Читать книгу Christian Economics - Dale Anthony Pivarunas - Страница 9

At the beginning of 2000, the US national average for a gallon of gasoline was $1.25. Eight and a half years later, the national average was over $4.00 a gallon. That represents a 320% increase or an average of 38% per year. During this same period, food prices increased 40%, an average of almost 5% per year, while healthcare costs rose by approximately 35%, an average of 4% a year. In similar manners the prices of transportation, clothing, furniture, appliances, education, etc, rose far in excess of the 13% increase in household income during that same time period. Virtually every commodity traded on the various commodity exchanges experienced very significant price increases during that time. And while the price of gasoline dropped to an average of $3.60 a gallon in 2013 and $3.00 a gallon in 2018, the prices of most other things have continued to rise.

Because the economy is integrated, that is, the various elements are inter-connected with each other either directly or indirectly; an increase in one item such as petroleum causes corresponding price increases in most other goods and services. While minor increases are typically occurring and do not cause the economy to fall out of balance, significant increases as illustrated above cause severe disorder in the economy. The economy cannot absorb such extreme price increases because with every increase in prices there has to be a corresponding increase in wages to keep the economy in balance. These significant price increases which occurred between 2000 and 2008 were one of the causes of the Great Recession starting in 2008. It is obvious that such significant price increases are neither desirable nor beneficial to the economy. And yet they occurred. Why? They occurred because there are no controls on price increases. Corporations and markets can raise prices without warning, without limit, and without regard for the effect on the economy. Clearly, these elements of the economy, petroleum, food and healthcare, were out ‘out of control’ up to the Great Recession.

Christian economics holds that prices must be fair, both to buyer and to seller. Prices cannot be raised so high that it significantly impacts a person’s or a family’s ability to pay its other primary expenses. Sellers must sell goods and services at a reasonable price, that is, a price that covers operating expenses and allows for a modest profit. Unfortunately, most current economic theories focus on maximization of profits. The purpose and objective of the US economy is to satisfy in the most efficient and effective way the natural needs and desires of all Americans (all Americans and not just a privileged few) for food, clothing, housing, a livelihood, education, healthcare, disability care, old age care, communication, recreation/entertainment, social interaction, acceptance and respect. This objective can only be achieved within a balanced economic system. This balance needs to occur between suppliers and producers, and producers and consumers. In a complex economy, an attempt to maximize profits for one or a few organizations, causes an imbalance which if not corrected can have a domino effect. Maximizing profits for an organization by maximizing prices causes a minimization of buying potential for the consumer. This minimization of buying potential for the consumer results in the consumer not being able to buy other things or pay other expenses which impacts those organizations which provide those other goods and services.

Unfortunately, those current economic theories which promote the maximization of profits also promote the principal that corporations are artificial, and that morals do not apply to corporations ‘it is neither right nor wrong, it is just business’. This principal is the basis for placing profits before employees, profits before suppliers, profits before consumers, profits before the good of the economy and profits before the good, health and safety of people.

Everyone needs to understand the implications of excessive price changes, either increases or decreases, on the economy. This should be discussed in schools, at business conferences, by the media, and within the various branches and levels of government. Price management within the context of a balanced economy is first of all the responsibility of businesses themselves. Businesses can and must control prices. However, like driving on a highway where there are speed limits, there needs to be guidelines and regulations regarding price changes.

One of the primary purposes of government is to maintain the appropriate balance between the various elements in society. There needs to be equity and balance between people: the different age groups, the different ethnic groups, and the different economic groups. Individuals, groups, the interactions between individuals and groups, and the interactions between groups all need to be kept in balance. There needs to be balance between individuals, between individuals and businesses, between businesses, and between industries. Balance implies equilibrium, parity and harmony; it does not imply subordination or domination. Balance does not imply equality but rather the absence of extremes and excesses.

