CA Bishops: Preserve social net
Preserve the social safety net and don’t reduce the present net tax burden California Catholic bishops say
(June 9, 2011)
In a statement issued June 9, California’s Catholic bishops tell state legislators that partisanship, “stalemate” and “impasse” are dictating current decisions about a state budget rather than “compromise on solutions that will best serve the interests of all Californians.” The Bishops state that there must be an “ethical framework” for the state budget that “preserves the social safety net” through “balanced” spending reforms and “no reduction in the state’s net present tax burden.”
“In any discussion of budget priorities, the threshold rights of life, food, shelter and medical care must be seen as the highest priorities,” the bishops who represent the state’s 12 (arch)dioceses and 11 million Catholics said. The statement encourages including the Church’s four major social justice principles in any budget talks: The dignity of the human person, the pursuit of the common good, and the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity.
The bishops’ “In Search of the Common Good: A Moral Framework for Addressing California’s Budget Crisis” is available in its entirety at www.sfarchdiocese.org
Contact: George Wesolek 415 - 606-7112
