#107 Training is not Education

Training can effectively be measured by Return on Investment.  Education cannot.

 

Return on investment is an effective way to measure training.  It’s a terrible way to measure education.  The Wall Street Journal made three attempts recently to do this.   The first article is titled, Is college worth the cost?  The second is How Much MBA Debt should students take on?  And the third asks Should USC Push a $115,000 online degree?  The answers are: Yes, as little as possible, and no.

Let’s unpack.  “Is College Worth the Cost?”  “That depends,” answers the Wall Street Journal.  Problem is: They are trying to measure the unmeasurable.  A friend visited our home this week, whom I met as a freshman in college in the fall of 1973.  What’s a 48-year friendship worth?  You see, college is more than a diploma that’s used as a bludgeon to beat society over the head until it gives you want you want.  College is where we gain an understanding of our world.  That understanding is not always rewarded in dollars. 

 

What and Why are Different Questions

I have participated in both education and training in my teaching career.  For many years, I worked for the AICPA.  I would leave my DBU class and rush to the airport.  The next day I would lead a seminar for Certified Public Accountants.  Also, my consulting partner, David Deviney and I have produced this nice collection of half-day management seminars.  That’s training, which can and SHOULD be measured in ROI.  Because the definition of training is “Teaching a skill or behavior.”  It answers the “what” question.

Education is defined as “An enlightening experience,” because it answers the “why” question.  The unexamined life is not worth living.  Or “An unlived life is not worth examining.”  Get it?  

 

Work is Good

In Biblical Economic Policy, Sergiy Saydometov and I claim we have found Ten Biblical Commandments of Economics. The one that applies here is called “Work is good.”  We believe God worked in the very first verse of Genesis, and He wants us to work.  I explain that in more detail in podcast #24 titled Work is Good.  I warn my students against getting on their high horse about being educated and comparing themselves to those who did not earn a college degree, but had training.  My Dad owned a one-man fuel delivery business and encouraged his five kids to attend Christian liberal arts colleges.  He made a wonderful contribution to his community, as HVAC technicians and plumbers do.  Christians believe that all work is God’s work – with of course, a few exceptions for things like prostitution and pornography. 

 

An Audience of One

This idea of training to answer the “What” questions and educating to answer the “why” questions is answered for our students at Dallas Baptist University, every time they attend a basketball or volleyball game at the Burg Center on our campus.  The “what” is clearly exemplified in the practice and training they do as a team every day.  They “why” is answered by this sign that is posted above the entry to the gym.  It’s taken from a chapter title in The Call by Oz Guinness.  If you can’t remember how to spell his name,

# 106 Karl Marx and the Devil

There is no biblical basis whatsoever for socialism, either in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. because socialism is totally at the opposite end of the spectrum from what it means to be a God-fearing person.

You’ve probably sensed that there’s something wrong with the entire Marxian idea that the proletariat should overthrow the bourgeois, but there’s now further support from a pastor and author who has investigated it. 

In his new book, Where do we go from here? Dr. David Jeremiah clearly states: “Karl Marx was a cheerleader for the Devil.”  He continues, “Marx’s socialist theories are all based on a fundamental belief in the existence of God, but a hatred and opposition to everything God has taught.”

A Deadly Virus

Dr. Jeremiah explains Socialism as a deadly virus.  The problem is most people don’t understand how deadly it is.  He says, “socialism is “a deadly virus [that] is quietly spreading throughout our nation—far more lethal than COVID-19.”  But he warned that most Americans are totally unaware of the threat that it poses to our way of life.  It’s like smoke coming under the door. You just see it a little bit, but it’s no big deal.  If we don’t become aware of it, it’ll be very destructive.

In his book Defending the Free Market, Father Robert Sirico writes, “Karl Marx summed up socialist theory in the single phrase, “Abolition of private property.” He goes on to point out, that the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” assumes private property.  You cannot steal something, after all, if no one owns it.  

Oh, one of my favorite quips is “The book in which Karl Marx called for the end of private property has been copyrighted.  You see, at heart, everyone is a free-market capitalist.  They just like to talk like Marxian Socialists.

Socialism sounds so good.  It’s being social something positive?  No, not really.  It’s all based in power. 

Power

The government has no money, so it must take before it can give. 

At a conference last week, I heard a speech by Charles Payne from the Fox Business channel.  He quipped, “You can only vote for Socialism once.”  Meaning, after the socialists take power, voting stops.  Another way to phrase it is, “Socialism: You can vote your way in, but you have to shoot your way out.  Ask the people of Venezuela.  In my lifetime, they have been the third richest country in the Americas.  And they still have more oil and gas reserves than any country in the world.  Socialist price controls have so limited the supply of goods, that 30% of the population has fled.  A year ago, Mary Anastasia O’Grady wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Life in the once-prosperous country has now officially become hell.”  Socialism only works in heaven where they don’t need it, and hell, where they already have it.  

“Capitalism is a system that begins not with taking but with giving to others,” write George Gilder in Wealth and Poverty.  That’s why it’s consistent with the Christian worldview.  In Capitalism, power is dissipated throughout the economy.   In Socialism, power is centralized where via corruption, it can do its greatest harm. 

