Category Archives: NunsontheBus2018

Reflection: YESS Site Visit in Des Moines, IA

Reflection: YESS Site Visit in Des Moines, IA

Sister Jan Cebula, OSF
October 17, 2018

“The kids need us. The community needs us,” said Julie Schneider, interim CEO of the Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Nuns on the Bus stop there Oct. 16. Julie captured in that one phrase what we all need to be about.

So aptly named, YESS is the largest crisis emergency shelter for children in the state of Iowa. As we toured the brightly painted facility decorated with inviting and energizing art, we learned that more than providing a safe place, as important as that is, healing is what they are about.

“How can we help them heal?” they ask.

Children can visit Chillville, a sensory room specially equipped for those with autism or hyperactivity or who just need a place to relax. Playville, the play therapy room, gives children a space to express themselves when words fail. So does art and music therapy. All steps in healing.

As we listened to the staff talk about their programs and challenges, we were inspired by their dedication and their commitment to an integrative, holistic approach, not only for the children in the shelter but for children throughout the community through their case management and mental health services. Healing individual children, healing a community. A whole-hearted YESS! for children.

And it happens through relationships. Not only child with parent or care worker with child, but also the community with the child or children.

YESS couldn’t happen without both government funding (read: our tax dollars) and the generosity of the Des Moines community of people.

 

 

There are 10 of us currently on the road, talking about tax justice:

  • Comboni Missionary Sr. Ilaria Buonriposi of Baltimore;
  • Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell of Washington, D.C.;
  • Joseph Sr. Mary Ellen Gondeck of Kalamazoo, Michigan;
  • Sister of the Third Order of St. Francis of the Holy Family Gwen Hennessey of Sioux City, Iowa;
  • Dominican Sr. Quincy Howard of Washington, D.C.;
  • Sister of the Precious Blood Mumbi Kigutha of Dayton, Ohio;
  • Daughter of Charity Mary Ellen Lacy of Washington, D.C.;
  • Francis Sr. Robbie Pentecost of Stanford, Kentucky;
  • Mercy Sr. Linda Werthman of Farmington Hills, Michigan; and
  • me, St. Francis Sr. Jan Cebula of Clinton, Iowa.

It becomes clearer every day that to make up for the loss of revenue from the tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, the plan is to slash programs that provide food, housing, quality education and medical support to struggling families. Even chipping away at them with work requirements, increased co-pays and frozen allocations has devastating effects.

So often, when we talk and think about these programs, we focus on the adults. During our visit to YESS, I know I realized I do.

What about the children? To our elected representatives, to the candidates running for office, we ask, “What about the children?” We all need to knock on doors, asking, “What about the children?”

Julie described how touched she has been by a young boy, perhaps about 2 years old, who was not speaking when he arrived. After just two weeks of loving care, he is starting to talk. One day, Julie came into the nursery, and he begged to be picked up and held. All kids want to be loved. All kids need a caring, loving, supportive home.

“Is this a turning point for this child?” she wondered. “Can we provide a turning point, a fork in the road for these children to put them on a different path?”

We’re at a fork in the road right now in this country. Are we going to choose a path toward healing for our communities, our nation? Do we realize that together, we can provide the turning point to put us on a different path?

Vote Nov. 6. Wake up Nov. 7 and continue to work for reasonable revenue for responsible programs.

Our kids need us. Our communities need us.

 

This post originally appeared on the Global Sisters Report website.

Reflection: Listening to Hear, Not to Respond

Reflection: Listening to Hear, Not to Respond

Siena Ruggeri
October 16, 2018

I had the pleasure of accompanying the NETWORK Nuns On The Bus and their local allies on a small part of their journey across the United States to tell the truth about tax justice. The sisters held a Town Hall for Justice on the campus of my alma mater: Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

I came home for two purposes— to see family I’ve been far away from, and to welcome my D.C.-based NETWORK coworkers to my home. This visit reminded me of the importance of community in justice work. My two worlds came together that Sunday— the community I do the work for, and the community I do the work with.

Community organizing and advocacy is different when it’s centered on your own community. I did not feel like the D.C. insider looking in on “Middle America,” but rather an active participant in this struggle.

Regis is located in a working-class Latinx neighborhood that is quickly being replaced by luxury condos and artisanal coffee shops. Students are struggling to find affordable housing while the cost of their education continues to accelerate. Families, many of them families of color, are being pushed out of Denver and the neighborhoods they were instrumental in establishing.

