Happy New Year (and here's to a new legislative session)

The 2009 legislative session will begin at noon on Jan. 6. Of course, the budget is the hot topic this year. The Minnesota state government announced Dec. 5 that we're facing a $5.3 billion deficit over the next 2.5 years. Some think the February forecast will put it at $7 billion.

Yikes. That would put about 15 percent of our total budget in the red.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference and Catholic Charities' Office for Social Justice both plan to urge support of legislation that would support job creation, especially for low-income families, who are being hit hardest by the recession.

MCC told me they plan to push legislation in other areas that don't have dollars attached, but MCC's Pete Noll reminded me that this isn't the time to stop investing in what's important, just because money is tight. Education, he said, is like a 401k — you put money in it now because it needs to pay off in the long run. If our kids aren't educated, what do we have?

The Office for Social Justice's newsletter, Seeds of Justice, is available for PDF download at OSJ's Web site. It provides a good, critical overview of the budget, with a good reminder that just a few years ago we were facing a surplus. (How fast and far that pendulum swings.) The newsletter also outlines OSJ's objectives, which include:

•  job creation
• worker justice
• raising minimum wage
• protecting funding for low-income housing
• supporting legislation that would make it easier for ex-legal offenders to find jobs
• universal health care for children 
• opposing anti-immigrant proposals

There's more. I suggest you check it out. MCC will be releasing a statement from the bishops within the next week or so. At the heart of all of OSJ and MCC's work is the protection of human dignity. People need to be treated like people. It's pretty simple, until money gets in the way. 

And it's over!

With the end of the legislative session last week, it's worth checking out the Minnesota Catholic Conference's session analysis that appears in this week's The Catholic Spirit. From sex education, ending poverty and inmate re-entry, MCC's priorities run the gamut.

Vetoed!

Governor Pawlenty vetoed the minimum wage bill late yesterday afternoon. It's unlikely that the Legislature will have the votes to over turn it. The Star Tribune has the story.

The governor said that a higher minimum wage would make it difficult to allow employers to maintain jobs during while the economy slows and prices hike. He also said that Minnesota does not recognize a tip credit, as 43 other states do. He would like to see a provision for a tip credit in the bill.

Legislative wind down (or heat up)

The end of this legislative session is scheduled for Monday, and the Minnesota Catholic Conference is working hard to pass and block a few pieces of legislation.

Included is Senate File 2965, which regulates gestational carrier arrangements and assisted reproduction. It's on the governor's desk, and MCC hopes he'll veto it.

In a letter to Governor Pawlenty on the bill, MCC wrote:

"The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is the only morally acceptable framework for human reproduction. Further, donation of semen or ova and the use of surrogate motherhood to bear children are contrary to the unity of marriage and the dignity of the procreation of the human person. The issue of assisted reproduction is complicated. While we sympathize with childless couples who are desperate to have children, the ends do not justify the means. We hope that government will not attempt to redefine the natural state of marriage and human procreation.

In addition, the bill fails to address the rights of human lives created through assisted reproduction technologies. Most human embryos created through in vitro fertilization are not implanted, much less carried to term, but are discarded, frozen or used in destructive and undignified experimentation."

A bill MCC does want the governor to sign is the minimum wage bill. According to the MCC, 29 states presently have minimum wages higher than Minnesota's. More than 300,000 Minnesota jobs would get a pay boost, which I assume would benefit the economy (the more money you have, the more you spend). And, most importantly, as Archbishop Flynn said two weeks ago, it's a matter of affirming human dignity.

To find out more about these bills, read The Catholic Spirit editor Joe Towalski's editorial this week online.

Will Minnesotans pay for embryo destruction?

Those of you who read my blog last session may recall the amount of attention I gave to a bill that would grant taxpayer funding to embryonic stem cell research at the University of Minnesota. The bill narrowly passed the House Wednesday. It passed the Senate last session. The bill's going to conference committee to reconcile the different versions.

I don't expect Governor Pawlenty to sign the bill, and considering the 71-62 vote in the House, it doesn't look like an override is possible.

