What values should guide our nation's response to today's financial crisis? The turmoil on Wall Street is not just a financial challenge but a moral one. As a Quaker, I believe that principles leading to greater economic justice and equality should guide our actions. We also can look to the literal Greek meaning of the word "economy": care or stewardship of a household.
Our nation's household is in trouble. Economic inequality is at its highest level since the Great Depression. The U.S. economy has shed 600,000 jobs this year. Food banks and homeless shelters are turning people away. While our nation spends $720 million a day on the Iraq war, millions of households face a winter without heat because social programs have been starved of funds for eight years. In our global household, 26,000 children under 5 die from preventable causes every day.
Many people know there is something wrong with this picture. They believe it is unfair for Congress to impose strict bankruptcy rules on individuals while rushing to bail out firms which built a house of cards with other people's money. They question why the same private interests that convinced policymakers to deregulate the financial sector and ignore predatory mortgage lending practices are allowed a role in shaping bailout legislation. No wonder that the person on the street is telling reporters that a bailout will leave the "fat cats" richer and the "little guy" further behind.
- Human rights. Solutions should nourish the dignity and human rights of all people as called for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This includes an inherent human right to food, shelter, health care, and an adequate standard of living. People should be free to exercise political and civil rights in order to obtain these economic rights.
- A seat at the table. How can we solve this problem in a way that moves toward greater transparency and justice? Taxpayers who will be expected to foot the bill for solutions should have a say in the process. Congress should heed public input and take a strong oversight role. People can call Congress and join groups working on this issue. Over the long run, we can all help "democratize the economy" as members of credit unions, cooperatives, labor unions, community groups, and as shareholders and voters. Civic engagement increases democracy. Undue political influence by corporate and financial interests limits it.
- The common good. Solutions should benefit the many, not the few. As feminist activist Barbara Deming once wrote, "We are all part of one another." The way the crisis on Wall Street is resonating on Main Street and around the world is a poignant example of this truth. A society cannot move ahead when it leaves anyone behind.
- Social responsibility. Solutions should include a role for a strong public sector and a responsible private sector that sees itself as part of a community of people accountable to each other. A business ethic that supports worker rights, protects the environment, and pays livable wages nurtures human dignity and rights. Those rights are harmed by unethical practices which transfer resources away from workers, shareholders, and communities.
We are all part of one another. Our society cannot abandon people and communities and expect to remain healthy and whole. We cannot afford to keep accumulating debt while giving tax breaks to the most affluent and paying for a $720 million-a-day war. We have to make choices. Congress should not rush into hasty solutions as it rushed into the Iraq war. Rather, solutions must come from a place of our deepest values and with the utmost care.
Mary Ellen McNish is the General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization which works for peace, justice and humanitarian service.