Ministry on California’s Death Row – an Ignatian Meditation
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By Fr. George Williams, SJ, San Quentin State Prison chaplain
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<p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">By </span><a href="http://jesuits.org/story?TN=PROJECT-20150211090952" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Fr. George Williams, SJ</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, San Quentin State Prison chaplain</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I lift the Blessed Sacrament for the men inside the cage to see. “This is my body, which is given for you.” God is here in this awful place.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The “chapel” on San Quentin’s Death Row is a windowless old shower room encased in a heavy metal cage. There are six wooden benches bolted to the floor for the congregation. I stand outside their cage, having padlocked myself inside my own cage as required by the department, wearing my black bulletproof, stab-proof vest<b>.</b></p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">There is a harsh fluorescent ceiling light over me, and as I raise the host, the light illuminates it. The men are quiet and focused, and I imagine as I am standing there facing them, separated by the steel mesh and padlocks, that the light of Christ is streaming forth from that host, dispelling the dark shadows of “East Block,” San Quentin’s Death Row for men.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" src="http://image.jesuits.org/USA/media/death-row-caption.jpg" />St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, said, “See God present in you just as God is present in a temple. See yourself as God’s own image and divine likeness.” Much of my work with prisoners is to help them see the presence of God in themselves.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The major spiritual illness of most prisoners is shame. At the deepest level, they believe that they are “no good.” Many have learned to identify themselves by what others have labeled them: criminals, murderers, even monsters. This radical sense of being worthless, bad, a “nothing,” lies at the root of most antisocial behavior. I believe we must reject the lie that says we are nothing but the worst sin we have committed.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">What they seem to long for the most is forgiveness. As a priest, I bear witness to God’s forgiveness. God’s mercy is greater than our worst sins. The love and mercy of God, expressed through the death and resurrection of Jesus, makes forgiveness and healing possible for all of us, even the most despised and outcast members of our society.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Since my first experiences in prison ministry as a Jesuit novice, I have seen over and over the face of Christ in the prisoners, as well as in those who guard them. Ironically, it is in the darkness of prison that I encounter most vividly the light of God shining forth.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20170516114253&utm_source=Jesuit+eNews+May+18%2C+2017&utm_campaign=May+18%2C+2017+eNewsletter&utm_medium=email">MORE>></a></p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I lift the Blessed Sacrament for the men inside the cage to see. “This is my body, which is given for you.” God is here in this awful place.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The “chapel” on San Quentin’s Death Row is a windowless old shower room encased in a heavy metal cage. There are six wooden benches bolted to the floor for the congregation. I stand outside their cage, having padlocked myself inside my own cage as required by the department, wearing my black bulletproof, stab-proof vest<b>.</b></p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">There is a harsh fluorescent ceiling light over me, and as I raise the host, the light illuminates it. The men are quiet and focused, and I imagine as I am standing there facing them, separated by the steel mesh and padlocks, that the light of Christ is streaming forth from that host, dispelling the dark shadows of “East Block,” San Quentin’s Death Row for men.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" src="http://image.jesuits.org/USA/media/death-row-caption.jpg" />St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, said, “See God present in you just as God is present in a temple. See yourself as God’s own image and divine likeness.” Much of my work with prisoners is to help them see the presence of God in themselves.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The major spiritual illness of most prisoners is shame. At the deepest level, they believe that they are “no good.” Many have learned to identify themselves by what others have labeled them: criminals, murderers, even monsters. This radical sense of being worthless, bad, a “nothing,” lies at the root of most antisocial behavior. I believe we must reject the lie that says we are nothing but the worst sin we have committed.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">What they seem to long for the most is forgiveness. As a priest, I bear witness to God’s forgiveness. God’s mercy is greater than our worst sins. The love and mercy of God, expressed through the death and resurrection of Jesus, makes forgiveness and healing possible for all of us, even the most despised and outcast members of our society.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Since my first experiences in prison ministry as a Jesuit novice, I have seen over and over the face of Christ in the prisoners, as well as in those who guard them. Ironically, it is in the darkness of prison that I encounter most vividly the light of God shining forth.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20170516114253&utm_source=Jesuit+eNews+May+18%2C+2017&utm_campaign=May+18%2C+2017+eNewsletter&utm_medium=email">MORE>></a></p>
Date
Advocates call for more "sanctuary congregations" ahead of new Texas law
News Intro Text
Before Senate Bill 4, a far-reaching immigration law, goes into effect on Sept. 1, opponents are mobilizing across Texas, including those hoping to see more Texas churches offer "sanctuary" to the undocumented.