I could always be wrong, however.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research is dastardly in and of itself, but it also leads down a slippery slope of continued denial of human dignity to the weakest and voiceless.

Happy Birthday, Archbishop Flynn (and happy retirement, too!)

Friday was Archbishop Harry Flynn's 75th birthday. It was also the date of his official retirement. Instead of hopping a plane to some beach to lounge (or to his cabin in New York State), he spent part of his morning at the State Office Building to speak at a press conference on increasing minimum wage.

The House passed the bill the night before, and it was going to conference committee to resolve differences between the Senate and House versions. It is expected to be on the governor's desk within the week.

"People keep reminding me that this is my 75th birthday — a fact that hasn't gotten by me; but as I move into retirement I wanted just one more tiem to speak about this very important issue and on behalf of these very important workers," he told the gathered crowd, legislators standing proudly behind him.

"I believe that increasing minimum wage is a matter of justice," he said.

"It is true that the people of this state value hard work, but we also value the dignity of the worker. For me, that means that the life of the worker has to be spent doing more than work."

Many low wage workers work two or three jobs to make ends meet, he said.

"This isn't a dignified life," he continued. "True human dignity means that people not only focus on their material survival but that they have time and opportunity to participate in their social, cultural and spiritual development as well. Family life and participation are key to human dignity and important to our democracy."

Increasing minimum wage would allow people to work only one job and thus, have more time for family and social life, he said.

Happy Prayer Day!!

Today's May Day. I remember leaving a May basket brimming with Tootsie Rolls on the doorstep of one of my neighbors when I was about eight, only to watch it blow away.

Twice.

On this May Day, as we look ahead not only to wind, but possible snow, this weekend, it's nice to know that there's something good going on:

The National Day of Prayer

As I write this, Governor Pawlenty and Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau are preparing to speak on the Capitol steps before the gathered crowd. Created in 1952, The observance is always held on the first Thursday of May, and it is intended to invite people of all faiths to pray for America. It's not hard to see, with the war continuing in Iraq, home foreclosures, possible economic recession, and the like, that we could use some serious prayers.

And then some serious response.

(I know that the rest of you who went to Catholic schools, which I didn't, recall that today is also the day we crown the Blessed Virgin Mary, as May's her month. I think that's nice that the May Crowning and National Day of Prayer coincided this year.)

Health care access fund trouble

Gov. Pawlenty offered a budget proposal yesterday to the legislature in an effort to toss a rope over the chasm between what he wants and what DFLers want.

He offered to cut the amount used from the Health Care Access Fund from $250 million to $125 million. However, he would require the legislature to make $125 million in other, unspecified cuts. He would also use some of the state's general fund budget reserves, instead of the DFL-proposed use of the state's $350 million cash flow account.

I don't know if the DFLers will bite on this one. I'm betting not.

If you recall, the Health Care Access Fund is supposed to fund health care (hence its name). The Democrats don't want any of this money being used for something for which it wasn't alloted.

Children as a commodity

Apparently, surrogate mothering has raised some questions.

Like questioning who the child's real parents are — the egg and sperm donors, or the woman who carried the child in her womb for 9 months. Like who has custody of the child at birth. Like who can even be a surrogate mother.

No one seems to be asking why this is legal in the first place.

The Senate approved a bill yesterday that establishes a legal framework for "gestational carriers," or women who have an embryo implanted within them and carry the pregnancy to term with the agreement that the child will be given to the biological parents — presumably the sperm and egg donors — upon birth.

The bill requires that surrogate mothers be at least 21 years old and pass medical and mental health tests. It also gives the biological parents immediate legal custody at birth, and mandates that the surrogate cannot "genetically contribute" to the embryo (meaning, it can't be one of the parents).

The Associated Press quoted Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, saying that the bill would treat "children are products and mothers are paid incubators."

She's on to something. This is a buying and selling of one's body and of one's offspring that violates the church's teaching on the dignity of human life. First of all, the child's conception takes place in a laboratory, and not in an act of intercourse. (Check out the March 25 blog post on invitro fertilization for more on this.) Second, the child is not carried by its biological mother, leading to the question of what motherhood really is: a biological participation, or a self-giving action of a woman to a child? What happens when you remove one from the other? Third, the surrogate mother is paid, presumably, making her body something that can be bought for a price.

