{"id":1091,"date":"2017-12-05T10:42:13","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/food-faith\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2021-01-29T19:20:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T00:20:29","slug":"being-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2017\/12\/05\/being-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Really good news about inequality! And…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dinerThe really good news:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Seventy-four percent of respondents (including 58 percent of Republicans) said they back boosting the minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 an hour to $9 over the course of two years, according to a\u00a0poll<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0poll<\/a> shows that 48% of Americans favor raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.<\/p>\n

The bad news:\u00a0<\/strong>Our politicians are not responding to the wishes of the people. Rather, the Senate tax bill just passed actually increases inequality and hurts the working poor.<\/p>\n

If you or you and your spouse make less than $10,000 a year, under the Senate tax bill, you will need to pay $80 more<\/span> in taxes in 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you make more than $1,000,000 a year, you will pay $59,615 less<\/span> in taxes that year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eight years later, everyone making $75,000 or less will be paying for this massive redistribution of wealth from poor and working class people to the wealthy 1% of the population.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>(Statistics from Congressional Budget Numbers – article<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Senate and House bills must be reconciled in conference committee, and the GOP hopes to have a vote before the year end.<\/p>\n

\"womanGood news:\u00a0 <\/strong>The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) just announced our full participation in the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 This campaign represents part of our longstanding work to be in solidarity with poor and working class people, and builds on our recent General Assembly\u00a0Overture on Choosing to be A Church Committed to the Gospel of Matthew 25<\/em>, which:<\/p>\n

Encourages congregations, mid-council governing bodies and national agencies of the PC(USA) to locate ourselves with the poor, to advocate with all of our voice for the poor, and to seek opportunities to take risks for and with the poor.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the launch yesterday, Rev. Denise Anderson, Co-Moderator of the 222nd<\/sup>\u00a0General Assembly, spoke of the need to respond to the profound crisis of these times by building a nationwide multiracial movement calling for dramatic steps to address the evils of racism, poverty, the war economy and environmental destruction.\u00a0 With the Poor People\u2019s Campaign, we are mobilizing toward 40 days of massive, coordinated, nonviolent direct action across the country this spring.<\/p>\n

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Pledge<\/a> to join the Campaign\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>read more<\/a>\u00a0from the Office of Public Witness.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Why is the campaign needed?<\/h4>\n

Because working people in our country are hurting due to inadequate wages and few benefits.\u00a0People simply lack the money to provide for themselves and their families. This is the primary reason why 41 million people, including 13 million children, struggle with hunger.<\/p>\n