In June 2014, Ontario’s minimum wage rose to $11 per hour. Unsurprisingly, the Anglican Commissariat of Canada is not happy about this. According to Rev. Maggie Helwig, Proverbs 22:2 has it wrong: people derive their dignity not from the fact that God made them in his image but from how much money they earn. Earning $14 per hour is what is needed to maintain human dignity. The exact demarcation point where indignity ends and dignity begins remains a mystery, although I suspect it will always be a little higher than the current minimum wage.
From here:
“It is an offense against human dignity when people can work full-time year round yet still live in poverty,” says Maggie Helwig from the Anglican Church of Canada. “As communities of faith, we expect Kathleen Wynne to fulfill her promise to create good jobs and leave no one behind by raising the minimum wage to $14.”
I am quite sure that Rev. Helwig owns numerous electronic gadgets made by Chinese workers earning $1.50 an hour; I wonder what she thinks about that?
In my world of Taxi Driver I can introduce you to many, many hard working souls, living lives of great dignity earning much less than 14.00/Hr. The driver himself makes less than 10.00/Hr, works 55-60 hours/week, and earns what a free market economy, and the nature of the business can allow. Mc Donald’s, Timmie’s, Cleaners, Service Attendants, Caregivers, Landscaping Personnel, all earn these wages and greet you each day with a cheery hello, and good service. We know only too well that raising earnings to a level the business/economy cannot bear, means we are sent home for lack of business, with no earnings. Our current Liberal produced Provincial debt of 295 Billion, plus 15 Billion more for 2014, takes money out of the economy, and taking more out of it will not help, for we are on the brink of what Greece has achieved, no jobs, and no money to fund basic social support programs. Liberal thinkers, rail against that if you want to help; reduce deficits, eliminate deficits, increase wealth production, increase prosperity and the jobs that pay will follow.
But then what do I know, I’m just an offense against human dignity.
The end of this discussion is best stated by the fact that:
“The job does not bring you dignity, you bring dignity to the job.”
Please treat all people that you meet with kindness, for we’re all fighting a hard battle.”
Well, that tears it! I see this nice ladies photo has changed to her holding a sign about Chief Spence, and the Idle No More group. Chief Spence of the phony fast, and the hundreds of thousands of government dollars gone on her watch, and the Idle bunch of neer-do-wells, living off social handouts, lolling about in tents and protesting anything that resembles, pulling up your own socks and contributing to your own welfare, to society’s benefit. This misguided cleric dares to cite these folks as examples, while I work hard to maintain my dignity, help others, and see my country prosper, while her and her and her examples cited live in the utopia of incense and cannabis! May the good Lord open their eyes to reality, put their feet back on the ground, and bring their minds out of the clouds, and into the Words of God.
You may find some research on the internet about Maggie Helwig to be of interest.
According to Wikipedia, Helwig is a poet, novelist and social justice activist. She became an Anglican priest in January 2012. Many believe that evangelism means saving the whole person not just the soul alone. At Urbana ’70, Tom Skinner said, “Any gospel that does not preach forgiveness, eternal life, salvation, and also preach against injustice and the need to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and liberate the oppressed, is no gospel” (East Asia Millions, March 1972, p. 48).
Michael,
The problem is, though, that many clergy in the ACoC no longer believe that man is innately sinful, a condition that leads to hell, whose only remedy is Jesus and his atoning sacrifice.
Without that, there is no good news and feeding the hungry etc is missing the point; or, as Article XIII so eloquently puts it:
As though any government could ‘create jobs’. All governments do is sponge off of the productive members of society, the ones who really do create jobs.
Most people living in poverty are there because they have no job, not because they are working for minimum wage. Rev Helwig would have us increase the number of people with no job.
Many people start working at a minimum wage job. If they have any ambition, they don’t stay there. Rev Helwig and her ilk would have us believe that people working for minimum wage are trapped there forever.
Even more offensive are un-Called prophets for hire, preaching a false gospel for free
because true servants of The WORD have been either banished or silenced:
offensive to Divine dignity.