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<p><span class="byline--item" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-right: 1.1rem; color: rgb(121, 121, 121); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; letter-spacing: 0.68px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/julian-aguilar/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; color: rgb(83, 155, 174); font-weight: 700;">JULIÁN AGUILAR</a></span><span style="color: rgb(121, 121, 121); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; letter-spacing: 0.68px; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span></p>
<time class="byline--item" datetime="Tue, 16 May 2017 00:01:00 -0500" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-right: 1.1rem; color: rgb(121, 121, 121); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; letter-spacing: 0.68px; text-transform: uppercase;" title="2017-05-16 00:01">
MAY 16, 2017</time>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">The backdrop for Rev. Noel Andersen's sermon last week wasn’t a church dais but the gates of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. The unusual setting didn’t stop him from preaching about his disappointment in Gov. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(161, 210, 223); box-shadow: rgb(161, 210, 223) 0px -1px 0px 0px inset;">Greg Abbott</a> for signing one of the most aggressive state-based immigration laws in the country the night before.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">“Somebody told me once that the Bible was important here,” Andersen said, ginning up an already fiery crowd of opponents that have, since January, railed against Senate Bill 4.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">Andersen is from Washington, D.C., where his nonprofit, Church World Service, is based. But he said he expects to spend much of the summer in Texas, working to reignite a movement of churches offering "sanctuary" to the undocumented, an effort that has taken on a new urgency since Abbott signed SB 4, which goes into effect Sept. 1.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">“We do expect to see a greater need now as immigrants are being more targeted through SB 4 and through President Trump’s policies,” Andersen said. “[The goal is] helping stop a deportation order and creating space to create a legal campaign to be able to stop that deportation and keep those people with their families.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/16/after-sb4-faith-based-groups-work-spread-message-sanctuary-congregatio/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social">MORE>></a></p>
<time class="byline--item" datetime="Tue, 16 May 2017 00:01:00 -0500" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-right: 1.1rem; color: rgb(121, 121, 121); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; letter-spacing: 0.68px; text-transform: uppercase;" title="2017-05-16 00:01">
MAY 16, 2017</time>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">The backdrop for Rev. Noel Andersen's sermon last week wasn’t a church dais but the gates of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. The unusual setting didn’t stop him from preaching about his disappointment in Gov. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(161, 210, 223); box-shadow: rgb(161, 210, 223) 0px -1px 0px 0px inset;">Greg Abbott</a> for signing one of the most aggressive state-based immigration laws in the country the night before.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">“Somebody told me once that the Bible was important here,” Andersen said, ginning up an already fiery crowd of opponents that have, since January, railed against Senate Bill 4.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">Andersen is from Washington, D.C., where his nonprofit, Church World Service, is based. But he said he expects to spend much of the summer in Texas, working to reignite a movement of churches offering "sanctuary" to the undocumented, an effort that has taken on a new urgency since Abbott signed SB 4, which goes into effect Sept. 1.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;">“We do expect to see a greater need now as immigrants are being more targeted through SB 4 and through President Trump’s policies,” Andersen said. “[The goal is] helping stop a deportation order and creating space to create a legal campaign to be able to stop that deportation and keep those people with their families.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.1rem; font-size: 1.1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.4;"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/16/after-sb4-faith-based-groups-work-spread-message-sanctuary-congregatio/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social">MORE>></a></p>
Date
Tobin calls Trump immigration policies ‘cruelty on innocent people’
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“What if every cardinal accompanied a person who crossed our paths to a deportation hearing? Every bishop? Every mayor?”
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<p><a class="author authorCHANGE" href="https://cruxnow.com/author/shannon-levitt/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: none; font-size: 17px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; color: rgb(203, 0, 0);" title="Shannon Levitt">Shannon Levitt <span style="color: rgb(124, 124, 124);">May 17, 2017</span></a></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., issued a strong call on Wednesday for American Catholic leaders to resist the immigration stance of the Trump administration, saying “you really have to believe in inflicting cruelty on innocent people to choose to support the policies we’ve seen in recent months.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin, a Pope Francis appointee, urged Catholic and political leaders alike to get involved in the defense of immigrants.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He asked, “What if every cardinal accompanied a person who crossed our paths to a deportation hearing? Every bishop? Every mayor?”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin challenged people to see immigrants as they are, and not as distorted stereotypes, saying that by doing so, “we show our face.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">His remarks came as part of a May 17 celebration of World Communications Day hosted by the Diocese of Brooklyn and its DeSales Media Group, the diocese’s communications and technology arm. (The DeSales Media Group is also a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Crux</em> sponsor.)</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin has long been among the most outspoken bishops on the immigration issue. He made news in March when he went along with a 59-year-old grandfather facing deportation, Catalino Guerrero, to a federal court for his hearing.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin talked about the case in his keynote speech on Wednesday.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He said that his accompaniment of the man “wasn’t a conscious strategy … but praying with him and his family … and with other religious groups in New Jersey … these actions taken together provided a lens” for others to understand the events, and inspire them to action.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Because of the essentially one-party rule by Republicans at the moment, he said, “Congress and the president could pass comprehensive immigration reform if they wanted to.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">But until that happens, Tobin doesn’t want people to sit back and watch things unfold, but rather talks about a “call to faith” and how it can motivate people to act.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The day he went with Guerrero, “God’s grace broke through” for at least two reasons according to Tobin.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">“It put a face on people who are frequently dehumanized … secondly, it put a face on us and the call to solidarity,” he said.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He said that day was “an act of compassion on my part,” but for some “it was an act of hope …that the Church, the body of Christ has a right to a voice in the public square…and we must claim that voice.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin said that he doesn’t believe the media should be a “punching bag” for people, but challenged them to report the news in a straight-forward fashion rather than ascribe to the fear-based idea that “if it bleeds, it leads.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">One week after his inauguration, President Donald Trump moved on his promise to restrict immigration and deport people already here without documentation. His first executive order on the subject caused chaos at airports as those attempting to enforce the order were not clear about green card holders and people with visas from the countries explicitly banned. There were also large protests against the order around the country’s airports.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The U.S. bishops were part of that quick pushback.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration, stated: “We strongly disagree with the Executive Order’s halting refugee admissions. We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">After the initial order was overturned by a federal district judge, Trump signed a second Executive Order March 6 removing Iraq from the list of banned nations and changing the indefinite ban on Syrian immigration. It also specified that people from those nations with valid visas were still able to come to the U.S.