lord drive those merchants and traders out with a makeshift whip?

“Monopoly power is fundamentally a corrupt collusion between government and big businesses.”

Several Scriptural reasons come to mind, including violations of the principle of “unjust weights and measures,” (Leviticus 19:35; Proverbs 11.1; Luke 16:10, James 5:4). By word and example, Jesus’ statement that “you have turned my Father’s House into a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13) rebuked corrupt and harmful business practices. That divine teaching can easily be applied, as the founders did, to the evils of monopolization.

Monopoly power is fundamentally a corrupt collusion between government and big businesses, as Schmitz and others have evidenced.

The pragmatic answer is for people of faith to gain understanding, see harms and patterns, and advocate solutions possible by enforcing existing laws.

What Jefferson and Sherman sought in antitrust (think anti-monopoly) restrictions was a balance that protected small businesses, small farms and the rights of the employed.

Free markets and free people are the happy middle between the extremes of socialism, communism and the fascist model of big business and big government colluding to control “we the people.” John 8.31, cited above, is often overlooked in the light of verse 32. “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.” 

L.A “Tony” Kovach is a former youth minister and online evangelist, is an acknowledged expert in manufactured housing, and is the publisher of MHLivingNews.com and MHProNews.com. He has won numerous awards in history, including the Lottinville Award from the University of Oklahoma.

 

Related articles:

The U.S. wealth gap presents both a political challenge and a spiritual problem | Analysis by Todd Thomason

Manufactured homes and just zoning laws can transform working poor | Opinion by Ivory Mewborn

It is impossible to afford rent almost anywhere in the U.S. with a minimum-wage job


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:housingTodd Thomasonwealth gapTony KovachmonopolyBoston Tea PartyIvory Mewborn
More by
L.A “Tony” Kovach
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • BNG dinner will bring together Anthea Butler and Beth Allison Barr for a conversation on race and gender

    Two of the most prominent voices speaking to the American church about race and gender will appear together at the Baptist News Global dinner during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Dallas this June. Get your tickets now!

  • Featured

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      Opinion

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      Opinion

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      News

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      May 19, 2022
    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      May 19, 2022
    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      May 19, 2022
    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      May 19, 2022
    Read Next:

    ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Becoming UNSTOPPABLE Christians

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why American democracy is threatened in Ukraine

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Roe v. Wade, the great divider

      AnalysisErich Bridges

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Bailey and Perrin named Vestal Scholars

      NewsBNG staff

    • Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC presidential candidate wants ERLC leader fired for joining 75 other pro-life leaders in urging compassion for women who have abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • $100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education

      NewsBNG staff

    • No formal name change proposed for SBC, and entities report back on use of NDAs in annual Book of Reports

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Accountability to God increases sense of well-being, study finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Campbellsville University custodian receives degree after stopping education in the 1990s

      NewsLinda Waggener

    • Progressives need to stop letting Christian nationalists set the agenda, author asserts

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In reelection year, Texas governor proposes statewide voucher program for private schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s a path for Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. but the process remains too slow

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • After days of unrest sparked by religious clashes, Ethiopians are beginning to get back to normal life

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • First review of SBC sexual abuse report begins today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In Charlottesville, an effort to reuse bronze from Lee statue for new public art

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • United Methodist Church split draws celebration, lament and soul-searching

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Choose Life: Putin reminds us how bad theology can turn nuclear

      OpinionJillian Mason Shannon

    • I’m disappointed with the world but still wanting to hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Racism from the perspective of a white man

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • ‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What is a Baptist?

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • In our dystopian world, I’m leaning into the Korean concept of han

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Letter to the Editor: Wingfield is wrong on ‘performative Christianity’

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Do or donut; there is no try

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Will we be silent as stones or voices of light?

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • It is a lie

      OpinionDwight A. Moody

    • A brief history of the Hateful Faithful threat to democracy through the Supreme Court

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Gov. DeSantis should learn a lesson from Southern Baptists about taking on Disney

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A rabbi who ‘speaks to Christians’ condemned them on Twitter. It cost him his job.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deadly explosion damages historic church, Baptist offices in Cuba

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith on the ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo executive director Denise Walden

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Is Antisemitism? Evangelicals Favor Different Definitions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Religious Communities Opposed To Ukraine War Face Pressure And Censorship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Not All Pro-Lifers are Celebrating

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana pastor J.D. Hall, Pulpit&Pen founder, charged with DUI, carrying weapon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Grove City board accepts full CRT report, says college promoted CRT

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What you need to know about the antisemitic ideology behind the Buffalo shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘personhood’? The ethics question that needs a closer look in abortion debates

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Interfaith group asks Starbucks to drop vegan milk surcharge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Cuba hotel explosion badly damaged major Baptist church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Op-Ed: Conservative Christians will regret overturning Roe. They’re sacrificing religious liberty to do it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Global COVID-19 Summit left children off its agenda. The church should not.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • No more murder charge for women in Louisiana abortion bill

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Vatican Expresses ‘Concern’ Over Cardinal Zen Arrest For Ties To Pro-Democracy Fund

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Study: Girls raised by Jewish parents outperform Christian girls academically

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Report: Christians May Have Helped Run Half of Native American Boarding Schools

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS