The Faithful Way Forward: 2016 Budget
Last month, The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness worked with
other faith partners to offer a briefing for Congress on the "Faithful
Budget," a document written by the faith community about our nation's
financial priorities. The Reverend J. Herbert Nelson joined with Sister Simone
Campbell, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, and Maggie Siddiqi in calling for a budget that prioritizes
people and livelihood, not corporate profit or greed. This included calling
for—
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| Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Sr. Simone Campbell, Maggie Siddiqi, and the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson |
- Preservation of the social safety net, essential programs serving the most vulnerable people
- Investment in health care, access to which is essential to the shalom and wellbeing of all people
- A serious look at our spending priorities when comparing over-investment in the mechanisms of war and underinvestment in human capital
- A progressive tax code that not only brings in enough revenue to pay for what is most important, but also reduces inequality by making sure that all people have enough – not too much and not too little
In April, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the
Senate have passed budgets that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, turn
Medicaid into a block grant, and cut billions of dollars from nutrition and
education programs, all while increasing spending on overseas wars and cutting
taxes for the wealthiest.
Please email your members of Congress this week. Ask them to create a
budget that is aligned with the Faithful Budget and cares for the needs of all
of all people, not just the wealthy few.
In preparation for the briefing, J. Herbert Nelson wrote:
“As a follower of Christianity, I
believed that ‘to whom much is given, much will be required.’ God’s justice
insists that those who have much must contribute to the good of all. Indeed,
God’s vision of shalom wants a society in which each of us has enough -- not
too much and not too little. We are living in a new Gilded Age where the gap
between rich and poor grows ever deeper. Today’s worship of money and things is
nothing less than idolatry and justice requires us to change if we are gong to live
up to God’s radical vision for us. Responsible taxation in a linchpin of a democratic
society and from a Christian perspective, greater tax justice is necessary and a
key response to rising inequality.”
Read
all of J. Herbert Nelson’s remarks on tax justice and the Faithful
Budget.