Ok, with the following quote, it’s possible that Thomas Sowell might become the most quoted author in the Christian Economist series of podcasts.  In Wealth, Poverty and Politics, he writes, “Marxism is based on the assumption that the poor are poor because the rich exploit them. Yet none of the Communist countries ever achieved a standard of living for ordinary people equal to that in free-market capitalist economies. 

#105 The Free Market Feeds the Poor

Father Robert Sirico has become the Lord Acton of our generation for telling Pope Francis that the free market feeds the poor. How else would there be enough “leftovers” to give away?

I am a great admirer of Father Robert Sirico.  He founded the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The Acton institute has produced some of the best work on Christian Economics.  I have read many of their books, shown their videos in my classes, and attended the Acton Institute Forum.  Perhaps most importantly, there are multiple citations in my book Biblical Economic Policy from Father Sirico’s very good book Defending the Free Market.

But today, my respect has increased even greater.  An article in Fox news recently announces, “Rev. Robert Sirico says Pope Francis makes an enemy of the poor’s best friend – the free market.”  In the article, Father Sirico asks, “Without a market, how do we feed anyone?”  Ok, it’s one thing for a loud-mouthed protestant like me to take on the Pope.  But it takes an extra measure of character for a Catholic Priest to contradict his own Pope.  

Matter of fact, Lord Acton did it, in the act that made him famous, he stated, “Power corrupts.  And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  He said that about the Pope.  I recommend the book by Gertrude Himmelfarb.  

So, is Father Sirico the next Lord Acton?  He has the strength of character to be.   

If you Love Your Neighbor

Love Your Neighbor is the title of my podcast #18.  The Pope denounced the “Cold logic of the market.”  Will the Pope refuse donations that were earned in the market?  They are from this very same, “Cold logic of the market.”  Cold?  What’s cold about supplying the demands of your neighbors?  In economics we call it consumer surplus.  Here’s how it works.  A poor person shops at Wal-Mart and puts some things in her basket.  When she gets to the check-out counter, those items are run over the scanner.  The customer stands at that counter and says, “I would rather have this can of green beans, than the 78 cents in my purse.  She willingly makes the exchange.  Who gets richer?  BOTH!  Wal-Mart gets richer by the 78 cents, and the poor person gets richer by a can of beans.  People who have NOT had economics would say that Wal-Mart gets richer because they get the 78 cents.  That is correct, that Wal-Mart get richer FINANCIALLY, but the consumer gets richer by one can of beans. 

This information is old, but the last study I saw, indicated that Wal-Mart produced $2,600 in consumer surplus for every American family.  The specific amount is not important.  The concept is.  Free Market Capitalists suppliers like Wal-Mart make the poor richer, but providing the highest quality goods and the lowest prices because they are in a competitive market.  In the book, Economic Shalom, John Bolt writes, “The biggest poverty-reduction measure of all is liberalizing markets to let poor people get richer.” Of course, by “liberalizing markets” he means the free market. 

I was speaking at a University last week and a student asked, “But Wal-Mart has billions of dollars….”  And I asked, “How did they GET the billions?”  They GOT the billions by providing consumer surplus for their neighbors.  

If you love your neighbor, you will supply the products and services she demands.  If you love yourself, you will make a profit while doing so. 

The Pope decries a system in which BOTH parties get richer.  So that means, he would favor a system where one party gets richer, while the other gets poorer?  That’s Socialism.  Socialism is cold,

#104 Does God Want Us to be Rich?

God wants us to be rich, but that’s not the same as wanting us to be wealthy.

God wants us to obey, which often results in wealth.

That question was posed at a men’s Bible study this week.  Good question.  It’s always a good question when we ask, “What does God want?”  Because Who knows the mind of God?

You must be rich!

When my Dad’s health was failing, I would often leave my early morning econ class and take the direct flight from DFW to Sioux Falls to spend a few days with him.  One night, very late, the kind healthcare giver noticed me in the hall and commented, “You’re here from Dallas again, you must be rich.”  I responded, “I’m rich, but I’m not wealthy.  I’m rich because I get to spend my Dad’s last days with him.  I’m rich because I have a wife who loves me.  I’m rich because my extended family cares about me.  I’m rich because I have a church group that helps me understand the scriptures.  I’m rich because I have fellow professors at Dallas Baptist University who help me integrate faith with learning in the classroom.  

Teaching at a Christian University is not the path to great wealth.  Oh, you want to know what is?  BOIL.  If that doesn’t sound familiar, it’s because I made it up.  A high percentage of rich people made their wealth in Business, Oil, and Land.  Now, if you have a business that deals in real estate, you get a twofer.  If that land has oil on it, you get a three-fer!  Now, just go get wealthy.  The problem is: That data is from the past.  Who knows what will make people wealthy in the future?

Get the point: God wants us to be rich.  Does he want us to be wealthy?

Be or Do?