Seems to me that she is just another socialist activist pretending to be a priest. How sad it is that a once Faithful Church has been high-jacked.
No doubt, some Parish priests are power hungry. Some think they have a hotline to God. Others think they are God. Should we pray for them all?
Maggie is one of the most sincere, loving, accepting priests I know. She does a lot for the community she is in and has a deep innate understanding of God’s will.
Breaking down clergy, and opposing ‘views’ or stances on what social justice Jesus calls us to do is inherently evil in unto itself. Instead of labeling people and talking about how people are wrong how about this blog turns into something positive? Talk about initiatives that are helpful to your beliefs etc.
This blog and the way the comments turn onto talking down about people and clergy is quite repugnant & disgraceful.
I am glad Jesus has answered the prayers of people in hard pressed communities like Kensington and has delivered people like Mtr. Maggie to help those in need and love those who find no love in the judgment others spew at them.
May you all find peace, but rest assured that it is not in judging people doing their best in listening to Gods call and doing God’s will in the world. We are all trying,in the way we are being called, let us remember who is the judge & not pretend to be that judge.
What she is doing is abusing God’s Church to push and pursue a left wing political agenda, and that is not being a “servant of God”.
It is a common mistake among socialists and liberals to think that Jesus gave us some sort of a political agenda (i.e. social justice). In carefully reading the King James Version (which is the accurate English version of God’s Holy Word) it is easy to see that Jesus calls us to reconcile ourselves to God. Politics was not part of His Ministry, and should never be part of His Church.
Caring for others is not a political statement it is a moral one.
No one cares for us more than our Father God, and no one loves us more than our Father God, who always knows what is best for us. He tells us what is best for us in His Immutable Holy Word. It is not the judgement of others that matters, but the judgement of Father God. It is often difficult for all of us to acknowledge and accept God’s truth and will for our lives, and to to follow His ways as spelt out in His Holy Writ, but as truly obedient followers of Christ, we must.
If she truly cared for others than instead of participating in this celebration of sin and disobedience against God she would be preaching for all of us sinners to repent of our sins and do everything that we can to live our lives in accordance with God’s Will. For as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to Pray “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Will be done…”
Raising the minimum wage does not kill jobs. Did you know that Adam Smith was the first person to propose a minimum wage?
http://topinfopost.com/2014/06/30/ultra-rich-mans-letter-to-my-fellow-filthy-rich-americans-the-pitchforks-are-coming
Hi Kate,
The problem, as I see it, is not the dollar amount of the minimum wage, it’s the fact that they are no longer entry level jobs. The lower end of the economy has tanked, even though the top end is roaring.
Can’t argue with you. My dad started as a teller with just a high school education, and worked his way up to senior manager, international trade and finance with the Bank of Montreal. That would not happen today.
I do think the minimum wage should be high enough to enable a person to be able to live without having to resort to a food bank, though.
When the amount of the minimum wage becomes an impediment to hiring, a permanent underclass of unemployed grows. I appreciate the concept of a living wage for full time workers. I just believe that the tax code should be used to underwrite people who maintain full time employment at, or near, the minimum wage.
Raising the minimum wage stresses the millions of marginal small businesses who struggle to make payroll every week.
You didn’t find the article I linked to convincing, then?
I agree that people should earn enough to avoid food banks! My comment was late due to no power in N.S. for more than 30 hours!
Sorry, I don’t buy it. I accept the absolutely valid argument that those who work should be able to live on their wage. I do not accept that the way to do that is by raising the minimum wage. Everything associated with those businesses will cost more. Those costs will be disproportionally born by those who can least afford it. It becomes a back door consumption tax.
If we want to address social economic policy, the only fair way to do it is by a proportional income tax. Sales taxes are inherently unfair and a raise in the minimum wage would be a defacto rise in the sales tax for goods and services that are disproportionately used by our poor. That and the disincentives to hire new workers leads me to oppose it. This is not Henry Ford paying his assembly line workers industry leading wages. This is government abdicating fiscal policy for a political quick fix.