"Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers' tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons." Mark 11:15
Monday the Pope condemned the "idolatry of the market" and called for global wealth redistribution, asking nations of the world to participate in an "ethic of solidarity."
The pope who is the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion people, called for creation of a "global public authority" and a "central world bank" to regulate the world's financial institutions. He also said "If no solutions are found to the various problems of injustice, the negative effects that will follow on the social, political and economic level will be destined to create a climate of growing hostility and even violence, and ultimately undermine the very foundation of democratic institutions, even the ones considered most solid."
The note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council also said "On the basis of this sort of ethical approach, it seems advisable to reflect, for example, on: a) taxation measures on financial transactions through fair but modulated rates with charges proportionate to the complexity of the operations, especially those made on the "secondary" market. Such taxation would be very useful in promoting global development and sustainability according to the principles of social justice and solidarity. It could also contribute to the creation of a world reserve fund to support the economies of the countries hit by crisis as well as the recovery of their monetary and financial system…"
http://www.thenation.com/blog/164194/occ...Of course the teachings of Jesus have always advocated that the rich should give away all of their possessions and help the poor.
Drew Smith points out three reasons why Jesus Condemns the rich and favors the poor.
1. Jesus was born into poverty, and he chose to continue to live in poverty as an adult. He felt a deep sense of belonging among the poor, and he clearly embraced and identified with those who were economically oppressed in his society.
2. Because he so closely associated with the poor, Jesus witnessed firsthand the tremendous gap between rich and poor. This gap was the consequence of the rich gaining their wealth through oppressing and neglecting the poor.
3. Jesus believed he was ushering in the kingdom of God, and he called all who truly sought the kingdom to give up the possessions that hindered them from entering God's rule. His statement about the difficulty of the rich entering the kingdom of God implies that Jesus believed the poor were more receptive to the message of God's present rule.
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/three-reasons...The sentiments of the Occupy/ 99% movement was strengthened recently with a new study that showed that the income of the 1% increased 275% in the past 30 years while the bottom 80% saw their incomes decrease 2-3%.
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyi...The polls indicate that 86% of the people think that Wall Street has too much influence with politicians and 80% of the swing state voters think the rich should pay higher taxes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06...Meanwhile the Republican Party is going in the opposite direction. They want to remove all restrictions on Wall Street, all but 13 have vowed never to raise taxes on the rich for any reason, and most of the presidential candidates are pushing flat taxes that would give the 1% huge tax cuts while taxing the middle class more.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/26/24...I don't think there is any doubt that Jesus would be out there with the Occupy Wall Street Folk – probably in the kitchen tent handling bread and fish.