Price management is a necessary tactic which must be used by the government to maintain balance and stability within an economy. The government must oversee and limit prices when necessary, for there are no natural limits to prices. Supply-demand theory does not apply to food, energy, healthcare, education and the other basic necessities in life. The dynamics and focus of the modern corporation is to maximize prices and eliminate anything and everything that would attempt to constrain pricing. The modern corporation, which is a construct and instrument of the capitalist class, has as its sole objective the maximization of profits. Maximization of profits comes from maximizing prices while at the same time minimizing costs and expenses (especially material, labor and taxes). In addition, the corporation considers itself to be absolutely amoral. It considers all of its actions as being neither right nor wrong, neither moral nor immoral. Corporations are totally indifferent to the reality that their products may result in injury or even death. They are only concerned regarding the potential expense that they may incur through lawsuits resulting from the deaths that have occurred. Corporations are also indifferent to working conditions that may result in loss of life, limb or health of their employees. They are only concerned about the potential liability resulting from lawsuits involving employee damages. Corporations are indifferent to the facts of people losing their homes, people declaring bankruptcy, or people losing their jobs through their direct actions. And the owners of the corporations hide behind these amoral corporations and calm their consciences by rationalizing that they are not responsible for the wrong-doings of the corporation. They look upon the corporation like a robot, guiltless because it has no conscience and because it is not a moral being. The modern corporation is like the Trojan horse. Outwardly, it appears to be a gift to society. But inwardly, it is filled with people intent on economic conquer and domination.

Corporations constantly seek to increase profits by raising prices or reducing costs (primarily labor, materials and taxes) or both. The CEO and the executive team all have significant monetary incentives to raise prices and reduce costs without limit. When the company achieves record profits, the CEO’s next bonus is based on exceeding the record profits of the year before. The owners want more and more without limit—they want it all. Between 2000 and 2010 the oil oligopoly raised prices without any regard to the effect those price increases would have on the entire economy. They know that people need energy to drive to work and to heat or cool their homes. But they didn’t care. For their sole aim was to maximize profits. Because they hide behind the amoral person of the ‘corporation’, they are indifferent concerning the economic hardships (and in some cases economic ruin) resulting from their extreme prices increases. Over the past forty years, US corporations have been reducing costs by outsourcing jobs to lower wage countries and countries which have poor safeguards for workers. First it was manufacturing jobs and then office jobs: customer service, call centers, helpdesks, accounts payables, accounts receivable, human resources, payroll, and engineering,

Significant price increases that wreak havoc on the economy can only be prevented by government over-sight and management of price increases. Of course, the idea of government price increase management is considered heresy by the capitalist class and the champions of capitalist economics. But price controls have worked in the past (during World War II) and they are the only means of preventing the economic disorder that caused the 2008 Recession. The idea is for the government to prevent significant price increases that impact the entire economy as well as monitor and regulate the basis for price increases. Besides preventing price increases which significantly impact the economy (national, state, and local), the various governments (Federal, state, county and local) must control the outsourcing of jobs. American corporations and American CEO’s have a moral responsibility towards the people of the United States, all people.

Everything within an economy is related and inter-connected. For most goods and services, there is a series of suppliers, each connected to each other, most of which add value to the good or service as it is transformed from raw material to finished good or finished service. This series of suppliers is often referred to as the supply chain of the finished good or finished service. Obviously, the efficiency of the various supply chains is essential to the proper functioning and balance within the national, state and local economies. Supply chain efficiency results from collaboration among the various elements of the supply chain, the lack of domination of the supply chain by one or a few corporations and the prevention and elimination of any link that adds no value to the final product or service.

Over the past one hundred and fifty years there has developed a network of nodes within many supply chains that add absolutely no value whatsoever. They do however add price. These businesses function within commodity markets and trade commodities adding no value whatsoever to the commodities that they are trading. These so-called investors will buy commodities, yet never physically receive the commodity, nor store it, nor transport it, nor transform it in any way. Nor are these so-called investors even capable of physically receiving, storing, transporting or transforming the commodity that they buy. These so-called investors merely buy the commodity with the intention of selling it a short time later at a higher price and yielding a profit for themselves. From a supply chain efficiency point of view, from an economics point of view, and from the final consumer’s point of view, these investors represent a gross inefficiency since they add no value yet increase price.

Commodity market trading is a major factor in the present economic situation that the United States is in. Commodity market traders are adding significant price to commodities and yet there are no controls whatsoever on their activities. Consider the various commodities which are traded and whose supply chains are impacted by non-value added activities and whose prices are higher than they should be because of these non-value added activities: corn, oats, rice, soybeans, rapeseed, wheat, milk, cocoa, coffee, cotton, sugar, frozen concentrated orange juice, hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, electricity, crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, propane, iron ore, aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc, scrap steel, lumber, gold, platinum, silver, rubber, wool, and others. How much is added to the price of food, the price of energy, the price of furniture, the price of appliances, and the price of cars because of the price manipulation caused by buying and selling these commodities without adding any value whatsoever to the commodity.

