John H Armstrong : How Should We Respond to Growing Income Inequality?

John H Armstrong : How Should We Respond to Growing Income Inequality?

John Anderson's articles have several times recently dealt with social policy. We seem to have very different priorities. I think that the church should influence social policy and should advocate for "libera" social programs. But in this case I think that the church should work on good education, especially for the poor.


Education is the single biggest predictor of income. So if we want to deal with poverty or shrink the income disparity then we need to deal with education. Education is not fair among children. But a significant portion of the disparity occurs before children enter Kindergarden. So it is not all of the schools fault. This is a place that the church can help. Good parenting, alternatives to standard day care (leave the kids alone with someone that is not prepared to do anything with them), etc. are a very important part of what we as a church can do. Unfortunately most churches view church schools or day care as a money maker or as a way to isolate their children against the world instead of viewing it as a mission of the church.