May 26, 2006
Compassion
It seems that Sojourners has created something of interest.
Compassion, not Criminalization in Immigration Reform!
"The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:34).
Last December, the House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437). Many of the provisions of this punitive and enforcement-focused bill are patently hostile to the alien among us. On March 27, however, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved an improved bill. The measure, passed 12-6, contains many provisions supported by the faith community and other advocates: It provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the country; establishes a guest worker program that can lead to citizenship; and establishes a new temporary work program for undocumented agricultural workers. In addition, the committee's bill differs from H.R. 4437 in that it would not establish penalties for humanitarian and church groups helping undocumented immigrants or criminalize undocumented immigrants for being in the U.S. The Judiciary Committee bill is a step forward in the debate.
As discussion of immigration reform moves to the full Senate, we urge lawmakers to oppose punitive, enforcement-only measures like those in H.R. 4437. Such measures not only run contrary to the biblical mandate to welcome the stranger among us; they are chillingly anti-work, anti-family, and anti-community, and they will only exacerbate the problems of our fractured immigration system. The Senate Judiciary Committee's bill has a better approach than H.R. 4437.
Let's help, not hurt, our neighbors who are pursuing the American dream of security, freedom, and opportunity. Send an e-mail urging your senators to promote just and compassionate immigration reform..
May 09, 2006
Out of control
Not comforting.
The conclusion at the end of this wordy analysis:
Policy makers and others concerned about the financial sustainability of our health care system will need to understand and come to terms with the level of policy intervention that would be needed to meaningfully reduce the portion of our national income devoted to health care. Finding even small amounts of savings in either public or private programs has been very difficult for policymakers; interventions that would reduce spending by hundreds of billions or even a trillion dollars over the foreseeable future would require a fundamental rethinking of how we pay for health care.
What form should this "fundamental rethinking" take? Certainly not HSAs.