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Once again a restraining order preventing the measure from taking effect was put into place, and is currently still being reviewed by the courts.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Although the intensity of the opposition to the executive orders fell out of the headlines, the U.S. bishops continued to be publicly opposed in their own press releases and interviews with the press. Some even notched up their language in describing the new atmosphere the administration has created.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">For example, on Telemundo on March 19, Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago said, “I am here today to assure you that we stand with those made fearful by the hatred expressed and threats made during the past year toward immigrants and refugees.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The other part of Trump’s vision is massive deportations of people currently in the U.S. without documentation.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was “newly emboldened, newly empowered” according to the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New York Times</em> by Trump’s removal of the rules under Obama keeping them focused only on dangerous criminals.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said the president wanted to “take the shackles off” the agents, and that seems to have cleared the path for ICE to go after anyone suspected of being in the country illegally regardless of their lack of criminal history, age, health or family circumstances.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYT</em> reported in February that during the dramatic ICE arrest raids ICE even bystanders are being arrested and are known as “collateral” arrests.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">At a Vatican sponsored conference in California earlier this year, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez stated bluntly, “They’re playing with people’s emotions and toying with their lives and futures, and that is not right.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><a href="https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/05/17/tobin-calls-trump-immigration-policies-cruelty-innocent-people/">ORIGINAL ARTICLE>></a></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., issued a strong call on Wednesday for American Catholic leaders to resist the immigration stance of the Trump administration, saying “you really have to believe in inflicting cruelty on innocent people to choose to support the policies we’ve seen in recent months.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin, a Pope Francis appointee, urged Catholic and political leaders alike to get involved in the defense of immigrants.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He asked, “What if every cardinal accompanied a person who crossed our paths to a deportation hearing? Every bishop? Every mayor?”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin challenged people to see immigrants as they are, and not as distorted stereotypes, saying that by doing so, “we show our face.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">His remarks came as part of a May 17 celebration of World Communications Day hosted by the Diocese of Brooklyn and its DeSales Media Group, the diocese’s communications and technology arm. (The DeSales Media Group is also a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Crux</em> sponsor.)</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin has long been among the most outspoken bishops on the immigration issue. He made news in March when he went along with a 59-year-old grandfather facing deportation, Catalino Guerrero, to a federal court for his hearing.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin talked about the case in his keynote speech on Wednesday.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He said that his accompaniment of the man “wasn’t a conscious strategy … but praying with him and his family … and with other religious groups in New Jersey … these actions taken together provided a lens” for others to understand the events, and inspire them to action.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Because of the essentially one-party rule by Republicans at the moment, he said, “Congress and the president could pass comprehensive immigration reform if they wanted to.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">But until that happens, Tobin doesn’t want people to sit back and watch things unfold, but rather talks about a “call to faith” and how it can motivate people to act.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The day he went with Guerrero, “God’s grace broke through” for at least two reasons according to Tobin.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">“It put a face on people who are frequently dehumanized … secondly, it put a face on us and the call to solidarity,” he said.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">He said that day was “an act of compassion on my part,” but for some “it was an act of hope …that the Church, the body of Christ has a right to a voice in the public square…and we must claim that voice.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Tobin said that he doesn’t believe the media should be a “punching bag” for people, but challenged them to report the news in a straight-forward fashion rather than ascribe to the fear-based idea that “if it bleeds, it leads.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">One week after his inauguration, President Donald Trump moved on his promise to restrict immigration and deport people already here without documentation. His first executive order on the subject caused chaos at airports as those attempting to enforce the order were not clear about green card holders and people with visas from the countries explicitly banned. There were also large protests against the order around the country’s airports.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The U.S. bishops were part of that quick pushback.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration, stated: “We strongly disagree with the Executive Order’s halting refugee admissions. We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">After the initial order was overturned by a federal district judge, Trump signed a second Executive Order March 6 removing Iraq from the list of banned nations and changing the indefinite ban on Syrian immigration. It also specified that people from those nations with valid visas were still able to come to the U.S.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Once again a restraining order preventing the measure from taking effect was put into place, and is currently still being reviewed by the courts.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Although the intensity of the opposition to the executive orders fell out of the headlines, the U.S. bishops continued to be publicly opposed in their own press releases and interviews with the press. Some even notched up their language in describing the new atmosphere the administration has created.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">For example, on Telemundo on March 19, Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago said, “I am here today to assure you that we stand with those made fearful by the hatred expressed and threats made during the past year toward immigrants and refugees.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The other part of Trump’s vision is massive deportations of people currently in the U.S. without documentation.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was “newly emboldened, newly empowered” according to the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New York Times</em> by Trump’s removal of the rules under Obama keeping them focused only on dangerous criminals.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said the president wanted to “take the shackles off” the agents, and that seems to have cleared the path for ICE to go after anyone suspected of being in the country illegally regardless of their lack of criminal history, age, health or family circumstances.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">The <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYT</em> reported in February that during the dramatic ICE arrest raids ICE even bystanders are being arrested and are known as “collateral” arrests.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">At a Vatican sponsored conference in California earlier this year, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez stated bluntly, “They’re playing with people’s emotions and toying with their lives and futures, and that is not right.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 14px; padding-bottom: 14px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); line-height: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><a href="https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/05/17/tobin-calls-trump-immigration-policies-cruelty-innocent-people/">ORIGINAL ARTICLE>></a></p>
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Date
Employers steal billions from workers’ paychecks each year
News Intro Text
Survey data show millions of workers are paid less than the minimum wage, at significant cost to taxpayers and state economies.