Again, the role of the government (Federal, state and local) is to manage, direct and regulate the economy so that the economy can most efficiently and effectively satisfy the needs and desires of all people for food, water, clothing, shelter, furniture, appliances, energy, transportation, education, healthcare, disability care, old age care, etc. The government is failing in its responsibility to supervise and manage the economy by failing to regulate the commodity markets and eliminate these non-value-added actions by investors. The government must regulate the marketplace for commodities. The government must require and enforce that any person, persons or business that wants to engage in buying and selling commodities of any kind whatsoever (crude oil, metals, grains, farm animals, etc.) must be capable of physically storing, handling and transporting the commodities that they will buy and sell in the quantities that they intend to buy and sell. Furthermore, every purchase must result in the physical possession of the commodity before it can be sold. The practice of individuals and businesses who buy and sell commodities without ever taking physical possession of the commodity is a serious problem within any economy. These individuals who engage in buying commodities with the only intention of selling those commodities at a higher price without adding any value constitute a serious economic disorder that needs to be corrected immediately. It has been claimed that forty to fifty percent of the price of crude oil is due entirely to so-called investors who add no value to the crude oil supply chain and are not even capable of adding value to the crude oil supply chain. And this is true for other commodities as well. There has been a global food crisis for the ten several years with high prices for rice, wheat and corn and the non-value-added activities of commodity investors is one of the main causes of this crisis.

The government; Federal, state and local, regulate who can engage in a business or profession. The government regulates who can practice medicine or dentistry, who can sell drugs, and who can practice law. Even electrical contracting, plumbing contracting, and the various building contracting professions are regulated by the government. The government will only allow a qualified person, persons or business that can perform the work according to industry standards, to engage in a particular enterprise. The government is fully within its power to regulate the commodities trading industry and require those people engaging in the buying and selling of commodities to be qualified, that is, capable of handling, storing, transforming or transporting the particular commodity, or adding some value to the commodity.

While commodity speculators were partly responsible for the significant rise in the price of oil from 2000 to 2008, the major oil companies themselves are mainly responsible for the extreme and disordered rise in oil that precipitated the recession. In the same period that oil prices saw significant increases, oil company profits saw corresponding significant increases. Profits represent the difference between sales and costs. Oil companies either produce petroleum from their own fields, produce petroleum from non-owned fields for which they have contracts, or they buy petroleum on long-term contracts. It is important to note that the oil companies, like any fiscally conscious company, seek to control their costs. To control their costs, oil companies will enter into long-term contracts with their suppliers to stabilize the costs of petroleum. Unfortunately, most people naively think that the oil companies are paying commodity market price for the oil that they use to produce gasoline. That is absolutely incorrect. The cost of crude oil for the major oil companies has remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2008. This should be clear from the fact that during that time they realized record profits. The extremely high profits that the oil companies realized were the result of extremely high prices, artificially manipulated by Big Oil, with relatively stable costs. Profit equals price less cost. Profits increased dramatically because prices increased dramatically while costs remained the same.

The price of gasoline in the United States is primarily the result of manipulation by Big Oil. Through a long-term campaign by capitalist economists in which people have been brainwashed to think that all prices are the result of ‘supply and demand ’, through propaganda associated with commodity market trading, and through the subordination of the Federal government through its lobbying efforts; Big Oil is seeking to maximize its profits by maximizing the selling price of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating fuel, natural gas, propane, chemicals and all of the other derivatives of petroleum. And there is no one and nothing to control them. Big Oil has significant influence on the government (Federal, state, county and local). National energy policies, environmental policies and even foreign policies are dominated by Big Oil to the detriment of most of the US population.

What can be done to manage the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating fuel, natural gas, propane, chemicals and all the other various derivatives of petroleum which have a major and critical influence on the entire US economy ?

