The mainstays of conservative Christian activism -- the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition -- are launching a new campaign to protect the wealthy from tax increases, according to subscription-only Roll Call. The tax hikes, they say, are a "family values issue."
Hmm. While in the broadest sense, almost anything is a family values issue, the fact that these Christian organizations are mobilizing to prevent the wealthiest Americans from tax increases is pretty shameful. (They're apparently spreading rumors that the Obama administration will seek to roll back the child tax credit and lower-income tax cuts, even though neither one is part of the government's agenda.) There's very little foundation for the argument that there is a Christian position on the appropriate rate of income taxation, though I'd be curious to hear where these organizations stand on fiscally responsible, pro-family measures like unemployment insurance and Medicaid, and whether protecting aid to the least among us is more important than making sure the already-wealthy have a little extra cash.
It's no surprise by now that these organizations exist less to express the political concerns of conservative Christians and more to support the political goals of the Republican Party. But seeking to wrap the interests of the wealthiest among us in "family values" is a depressing sight indeed.
-- Tim Fernholz
