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Reform of Guestworker Program Thwarted

Blurb

The perfect recipe for worker exploitation is to prohibit workers from changing employers, however unfair, abusive, or discriminatory. Yet that is exactly how U.S. guestworker programs are structured.

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By Sue Weishar, Ph.D.

Catholic Social Thought (CST) and Global Financial Systems

Blurb

In October 2011, the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace applied Catholic social teaching [CST] to global financial systems. [1] The “Note” reiterates four strong CST themes.

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By Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ

In October 2011, the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace applied Catholic social teaching [CST] to global financial systems. [1] The “Note” reiterates four strong CST themes:

Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Slope, or the Common Good

Blurb

Now that the election is over, a lame duck Congress has returned to Washington and a “new Congress” convenes in January. Facing both is the so-called “fiscal cliff” of automatic budget cuts (sequestration) and the termination of the Bush tax cuts.

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The U.S. Debt and Deficit Crisis, Lame Ducks, and a New Responsibility

By Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ

Catholic Social Thought and the Common Good

Blurb

The Catechism notes three essential elements of the common good: respect for the 
individual, the social well-being and development of the group, and peace.

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By Fred Kammer, S.J.

“Impossible Subjects” with Impossible Choices

Blurb

The paradoxes in our immigration laws continue to have painful consequences for today’s undocumented immigrants and their families. Time and again our nation’s immigration laws have failed to address the need for immigrant labor and contradict longcherished American values, resulting in impossible choices by undocumented immigrants.

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New hope comes into a world of impossibility

By Sue Weishar, Ph.D.

Race and the 2012 Presidential Election

Blurb

We live in an odd in-between time, neither free of the racist politics of the past nor committed to achieving racial justice within our multi-racial reality. In the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the casualties of racism include not only the lives lost to death-dealing racism, but also truth and justice.

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By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.

We live in an odd in-between time, neither free of the racist politics of the past nor committed to achieving racial justice within our multi-racial reality. In the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the casualties of racism include not only the lives lost to death-dealing racism, but also truth and justice.

Changing the Script: A Starting Point for Reducing Gun Violence

Blurb

In the last issue of JustSouth Quarterly, my article, “Stop Casting Stones: The Failure of Punitive Crime Policy,” focused on what does not work in criminal policing. A key point to remember about the failure of punitive crime policy is that getting “tough on crime,” through more arrests, more incarceration, harsher sentences, and imposition of the death penalty contribute to a “vicious cycle” of violence itself.

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By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.

In the last issue of JustSouth Quarterly, my article, “Stop Casting Stones: The Failure of Punitive Crime Policy,” focused on what does not work in criminal policing. A key point to remember about the failure of punitive crime policy is that getting “tough on crime,” through more arrests, more incarceration, harsher sentences, and imposition of the death penalty contribute to a “vicious cycle” of violence itself.

Does Relative Mobility “Cure” Inequality?

Blurb

In our Spring 2012 JustSouth Quarterly, Part One of this article—“Growing Economic Inequality Matters!”—discussed the fact that economic inequality (both in income and wealth) is real and worsening in the United States, that it has multiple causes, and that it matters, especially to people of faith concerned about distributive justice. At the conclusion, the article raised the question whether “relative income mobility” cures inequality. In other words, does the fact that some people do move between income levels mean that inequality does not matter, that economic freedom trumps economic justice?

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Surprisingly, the United States lags in income mobility

By Fred Kammer, S.J.

Catholic Social Thought and Restorative Justice

Blurb

Restorative Justice (RJ) is an alternative criminal justice practice that emphasizes repairing the harm of unjust behavior. As Howard Zehr, a leading founder of the RJ movement explains, RJ emerged in the mid-1970s to address three problems of how the traditional system: 1) fails victims, 2) does not call offenders to account, and 3) does not address broader community needs.1

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By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.

Restorative Justice (RJ) is an alternative criminal justice practice that emphasizes repairing the harm of unjust behavior. As Howard Zehr, a leading founder of the RJ movement explains, RJ emerged in the mid-1970s to address three problems of how the traditional system: 1) fails victims, 2) does not call offenders to account, and 3) does not address broader community needs.¹

Mississippi Rejects Immigration Enforcement Bill

Blurb

In a remarkable development, a harsh immigration enforcement bill1 that passed the Mississippi House of Representatives on March 15 with strong support from Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi Tea Party members died in a Senate Judiciary Committee on April 3, 2012. To better understand how Mississippi arrived at this potentially historic juncture, I interviewed individuals who helped to shape the coalition of new voices.

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By Sue Weishar, Ph.D.

In a remarkable development, a harsh immigration enforcement bill¹ that passed the Mississippi House of Representatives on March 15 with strong support from Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi Tea Party members died in a Senate Judiciary Committee on April 3, 2012, the last day that action could be taken on any general bills passed by the opposite chamber.²