News Item Content
<p><span class="loop-type" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><a href="http://www.epi.org/types/report/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153);">Report</a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> • By </span><a href="http://www.epi.org/people/david-cooper/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(190, 30, 46); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153); font-weight: bold; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif;">David Cooper</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.epi.org/people/teresa-kroeger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(190, 30, 46); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153); font-weight: bold; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif;">Teresa Kroeger</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> • May 10, 2017</span></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">What this report finds:</strong> This report assesses the prevalence and magnitude of one form of wage theft—minimum wage violations (workers being paid at an effective hourly rate below the binding minimum wage)—in the 10 most populous U.S. states. We find that, in these states, 2.4 million workers lose $8 billion annually (an average of $3,300 per year for year-round workers) to minimum wage violations—nearly a quarter of their earned wages. This form of wage theft affects 17 percent of low-wage workers, with workers in all demographic categories being cheated out of pay.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Why it matters:</strong> Minimum wage violations, by definition, affect the lowest-wage workers—those who can least afford to lose earnings. This form of wage theft causes many families to fall below the poverty line, and it increases workers’ reliance on public assistance, costing taxpayers money. Lost wages can hurt state and local economies, and it hurts other workers in affected industries by putting downward pressure on wages.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">What can be done about it:</strong> Strengthen states’ legal protections against wage theft, increase penalties for violators, bolster enforcement capacities, and protect workers from retaliation when violations are reported.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/employers-steal-billions-from-workers-paychecks-each-year-survey-data-show-millions-of-workers-are-paid-less-than-the-minimum-wage-at-significant-cost-to-taxpayers-and-state-economies/">Full Report>></a></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">What this report finds:</strong> This report assesses the prevalence and magnitude of one form of wage theft—minimum wage violations (workers being paid at an effective hourly rate below the binding minimum wage)—in the 10 most populous U.S. states. We find that, in these states, 2.4 million workers lose $8 billion annually (an average of $3,300 per year for year-round workers) to minimum wage violations—nearly a quarter of their earned wages. This form of wage theft affects 17 percent of low-wage workers, with workers in all demographic categories being cheated out of pay.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Why it matters:</strong> Minimum wage violations, by definition, affect the lowest-wage workers—those who can least afford to lose earnings. This form of wage theft causes many families to fall below the poverty line, and it increases workers’ reliance on public assistance, costing taxpayers money. Lost wages can hurt state and local economies, and it hurts other workers in affected industries by putting downward pressure on wages.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">What can be done about it:</strong> Strengthen states’ legal protections against wage theft, increase penalties for violators, bolster enforcement capacities, and protect workers from retaliation when violations are reported.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: proxima-nova, "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/employers-steal-billions-from-workers-paychecks-each-year-survey-data-show-millions-of-workers-are-paid-less-than-the-minimum-wage-at-significant-cost-to-taxpayers-and-state-economies/">Full Report>></a></p>
Date
Shrinking the Safety Net
News Intro Text
Jeanie Donovan, M.P.A., M.P.H.
News Item Content
<p><strong>Jeanie Donovan, M.P.A., M.P.H.</strong></p>
<p>Turning safety net programs into “block grants” has historically been a way for the federal government to cut program funding under the guise of increasing flexibility and innovation among states. The problem for those in Congress who are proposing block grants now is that many Americans, including governors on both sides of the political aisle, are familiar with this tired tactic and are unwilling to be duped.[1] What’s more, cutting programs that benefit the poor runs counter to the principles of most faith traditions, including Catholic social teaching.<br />
Since the Trump administration took office and Congress returned to Washington in January, there has been growing discussion about turning Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into block grants. Although these discussions are occurring in the context of a new administration, they are anything but new. Elected officials concerned with trimming federal spending have long advocated for turning entitlement programs into block grants. In some instances, they have been successful. By analyzing data and outcomes from programs converted into block grants in years past, one can project what might happen to existing entitlement programs should they meet the same fate.[2]</p>
<p>The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program offers the most illustrative example of what happens when an entitlement program is turned into a block grant. Congress converted AFDC to a federal block grant in 1996 and renamed it Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The mission of AFDC was to provide financial relief to poor, singleparent families by guaranteeing cash assistance to all families who fell below a certain income threshold. In 1994, in a typical state, a one-parent family of three was eligible for TANF if they earned below $938 per month.[3] The average benefit level for a family of three was $366 per month, the equivalent of $566 today.4 In 1996 AFDC served 4.[4] million families, and 68 of every 100 families who lived below the poverty line received AFDC cash assistance.[5]</p>
<p>Today TANF is a shell of the once robust and responsive safety net program that was AFDC. In 2014 TANF provided cash assistance to only 1.6 million families, despite higher rates of poverty than when the block grant was created.[6] In 2015 just 23 of every 100 families living in poverty received TANF and the average monthly benefit was just $429 per month.[7]</p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/jsri-justsouth-shrinking-safety-net-jeanie-donovan.pdf">MORE >> </a></p>
<p>Turning safety net programs into “block grants” has historically been a way for the federal government to cut program funding under the guise of increasing flexibility and innovation among states. The problem for those in Congress who are proposing block grants now is that many Americans, including governors on both sides of the political aisle, are familiar with this tired tactic and are unwilling to be duped.[1] What’s more, cutting programs that benefit the poor runs counter to the principles of most faith traditions, including Catholic social teaching.<br />