First, gasoline, diesel fuel, heating fuel, natural gas, propane, chemicals and all the other various derivatives of petroleum need to be declared national strategic economic resources. National strategic economic resources have an extremely high influence on the entire economy. An increase in the price of a national strategic economic resource has a direct and immediate effect on the economy. Because of this, these resources must be carefully monitored by the government and price increases outside of defined limits must be reviewed and approved by the government. Next, the financial records for the last ten years of every US based oil company (as well as every oil company that does business in the US) need to be made public. What needs to be disclosed to the public is the cost that each oil company pays for a barrel of crude oil, the total amount of revenue generated by a barrel of oil and the amount of profit that the company makes on each barrel—all on a quarterly basis for the last ten years. It will be clear when the oil companies began to manipulate prices and deceive the public, it will be clear as to the extent of the profits that the oil companies have been making, and it will be clear that prices need to be managed.

Price management should not be limited to oil and its derivatives. While excessive and inordinate gasoline, diesel, heating fuel and natural gas prices have had perhaps a severe impact on the economy and the lives of most Americans, the prices of food, electricity and healthcare have also risen dramatically and inordinately within the past ten years. Like petroleum, these items are controlled by oligopolies that have manipulated their respective markets. Like petroleum, these industries are currently out of control and need immediate government intervention.

Was the price of gasoline at over $4.00 a gallon fair? In 2000 the price of gasoline was $1.25 a gallon and the oil companies were making a decent profit at this price? From 2000 to 2008 the price of gasoline increased about 18.5% per year and the profits for the oil companies increased proportionately. If the price of gasoline was subject to government oversight and could increase by only five percent a year during that time instead of 18.5%, then the current price of gas would have only risen to about $2.40 a gallon in 2008 and it would never have exceeded $4.00 a gallon. If the government limited the price increase of gasoline to five percent per year, the oil companies would still have seen their profits increasing considerably.

The Oil Companies do not want to sell gasoline at a fair price even though a fair price would generate a reasonable profit. The intent and focus of the oil companies is to maximize profits, which they can do primarily by maximizing price and minimizing costs and expenses. The owners and executives of the oil companies hide behind the cloak of the corporation, an amoral yet legal person. Whatever the owners and executives do, as long as it is in the name of the corporation, is neither right nor wrong as the common phrase ‘it is neither right nor wrong, it is just business ’. So, the oil companies are intent on maximizing profits and they are not constrained by morals. From the corporation’s point of view, anything and everything is justified in seeking maximum profits. Wars have been started for the sole purpose of maximizing profits.

Will a corporation deceive consumers by presenting false and misleading information? Absolutely! Will a corporation manipulate the market? Absolutely! Will a corporation engage in unfair business practices in order to eliminate its competition ? Absolutely! The owners and executives of corporations deceive, manipulate and compete unfairly because they hold that it is not they, who deceive, manipulate and compete unfairly—it is the corporation that does so and what the corporation does is neither right nor wrong. Of course, this is wrong and immoral. Yet where is the Christian majority within the United States? Why are Christians silent to these things? Why in many cases are Christians actually engaging in these immoral actions? And why do so many Christians actually espouse the philosophy and principles of radical capitalist economics when it is at variance with Christian principles and the philosophy and principles of Christian economics?

Doesn’t supply and demand control prices? Doesn’t supply and demand drive all economics? Can’t consumers reduce prices by lowering demand? No, no, no! Supply and demand without government oversight and management will not control prices. Supply and demand without government oversight and management does not drive all economics. And consumers do not have the ability to control prices in markets dominated by oligopolies and virtually all markets are controlled today by oligopolies.

What can consumers do to reduce the price of food? What can consumers do to reduce interest rates on mortgage loans, auto loans, or credit card loans? What can consumers do to reduce the amount that a doctor charges for a normal office visit? What can consumers do to reduce the costs of operations and other medical procedures? What can consumers do to reduce the cost of health insurance, auto insurance, or life insurance? What can consumers do to reduce the price of a college education ? What can consumers do to reduce the fees charged by lawyers? What can consumers do to reduce prices on goods or services that they require? Obviously, the answer to every one of these questions is ‘nothing’. A person cannot stop eating. A person cannot stop going to the doctor. A person cannot avoid getting an education.

Capitalism is not a bad thing. In fact, capitalism is a good thing and necessary for the economy. It is the uncontrolled, inordinate, exaggerated, and radical form of capitalism that is bad and unfortunately, it is this variant of capitalism that controls the economy and the government today. It is this uncontrolled or ‘out of control’ capitalism that is the root of the severe problems affecting both the US economy and government today. And it is the modification of capitalism by Christian economic principles that is the solution to these problems.

