The calls on tax revenues to finance welfare would be diminished if people received a just wage as is called for in Catholic social teaching.
Marc Besford
Former National President of Young Christian Workers.
This reflection on taxation looks beyond the tax and welfare system. There is discussion in Catholic circles about the way in which the tax system should be shaped, whether taxes should be increased or reduced, and how the welfare system should be designed. However, whilst the state provision of welfare and the taxation necessary to finance it may still be necessary, the calls on tax revenues to finance welfare would be much diminished if people received a just wage as is called for in Catholic social teaching and, also, if charity were more abundant.
At the moment in our country, many of our schools are providing not only food to support disadvantaged young families but household goods such as toothbrushes, shower gel and washing products. Some may argue that this is solely due to the global pandemic and the emergency arising from the sudden increase in energy prices. However, it must be remembered that this was also a problem pre-pandemic, which has now been exacerbated. We have also seen a big increase in families accessing foodbanks or having to choose between eating that day or being cold. A reason for the increase of schools supporting families is that parents who work full-time are falling into the gap of not being able to claim any benefits or support, such as vouchers, because they are just above the threshold. This goes to show that the current wages that people are receiving are not adequate to live on in today’s society.
Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno published in 1931, referred to a “just wage” by saying that:
“Every effort must therefore be made that fathers of families receive a wage large enough to meet ordinary family needs adequately. But if this cannot always be done under existing circumstances, social justice demands that changes be introduced as soon as possible whereby such a wage will be assured to every adult workingman.” (Quadragesimo Anno 71)
In the light of this papal teaching, we need to look again at our current circumstances and to assess our economic system so that everyone is paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work. This would ensure that parents can pay their bills and put food on the table for their families.
Pope Francis, in one of his addresses to participants of popular movements, stressed the fact that there is nothing worse than the type of poverty that does not allow a person to live off what they have earned, and that this deprives the person of their dignity.76 Furthermore, this is a result of an underlying social choice to favour an economic system that puts profit over the person.
Pope Benedict XVI, in an encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate published in 2009, also made reference to this issue, quoting John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens. Pope Benedict wrote:
“In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, either because work opportunities are limited (through unemployment or underemployment), or ‘because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family’” (Caritas in Veritate 63; emphasis in original)
Work is much more than a source of financial income: work is an integral part of human identity. It plays a vital part in people’s lives. And the future of work has the potential to promote decent employment for all. In a very positive way, St Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on human work (Laborem Exercens, 1981) states that work is a good thing for humanity:
“It is not only good in the sense that it is useful or something to enjoy; it is also good as being something worthy, that is to say, something that corresponds to man’s dignity, that expresses this dignity and increases it.” (Laborem Exercens 9)
The Church has taught that not paying a just wage can be a grave injustice (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2434) and that the cries of the workers whose wages are withheld reach the Lord (James 5:4). Injustice to the wage earner is one of the four “sins that cry to heaven” (CCC 1867).
Workers are due their wages as a matter of justice. But a just wage is not that which will merely provide sufficient food, clothing and shelter. To live at a subsistence level is to live at the minimum condition of human dignity. A just wage should provide a worker with enough to live and perhaps a little more, so that the worker does not live “unbecomingly” as described by St Thomas Aquinas.77 The Church has, therefore, always desired that the worker does not remain trapped at a subsistence level, but that he or she is able to better his condition; the degree of independence the worker gains by doing so increases his dignity, which is part and parcel of living becomingly. To obtain property then, whether in the form of real property or durable possessions, is a principal object of every worker.
Pope Francis has exhorted political leaders to work to structure society in such a way that everyone has a chance to contribute his or her own talents and efforts. We, as young people, are the first generation to face the challenges of technological evolution on such a tremendous scale, but we believe that we have been given the gift of creativity, so as to continue the work of God our creator, and the ability and will to adapt to these changes positively. We are social beings by nature and want to contribute to society through work. We have an inherent thirst for knowledge and a will to keep looking for new ways of working and how to explore them. Moreover, we always seek better ways to communicate, we aim to stay connected, and we believe that it is through improved communication that we can have a greater impact on society: the workplace is no exception. With the growth of automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, young people have reached a point of unprecedented challenge.
Every year on May 1st, the Church celebrates the feast of St Joseph the Worker to honour the foster father of Jesus. Pope Francis declared a year of St Joseph in 2021. In his Apostolic letter Patris Corde (2020), Pope Francis outlined key points such as the importance of seeing St Joseph as a labourer – a carpenter. Jesus, from St Joseph, learned the value, the dignity and the joy of work.
That dignity needs to be restored as unemployment is a burning issue in nations that for decades have enjoyed a certain degree of prosperity. For the young, the situation is worse. Youth unemployment is higher than unemployment in general – including in the UK. There is a renewed need to appreciate the importance of dignified work, of which Saint Joseph is an exemplary patron.
But there is also a lack of dignity when young people are forced to claim Universal Credit. This is paid to people who are out of work but also to those people who are struggling to make ends meet because they are ‘underemployed’ or because of low pay.
We can look to various measures to try to restore the dignity of work. Firstly, we need to look at ways in which we can train or re-train young people in order to give them hope and encouragement for their and their families’ futures. Too many young people are exiting from education with no prospects or likelihood of obtaining the type of job they might hope for. Their lack of experience seems to be used against them and opportunities seem to be lacking. The whole area of apprenticeships is ripe for revamping. Firms are crying out for skills which, at the moment, are in danger of being lost, maybe forever. Secondly, young people are concerned about the increase in precarious work and decrease in job security. Casual work with zero-hour contracts is not appropriate for everyone.
In addition, we need to protect young people from feeling under pressure to be constantly available for work. There needs to be a good work-life balance, otherwise there is the constant danger of mental health problems. Mental health is a major concern today, especially for young people. Young people suffer depression and even breakdown as a result of stress, anxiety and pressure in relation to studying, worries for the future, and concerns about self-image.
A further area of alarm is a loophole in UK employment law. This allows young people to be exploited through unpaid trial shifts and then become unable to secure employment at the end of the trial. Some companies are using them as a means to save costs. There should be an urgency to seek ways to secure permanent work for our young people.
With this in mind, we can summarise what needs to be done:
All these actions would have consequences for the way in which the state is structured and how our tax and welfare systems work.
Pope Francis recently said to young people: “Don’t wait until tomorrow to contribute your energy, your audacity and your creativity to changing our world. You are the NOW of God, and he wants you to bear fruit!”.78 We call on society to support us in building a future where technology is there to assist and improve the quality of life for human beings and where young people’s God-given dignity can be respected in every aspect, especially in the workplace where they fulfil their vocation. They should be able to fulfil their vocation with sustainability, freedom, peace and love present in every aspect of their lives.
To quote from St Paul’s First Letter to Timothy (4:12): “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” Young people within England and Wales do extraordinary things and continue to be an inspiration to everyone.
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Chapter Eight: Government Debt – from inter-generational injustice to an occasion of sin>
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76. Pope Francis, Address to the Participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements (28/10/2014).
77. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II.II.32.6.
78. Pope Francis, Message to participants of the 42nd European meeting of the Taizé Community
(December 2019).
The late Pope Francis drew attention to the problems associated with a system that fosters inequality
A Catholic understanding of taxation requires a Catholic understanding of the role of the state.
What a just and loving approach to taxation might look like.
A logical starting point is the work of St Thomas Aquinas.