Since the Trump administration took office and Congress returned to Washington in January, there has been growing discussion about turning Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into block grants. Although these discussions are occurring in the context of a new administration, they are anything but new. Elected officials concerned with trimming federal spending have long advocated for turning entitlement programs into block grants. In some instances, they have been successful. By analyzing data and outcomes from programs converted into block grants in years past, one can project what might happen to existing entitlement programs should they meet the same fate.[2]</p>
<p>The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program offers the most illustrative example of what happens when an entitlement program is turned into a block grant. Congress converted AFDC to a federal block grant in 1996 and renamed it Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The mission of AFDC was to provide financial relief to poor, singleparent families by guaranteeing cash assistance to all families who fell below a certain income threshold. In 1994, in a typical state, a one-parent family of three was eligible for TANF if they earned below $938 per month.[3] The average benefit level for a family of three was $366 per month, the equivalent of $566 today.4 In 1996 AFDC served 4.[4] million families, and 68 of every 100 families who lived below the poverty line received AFDC cash assistance.[5]</p>
<p>Today TANF is a shell of the once robust and responsive safety net program that was AFDC. In 2014 TANF provided cash assistance to only 1.6 million families, despite higher rates of poverty than when the block grant was created.[6] In 2015 just 23 of every 100 families living in poverty received TANF and the average monthly benefit was just $429 per month.[7]</p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/jsri-justsouth-shrinking-safety-net-jeanie-donovan.pdf">MORE >> </a></p>
Date
Prison Capital of the Universe
News Intro Text
Dr. Sue Weishar, PhD
News Item Content
<p><strong>Dr. Sue Weishar, PhD </strong></p>
<p>Louisiana is the prison capital of the known universe. The Pelican State incarcerates more of its residents per capita than any other state, in a country that leads the world in incarceration rates. Louisiana’s incarceration rate of 816 inmates per 100,000 residents is almost twice the national average,[1] three times Brazil’s, seven times China’s, and ten times Germany’s.[2] The impact of Louisiana’s bloated and costly criminal justice system on African American communities has been particularly devastating. One in 20 African American adult males in Louisiana is incarcerated, a rate exceeded by only six states. Although only 32 percent of Louisiana’s population is Black, 67.8 percent of its prison population is Black, the second highest proportion of Black inmates in the U.S. (Maryland is first).[3] The state is in dire financial straits, yet Louisiana spends an astronomical amount of money on its criminal justice system: almost $700 million a year,[4] with poor returns—42.5 percent of offenders return to state custody in five years.[5] Every dollar spent on prisons is a dollar not spent on schools, hospitals, and coastal restoration. The status quo of Louisiana as the “Incarceration Capital of the World” is financially unsustainable and morally unacceptable. Fortunately, major change is within reach.</p>
<p>In June, 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards convened the Justice Reinvestment Task Force, a bi-partisan group of cross-sector criminal justice experts and stakeholders and charged them with taking a hard look at what is working and what is broken in Louisiana. Evidence presented to the Justice Reinvestment Task Force at five public hearings held between June 2016 and November 2016 has clearly shown that policy choice— not crime—explain Louisiana’s obscenely high incarceration rates. While other Southern states have crime rates similar to Louisiana’s, Louisianans are sent to prison for nonviolent offenses at much higher rates. Indeed, the top ten most common crimes that land someone in prison in Louisiana are all nonviolent, and the most common by far is possession of drugs.6 Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Task Force was advised by criminal justice reform experts with the Pew Charitable Trusts as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). The JRI is a public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Pew Charitable Trust, Vera Institute for Justice, and other organizations.</p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/Prison Capital of the Universe.pdf">MORE>></a></p>
<p>Louisiana is the prison capital of the known universe. The Pelican State incarcerates more of its residents per capita than any other state, in a country that leads the world in incarceration rates. Louisiana’s incarceration rate of 816 inmates per 100,000 residents is almost twice the national average,[1] three times Brazil’s, seven times China’s, and ten times Germany’s.[2] The impact of Louisiana’s bloated and costly criminal justice system on African American communities has been particularly devastating. One in 20 African American adult males in Louisiana is incarcerated, a rate exceeded by only six states. Although only 32 percent of Louisiana’s population is Black, 67.8 percent of its prison population is Black, the second highest proportion of Black inmates in the U.S. (Maryland is first).[3] The state is in dire financial straits, yet Louisiana spends an astronomical amount of money on its criminal justice system: almost $700 million a year,[4] with poor returns—42.5 percent of offenders return to state custody in five years.[5] Every dollar spent on prisons is a dollar not spent on schools, hospitals, and coastal restoration. The status quo of Louisiana as the “Incarceration Capital of the World” is financially unsustainable and morally unacceptable. Fortunately, major change is within reach.</p>
<p>In June, 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards convened the Justice Reinvestment Task Force, a bi-partisan group of cross-sector criminal justice experts and stakeholders and charged them with taking a hard look at what is working and what is broken in Louisiana. Evidence presented to the Justice Reinvestment Task Force at five public hearings held between June 2016 and November 2016 has clearly shown that policy choice— not crime—explain Louisiana’s obscenely high incarceration rates. While other Southern states have crime rates similar to Louisiana’s, Louisianans are sent to prison for nonviolent offenses at much higher rates. Indeed, the top ten most common crimes that land someone in prison in Louisiana are all nonviolent, and the most common by far is possession of drugs.6 Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Task Force was advised by criminal justice reform experts with the Pew Charitable Trusts as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). The JRI is a public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Pew Charitable Trust, Vera Institute for Justice, and other organizations.</p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/Prison Capital of the Universe.pdf">MORE>></a></p>
Date
End Capital Punishment Now
News Intro Text
In support of SB 142 and HB 141
News Item Content
<p>by Nik Mitchell, PhD</p>
<p>Senate Bill 142 and House Bill 141 propose to eliminate capital punishment in Louisiana during this Legislative session. Overall, capital punishment is inherently immoral because it violates the condemned’s right to life. It is also a pointless practice, not a deterrent for crime, and a waste of money, time, and manpower. In conceptualization and practice, capital punishment is a continued exercise in futility and too often is an expression of White privilege.</p>
