Henry Raymond
Fairfax News => Political Issues/Comments => Topic started by: Gary Gilbert on April 27, 2008, 06:31:09 PM
-
Lessons from the Past
This is extracted from John Winthrop’s most famous thesis, Model of Christian Charity, or sometimes known as the City Upon a Hill sermon written on board the Arbella, 1630
In 1630, Puritan leader John Winthrop recognized that the shared faith of the Massachusetts’s Bay Puritans might not be enough to hold the new colony together in troubled times and that self-interest might become a threat to their very existence and values. To remind them of their commitment to each other, he forged a union of their religious beliefs and social expectations by applying deductive logic to the recognized authority of the Bible. He wrote a framework based on justice and mercy to demonstrate the shared responsibilities of the colonists, which would be necessary for the success of the new settlement. The legislation being considered at the end of this term in Montpelier is an attempt to do the same thing for Vermont in our troubled times.
Winthrop, as was common in his time, assumed that “at all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.” But that all were held together by two rules: Justice and Mercy; which would have different application at different times. This duty of mercy is evidenced in: giving, lending and forgiving.
Winthrop wrote, “If the time and occasion be ordinary he is to give out of his abundance. If the time and occasion be extraordinary, then a man cannot likely do too much, especially if he may leave himself and his family under probable means of comfortable subsistence… The same with a community of peril, but with more enlargement towards others and less respect towards ourselves and our own right.”
“Lending could involve either justice or mercy.” If a borrower had the means of repaying, he was to be treated … with justice. If his means of repaying were only probable or possible, then he was an object of thy mercy and given a loan, though there be danger of losing it… In all these and like cases, Christ gives a general rule … ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye the same to them.’"
The question for our legislators today is where to draw the line between justice and mercy, to what degree the costs of mercy should be born by “the rich, the poor, the high and eminent in power and dignity; or those mean and in submission.” According to the Vermont Department of Taxes, in the years from 2002-06, the income of persons making 40-60,000 a year has increased by 2% while the income of those making over 100,000 had a range of increases between 55% and 118%. Vermonters making less than 30,000 have seen a loss in income. Yet, budget proposals ask the legislature to increase co-pays for medication, increase catamount health fees, decrease the state Medicaid share to hospitals, and reduce the amount of worker’s comp paid to those injured on the job and out of work. We are looking at tough times ahead, but should we be balancing a budget on the backs of the Vermonters who can least afford it? Should the ideas of Winthrop in 1630 have any relevance for us today? Is the leadership at the state level willing to establish priorities to address our needs and to ask that all share the burden and not simply shift more of the costs for public services on to local taxpayers? What values should the legislature use this coming week as conference committees get to work to hammer out differences among House and Senate versions of common bills?
Please let me know how you feel about these or other issues. I also invite you to come to Montpelier to see the legislative process in action. I can be reached during the week in Montpelier by calling toll free at the State House 1-800-322-5616, by E-mail at ggilbert@leg.state.vt.us, or at my home answering machine at 849-6333.
Gary Gilbert
State Representative
Franklin 1
Fairfax/Georgia