The east Denver communities I taught in (Montbello and Green Valley Ranch) are home to working class people of color who have been pushed out of Denver’s heart and into the plains: far away from well-funded schools, accessible grocery stores, and reliable public transportation.

Twenty miles north of Denver, I’ve seen my hometown of Lafayette gentrify. Our town’s identity as a town was founded by the Mexican-American working class as an affordable and more racially diverse alternative to Boulder. It is now becoming a higher-altitude Silicon Valley. I know I can never afford to buy a house in the town I grew up in, let alone afford to have a family here.

My own family relies on Medicaid. Every time I hear a Washington politician attack Medicaid and people with preexisting conditions, I think of my family back in Colorado. If Medicaid continues to get cut, my sister could lose the ability to live independently as a young woman with a disability.

The Coloradans attending the Town Hall for Justice were telling similar stories. They shared their worries about our chronically underfunded schools switching to four-day weeks, our people with disabilities losing their Medicaid coverage, the skyrocketing cost of living that prevents us from finding affordable housing and child care, and the rapid development that is pushing so many people to the margins. My community expressed the same truth I knew— Colorado may appear to be a booming economy, but that economic growth has been unequal, and has pushed the people who made Colorado what it is to the margins.

It was heartening to know I was not the only Coloradan concerned about these issues. Being separated from your community can be alienating; it’s frustrating when not enough people in D.C. offices understand what’s happening 2,000 miles away in the Colorado plains and foothills.

If I could pick a word to describe the town hall, it was cathartic. My friends and family expressed to me how good it felt to be heard by people in Washington who had a genuine drive to take their stories to heart and do something about it. It reminded me of the privilege it is to be trusted with these stories and have the capacity to do something for my community people while on Capitol Hill. I also felt less alone in this struggle; I was reminded of the amazing, like-minded people in my network who are doing the same work on a more local level. We’re all mending the gaps together.

NETWORK is people-powered, and now I have a greater understanding of what that means. The stories of people on the ground is what fuels us. It was an important reminder of why I do this work. It can be easy to get caught up in the individualistic story of my work and my job and my career and forget that social justice work is about amplifying other people’s stories.

It is too easy to become removed from the realities of the groups we advocate with on the hill. It is tempting to fall in the mindset that you are advocating “for” these groups and stop taking the time to listen to their worries and their hopes. These realities are painful— it is much easier to read a report or a policy briefing than to look someone in the eye and listen to their fears. Even worse, a lot of the time there’s not a satisfying response to alleviate their pain. It is because NETWORK takes the time to listen that makes us better advocates and better allies to the people we represent in Washington. I’m grateful to work for an organization that reinforces the importance of listening.

The Nuns on the Bus is of course about telling the truth about taxes and economic inequality. I think its real strength, though, is not its telling of the truth, but its listening to the truth of many Americans who feel left behind and dismayed by the inhumanity and moral ruin exhibited by members of Congress. Washington’s elite can deny our facts and our statistics, but they cannot dispute the stories we collect on the road. In a society dominated by talking points, hot takes on Twitter, and 30-second political ads, listening is sacred.

Listening is the foundation of allyship and solidarity. If I’ve taken anything from this experience, it’s the importance of reaching out and listening. We may not be able to come up with all the answers, but we all have the capacity to listen. True democracy exists in relationships. If we’re serious about fixing our political system, it’s not enough to prescribe solutions. We must do the hard work of building community, and the first step of that is taking the time to be present and listen. The Town Hall for Justice showed me what’s possible when you take that first step, and it’s a truly beautiful thing.

View more photos from this event here.

Travel Log: Lobby Visit and Rally – Rep. Mike Coffman, Aurora, CO

Travel Log: Lobby Visit and Rally – Rep. Mike Coffman, Aurora, CO

Sister Anna Loop, SL
October 15, 2018

At 9am on October 15, a gaggle of folks came together outside of Representative Mike Coffman’s office to speak about NETWORK and Nuns on the Bus’s focus on “reasonable revenue for responsible programs.” Nuns on the Bus is on the road again to talk to people about tax cuts which primarily benefit wealthy persons and will definitely hurt the most vulnerable people among us.