<p>With regard to the conceptualization of capital punishment, it is a faulty practice that relies on the infallibility of the criminal justice system which does not exist; this makes the entire endeavor futile. According to Frank R. Baumgartner and Tim Lyman, from 1976 to 2015 out of 155 resolved death-sentence cases in Louisiana, 127 were reversed, which includes nine exonerations’ and 28 ended in execution.[1] Nine people were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death by the State since 1976. It is inhumane and immoral to continue a practice in light of a criminal justice system that cannot guarantee that no innocent person will not be put to death. There is no acceptable margin of error in this regard. </p>
<div>
<p><font face="Helvetica">With regard to the practice of capital punishment being an expression of White privilege, it has been and continues to be a racist practice. The last White person in Louisiana to be executed when the victim was Black was a soldier found guilty of stabbing two enslaved Black Women with a bayonet in 1752, which predates the French and Indian War. The data provided by Baumgartner and Lymann shows that between 1976 and 2015 the capital punishment rate for cases in which a Black male killed a Black male was .52 percent, a Black male killed a Black female was 1.44 percent, a Black male killed a White male was 4.27 percent, and a Black male killed a White female was 15.56 percent.</font></p>
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<p><font face="Helvetica">Comparatively, the capital punishment rate for cases in which a White male killed a Black male was .87 percent, a White male killed a Black female was 6.25 percent, a White male Killed a White male was 3.08 percent, and a White male killed a White female was 4.04 percent. The data show that a Black male convicted of killing a White female is 29.9 times more likely to result in the capital punishment than when a Black male kills a Black male and is 10.8 times more likely to than when a Black male kills a Black female. This reveals a racial bias in the application of the capital punishment.</font></p>
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<p><font face="Helvetica">Either argument—faulty practice or expression of White privilege—provides sufficient grounds for abolishing capital punishment in the State of Louisiana. I understand why capital punishment invokes so much emotion. It is understandable to want revenge when a loved one has been violated or killed. The crimes that trigger capital punishment rightly cause revulsion in society. The anger and outrage is just and the pain is real. It is safe to say that the majority of the people of Louisiana support capital punishment is some circumstances. They are wrong.</font></p>
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<p><em><font face="Helvetica">N.B. Senate Bill 142 was passed by a Senate Judiciary Committee by a 6 to 1 vote on April 26th and now goes to the Senate for a vote. </font></em></p>
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<p><font face="Helvetica">[1] Baumgartner, Frank and Lyman, Tim, Louisiana Death Sentenced Cases and Their Reversals, 1976-2015 (April 26, 2016). The Southern University Law Center Journal of Race, Gender, and Poverty, Vol. 7, 2016 . Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2770761</font></p>
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<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/rceqo/f81a0bc94a8b5136450e58743872df69">MORE>></a></p>
<p>Senate Bill 142 and House Bill 141 propose to eliminate capital punishment in Louisiana during this Legislative session. Overall, capital punishment is inherently immoral because it violates the condemned’s right to life. It is also a pointless practice, not a deterrent for crime, and a waste of money, time, and manpower. In conceptualization and practice, capital punishment is a continued exercise in futility and too often is an expression of White privilege.</p>
<p>With regard to the conceptualization of capital punishment, it is a faulty practice that relies on the infallibility of the criminal justice system which does not exist; this makes the entire endeavor futile. According to Frank R. Baumgartner and Tim Lyman, from 1976 to 2015 out of 155 resolved death-sentence cases in Louisiana, 127 were reversed, which includes nine exonerations’ and 28 ended in execution.[1] Nine people were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death by the State since 1976. It is inhumane and immoral to continue a practice in light of a criminal justice system that cannot guarantee that no innocent person will not be put to death. There is no acceptable margin of error in this regard. </p>
<div>
<p><font face="Helvetica">With regard to the practice of capital punishment being an expression of White privilege, it has been and continues to be a racist practice. The last White person in Louisiana to be executed when the victim was Black was a soldier found guilty of stabbing two enslaved Black Women with a bayonet in 1752, which predates the French and Indian War. The data provided by Baumgartner and Lymann shows that between 1976 and 2015 the capital punishment rate for cases in which a Black male killed a Black male was .52 percent, a Black male killed a Black female was 1.44 percent, a Black male killed a White male was 4.27 percent, and a Black male killed a White female was 15.56 percent.</font></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="e2ma-block-outer" id="block_ylyaipom" width="100%">
</table>
<p><font face="Helvetica">Comparatively, the capital punishment rate for cases in which a White male killed a Black male was .87 percent, a White male killed a Black female was 6.25 percent, a White male Killed a White male was 3.08 percent, and a White male killed a White female was 4.04 percent. The data show that a Black male convicted of killing a White female is 29.9 times more likely to result in the capital punishment than when a Black male kills a Black male and is 10.8 times more likely to than when a Black male kills a Black female. This reveals a racial bias in the application of the capital punishment.</font></p>
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</table>
<p><font face="Helvetica">Either argument—faulty practice or expression of White privilege—provides sufficient grounds for abolishing capital punishment in the State of Louisiana. I understand why capital punishment invokes so much emotion. It is understandable to want revenge when a loved one has been violated or killed. The crimes that trigger capital punishment rightly cause revulsion in society. The anger and outrage is just and the pain is real. It is safe to say that the majority of the people of Louisiana support capital punishment is some circumstances. They are wrong.</font></p>
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<p><em><font face="Helvetica">N.B. Senate Bill 142 was passed by a Senate Judiciary Committee by a 6 to 1 vote on April 26th and now goes to the Senate for a vote. </font></em></p>
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<p><font face="Helvetica">[1] Baumgartner, Frank and Lyman, Tim, Louisiana Death Sentenced Cases and Their Reversals, 1976-2015 (April 26, 2016). The Southern University Law Center Journal of Race, Gender, and Poverty, Vol. 7, 2016 . Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2770761</font></p>
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<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/rceqo/f81a0bc94a8b5136450e58743872df69">MORE>></a></p>
Date
Low-Wage Work in Mississippi: Enhancing Opportunities for Families
News Intro Text
Dr. Kathleen Fitzergald studied the needs of low-wage workers in Mississippi, what the state is doing to address these needs, and what additional policies and programs can be implemented to address the myriad unmet needs of this vulnerable population.
