The news this week has been full of some very big numbers. Some of the biggest and most prestigious banks in the world are in major trouble. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been loaned or guaranteed by governments to “rescue” these institutions that have made their fortunes loaning money and packaging securities when times were good. Record profits and exhorbitant salaries for CEOs were the rewards for chasing profits in a free market. It is extraordinary that now, when it isn’t working so well, these institutions are being supported by government money, and lots of it. Such interventions may well be necessary, but…

Imagine if the crisis of global poverty was seen as a similar emergency. A couple of hundred billion dollars would go a long way towards eliminating malaria, providing clean water and sanitation, ensuring education for all and so on. In 2005 the G8 promised to increase aid by $50 billion per year by 2010. Not only is progress on this very slow, but it is significantly less than the massive rescue packages emerging on Wall Street.

Imagine if the impending ecological crisis that is climate change were perceived in the same way. Hundreds of billions poured into alternative energy research and development and emergency funds to allow the poorest people to adapt their lives to the new environment would quickly see the crisis past.

Our world could be so different. As God’s people we must point to that different world; a world of justice for all; a world where people count for more than money. As God’s people we must speak up for those without a voice. Rich bankers have no problems being heard by governments. We must ensure that the poor and their emergencies are also heard by those with power

John MacKinnon