What Would Jesus Buy?

Morgan Spurlock (the mutton chops behind the documentary "Super Size Me") has produced a new flick entitled "What Would Jesus Buy?" http://wwjbmovie.com/ The film follows the Rev. Billy (no, he's not really a minister or even a Christian) and his Church of Stop Shopping as they crusade against box stores and consumerism in general.

WWJB has received favorable reviews although it has raised the eyebrows of many Christians who think that the Rev. Billy is making fun of their faith. For the record, Billy, the son of a Dutch Calvinist minister, insists he is only making fun of televangelism (which is fine with me) while making a political point.

I will probably watch WWJB (even though I thought that Supersize Me was overrated...if you want to see a truly funny documentary then check out Michael Moorer's Roger & Me (1989)) but its premise is ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, I'm against materialism but the idea that stopping box stores, etc. will actually help America has proven false time and again. A return to a high-tariff, protectionist, so-called "fair trade" approach will also fail to fix any of our country's ills (and we have fewer fiscal ills than any other country in world) and will hurt the economies of poorer countries. Ask a person in New Delhi what they think about making $5 American a day? I have. You might be surprised by the answer.

Don't get me wrong, I think they should be paid more too but poverty has dropped in these countries because five American dollars goes a lot further in a third-world country then it does here.

It still amazes me how few so-called well read Americans have actually perused a book on economics. Try Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics or even P.J. O'Rourkes "Eat The Rich" or, heaven forbid, something truly weighty like "The Road To Serfdom."