News Item Content
<p>The purpose of this study is to understand the needs of low-wage workers in Mississippi, what the state is doing to address those needs, and what additional policies and programs can be implemented to address the myriad unmet needs of this vulnerable population. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country, with one of the lowest labor force participation rates; poverty, unemployment, and underemployment disproportionately affect racial minorities and women.</p>
<p>Mississippi ranks as the most dependent state; state dependency refers to how much each state receives back in federal dollars versus what they contribute to the federal treasury in taxes (Kiernan 2016). Mississippi gets $3.00 in federal funds for every dollar it contributes to the federal government (Tierney 2014). Neighboring Alabama and Louisiana also rank high as dependent states. This is primarily due to the high poverty rates in these states that result in them receiving a disproportionate share of federal funds through anti-poverty programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Tierney 2014).</p>
<p> The State of Mississippi is focused on helping residents find work. One of the primary investments the state has made is the introduction of MS Works in 2015, a website for job seekers and employers. In addition to listing open jobs and allowing people to apply directly through their website, the program is designed to help workers explore ways to increase their job market skills. Thus, an applicant can be directed to a community college program where they can increase their skill set and marketability. This is designed to help the state address what they perceive as a shortage of mid-skill level workers. Mississippi has also made employment, job training, or volunteering a requirement for SNAP (food stamps) beneficiaries who are able-bodied and not caring for dependents and whose eligibility is running out.</p>
<p>Additional public policies are necessary to help meet the needs of low-wage workers in Mississippi. Expanding Medicaid will benefit employers because it will help workers stay healthy, which allows them to be more reliable employees. Implementing a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and increasing the minimum wage are policies that put more money directly into the hands of low-wage workers, which will ultimately boost the economy when these workers spend their increased income.</p>
<p>Another suggestion is that Mississippi take the millions of dollars in unspent funds associated with their Child Development Block Grant and TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) and spend it on child care assistance. This will allow more low-wage women to enter the paid labor force. Currently, states spend only slightly more than one-quarter of their combined federal and state TANF funds on basic assistance for families, 8% on work-related activities and support, and 16% on childcare (Schott, Pavetti, and Floyd 2015). These choices have weakened the safety net for poor families nationwide. Additionally, there has been significant erosion of TANF benefits in terms of purchasing power; due to inflation, the real value of TANF block grants has declined by 32.5% since the program was implemented in 1997 (Falk 2016; Stanley, Floyd, and Hill 2016). Cash assistance for 99% of recipients, the nation’s poorest families, has a purchasing power that is below 1996 levels (Stanley, Floyd, and Hill 2016). There have been no increases in federal TANF spending to adjust for inflation or increasing population size in two decades; federal TANF spending has remained at $16.5 billion for two decades (Vallas and Boteach 2015). </p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/Oxfam%20MS%20report%202.pdf">FULL REPORT>></a></p>
<p>Mississippi ranks as the most dependent state; state dependency refers to how much each state receives back in federal dollars versus what they contribute to the federal treasury in taxes (Kiernan 2016). Mississippi gets $3.00 in federal funds for every dollar it contributes to the federal government (Tierney 2014). Neighboring Alabama and Louisiana also rank high as dependent states. This is primarily due to the high poverty rates in these states that result in them receiving a disproportionate share of federal funds through anti-poverty programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Tierney 2014).</p>
<p> The State of Mississippi is focused on helping residents find work. One of the primary investments the state has made is the introduction of MS Works in 2015, a website for job seekers and employers. In addition to listing open jobs and allowing people to apply directly through their website, the program is designed to help workers explore ways to increase their job market skills. Thus, an applicant can be directed to a community college program where they can increase their skill set and marketability. This is designed to help the state address what they perceive as a shortage of mid-skill level workers. Mississippi has also made employment, job training, or volunteering a requirement for SNAP (food stamps) beneficiaries who are able-bodied and not caring for dependents and whose eligibility is running out.</p>
<p>Additional public policies are necessary to help meet the needs of low-wage workers in Mississippi. Expanding Medicaid will benefit employers because it will help workers stay healthy, which allows them to be more reliable employees. Implementing a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and increasing the minimum wage are policies that put more money directly into the hands of low-wage workers, which will ultimately boost the economy when these workers spend their increased income.</p>
<p>Another suggestion is that Mississippi take the millions of dollars in unspent funds associated with their Child Development Block Grant and TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) and spend it on child care assistance. This will allow more low-wage women to enter the paid labor force. Currently, states spend only slightly more than one-quarter of their combined federal and state TANF funds on basic assistance for families, 8% on work-related activities and support, and 16% on childcare (Schott, Pavetti, and Floyd 2015). These choices have weakened the safety net for poor families nationwide. Additionally, there has been significant erosion of TANF benefits in terms of purchasing power; due to inflation, the real value of TANF block grants has declined by 32.5% since the program was implemented in 1997 (Falk 2016; Stanley, Floyd, and Hill 2016). Cash assistance for 99% of recipients, the nation’s poorest families, has a purchasing power that is below 1996 levels (Stanley, Floyd, and Hill 2016). There have been no increases in federal TANF spending to adjust for inflation or increasing population size in two decades; federal TANF spending has remained at $16.5 billion for two decades (Vallas and Boteach 2015). </p>
<p><a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/Oxfam%20MS%20report%202.pdf">FULL REPORT>></a></p>
Date
Louisiana shouldn't jail people because they're addicted or mentally ill: Opinion
