The effects of sequestration

Kathy Saile, the director of domestic social development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has co-authored an op-ed piece about the effects of sequestration on the most vulnerable members of our society.

It’s been more than 140 days since sequestration went into effect, cutting $84 billion across the board from government programs this year. It may be difficult to comprehend the effects of that number. However, it is not difficult to comprehend that a child who is undernourished this year could have learning difficulties for the rest of her life—which will hurt her ability to earn enough money to provide for herself and her future children. It is not difficult to comprehend that a father in South Sudan who needlessly dies from AIDS this year because of reduced access to treatments will leave his family in dire straits. It is not difficult to comprehend that an elderly person on a fixed income in the Midwest will sit hungry and cold in a dingy apartment next winter because of cuts to essential assistance.

For these reasons and more, over 5,000 Christian pastors and other faith leaders have written to President Barack Obama and key members of Congress who are working to reduce our national debt and annual deficits. In their pastoral letter, they ask lawmakers and the administration to form a circle of protection around effective programs that help hungry and poor people in our country and abroad. 

The pastoral letter was initiated by the Circle of Protection, an alliance of Christian leaders who have met with members of both parties and with President Obama, urging that the common good be pursued and that the budget not be balanced on the backs of hungry and poor people.

You can read more here.

A "circle of protection"

The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) today reported that, as Congress began working on the FY 2013 budget and spending bills this week, the USCCB wrote several letters that reiterated the bishops’ ongoing call to create a “circle of protection” around poor and vulnerable people and the programs that meet their basic needs and protect their lives and dignity. The bishops’ message calls on Congress and the Administration to protect essential help for poor families and vulnerable children and to oppose measures that reduce resources for essential safety net programs.

The bishops reaffirmed the “moral criteria to guide these difficult budget decisions” outlined in a previous letter:

1. Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.

2. A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects “the least of these” (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first.

3. Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times…

Just solutions, however, must require shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and fairly addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs.

You can read more here.