The rally preceding our meeting with Mike Coffman was spirited and, led by Sr. Simone, included brief sharing from three people: Selihom Andarge, a Regis University student; Sally Wolf of Society of St. Vincent de Paul Voice of the Poor; and Rachel Wall, who spoke about healthcare and pre-existing conditions.

 

 

Following the rally, Selihom, Rachel, Sr.Simone and Sisters Liz Fuhr and myself went up to meet with congressman Mike Coffman.. We were met at the door with the announcement that only four people would be allowed in to the meeting, though we had definitely been told that five was the number. There was no way to hold them to their original agreement, and so Sr. Liz Fuhr dropped out of the circle.

Selihom, Rachel and Sr. Anna gave moving testimony as to the consequences of tax cuts in the areas of student aid, health care and housing. None of this had much impact on Mike Coffman, who insisted that he had not seen programs being cut. Sr. Simone had several exchanges with Congressman Coffman; in each case he showed his lack of analysis related to program cutbacks. The congressman gave many examples of the good things coming out of Congress and initiatives in his district. The meeting was congenial, but not exceptionally productive.

Following the meeting, the bus headed off to Omaha – the next stop on the tour. We wish them all happy travels and fruitful meetings as they move across the country, concluding their tour in Mar-A-Lago with a big “Fiesta for the Common Good.”

Reflection: What Nuns on the Bus Is All About!

Reflection: What Nuns on the Bus Is All About!

Sr. Gwen Hennessey, OSF
October 15, 2018

We must get back to our true relationship. “Glory to you, Source of all being, eternal word made flesh and Spirit who dwells in our midst”

We have been blinded by the gods of materialism.  We need our cataracts removed freeing us to see our relationship with “all being”.  We must make time to listen to the depth of our awesome God the “source of all being”.

And ponder this real love “made flesh” our guiding light to show us how to live no matter the price.  This is our unimaginable deep love.

As we strive to imitate our loving awesome “beings” light we must follow whatever the price—not in materialistic amassing but in respect, walking with one another and all of creation in equal partnership.  This is our loving God’s focus for all of us.

We must move forward hand in hand with all of creation in non-violence to unmask the blight on our universe and beyond!

Travel Log: Denver Town Hall for Justice

Travel Log: Denver

Sister Marilyn Carpenter, OSB
October 14, 2018

Participating in the Nuns on the Bus Town Hall for Justice was one of my very best learning experiences of the last several months.  All of us sisters and Nuns on the Bus supporters there said that we certainly wanted to support this trip as the bus makes its way across the country to Mar-a-Lago on Nov 2nd. At the Town Hall, I took a large box of Connection magazines and pledge cards to hand out at our next Sunday service and to share as much information about this Nuns on the Bus trip as I can with as many as I can.

The whole purpose of this trip across the country from California to Florida is to present facts and help people become aware of the consequences of the Republican Tax Law, and where the funds to pay for these tax cuts will likely come from—service programs such as education, child care, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and more. If I could learn  as much as I did this past weekend from Sister Simone Campbell, then I urge as many as possible to learn about the Nuns on the Bus 2018: Tax Justice Truth Tour. Go to a Nuns on the Bus event if they’re coming to your city. Visit the NETWORK Lobby website, download the new Connection magazine and read, read, read and dialogue with your family, friends, neighbors, groups you belong to–anyone who will chat so that we can all make informed decisions for the upcoming election.  The basic message of Nuns on the Bus is that we come together in community to work for social justice and equality for the common good of all people.

The Consequences of the 2017 Tax Law

The Consequences of the 2017 Tax Law

Tralonne Shorter and Ashley Wilson
Published in the October issue of Connection Magazine

In February, touting the benefits of the Republican Tax Law, Paul Ryan tweeted “A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, PA said she was pleasantly surprised when her pay went up $1.50 a week… she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year” with a link to an article “Workers are starting to notice larger paychecks following tax overhaul.”  Assuming this teacher gets paid over the course of 52 weeks – which isn’t a given in many teaching contracts – this unnamed teacher would receive $78/year from the tax bill. A basic Costco membership is $60.

In comparison, a Republican Member of Congress, Rep. Vern Buchanan (Fla.) bought a yacht valued between $1 and $5 million on the same day the House passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  The Center for American Progress estimates that just through one provision of the tax bill, Rep. Buchanan will receive a $2.1 million tax cut.