News Intro Text
Opinion by Sheriff Craig Webre, April 23, 2017
News Item Content
<div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family: "Benton Sans", Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 0.208px;">Opinion by Sheriff Craig Webre</span></div>
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<p>I have grown frustrated and weary of having people come into my jail and serve a life sentence six months or 30 days at a time.</p>
<p>In my 25 years as sheriff of Lafourche Parish and 35 total years in law enforcement, I've never had an ambulance or a police car pull up to the jail, present someone who's having a heart attack or who broke their leg and say, "He's your problem." But every day our jails are full of people who are bipolar, people who suffer from schizophrenia, and people who suffer from other mental health disorders. In jail, they're in the worst environment they can be in -- sapping precious resources -- rather than having their needs addressed in a community-based or inpatient treatment facility.</p>
<p>We shouldn't incarcerate people just because they're poor. Or just because they're addicted. Or just because they don't have a home. But we've done that for way too long.</p>
<p>Now we have an opportunity to reverse that trend.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/04/louisiana_prison_reform_2.html">MORE>></a></p>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family: "Benton Sans", Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 0.208px;">Opinion by Sheriff Craig Webre</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<p>I have grown frustrated and weary of having people come into my jail and serve a life sentence six months or 30 days at a time.</p>
<p>In my 25 years as sheriff of Lafourche Parish and 35 total years in law enforcement, I've never had an ambulance or a police car pull up to the jail, present someone who's having a heart attack or who broke their leg and say, "He's your problem." But every day our jails are full of people who are bipolar, people who suffer from schizophrenia, and people who suffer from other mental health disorders. In jail, they're in the worst environment they can be in -- sapping precious resources -- rather than having their needs addressed in a community-based or inpatient treatment facility.</p>
<p>We shouldn't incarcerate people just because they're poor. Or just because they're addicted. Or just because they don't have a home. But we've done that for way too long.</p>
<p>Now we have an opportunity to reverse that trend.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/04/louisiana_prison_reform_2.html">MORE>></a></p>
Date
Medicaid and other antipoverty programs reward work, not indolence
News Intro Text
BY ROBERT MANN, COLUMNIST for The Times-Picayune
News Item Content
<header class="article__header" id="article__header">
<div class="byline" id="byline">
<p class="byline__author--noEmail" id="byline__author">BY <a href="http://connect.nola.com/user/robertmann/posts.html" id="byline__authorLink" title="Visit Robert Mann, Columnist's Author Page">ROBERT MANN, COLUMNIST</a></p>
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</header>
<div class="article__story" id="article__story">
<div class="entry-content" id="entryContent">
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It's a common delusion among some wealthy people that their success is a product of their industry and ingenuity. They regard poverty, therefore, as a consequence of indolence and ignorance. As the British journalist Walter Bagehot once observed, "Poverty is an anomaly to rich people; it is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell."</div>
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I can understand the indifference of so many wealthy folks, particularly Republican politicians, toward the poor. What I don't comprehend, however, is their eagerness to vilify, ridicule and punish poverty.</div>
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</div>
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That's what Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback did recently when he opposed the expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state program that supports health care for low-income families. Brownback explained he vetoed the bill "because it fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied [and] lacks work requirements to help able-bodied Kansans escape poverty." In 2013, then-Gov. Bobby Jindal pushed a similar slur against the poor as he opposed Medicaid expansion.</div>
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To the average person, Brownback's and Jindal's reasoning might make sense. Doesn't giving health care to poor people make them reluctant to find a job with health insurance? It might, if most of those who would benefit were unemployed, which they are not.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/04/medicaid_and_other_antipoverty.html">MORE>></a></div>
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<p> </p>
<div class="byline" id="byline">
<p class="byline__author--noEmail" id="byline__author">BY <a href="http://connect.nola.com/user/robertmann/posts.html" id="byline__authorLink" title="Visit Robert Mann, Columnist's Author Page">ROBERT MANN, COLUMNIST</a></p>
</div>
</header>
<div class="article__story" id="article__story">
<div class="entry-content" id="entryContent">
<div>
It's a common delusion among some wealthy people that their success is a product of their industry and ingenuity. They regard poverty, therefore, as a consequence of indolence and ignorance. As the British journalist Walter Bagehot once observed, "Poverty is an anomaly to rich people; it is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell."</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I can understand the indifference of so many wealthy folks, particularly Republican politicians, toward the poor. What I don't comprehend, however, is their eagerness to vilify, ridicule and punish poverty.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
That's what Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback did recently when he opposed the expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state program that supports health care for low-income families. Brownback explained he vetoed the bill "because it fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied [and] lacks work requirements to help able-bodied Kansans escape poverty." In 2013, then-Gov. Bobby Jindal pushed a similar slur against the poor as he opposed Medicaid expansion.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
To the average person, Brownback's and Jindal's reasoning might make sense. Doesn't giving health care to poor people make them reluctant to find a job with health insurance? It might, if most of those who would benefit were unemployed, which they are not.</div>
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</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/04/medicaid_and_other_antipoverty.html">MORE>></a></div>
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<p> </p>
Date