The theory of supply and demand is the basis for the economics system of this radical form of capitalism. This economic system is a set of theories developed by capitalists for the exclusive benefit of capitalists. The main objective of this system is the domination of the working class by the capitalist class, the domination of the majority by the select few, and the perpetuation of this imbalance on to the end of time. Radical capitalist economics hold that the capitalist is superior to the worker, and the worker is subordinate to the capitalist. In fact, the worker is looked upon as somewhat less than human. This is clear based on how workers are classified within an organization. Workers are no longer considered as personnel (persons), but as resources (human resources) and capital (human capital)—things that are used and things that are owned.

The key theory of radical capitalist economics involves price, supply and demand. While economics is a social science, the theory attempts to establish the relationship between supply, demand and price as a scientific fact. It is amazing how extensive mathematical models have been used to try to demonstrate and prove this theory. The complexity of these models overwhelms students of economics who merely acquiesce and accept these theories out of a kind of religious faith rather than on the strength of their arguments. Underlying the capitalist theory on price, supply and demand; is the theory of maximization of profits. The capitalist theory on supply and demand promotes and supports the maximization of profits for businesses, companies and corporations and ignores the concept of maximizing the wealth of virtually everyone through economic balance and equity

Does price have to increase as demand increases? Does price have to increase in a captive market? The following example provides the answers.

The ABC bakery makes and sells bread. It operates successfully and generates an after tax net profit of fifteen percent. Because of good economic conditions, the bakery experiences an increase in customer demand. Because of this increase in demand, the bakery hires additional workers and buys new equipment. Because of increased demand, the bakery’s sales have increased significantly. The increased sales have resulted in increased profits, yet its percent profit is still fifteen percent. Given the strong demand for bread, the bakery could increase prices in order to increase profits further, but, does it have to raise prices? The customers are happy. They are buying enough bread to satisfy their needs at a fair price. And the bakery is operating near capacity and making a good profit. What good to the customers would come from the bakery increasing the price of bread? Since the customers’ income is limited, an increase in the price of bread will lead to either the customer buying less bread or having to buy less of some other items that they also need. If the customer buys less bread, then how is that good for the bakery and how is that good for the customer? Does price have to increase as demand increases? Certainly not! It is a deceit of radical capitalist economics to make people think that price has to increase as demand increases. Unfortunately, people accept this and end up being manipulated by radical capitalists into buying things at unfairly high prices—all because the radical capitalist wants to maximize profits.

The ABC bakery above is located in a rural area. Due to a family situation, the only other bakery in the area has closed and now there is no competition for ABC. The consumers in the area are within a captive market; they have no other choice but to buy bread from ABC bakery. ABC bakery makes a reasonable profit on the sale of bread. Since it is the only bakery in the area, it could charge significantly higher prices—but does it? Does ABC bakery have to charge higher prices for bread? Is there some economic principle that forces it to raise prices? Does price have to increase in a captive market? The answer to these questions is ‘no’

Of course, it is true that businesses raise prices when demand increases and within captive markets. But they don’t have to. Businesses see opportunities to increase their profit margins in these cases and they ignore what is fair and just. Is it fair to charge a person a higher price because there is high demand? Is it fair to charge a higher price when there is no other place to buy the item? Why are the prices for food so high at theme parks, sports stadiums and vacation towns? Why are rental property prices so high in college towns and vacation towns? Fair and just prices are prices which are fair to both company and consumer. The theory of supply and demand totally ignores what is just and actually helps businesses take advantage of consumers. Businesses hide behind this theory and consumers blindly accept unjust prices because of this theory.

Consumers and even some businesses (primarily small businesses) are powerless when it comes to unjust prices. There are three types of unjust prices: unfairly high prices, unfairly low prices, and extreme changes in prices.

The price of a good or service is unfairly high when it is grossly out of line with prices for comparable goods or services within the same market, and when it is out of line relative to the economy. Unfortunately, there are many markets which are now dominated by a few corporations. In some local markets there may only be one supplier. In these markets prices can be unjustly high because of collusion by these few dominant corporations to set high prices. While price fixing is illegal in the United States, the government virtually ignores the practice even though it is the responsibility of the government to prevent and eliminate unfairly high prices not only because such prices are unjust and harms the consumer or business which is forced to pay the unfair price but also because these unfair prices affect the economy.

