Nineveh Moment 13: Not a ‘New Deal,’ but rather a ‘New Economy’

During the Great Depression, unemployment peaked at 24% — in regard to all those eligible to work. President Roosevelt, in turn, scrambled to enact the “New Deal” that allowed for a lot of “public works” projects. We stand at the tipping point of another Great Recession, if not Great Depression. And now would be the time to pause and think this through on a spiritual level. Many in society these days, almost across the board, are workaholics (we just don’t see it that ways, as most addicts don’t). We, at breakneck pace often, are consumed trying to ascend higher and higher, making more and more money, to buy more and more stuff… With commute time, most of us are at 50, 60, 70… hours of work a week now. So what gets shorted? Time with God, time with our spouse, time with the children, time doing volunteer work… So as we descend further and further into what inevitably looks like Recession/Depression this time, do we just arbitrarily create a bunch of, for the most part, superfluous jobs to, again, weather the storm? Or do we realign to create a “New Economy” and a saner society spiritually? And what would be one of those components of the New Economy? Job sharing, which, actually, England does now to a degree. That is, you simply split a job (and you could do this with many) with someone else. You come in from, say, eight to noon and they come in for the afternoon. Or you work until Wednesday at noon and the second half of the week goes to the other person. Or any number of other combinations… In essence, you’re working 20 hours a week and, in tandem, learning how to live much more simply, and creatively (maybe house sharing, just as one example). This frees up way more time for God, for family, for community… Note: At this point in our society, we have to stop trying to simply, and metaphorically, “…rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.” But rather, we need a leader who knows how to steer the ship away from the iceberg altogether. For more of what I’ve written on job sharing, see...

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