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Gimme shelter

21 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from Second Samuel, King David expresses dismay at the humble accommodations that shelter the ark of God. Budget officials in many states are expressing dismay because of dwindling resources to cover unemployment benefits to the rising tide of unemployment workers. Many states are running out of money to accommodate those in need. The funds in 30 states are at risk of becoming insolvent over the next few months, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. Funds in two states, Indiana and Michigan, have already dried up, and both states are borrowing from the federal government to make payments to the unemployed. Unemployment taxes are collected by states from employers, but the rate varies from state to state per employee. In good times states presumably build up trust funds so that when unemployment is high there is enough money to cover the requests for benefits. The Labor Department said last week that initial applications for jobless benefits rose to 573,000, the highest reading since November 1982. It is recommended that states keep at least one year of peak-level benefits in their trusts, but many have not. The situation puts states, many of them facing huge deficits, in a tight financial bind. As more people lose their jobs, the revenue base the benefits are drawn from shrinks, making it harder to pay claims. Adding to that burden is that states will eventually have to pay back what they borrow, often at high interest rates. Source: An article by Jennifer Steinhauer for the New York Times

unemployment benefits states
The not-so-general welfare

08 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's readings Job laments his "months of misery, and troubled nights," while the psalmist tells how the Lord "sustains the lowly." Though economic misery is a fact, how those in distress will be sustained is another matter. Despite soaring unemployment and the worst economic crisis in decades, 18 states cut the number of people receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the main cash welfare program for families and children. Back in 1996, critics of the move to "end welfare as we know it," in President Bill Clinton's famous words, predicted this result. The trends raise questions about how well the revamped welfare system involving a great deal of state discretion is responding to growing hardships. Michigan cut its welfare rolls 13 percent, though it was one of two states whose October unemployment rate topped 9 percent. Rhode Island, the other, had the nation's largest welfare decline, 17 percent. Of the 12 states where joblessness grew most rapidly, eight reduced or kept constant the number of people receiving TANF. The program, which mostly serves single mothers, ended a 60-year-old entitlement to cash aid, replacing it with time limits and work requirements and giving states latitude to discourage people from joining the welfare rolls. While it was widely praised in the boom years that followed its creation, skeptics warned it would fail the needy when times turned tough. Even some of the program's staunchest defenders are alarmed. "There is ample reason to be concerned here," said Ron Haskins, a former Republican Congressional aide who helped write the 1996 law overhauling the welfare system. "The overall structure is not working the way it was designed to work. We would expect, just on the face of it, that when a deep recession happens, people could go back on welfare. "When we started this, Democratic and Republican governors alike said, 'We know what's best for our state; we're not going to let people starve,' " said Haskins, who is now a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "And now that the chips are down, and unemployment is going up, most states are not doing enough to help families get back on the rolls. Source: An article by Jason Deparle for the New York Times

states recession temporary assistance for needy families tanf welfare bill clinton unemployment ron haskins
Some reassurance at least

08 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus is kept busy in this Sunday's gospel healing the many sick people who were brought to him. In one bright spot on a dark economic horizon, it will become vastly cheaper for most people to keep their health insurance after losing a job if a provision in the current stimulus proposal makes it into law. The billions to be poured into health care from the economic stimulus package will do little if anything about the chronic conditions behind the nation's stubbornly large ranks of uninsured, advocates for reform point out. Instead, the plan is a temporary lifeline for nearly desperate times. For those who qualify, relief would be substantial. Under a dramatic, temporary expansion of COBRA, the law that lets the unemployed keep health insurance from their old job for up to 18 months if they pay for it in full, costs would drop by about two-thirds for a year. Moreover, people who lose a job they've had for 10 years could stay on COBRA at their expense all the way to age 65, when Medicare takes over, if they don't get another job with insurance first. People 55 and over could do the same without meeting the 10-year requirement. It's so expensive for people to extend that insurance now that many don't do it. It can quickly eat up a majority of unemployment benefits. People who lose jobs at businesses that employ fewer than 20 people don't qualify for COBRA. For them, the government plan would bring many more jobless people under Medicaid's wing. The federal government would pay for that and give states much more money to run the cost-shared part of the program. In return, states taking the extra money would have to back down on some of the cuts they've made to the program recently. Altogether it's a pricey lifeline: $40 billion to subsidize health insurance for the unemployed and more than twice that to support Medicaid. Source: An article by Calvin Woodward for the Associated Press

unemployment benefits states health insurance health care uninsured cobra unemployed medicaid medicare
Bombs away!