It is estimated that there are over 140,000 convenience stores in the United States and the number is growing. Most gasoline stations and most pharmacy store chains such as CVS and Walgreens are also convenient stores. It is a known fact that prices at convenience stores are higher than the prices of comparable items at supermarkets. While it is not unjust to have a slightly higher price at a convenient store, it is unjust to have a significantly higher price. Consider as an example the price of a gallon of milk. If the average price at local supermarkets is $2.00 a gallon, what would a fair price be and what would an unfair price be at a convenience store? If a milk product that is comparable to the milk product that is sold at local supermarkets is sold at a convenient store for $2.20 a gallon, a 10 percent higher price, then that would not be considered unjust. But if that gallon of milk sold for $2.50 a gallon, a 25 percent higher price, then that would be considered unjust.

Besides convenience stores, vending machines are another instrument where businesses engage in unjust pricing. There are tens of millions of vending machines in the United States selling food, beverages, toys, toiletries and even cash (ATM machines). It is common knowledge that the prices for the products sold through these machines are extremely high compared to comparable products sold at local stores. Similar to convenient stores, it is not unjust if the prices for the items sold from vending machines are perhaps 10 percent higher than the average price for the comparable items sold at a local store. But it is unjust when these prices are more than 25 percent higher, and many prices in vending machines are actually 100 to 200 percent higher.

How many convenient stores and vending machines are owned and operated by Christians? With 75 percent of Americans claiming to be Christians, there has to be a significant number. Of course, these Christians are not bothered by the prices that they charge. Objectively, they would have to admit that their prices are significantly higher than the prices for comparable items at local stores. Yet, they don’t want to admit that their prices are unjust and what they are doing is wrong. Why is that? They have allowed themselves to be misled and deceived by the philosophy and principles of amoral capitalist theories. These theories establish the corporation as an amoral intermediary between the business owner and the customer. Based on these theories, owners are immune legally and morally from actions that they engage in through the corporation. Christian business owners have blindly and naively accepted these theories and feel no guilt in what they do in the name of business even though it is objectively wrong.

The price of a good or service is unfairly low when the intent is to drive competition out of business and when it is grossly out of line with prices for comparable goods or services within the same market. Wal-Mart is notorious for pursuing a strategy of unfairly low pricing to eliminate the competition within the local, rural market. In small towns prior to the arrival of Wal-Mart, local businesses were primarily family-owned and operated and relatively small in size. In these towns there were a few pharmacies, clothing stores, furniture stores, hardware stores, and grocery stores. All of these businesses employed a few hundred people. Because these establishments were locally owned and operated, customers dealt with the business owners themselves and the profits from these locally owned businesses were mostly re-invested locally. Upon the arrival of Wal-Mart with their ruthlessly low, subsidized pricing strategy, customers naturally went to Wal-Mart instead of the local businesses. Because Wal-Mart was often selling at a loss which it could handle because of its financial reserves, the small businesses could not compete and eventually had to close. Once the majority of small, local businesses were eliminated, Walmart would increase prices because there was virtually no competition. The local economy and customers actually suffered from all of this. The pay and benefits of the average worker was less than that of the workers of the local, family-owned businesses. Customers coming in could not ask to talk to the owner, and the profits were not re-invested locally.

A similar strategy was used within the trucking industry in the 1980’s after Ronald Reagan deregulated the trucking industry. Large carriers with significant cash reserves lowered prices to a point where they were not making money. Small carriers with little to no cash reserves could not lower their prices to compete with the large carriers. Their revenues suffered to the point where they could not continue operating and the large carriers bought them. After the industry was consolidated into a few large carriers who dominated the market, they raised their prices. There were many independent, small trucking companies that were family run. This strategy that was employed by the large trucking companies enabled by the deregulation of the industry destroyed tens of thousands of these small independent trucking companies and most of them want bankrupt. This was not good for these family-run businesses and it was not good for the economy. Today, forty years later the transportation industry is dominated by a few large carriers who maintain high prices and exploit the drivers who work for them.

It is another common practice by large corporations which want to grow through acquisitions of suppliers to increases their purchases from a supplier until they represent a very significant percentage of the supplier’s business. Once that happens, the large corporation forces the supplier to reduce their prices often to a point where the supplier can no longer operate profitability. When this happens, the supplier is positioned for an easy take-over by the large corporation. Is such a practice fair? Certainly not!

