Tax Justice Truth Tour makes stop at St. Joe’s
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, and other members of the Catholic advocacy group NETWORK, hosted a town-hall style discussion as part of their “Nuns on the Bus” campaign in the Chapel of Saint Joseph on Oct. 24.
The nuns began in Santa Monica, Ca., and hosted 54 events in 21 states in less than a month as they traveled to Mar-a-lago, Fl., a place they believe exemplifies the small population who unequally benefit from current policies, particularly after the passing of the 2017 tax reform legislation by House Republicans, which was the central topic of their educational forum.
The event stressed not only the wealth inequality the tax policies perpetuate, but also the governmental assistance programs that will be cut as a result of the reform.
“The law itself will really badly damage the very population that the sisters are working with,” said Lindsay Hueston ’16, an alumna now working as an associate for the organization. “We are on the road to talk about the impacts on people who are benefiting from medicaid and medicare. This program will drastically slash people’s access to it.”
The event highlighted the way current tax laws further wealth inequality and gave audience members a chance to talk in small groups and all together about how the newest reform policy might affect them and their communities personally.
NETWORK reached out to Beth Ford McNamee, assistant director of Campus Ministry, and asked if St. Joe’s could be a stop on their tour.
The tour, falling during election season, is motivated by the desire to engage voters, according to McNamee.
“They are inviting people to consider the Catholic Social Teaching tradition and place that alongside the current economic context,” McNamee said. “[The goal is] making decisions in voting that would put those at the margins of society at the forefront of voting decisions, specifically, in this case, in terms of tax policies.”
Throughout the event, Campbell also emphasized a lived-out commitment to placing society’s most vulnerable members as first considered when creating policies and legislation.
McNamee identified tax policy as a confusing topic for many. She said the town hall is an important step in helping community members understand not only the policies themselves, but the effect the implementation will have on society members of all socioeconomic standings.
“There is always room for more learning,” McNamee said. “Nobody needs to be an expert in it. The nuns on the bus are trying to educate us about the impacts of the tax policies.”
Some of the students in attendance also shared the motivation of awareness.
Mike Williams ’20, is a former resident of the Romero Resident Learning Community (RLC), which focuses on social justice through community service. Williams also attended the forum.
“[Wealth equality] is something I’ve always had a passion for,” Williams said. “Anything I can learn from people who know better than I do, the more I’ll go as an individual.”
Hueston identified education as only one part of the event’s mission.
“Coupled with awareness is an understanding of how certain people have been affected, or conversely not affected by these things,” Hueston said. “More importantly, with that awareness is doing something about it. It’s a collective struggle, not an individual one.”
This call to action was woven into the event, which ended with the opportunity to sign pledge cards and with suggestion on how to systemically voice frustration or fear dispersed throughout the event.
“One of the biggest concerns is how are we being responsible as a nation to care for the common poor,” Campbell said. “The problem is most people don’t see each other.”