12 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Letter to the Colossians, one of the Easter lectionary options, encourages us to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." With a North Korean missile launch in mind last Sunday, President Obama announced in a speech in Prague that the U.S. will embark on an ambitious plan to markedly reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world. If he succeeds, words from the Acts of the Apostles read this Sunday-"he went about doing good"-will certainly apply. Obama told a cheering crowd estimated at 20,000 or more that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking hours after the North Korean missile launch, which drew international concern and condemnation, Obama outlined a plan toward a goal he admitted was decades away. "As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," he told the crowd gathered in Prague's historic Hradcany Square. Obama laid out a process to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, ban nuclear testing, and put loose fissile material out of the reach of terrorists. Until weapons and the material to make them are fully secured, Obama said, the U.S. will maintain its nuclear arsenal to deter adversaries. Obama promised to negotiate a strategic arms-reduction treaty with Russia by the end of the year that would dramatically reduce the number of nuclear warheads. A few days earlier, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed during meetings in London to produce a new arms-control treaty to replace the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. Obama's plan also called for peaceful uses of nuclear power through an international fuel bank that would be available to every nation that renounces nuclear weapons. He said he supported Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy, providing the regime agrees to regular and thorough inspections. Finally, Obama said he hoped to host a world summit on nuclear weapons within the year. Source: An article by Christi Parsons and Tom Hamburger for the Chicago Tribune

barack obama russia strategic arms reduction treaty dmitry medvedev united states nuclear weapons missiles prague north korea
More Americans switching cornerstones

03 May 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

While today’s psalm speaks of how the “stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone,” when it comes to their faith Americans tend not to completely reject cornerstones but simply drift from one to another. According to the results of a survey released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, researchers found that almost three-quarters of Catholics and Protestants who have become unaffiliated with a religion said they had “just gradually drifted away” from their faith. The same number of Catholics and half of Protestants currently unassociated with a faith said that over time they stopped believing in their religion’s teachings. Pew Forum senior fellow John C. Green said that result surprised researchers, who had expected policy disputes or disillusionment over internal scandals--such as the clergy sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church--to play more of a role in people’s decision to leave a faith. Among former Catholics who became Protestants, one in five cited the sex-abuse scandal as one of several reasons why they had left the church. But only a small percentage--2 to 3 percent--cited it as the lone reason. “It suggests that what leads people to leave their faith is that, somehow for some reason, it isn’t meeting their needs . . . . Religion becomes less plausible to the person,” Green said. Researchers interviewed non-Christians but focused their analysis on Christians, which provided them with large enough groups to permit close scrutiny, said Pew research fellow Gregory A. Smith. Researchers discovered that the “churn” between denominations among the faithful and formerly faithful was 56 percent. They also found that up to one-third of people who have left their childhood faith have jumped around among three or more other faiths. At the same time, the large and growing number of people who report having no religious affiliation are surprisingly open to religion, researchers said. Contrary to the popular perception that many have embraced secularism, a significant percentage appeared simply to have put their religiosity on pause, having worshiped as part of at least one faith already, and about 3 in 10 said they have not yet found the right religion. “We tend to think that when people leave [religion] they leave,” said Stephen Prothero, chairman of the religion department at Boston University. “But a lot of these unaffiliated are unaffiliated for now.” Source: An article by Jacqueline Salmon for the Washington Post.

religion united states stephen prothero gregory a smith john c green surveys pew forum on religion public life
Migration reforms the political landscape

17 May 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus reminds his disciples in this Sunday's gospel reading that "it was not you who chose me, but I who chose you." A record 1 million immigrants chose to become U.S. citizens in 2008, a trend that is transforming the political map in immigrant-rich states such as California, Florida, and Texas. California's 300,000 new citizens accounted for nearly one-third of the nation's total and represented a near-doubling over 2006, according to a recent report by the U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics. Florida recorded the second-largest group of new citizens, and Texas claimed the fastest growth. Mexicans, who have traditionally registered low rates of naturalization, represented the largest group of new citizens, with nearly one-fourth of the total. They were followed by Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Cubans, and Vietnamese. The new citizens are likely to reorder policy priorities in their states, political analysts predict. Polls show that Latinos and Asians are more supportive than whites of public investments and broad services, even if they require higher taxes. New citizen Alfonso Vergara is one product of a massive citizenship campaign effort by Latino groups in California this past year. A Mexico native and pharmaceutical technician, the 31-year-old said he had postponed applying for citizenship for years because the process seemed too time-consuming. But last year he was swept up in the marches and the call for civic activism. "It was time for me to build a stronger future for my family and become a more active person in this country," Vargas said. "This isn't about helping Latinos for the sake of helping Latinos. This is about helping Latinos succeed for the sake of America." Source: An article by Teresa Watanabe for The Los Angeles Times

immigrants immigration california united states texas florida office of immigration statistics alfonso vergara latinos
State programs on the chopping block

28 Jun 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me," the psalmist says this Sunday. Facing budget shortfalls that are forcing program cuts, layoffs, and tax increases, state governments can be thankful for federal stimulus money, which has at least temporarily softened the edge of the budget axe. "These are some of the worst numbers we have ever seen," said Scott D. Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, adding that the federal stimulus money that began flowing this spring was the only thing preventing widespread paralysis, particularly in the areas of education and health care. Nevertheless, the choices are stark. State employees in Hawaii face furloughs of three days a month over the next two years, the equivalent of a 14 percent pay cut. Idaho lawmakers reduced aid to public schools, forcing reduced pay for teachers. Maine is adding taxes on candy and ski tickets, Wisconsin on oil companies, and Kentucky on alcohol and cell phone ring tones. In California, where a $24 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year is the nation's worst, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed releasing thousands of prisoners early and closing more than 200 state parks. Source: An article by Abby Goodnough for the New York Times

states state government budget deficit scott d pattison national association of state budget officers arnold schwarzenegger
Rebels without cause?

