Economics
There is scarcely a place in Scripture where the government is to be involved in the economic marketplace. In reading through the Law in Scripture, the only time one comes across the idea that the government is to be taking money from the citizens is in a context of using that money (that money being only what is necessary) in order to restrain civil evil, promote civil good, and ensure civil justice. That is all.
R.J. Rushdoony points out that there are two basic taxes according to God's Law (1):
Other than that, there are to be no other taxes collected and no more interference from the government on the economic marketplace. There is no such thing as a sales tax, a use tax, a land or property tax, a school district tax, an estate tax, or any other kind of tax. Likewise, the government doesn't belong in facilitating all the things it has become now known for facilitating, such as welfare, retirement, unemployment, underemployment, minimum wages, rent control, education, healthcare, and all the rest. It doesn't need nearly as much money as it's currently taking; but it isn't supposed to be participating in even remotely the amount of things in which it's now participating.
Now as just stated, there is legitimate debate about whether or not in Israel the tithe was a tax paid to the civil government, an extraction required for the worship rites of Israel, or a combination of the two. My own views tend to lead me to the idea that it was a combination of the two.
But either way, let's consider what Samuel said to the people of Israel when they rejected God as being King over them and wanted man to be king instead. What did he say to them?
R.J. Rushdoony points out that there are two basic taxes according to God's Law (1):
- The Poll Tax (or Head Tax) (Ex. 30:11-16)
A half-shekel of silver - The Tithe (Deut. 14:22)
10% of increase of production
Other than that, there are to be no other taxes collected and no more interference from the government on the economic marketplace. There is no such thing as a sales tax, a use tax, a land or property tax, a school district tax, an estate tax, or any other kind of tax. Likewise, the government doesn't belong in facilitating all the things it has become now known for facilitating, such as welfare, retirement, unemployment, underemployment, minimum wages, rent control, education, healthcare, and all the rest. It doesn't need nearly as much money as it's currently taking; but it isn't supposed to be participating in even remotely the amount of things in which it's now participating.
Now as just stated, there is legitimate debate about whether or not in Israel the tithe was a tax paid to the civil government, an extraction required for the worship rites of Israel, or a combination of the two. My own views tend to lead me to the idea that it was a combination of the two.
But either way, let's consider what Samuel said to the people of Israel when they rejected God as being King over them and wanted man to be king instead. What did he say to them?
"Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you." They said, "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand." And he said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness." - 1 Sam. 12:1-5
So while Samuel didn't take anything unnecessary for his office in government, what does he prophecy that the king would take?
He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves." - 1 Sam. 8:11-17
The king who is not God or ruling under God's authority will take much more than he is authorized. He will take people, money, and property all for the sake of advancing his own agenda, which God also did not authorize.
It's very interesting to note that one of the curses of having an ungodly ruler is that he will take "the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards....He will take the tenth of your flocks" (1 Sam. 8:15, 17). And while I realize it's difficult to discern (hence the reason for much debate about it), of what portion of the tithe of Israel was for God's purposes for civil matters and what portion was for God's purposes for ceremonial matters, it seems then the ungodly king is here either taking a tenth in place of having it go to God, or he is taking it in addition to what was appropriated to God for civil duties as their true King (Deut. 33:5).
Either way, there is no further tax in Scripture authorized by God other than what is necessary to carry out its given duties of restraining civil evil, promoting civil good, and ensuring civil justice. If a government needs more money than what is plainly authorized in Scripture (in light of the debate about the different sums and what portions were used for civil matters versus what portions were used for ceremonial matters), then it better at least be taking only what is necessary for the government's lawful jurisdiction.
And it seems clear from Scripture that at most the civil tax needed for such duties would be a half-shekel plus 10% of one's increase from production. Therefore, as I understand it the only conceivable lawful tax, which is to say, the only conceivable just tax, cannot be more than the civil head tax and the tithe (which is equivalent to a maximum of a 10% income tax).
Beyond these two taxes, there seems to be no Biblical justification for anything else. According to God's Word, these and these alone should be sufficient to provide for the government's lawful duties and jurisdictions. Governments that tax beyond this are in effect stealing from the very citizens they are supposed to be protecting. And they will have to give an account to God for their actions.
As for the government's involvement in currency, the Bible has a very limited amount to say, which we would do well to pay attention. As there was no government printed fiat currency (paper money) and only precious metals, I think that in itself would solve a lot of issues for modern economics.
With fiat currency, the paper in itself is not the thing of value but a receipt that is supposed to be backed by the actual thing of value (in most cases gold or silver). In its history, as carrying around bags of gold and silver could get quite cumbersome it seemed legitimate to carry around receipts that could at any time be exchanged for the actual gold or silver that the receipts reflected.
