Economics, Paul Ryan and Catholicism

The Wall Street Journal has been running several stories about the economics of vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and various people in the Catholic Church who subordinate their duty to work and contribute charitably as individuals to support for massive government programs that force others to work for redistributionist goals. This isn't what Jesus would do.

Here's what the stories say:

• "Catholic Group Prays for Paul Ryan's 'Conversion'" is about the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Nuns on the Bus, and a new group PrayforPaulsChangeofHeart.org, all of which are concerned about Ryan's budget proposal of a couple of years ago. The budget restored fiscal sanity to the United States so that working citizens won't be subject to redistributionist goals and impending disaster. That doesn't matter to the true believers -- in big government. I pray for Paul Ryan to stand up to these non-Christian bullies.
• "Ryan's Catholic Roots Reach Deep" talks about Ryan's belief in the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which says Big Brother shouldn't do what people at the local level can do on their own.  

Of course, the stories fail to mention the principles of free enterprise, the ones that Jesus explained in his Parables. The Parable of the Talents, for example, praises the servants who compound their master's interest. They worked through trade to accomplish that. Ryan's budget would help the people who trade for a living, who engage in free enterprise, and then are under compulsion from God to charitably contribute their time and resources -- voluntarily -- to those who are less fortunate. The Catholics who require their fellow citizens to pay for their vision of social justice are compelling against free will. They are joined by Barack Obama, the man who says you are your brothers keeper through Uncle Sam. You're not. You're his servant in Christ.