05 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel speaks of the Lord’s protest toward “rebels who have rebelled against me.” Honduran President Manuel Zelaya might relate after being forced into exile Sunday by a military coup. Soldiers stormed the presidential palace hours before a controversial referendum that could have paved the way for Zelaya running for reelection. It was the first military coup in Central America in 16 years. The chief lawyer of the Honduran armed forces insisted that what soldiers carried out over the weekend when they detained Zelaya was no coup d’état. “A coup is a political move,” Col. Herberth Bayardo Inestroza Membreño said Tuesday. “It requires the armed forces to assume power of the country, which didn’t happen, and it has to break the rule of law, which didn’t happen, either.” Roberto Micheletti, a member of Zelaya’s Liberal Party who was named interim leader by the Honduran Congress following the coup, said Zelaya “has already committed crimes against the constitution and the law.” “No one can make me resign if I do not violate the laws of the country,” Micheletti said. “If there is any invasion against our country, 7.5 million Hondurans will be ready to defend our territory and our laws and our homeland and our government.” Governments around the world insisted otherwise. The Organization of American States Wednesday gave Honduras 72 hours to reinstate Zelaya or face suspension from the group. Zelaya was elected in 2005 to a nonrenewable four-year term. On Tuesday he said he would not seek a second term in office, dropping his plans to try to run again for office in November elections which had provoked the crisis. Articles by Stephanie Griffith for Agence France Presse and Marc Lacey for the New York Times

honduras manuel zelaya coup herberth bayardo inestroza membreño roberto micheletti liberal party organization of american states
Putting bombs away

12 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the vision of the psalmist this Sunday, "Justice and peace shall kiss." While President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev didn't kiss this week, they did sign a preliminary agreement to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles by as much as one third. Two days of meetings resulted in the signing of other important documents as well, including a deal to let U.S. troops cross Russia en route to Afghanistan. The two leaders agreed their countries would work closely together to study new missile security threats the United States says are at the core of its rationale for planning new missile defenses in Europe, and they called for renewed efforts to develop greater commercial and economic ties. "I can't think of a summit that was so comprehensive in what we are trying to do as a government," said Michael McFaul, special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs. "There is an emphasis on style, on tone," however, rather than action in Obama's efforts thus far to build a new relationship with Russia, said Sam Greene, deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a U.S.-based political research institute. "But that is also important. If this process is going to keep up momentum, it needs to be clear to politicians in both capitals that the presidents are putting a lot of their own political capital into the process." "Even a symbolic detente is not bad," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the Moscow foreign policy review Russia in Global Affairs. "The style has changed utterly by comparison with last autumn" when tensions between the United States and Russia soared to levels not seen since Ronald Reagan entered the White House in the early 1980s, he said. Source: Articles by Christopher Boian for Agence France Presse and Michael A. Fletcher and Philip P. Pan for the Washington Post

barack obama russia in global affairs fyodor lukyanov carnegie moscow center sam greene michael mcfaul europe arms control missiles nuclear weapons united states dmitry medvedev afghanistan russia ronald reagan
Neighborly disagreement at NAFTA-partner summit

16 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the reading from the Book of Proverbs this Sunday, Wisdom encourages us to "advance in the way of understanding." Hoping to do the same, leaders of Canada, the United States, and Mexico met in Guadalajara, Mexico this week for their fourth annual summit, an effort to bring the signers of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) closer together. But the meeting also served to highlight differences on issues such as migration and drug trafficking. President Barack Obama said at the conclusion of the summit Monday that his administration will seek a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system this year but that no action on legislation will happen before 2010. The issue of immigration has also generated controversy between Canada and Mexico. Canada announced last month it would begin requiring Mexican citizens to secure visas before entering the country, a decision that angered many in Mexico. The Canadian government claimed too many Mexicans are fraudulently claiming political asylum in Canada, overwhelming the system. The Mexican government struck back with an announcement that Canadian diplomats and government officials would now be required to obtain visas to enter Mexico. Mexico also raised a trade dispute that began when the U.S. Congress canceled a program, in violation of NAFTA, that allowed Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. Mexico responded by imposing billions of dollars in tariffs on American products. Another sore point is the "buy American" clause in the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, which both Canada and Mexico oppose. There is also some discord on the issue of combating Mexico's drug violence. The American aid package for Mexico says that 15 percent of the funds can be disbursed only if the U.S. State Department decides that the Mexican government meets certain human rights conditions. Recently reports of abuse have emerged. Mexican President Felipe Calderón's government has characterized any abuses as isolated. And aides to Obama said he strongly favors releasing the aid. Source: Articles by Cheryl W. Thompson and William Booth for the Washington Post and Ginger Thompson and Marc Lacey for the New York Times

immigration drug trafficking canada nafta north american free trade agreement felipe calderon mexico united states barack obama visas

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