In The Call, Oz Guinness explains that we have two calls.  The first is to BE a Christian, the second is to DO something.  The order of our calls is important.  Oh, and if you forget how to spell Guinness, look in your refrigerator.  Yes, he’s the descendant of the Irish brewer who started the Guinness brewery.  For details about how Guinness fulfilled God’s creational intent by brewing beer, I’ll suggest you do a Google search for “God and Guinness.”  

Hugh Whelchel said, “God made something out of nothing.”  Our call is to make something out of something.”  We are called to transform the world by supplying goods and services our neighbors demand.  

In Corporate Cults, I explain that our work should be what we do, not who we are.  Golfer Tiger Woods said simply, “Golf is what I do, it’s not who I am.”

We’re supposed to find our identity in Christ, not in our behaviors.  One of my favorite phrases is “In most religions, you behave to be saved.  But in Christianity, we believe we are saved to behave.  The order is important. 

A businessman in Brazil told me “To be successful, I don’t need to BE a Christian, but I need to act like one.”  That’s sounds hypocritical, but that’s not what he meant at all.  His point was that the behaviors that accompany Christianity happen to align with successful business practices.  Sergiy Saydometov and I include many of them in our book Biblical Economic Policy.  Just a few:  Don’t steal, don’t covet, use honest measures, and work is good.  Those Christian practices make a person rich. 

In his book For God and Profit, Sam Gregg writes, “Scripture doesn’t criticize the wealthy because they are richer than others. They are criticized, often fiercely when they are engaged in fraud, when they forget their real and direct responsibilities to the poor, or when their wealth becomes their God.”

 Nowhere in the New Testament,

#103  We’re All Agents

We all act as agents for someone.  Christians should be agents of God’s calling, creating goods and services that enrich our neighbors.  

The First Organizational Structure

In Exodus 18:13, we find the first story of organizational structure. It reads:

“Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.

14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.

16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.

18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

Skipping now to verse 24:

“24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”

This is a pretty good description of the US legal system with the Supreme Court at the top, appeals courts in the middle, and district courts at the more local level. 

Here’s the point of Jethro’s instructions to Moses: Find people to serve as agents for you, and thus for God.  We could think of the agency relationship being created here.  Although, even earlier, Adam and Eve were agents, but their agency was not very successful. 

Adam Smith, called it Division of Labor and got his face on the back of the 20 pound note in the UK for his contribution.  

Free Agent Nation

It’s my view that traditional organizational structure will mostly go away and be replaced by outsourcing.  I explain some of this in Podcast #51 God’s Gig Economy.  Short-term “gigs” provide a more efficient use of human resources, because labor is free to move where it produces the highest economic value.  I did not say structure will totally be replaced, but to some degree, it will.  And the degree to which it is replaced depends on industry and firm-specific characteristics. 

In the classroom, I end my lecture on Organizational Design with a review of three books that I think explain the new structure effectively. 

The first is The Third Wave, by Alvin Toffler.  Written way back in 1984, Toffler explains three economic eras: Agriculture, Industry, and Information.  90% of Americans worked in Agriculture in 1800, and the number had fallen to 60% by 1900.  That’s good, by the way.  Food comes first.  And, the more people you can free from food production, supplies more labor to produce other goods, like the shoes on your feet, and that computer you’re staring at right now.  It’s now 2.5% in the United States.  That means 97.5% are free to provide other goods and services.  I’m not really concerned with an exact date for when the agricultural era ended, but it faded sometime after the end of the Civil War in 1865.  It was followed by the Industrial Era that ruled our economy from about the turn of the century in 1900 to about mid-century.  We are now in the information age.  Some would say we’re even in a fourth age, the computer age, but that even magnifies my point today.   

The second book in this progression is Job Shift by Willia...

#102 The Debt Ceiling Federal debt is stealing.  It limits freedom.  And, it assumes US Treasury bureaucrats are not fallen.  The debt ceiling provides some protection against governmental excess.  Life is full of grand promises that never come true.  Sweets without calories.  Energy that’s free. A perpetual motion machine.  This week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen…

101 Inflating Inflation Government policies are increasing inflation that harms the poor and violates the scriptural mandate about “honest measures. Inflation is one of the two evils of macroeconomics, along with its devilish brother: Unemployment.  Inflation usually happens by an over-heated economy, but poor economic policy can also inflate inflation, and that’s what we’re seeing…

#100 Takers Are Not Makers Conquerors (takers) seldom beat their swords into plowshares and become economic producers (makers). So, the Taliban will probably not build a sustainable economy.   Early in your study of economics, you probably learned about opportunity cost.  I advise my students to have only one dating relationship at a time.  And,…

#99 Faith and Freedom God gives us the freedom to choose or reject HIs offer of salvation. So we assume He wants us to be as free as possible in our economic lives.  Freedom is not free Free is not freedom When I encounter someone who has served in the military, my common expression is…

#98 The Myth of National Self-Reliance Countries who cut themselves off from global trade become poorer through their own self-reliance. Discriminating against other countries is not Christian, nor is it economically fruitful. Early in the semester, I ask the athletes in my class to tell where they’re from and what denominational church they belong to. …