So, the so-called “benefit” from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act isn’t exactly distributed with justice in mind. The authors of this law – and those who voted for it – made their decisions based on how they (and their wealthy donors) would personally benefit. And, they attempted to appease their constituents by making a false claim that everyone would receive great benefit.

Nuns on the Bus is on the road this fall – before the midterm elections – because the Republican Tax Law robs our nation of reasonable revenue for responsible programs. The law increases our federal deficit by giving handouts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations in our nation and claiming that everyone gets a tax break.

In fact, we know that not only do we not all benefit – the Republican Tax Law actively undermines the common good. Instead of shaping inclusive tax policies that promote equitable growth, the Republican Tax Law also exacerbates the racial wealth gap. Going forward, as we begin to feel the effects of the tax law and Congress debates additional cuts to federal programs, Congressional leadership will disinvest in the common good, especially programs that support individuals and communities of color.

Now, Republican leadership is again using their flawed argument to justify outrageous federal budget cuts to health, housing, labor and other human needs programs. These cuts are an attack on the common good of our nation! We know that when people at the economic margins of society do better, we all do better. To make the situation worse: while claiming we must cut human needs programs because of lack of revenue, President Trump continues to push for increased spending on border wall, Pentagon spending, and other programs that we don’t need.

When it comes to human needs programs, Republican leadership thinks our national purse is empty, but no fiscal constraints exist when immigration or war get considered. The vicious cycle of tax cuts for the wealthiest, spending cuts for human needs programs, and increased funds for border security and war have gotten us into a bit of a mess.

Explaining the Republican Budget Cuts

President Trump’s FY 2019 budget proposal called for at least $57 billion in cuts to non-defense programs. Those cuts to programs that contribute to the common good are counter to the bipartisan spending caps agreement that Congress reached just a short time before President Trump’s proposal. Further, President Trump is also pushing Congress to cut $3 trillion over 10 years to entitlement programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare, Medicaid, and other critical programs.

Here’s how just some of the funds compare between President Trump’s most recent budget proposal and President Obama’s final budget proposal:

 

Program President Obama
(FY 2017)		 President Trump
(FY 2019)		 Net Change
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) $733 Million $0 -$733 Million
Federal Work Study $983 Million $200 Million -$783 Million
Department of Education $69.4 Billion $63.2 Billion -$6.2 Billion
Housing and Urban Development $48.9 Billion $39.2 Billion -$9.7 Billion
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (Program Operations) $2.9 Billion $2.4 Billion -$500 Million
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) $3 Billion $0 -$3 Billion
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) $82 Billion $73 Billion -$9 Billion

 

Let’s make sure we’re clear on this: These cuts President Trump is proposing aren’t “savings.” Instead, they are cuts to essential programs that will put already vulnerable individuals at greater risk. This threatens the stability and wellbeing of our communities.

In President Trump’s first year, Republican leadership showed us their priorities. Instead of working to improve the health of our nation, they attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (numerous times) and finally dismantled the individual mandate. Instead of working to reduce poverty, they proposed budget cuts that would risk the livelihoods of some of our nation’s most vulnerable people. And, instead of using principles of tax justice to make sure everyone pays their fair share, they rammed through legislation that benefits the wealthiest in our nation.

This is the opposite of mend the gaps – they make them wider. The faithful way forward is to promote tax justice, promote reasonable revenue for responsible programs, and work for the common good.

As you cast your vote this November, ask yourself, “Which candidate will help mend the gaps in economic inequality? Which candidate demonstrates concerns for the common good? Which candidate will undo the damage of the 2017 tax law?” and vote for that person.

Reflection: Paying Our Union Dues, Then Heading South

Reflection: Paying Our Union Dues, Then Heading South

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 12, 2018

This post originally appeared on the Global Sisters Report website.

The Nuns on the Bus canvass Las Vegas neighborhoods with members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 on Oct. 10. (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

 

Si, se puede! U-nion! U-nion! 2-2-6! 2-2-6! We vote, we win!

We got right into the spirit of the vigorous chants of the members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After a long drive from California, we joined them Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with a large group in the union hall, listening to the issues they have with some of the casino owners. Most of the big casinos have come to an agreement with the workers on living wages and benefits, but there are still a few holdouts. The workers suspect it is not lack of funds that stands in the way — one owner just spent over $20 million on a daughter’s wedding. (One of the workers whispered into my ear that $2 million of it was for the cake!)

There are about 50,000 workers in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which includes food service industry workers in the big casinos and hotels as well as people in housekeeping and other aspects of the industry. Of these, 54 percent are women and 55 percent are Latino. There are workers from 173 countries who speak 40 languages. That they can organize themselves at all under those circumstances is a minor miracle, and that they have managed to do it so effectively is a major miracle! They have some talented and dedicated leaders.

Members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 rally Oct. 10 in Las Vegas to hear us talk about the tour and about our support of their work before we all left for canvassing. (Provided photo)

I talked to one leader, Rashauna, who had taken a three-month “political leave” to work at turning out the vote for a candidate known to be more friendly to unions; she and many more had sacrificed their $20-per-hour earnings for $12 with the assurance of continued employment at the end of their leave thanks to the union. Their enthusiasm, love and respect and support of each other was inspiring to all of us.

It had been a long and exhausting day, so we were glad to see our rooms at the end of the second day: rooms at one of the less expensive casinos on the old Las Vegas Strip. There are no motherhouses or big convents in Las Vegas, and the casinos like to lure customers in with inexpensive rooms and food!

As tired as we were, there were some who ventured out to see the bright lights, and one sister even found a zip line to try. In spite of a few bleary eyes, we were at the union hall bright and early the next morning for our adventure in canvassing.

Sr. Michele Morek, OSU, left, and Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, show off their red shirts from the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 for canvassing Las Vegas neighborhoods (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

We helped prepare packets and distributed ourselves among the groups going out to canvass the neighborhoods to push their candidates for the 2018 midterm elections and urge everyone to get out the vote. First, the leaders outfitted us with red shirts and hats and assigned us to teams. That was after a few more rousing choruses of “Si, se puede!” and “U-nion! 2-2-6!” and “We vote, we win!”

After we returned to the union hall and the workers signed the bus, we left Nevada, eating lunch on the bus, not for the first time. What gorgeous desert and mountain scenery! We enjoyed seeing Lake Mead and going across the Hoover Dam into Arizona; when we saw our first saguaro cactus and Joshua trees, we knew we were ready for our next adventure in Phoenix.

We are educating ourselves by site visits and talking with people; that’s part of the listening mission of Nuns on the Bus. But we are also determined to educate people about what the tax policy really means for real people and to encourage them to use tax policy as one of the most important norms of who should get their vote.

Each day, we begin with half an hour of prayer together: once in a motherhouse chapel, once in an unused convent chapel, once in a convent community room, and once in Sr. Simone Campbell’s hotel room at the casino. That and a cup of coffee gets us going.

One of the best tools of the bus is the town hall developed by Network staff as an educational illustration, an effective graphic description of the effects of tax inequity. Without giving away the plot, let me just describe it as a human bar graph that introduces the audience to a real character NETWORK has encountered in the process of listening to people all over the United States.

The exercise dramatically illustrates how much that person benefited (or not!) from past and current tax policies. If you figure in other events likely to result from the tax changes, the lower economic quartiles of people even go backward.

Of course, the talented Nuns on the Bus take the parts of the characters. Doing the actions the exercise called for made me feel in my bones and muscles the desperation and despair of people in the middle and lower quartiles. The take-home lesson is (and you have heard this before): The lower economic groups suffer while the upper ones benefit.

A new insight I gained from the exercise is an understanding of why the richer people often cannot even see the suffering of the less privileged. They just do not move in the same circles — they are so far away from the other’s reality. It may also explain why some feel isolated, lonely, angry, and threatened by any discussion of tax justice.

Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 sign the bus after an Oct. 10 canvassing session in Las Vegas (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

When we finish tonight, Thursday, we will have done this in three parishes or churches, each with its own personality and challenges. The discussion after the activity has been lively as the audiences discussed how the tax changes would likely affect their area or city or state and what they could be doing about it. Some great ideas have been suggested! The people have the answers. NETWORK then collects their input and uses it in later educational activities.

In legislative visits, we generally try to meet with a congressperson (usually one we know voted for the tax bill and does not agree with us!) to explain our position. We are meeting with them to hold them accountable for what their votes are doing to their constituents.

The first had to postpone the meeting with us but promised to meet with constituents on this topic later. We are heading for a meeting with office staff of U.S. Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona as I write this on the road to Tucson.

More later!