Gravity and Generosity

The apostle Paul was devoted to teaching a proper understanding of material possessions and God's
purposes for what we have. He expressed a spirit of generosity in Acts chapter 20:
33 I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Paul wrote to Timothy that we should be content with what we have and pointed out that the love of money is the root of "all kinds of evil."  One of the 10 Commandments tells us that we should not covet, to desire what someone else has.  A Biblical attitude is to take what we have and consider how we can give it to others - He desires for us to be generous, not holding on too tightly to our earthly possessions so that we, as Jesus taught, can build up heavenly treasure.

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God's Word teaches about what our attitude toward money and possessions should be. 1st Timothy chapter 6 says:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

This may not be the perfect story in addressing a CEO's perception of what is termed, "income inequality," but apparently his heart was in the right place.  This is the story of Dan Price from Seattle, who leads a credit card payments company.  Five years ago, the 30-something millionaire decided to make a dramatic move - cut his own salary and place his employees at a salary of $70,000 per year.

The BBC tells the story in a recent article.  It states:

Raised in deeply Christian, rural Idaho, Dan Price is upbeat and positive, generous in his praise of others and impeccably polite, but he has become a crusader against inequality in the US.

"People are starving or being laid off or being taken advantage of, so that somebody can have a penthouse at the top of a tower in New York with gold chairs.

"We're glorifying greed all the time as a society, in our culture. And, you know, the Forbes list is the worst example - 'Bill Gates has passed Jeff Bezos as the richest man.' Who cares!?"

The story goes on to say:

After crunching the numbers, he arrived at the figure of $70,000. He realised that he would not only have to slash his salary, but also mortgage his two houses and give up his stocks and savings. He gathered his staff together and gave them the news.

He'd expected scenes of celebration, but at first the announcement floated down upon the room in something of an anti-climax, Price says. He had to repeat himself before the enormity of what was happening landed.

And, yes, things were a bit bumpy at first.  Two senior staff members resigned in protest.  There were fears that lower-level employees would not pull their weight.  A talk show host referred to Price's antics as "socialism."  But, the numbers indicate a positive story:

The headcount has doubled and the value of payments that the company processes has gone from $3.8bn a year to $10.2bn.

But there are other metrics that Price is more proud of.

"Before the $70,000 minimum wage, we were having between zero and two babies born per year amongst the team," he says.

"And since the announcement - and it's been only about four-and-a-half years - we've had more than 40 babies."

Price related other positive signs:

More than 10% of the company have been able to buy their own home, in one of the US's most expensive cities for renters. Before the figure was less than 1%.

"There was a little bit of concern amongst pontificators out there that people would squander any gains that they would have. And we've really seen the opposite," Price says.

The amount of money that employees are voluntarily putting into their own pension funds has more than doubled and 70% of employees say they've paid off debt.

I can see where the equality of pay could be termed as socialism, but this is a private sector decision and employees had the option to not buy-in and some left the company.  I am not necessarily endorsing Price's unorthodox plan for all business owners.  But, even with its flaws, the acts of Dan Price can inspire us to consider how we can be more generous.

Notice that the company, not the government, made the decision.  Those who advocate for a required minimum wage, such as the popular $15 proposal, are looking to government to dictate the practices of private business, which could cut into profits, meaning businesses cannot grow.  In this case, and in others, the company sets the standard.  The BBC article goes on to say:

Price had hoped that Gravity's example would lead to far-reaching changes in US business. He's deeply disappointed and sad that this hasn't happened.

Some did follow suit, PharmaLogics in Boston raised their minimum salary to $50,000, and Rented.com in Atlanta raised theirs too. He believes that, by means of online lobbying, he also influenced Amazon's decisions to raise their minimum wage.

A Christian-based restaurant chain, In-and-Out Burger, according to MarketWatch...

...has been paying its managers $100,000 and above for at least the past decade, said Denny Warnick, vice president of operations. The average salary for one of its restaurant managers is now more than $160,000 a year, he said. Starting wages at the chain range from $12 to $17 an hour, depending on the location.

“A higher wage structure is helpful in creating an upbeat and customer-focused atmosphere, and we do enjoy relatively low turnover which leads to more experienced teams working in our restaurants,” Warnick said. “However, perhaps even more important are treating our associates well and maintaining a positive working environment.”

The story reported that Taco Bell would be piloting a program in which its managers would make $100k per year.

So, here are some points, whether or not you agree with the actions of Dan Price - and I certainly do not presume to recommend something like this for business owners...

First of all, we can think: how can I be more generous?  We can consider how much control our own possessions have over us, and think about how we might can help the plight of those who have less.

This also can stimulate a discussion about government solutions vs. private decisions.  There are pundits and politicians who want government to have a more central role in the lives of everyday Americans, including how companies are operated, and to punish people for generating wealth through taxation, which has the potential to be detrimental to those companies.  We can also consider that, in America, rights are ultimately determined by God, not the state.

Finally, there is the adage that it's OK to have things as long as things don't have you.   The Bible teaches that wealth in and of itself is not bad, but the love of money is.