Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825

Pope Francis is at it again. In his latest attack on capitalism he says the pursuit of career, success and wealth is sinful. This is a popular position to take these days. Do you agree? We’ll talk about it in Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825.

Extremes

Anything taken to the extreme can certainly be a sin. Maybe the Pope has gone too far this time though.

I Am Poor Because You Are Rich. Right?

Pope Francis seems to be reinforcing the idea that one person is poor because someone else is rich. So did Karl Marx.

Tax Breaks Are Bad Unless I am Getting Them

Moreover this theme is often taken up by anti capitalist protesters. In Paris they are complaining that the billionaires offering to fund the rebuilding of Notre Dame should be helping the poor instead. Amazon is criticized by the media for employing legal tax breaks to bring its tax bill down to zero. Everyone else employs tax accountants. Why? To lower their tax bills.

How Big Is The Pie?

Finally Pope Francis reinforces the idea that the pie is only one size. When one person takes a slice less pie remains. Fact is capitalism and capitalists make the pie bigger.

Hard Work And Focus On Success Is Now A Sin?

The popular notion the Pope is reinforcing is investors and entrepreneurs receive income exceeding the value and contribution they make to the process of production. In fact, investors and entrepreneurs driven by a single focus make production possible. How is that a sin?

Define Capitalism

As a result of this Pope’s statements one can only conclude he is attacking capitalism. What is wealth? Prosperity? Success? How does one define capitalism? I do in Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825.

Even Jesus Had To Work Hard

Above all accomplishing anything of human value isn’t easy. Any noteworthy contribution made by human beings from Lebron James to Jeff Bezos takes a lot of focus and work. The Pope might encourage that commitment rather than condemn it.

Dangerous Cynicism

In conclusion this Pope demonstrates a more dangerous cynicism. Especially when you consider the fact that the Catholic Church itself remains one of the largest real estate owners and tax free institutions in the world.

Sponsored by Whitetail Builders and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Success-Wealth-Pope-Sin-Bob Davis Podcast 825

Podcast 368

Asteroid. As a huge asteroid comes within striking distance of the Earth – relatively speaking – one wonders whether the now controversial Jade Helm exercise in the American West, and the mood of people in the last few weeks is connected somehow. While the object in question (1999 FN53) will come only within about four million miles of earth it’s the one they don’t see that will hit us. Begging the question, if they knew an object that was over a mile wide and could do catastrophic damage to the planet, would they tell us? This is a great story that provokes all kinds of questions. So much of our lives these days depends on supposedly making precise predictions about the future that are expected to be correct, even about outlier events. Yet life is rarely predictable and very messy. A person’s life can be changed in a blink of an eye, as can the life of a nation. This podcast shares one friend’s story of instant change. Probably everyone has a story about something that happened, and after that, their lives were different. There’s plenty of books, TV shows and movies about these kinds of situations, from The Walking Dead to Jericho and of course the Mad Max movies. What happened? Sometimes the show’s story line tells us and sometimes they don’t. Not knowing is half the fun, and maybe that’s what keeps us watching. Oddly enough, at the same time a new survey from Pew says that fewer and fewer Americans identify with the Christian Faith, provoking an honest personal observation about religion, religious people and the movie ‘Left Behind’, with Nicholas Cage. What role does religion play in our lives? After 9/11, people were more likely to go to church and identify with a faith. As the old saying goes, there’s no atheists in Fox Holes. Or are there? One of the topics of the Bob Davis Podcasts is often technology, disruption because of technology, and the impact it has on the way we work. This has been a topic of discussion on these podcasts since almost the start. Suddenly a lot is being written about autonomous machines, robotics, 3D printing, and automation in industries that have never been automated before. Now, we’re starting to see the first impact of truly autonomous machines in retail, fast food and semi skilled labor and a lot is being written about the impact. Sometimes the writer tries to persuade the reader that it must be stopped, other times writers appear to be trying to predict a jobless future because of these machines. What will happen and how do we get ready for it. A lot of things to think about in this unusual, candid and off beat midweek update. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul