Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral, and Christian must be shaped by three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does it do to people? And how do people participate in it? The economy is a human reality: Men and women working together to develop and care for the whole of God's creation. All this work must serve the material and spiritual well-being of people. It influences what people hope for themselves and their loved ones. It affects the way they act together in society. It influences their very faith in God.
The Second Vatican Council declared that ''the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.'' There are many signs of hope in U.S. economic life today:
These signs of hope are not the whole story. There have been failures - some of them massive and ugly:
And beyond our own shores, the reality of 800 million people living in absolute poverty and 450 million malnourished or facing starvation casts an ominous shadow over all these hopes and problems at home.
Anyone who sees all this will understand our concern as pastors and bishops. People shape the economy and in turn are shaped by it. Economic arrangements can be sources of fulfillment, of hope, of community - or of frustration, isolation, and even despair. They teach virtues - or vices - and day by day help mold our characters. They affect the quality of people's lives; at the extreme even determining whether people live or die. Serious economic choices go beyond purely technical issues to fundamental questions of value and human purpose. We believe that in facing these questions the Christian religious and moral tradition can make an important contribution.
The United States is among the most economically powerful nations on earth. In its short history the U.S. economy has grown to provide an unprecedented standard of living for most of its people. The nation has created productive work for millions of immigrants and enabled them to broaden their freedoms, improve their families' quality of life, and contribute to the building of a great nation. Those who came to these shores from across the sea often understood their new lives in the light of biblical faith. They thought of themselves as entering a promised land of political freedom and economic opportunity. The United States is a land of vast natural resources and fertile soil. ...
But we should recall this history with sober humility. The American experiment in social, political, and economic life has involved serious conflict and suffering. Our nation was born in the face of injustice to native Americans and its independence was paid for with the blood of revolution. Slavery stained the commercial life of the land through its first 250 years and was ended only by violent civil war. The establishment of women's suffrage, the protection of industrial workers, the eliminition of child labor, the response to the Great Depression of the 1930's, and the civil rights movement of the 1960's all involved a sustained struggle to transform the political and economic institutions of the nation. ...
Through their Government the people of the United States have provided support for education, access to food, unemployment compensation, security in old age, and protection of the environment. The market system contributes to the success of the U.S. economy; but so do many efforts to forge economic institutions and public policies that enable all to share in the riches of the nation. The country's economy has been built through a creative struggle; entrepreneurs, business people, workers, unions, consumers, and government have all played essential roles.
The task of the United States today is as demanding as that faced by our forebears. Abraham Lincoln's words at Gettysburg are a reminder that complacency today would be a betrayal of our nations's history: ''It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work they have thus far nobly advanced.'' There is unfinished business in the American experiment in freedom and justice for all.
Nations separated by geography, culture, and ideology are linked in a complex commercial, financial, technological, and environmental network. These links have two direct consequences. First, they create hope for a new form of community among all peoples, one built on dignity, solidarity, and justice. Second, this rising global awareness calls for greater attention to the stark inequities across countries in the standards of living and control of resources. We must not look at the welfare of U.S. citizens as the only good to be sought.
Nor may we overlook the disparities of power in the relationships between this nation and the developing countries. The United States is the major supplier of food to other countries, a major source of arms sales to developing nations, and a powerful influence in multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the United Nations. What Americans see as a growing interdependence is regarded by many in the less developed countries as a pattern of domination and dependence. ...
Several areas of U.S. economic life demand special attention. Unemployment is the most basic. Despite the large number of new jobs the U.S. economy has generated in the past decade, approximately 8 million people seeking work in this country are unable to find it and many more are so discouraged they have stopped looking. Over the past two decades the nation has come to tolerate an increasing level of unemployment. The 6 to 7 percent rate deemed acceptable today would have been intolerable 20 years ago.
Among the unemployed are a disproportionate number of blacks, Hispanics, young people, or women who are the sole support of their families. Some cities and states have many more unemployed persons than others as a result of economic forces that have little to do with people's desire to work. Unemployment is a tragedy no matter whom it strikes, but the tragedy is compounded by the unequal and unfair way it is distributed in our society.
Harsh poverty plagues our country despite its great wealth. More than 33 million Americans are poor; by any reasonable standard another 20 to 30 million are needy. Poverty is increasing in the United States, not decreasing. For a people who believe in ''progress,'' this should be cause for alarm. These burdens fall most heavily on blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Even more disturbing is the large increase in the number of women and children living in poverty. Today children are the largest single group among the poor. This tragic fact seriously threatens the nation's future. That so many people are poor in a nation as rich as ours is a social and moral scandal that we cannot ignore. ...
A rising number of families must rely on the wages of two or even three members just to get by. From 1968 to 1978 nearly a quarter of the U.S. population was in poverty part of the time and received welfare benefits in at least one year. The loss of a job, illness, or the breakup of a marriage may be all it takes to push people into poverty.
The lack of a mutually supportive relation between family life and economic life is one of the most serious problems facing the United States today. The economic and cultural strength of the nation is directly linked to the stability and health of its families. When families thrive, spouses contribute to the common good through their work at home, in community, and in their jobs, and children develop a sense of their own worth and of their responsibility to serve others. When familes are weak or break down entirely the dignity of parents and children is threatened. High cultural and economic costs are inflicted on society at large. ...
The investment of human creativity and material resources in the production of the weapons of war makes these economic problems even more difficult to solve. Defense expenditures in the United States are almost $300 billion per year. The rivalry and mutual fear between superpowers divert minds and money that could better human life into projects that threaten death. Developing countries engage in arms races they can ill afford, often with the encouragement of the superpowers. Some of the poorest countries of the world use scarce resources to buy planes, guns, and other weapons when they lack the food, education, and health care their people need. Defense policies must be evaluated and assessed in light of their real contribution to freedom, justice, and peace for the citizens of our own and other nations. ...
Many other social and economic challenges require careful analysis: the movement of many industries from the Snow Belt to the Sun Belt; the Federal deficit and interest rates; corporate mergers and takeovers; the effects of new technologies such as robotics and information systems in U.S. industry; immigration policy; growing international traffic in drugs; and the trade imbalance. ... ...
Many middle-class Americans feel themselves in the grip of economic demands and cultural pressures that go far beyond the individual family's capacity to cope. Without constructive guidance in making decisions with serious moral implications men and women who hold positions of responsibility in corporations or government find their duties exacting a heavy price. We want these reflections to help them contribute to a more just economy.
The quality of the national discussion about our economic future will affect the poor most of all, in this country and throughout the world. The life and dignity of millions of men, women, and children hang in the balance.
Decisions must be judged in light of what they do for the poor, what they do to the poor, and what they enable the poor to do for themselves. The fundamental moral criterion for all economic decisions, policies, and institutions is this: They must be at the service of all people, especially the poor. ...
''Private property does not constitute for anyone an absolute or unconditioned right. No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive use what he does not need, when others lack necessities.'' Pope John Paul II has referred to limits placed on ownership by the duty to serve the common good as a ''social mortgage'' on private property. ...
Our economy is marked by a very uneven distribution of wealth and income. For example, it is estimated that 28 percent of the total net wealth is held by the richest 2 percent of families in the United States. The top 10 percent holds 57 percent of the net wealth. If homes and other real estate are excluded, the concentration of ownership of ''financial wealth'' is even more glaring. In 1983, 54 percent of the total net financial assets were held by 2 percent of all families, those whose annual income is over $125,000. Eight-six percent of these assets were held by the top 10 percent of all families. ...
During the last 25 years the Social Security program has dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly. In addition, in 1983 it lifted out of poverty almost 1.5 million children of retired, deceased, and disabled workers. Medicare has enhanced the life expectancy and health status of elderly and disabled people, and Medicaid has reduced infant mortality and greatly improved access to health care for the poor. ...
It is evident that not all social welfare programs have been successful. Some have been ill-designed, ineffective, and wasteful. No one has been more aware of this than the poor themselves, who have suffered the consequences. Where programs have failed, we should discard them, learn from our mistakes, and fashion a better alternative. Where programs have succeeded, we should acknowledge that fact and build on those successes. ...
A common misconception is that most of the poor are racial minorities. In fact, about two-thirds of the poor are white. It is also frequently suggested that people stay on welfare for many years, do not work, could work if they wanted to, and have children who will be on welfare. In fact, reliable data show that these are not accurate descriptions of most people who are poor and on welfare. Over a decade people move on and off welfare, and less than 1 percent obtain these benefits for all 10 years.
Nor is it true that the rolls of Aid to Families with Dependent Children are filled with able-bodied adults who could but will not work. The majority of A.F.D.C. recipients are young children and their mothers who must remain at home. ...
Poverty is intimately linked to the issue of employment. Millions are poor because they have lost their jobs or because their wages are too low. The persistent high levels of unemployment during the last decade are a major reason why poverty has increased in recent years. Expanded employment especially in the private sector would promote human dignity, increase social solidarity, and promote self-reliance of the poor. ...
In recent years the minimum wage has not been adjusted to keep pace with inflation. Its real value has declined by 24 percent since 1981. We believe Congress should raise the minimum wage in order to restore some of the purchasing power it has lost due to inflation. ...
Vigorous action should be undertaken to remove barriers to full and equal employment for women and minorities. Too many women and minorities are locked into jobs with low pay, poor working conditions, and little opportunity for career advancement. So long as we tolerate a situation in which people can work full-time and still be below the poverty line. ...
The tax system should be reformed to reduce the burden on the poor. We urge that two principles be incorporate in any tax reforms that are undertaken. First, such reforms should eliminate or offset the payment of taxes by those below the official poverty level. Secondly, we urge that the principle of progressivity be a central guiding norm in any reforms of the tax system. Those with relatively greater financial resources should pay a higher rate of taxation, ...
All of society should make a much stronger commitment to education for the poor. ...
Policies and programs at all levels should support the strength and stability of families, especially those adversely affected by the economy. ...
For those children whose parents do work outside the home, there is a serious shortage of affordable, quality day care. Employers, governments, and private agencies need to improve both the availability and the quality of child care services. Likewise, families could be assited by the establishment of parental level policies that would assure job security for new parents.
The high rate of divorce and the alarming extent of teen-age pregnancies in our nation are distressing signs of the breakdown of traditional family values. These destructive trends are present in all sectors of society, rich and poor, white, black, and brown, urban and rural. However, for the poor they tend to be more visible. ...
A thorough reform of the nation's welfare and income-support programs should be undertaken. ...
In the long run, more far-reaching reforms that go beyond the present system will be necessary. Among the immediate improvements that could be made are the following:
Gaining Self-Sufficiency (1) Public assistance programs should be designed to assist recipients, wherever possible, to become self-sufficient through gainful employment. (2) Welfare programs should provide recipients with adequate levels of support. this support should cover basic needs in food, clothing, shelter, health care, and other essentials. (3) National eligibility standards and a national minimum benefit level for public assistance programs should be established. Currently welfare eligibility and benefits vary greatly among states. In 1985 a family of three with no earnings had a maximum A.F.D.C. benefit of $96 a month in Mississippi and $558 a month in Vermont. To remedy these great disaparities, which are far larger than the regional differences in the cost of living, and to assure a floor of benefits for all needy people, our nation should establish and fund national mimimum benefit levels and eligibility standards in cash assistance programs. ... (4) Welfare programs should be available to two-parent as well as single parent families. Most states now limit participation in AFDC to families headed by single parents, usually women. The coverage oif this program should be extended to two-parent families so that fathers who are unemployed or poorly paid do not have to leave home in order for their children to receive help. ...
The search for a more human and effective way to deal with poverty should not be limited to short-term reform measures. The agenda for public debate should also include serious discussion of more fundamental alternatives to the existing welfare system. We urge that proposals for a family allowance or a children's allowance be carefully examined as a possible vehicle for ensuring a floor of income support for all children and their families. Special attention is needed to develop new efforts that are targeted on long-term poverty, which has proven to be least responsive to traditional social welfare programs. The ''negative income tax'' is another major policy proposal that deserves continued discussion. These and other proposals should be part of a creative and ongoing efort to fashion a system of income support for the poor that protects their basic dignity and provides the necessary assistance in an efficient manner.