What does this have to do with the government's involvement in currency? Nothing. And that is the point. The government should not be in the business of issuing receipts for actual scarce resources. When they do that, they are overstepping their bounds of jurisdiction. The only role they should have in currency is keeping private companies or citizens from manipulating currency (clipping coins and defacing the true and stated value of them, etc.)
But for the government to have a monopoly on the issue of currency and then manipulate its value arbitrarily and artificially is completely wicked in the sight of God (Isa. 5:20).
As of right now, in the U.S.A. the government is the only organization that is legally allowed to print money (receipts supposedly of value). When they print a dollar bill, that dollar should be worth a dollar equivalent in scarce resources (gold or silver, etc.). And rightfully, when private citizens print fiat money reflecting value that isn't there, the government should be swift to penalize and prosecute them for their deceit (whether you want to call it theft or false witness).
But the government has currently authorized itself to print fiat money whenever it deems it necessary. What this does though (every time they do it) is put more receipts out there for things of value that are not really there. In other words, the government itself is counterfeiting. It's saying this paper bill is worth $1, or $5, or $20, etc. when in fact, the amount of scarce resources to back it hasn't changed at all. And so the fiat money the government just printed is worth significantly less than what it's claiming to be worth.
And this is a grievous wickedness in God's sight: "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord" (Prv. 11:1); "Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord" (Prv. 20:10); "Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good" (Prv. 20:23). Because of this rampant abuse of counterfeiting our own money and repeatedly using unequal weights and measures, God can just as easily say to us in America as He did so long ago to Israel: "Your silver has become dross" (Isa. 1:22).
The government has every right to penalize, fine, or even stop a company or citizen from cutting off the edges of a silver coin and lying about its value (saying it's still worth the whole silver coin) or from printing and issuing receipts that are backed by nothing of value.
But, the government does not have the right to turn our silver into dross by itself clipping coins and lying about their value or printing receipts that are backed by nothing of value. This is deceitful and wrong (Prv. 11:1, 20:10, 23); and it is destroying our economy. The government needs to get out of the inflationary money printing business and get back to its only rightful responsibilities of restraining civil evil, promoting civil good, and ensuring civil justice.
With fiat currency, the paper in itself is not the thing of value but a receipt that is supposed to be backed by the actual thing of value (in most cases gold or silver). In its history, as carrying around bags of gold and silver could get quite cumbersome it seemed legitimate to carry around receipts that could at any time be exchanged for the actual gold or silver that the receipts reflected.
What does this have to do with the government's involvement in currency? Nothing. And that is the point. The government should not be in the business of issuing receipts for actual scarce resources. When they do that, they are overstepping their bounds of jurisdiction. The only role they should have in currency is keeping private companies or citizens from manipulating currency (clipping coins and defacing the true and stated value of them, etc.)
But for the government to have a monopoly on the issue of currency and then manipulate its value arbitrarily and artificially is completely wicked in the sight of God (Isa. 5:20).
As of right now, in the U.S.A. the government is the only organization that is legally allowed to print money (receipts supposedly of value). When they print a dollar bill, that dollar should be worth a dollar equivalent in scarce resources (gold or silver, etc.). And rightfully, when private citizens print fiat money reflecting value that isn't there, the government should be swift to penalize and prosecute them for their deceit (whether you want to call it theft or false witness).
But the government has currently authorized itself to print fiat money whenever it deems it necessary. What this does though (every time they do it) is put more receipts out there for things of value that are not really there. In other words, the government itself is counterfeiting. It's saying this paper bill is worth $1, or $5, or $20, etc. when in fact, the amount of scarce resources to back it hasn't changed at all. And so the fiat money the government just printed is worth significantly less than what it's claiming to be worth.
And this is a grievous wickedness in God's sight: "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord" (Prv. 11:1); "Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord" (Prv. 20:10); "Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good" (Prv. 20:23). Because of this rampant abuse of counterfeiting our own money and repeatedly using unequal weights and measures, God can just as easily say to us in America as He did so long ago to Israel: "Your silver has become dross" (Isa. 1:22).
The government has every right to penalize, fine, or even stop a company or citizen from cutting off the edges of a silver coin and lying about its value (saying it's still worth the whole silver coin) or from printing and issuing receipts that are backed by nothing of value.
But, the government does not have the right to turn our silver into dross by itself clipping coins and lying about their value or printing receipts that are backed by nothing of value. This is deceitful and wrong (Prv. 11:1, 20:10, 23); and it is destroying our economy. The government needs to get out of the inflationary money printing business and get back to its only rightful responsibilities of restraining civil evil, promoting civil good, and ensuring civil justice.