A captive market is a situation in which a consumer is constrained by one or a few suppliers. Captive markets almost always involve unfair, unjust prices. Food and beverage prices within captive markets such as stadiums are unfairly high. While a hotdog at a small restaurant one block from a baseball stadium sells a hotdog for $1.50, the same hotdog costs $4.50 within the stadium. People are so captive within entertainment arenas, that private security guards check people’s personal belongings for contraband food and drink. Food, beverages, and fuel at service facilities within tollway systems which are captive markets are unfairly high. Special events such as college football games, conventions, and special sporting events are also situations were temporary captive markets are artificially created where hotels, restaurants, transportation service providers and parking service providers raise prices to unjust and unfair levels. Once the event is over, the prices return to normal, fair levels.

Another example of a captive market that exists every day is last minute air travel. Many people are forced to make last minute plans to travel by air because of family emergencies or business necessities. The airlines know that they have a captive market with these people and charge unjustly high prices. Besides unjustly high prices for last minute travel, airlines charge change fees ($150 and up), luggage fees, standby fees and fees to get on the plane first. It is not the fees themselves which are unjust but the amount of the fees that are unjust. Airline now also charge a price difference between the original ticket price and the last-minute travel ticket price when a person wants to take an earlier flight on the same day as the original reservation even though there are open seats on the plane. The airline companies see an opportunity to literally get something for nothing (they are charging a fee and there is no cost on their part—it is 100% profit) and they feel no guilt in this. It is outrageous, but no one expresses outrage.

Gasoline stations raise prices before holidays knowing people are going to be travelling. They raise prices solely for the sake of profit, there is no other reason. Is that fair, is that just? It is not.

Businesses are also victims of unjust prices within captive markets. If there is only one supplier within an area from which the business has to purchase, the supplier usually sets unjustly high prices knowing that the business has no choice. Do businesses within captive markets have to charge unfairly high prices? Certainly not! Amoral capitalist economy theories support and encourage the practice of setting excessively high prices in captive markets. The owners of the corporations that do so don’t care that these prices are unjust and counter to the objectives of the US economy.

Extreme changes in price (interest rates are prices) are very detrimental to a balanced economy and need to be prevented. Consumers and business customers cannot adjust to extreme price changes. From 2003 through 2008 the price of petroleum derivatives almost doubled. This extreme increase had a severe impact on the transportation industry, on virtually every industry relying on the transportation industry as well as on consumers. Consumers and businesses cannot adjust to such an extreme change in prices. The balance of the entire economy was altered because of the unjust, unfair, and sudden increase in the price of petroleum products. And this also has happened for steel, copper, rice, wheat and many other commodities. In order to be fair and have little to no impact on the economy, price changes need to be gradual and they need to correspond to the market’s ability to adapt to such changes.

Stable and fair prices are certainly good for the economy, certainly good for consumers, and actually good for businesses. Price controls (upper and lower limits on price changes) are good for businesses in that they provide stability in planning and prevent ruthless competitors from trying to drive them out of business through unfair, subsidized prices. Unfortunately, fanatical capitalists will cry and scream about price oversight just like the school yard bully who is told that he can no longer bully people. They will employ propaganda campaigns and use tactics to scare people into thinking that price oversight is not good for consumers, not good for business and not good for the economy. But the opposite is true. Price oversight benefits 99 percent of the population. It is good for consumers, good for businesses and absolutely necessary for a stable, growing, efficient and effective economy.

It is clear that pricing can be unjust and unjust pricing as a business practice is widespread. Christian economics holds that pricing can be unjustly high, unjustly low, and that rapid changes in pricing can be unjust. And one of the most notorious practices of unjust pricing occurs within captive markets. Unfortunately, current amoral capitalistic economic theories support unjust prices (though these theories do not refer to them as unjust since everything done by a business is amoral, that is, it is neither right nor wrong, it is just business). Unjust prices violate two of the most basic principles of Christian economics: ’good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’. When will Christians wake up and realize that the economic philosophy and principles that they are following are not Christian? Christians engaged in business must consider what they are doing in the context of Christian principles and not in the context of amoral capitalist principles. People in business actually cheat customers through unjust pricing but don’t consider it cheating because capitalistic economic theories say that it is an acceptable business practice. It is not.

Is capitalism and Christianity compatible? Yes, they are—but not the form of capitalism prevalent today. Christians must be a light to the world, the business world, and help Christianize capitalism, its philosophy and its principles.