The House hasn't voted on this yet, but we'll see how it fares there.

Government subsidized heath care (and waffles)

Later hours for bars is back on the legislative table. Toby Pearson of the Catholic Health Association of Minnesota reminded me that nothing is dead until the legislature adjourns sine die — the end of a legislative biennium "without day."

St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman wants his city council members to make a push for it at the legislature. We'll see what happens.

I wanted to use some snarky segway about how drinking until 4 a.m. can lead to the main topic at hand — the need for health care and other related topics — but I couldn't settle on just one.

However, if the bars are going to be open that late in St. Paul during the convention, it's hard to resist that kind of novelty. I might consider it a duty to Catholic Spirit readers that I'm at the Liffey until closing time getting an inside scoop on the convention. And if the legislation doesn't pass, the 24-hour dive diner Mickey's on West Seventh better be setting up street-side as all the Republicans rush for waffles.

There's legislation for health care reform in the House. It's pretty much agreed that there's need of health care reform and that insurance is too high, but then what is the "right price" for health insurance?

This bill thinks it has the answer: If you pay more than $3,800 per year but make less than $64,000, you're paying too much, the bill says. It's pushing for state-subsidized health care, and it plans to use the surplus in the Health Care Access Fund, which also supports programs like Minnesota Care. (This is also the fund Gov. Pawlenty wanted to use to help balance the budget.)

Some Republicans oppose the bill because it's getting too close for comfort to government-provided care and away from market-based insurance.

So, what do you think? What role, if any, should the government play in affordable health care? Check out this week's Catholic Spirit for a letter from Jeff Maciej, a masters in social work student at the The College of St. Catherine/University of St. Thomas who argues that we need universal health care.

A lot’s happened since my last post — namely, the passing of a bonding bill in both the House and the Senate — a bill Governor Pawlenty said is too big. Then, yesterday, the governor line-item vetoed more than $200 million worth of projects before signing the bill. This is a slight mish-mash of the past week in bonding land.

The Star Tribune has a thorough story. Something I found particularly interesting:

Pawlenty's $717 million total was smaller than what had been anticipated resulting from a line-item veto. In a generally accepted formula, state guidelines recommend that borrowing be limited to 3 percent of projected general fund revenue, a limit that makes the debt more acceptable to bonding houses. That figure was $825 million. Pawlenty said he cut additional projects anticipating a continuing downturn in the economy.

According to the Pioneer Press, St. Paul took 60 percent of the cuts, including $127 million for a Central Corridor light-rail line, a new Bell Museum of Natural History at the U of M's St. Paul campus and a gorilla exhibit at the Como Zoo.

He also cut $2 million from the Union Depot transit hub, which is a historic St. Paul building I am personally in love with, and $4 million for a St. Paul-to-Chicago high-speed rail (which is something that utilized the said Depot back in the day).

"Reducing the bill to this level reflects my commitment to fiscal discipline and an attempt to prioritize important state projects," Gov. Pawlenty wrote in a press release.

The Legislature could override any of the vetoes.

Before the vetoes, Governor Pawlenty and DFL legislative leaders had a few words for one another:

According to the Star Tribune:

Pawlenty said DFLers were "falling right into the stereotype" of raising taxes and out-of-control spending.
"It's not appropriate, it's not responsible and I'm not going to stand for it," Pawlenty said.

However, yesterday DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller said this on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midday":

"He's upset because some of his pet projects, his pet spending, is being cut. In terms of revenue, other than closing corporate loopholes, no one is talking about significant tax increases here. He has to get off the campaign trail and come back and govern the state of Minnesota."

(I would call the relationship between the DFL legislators and Gov. Pawlenty less-than-amiable right now.)

And to update an earlier post, a bill for later bar hours during the Republican National Conference was dropped, so that’s a no-go.

Taking health for granted

This morning I did something I haven't done for a couple years — I went to the doctor for a check-up.

As far as they can tell, I'm healthy as a horse. (Which makes me wonder which horse I'm being compared to.)

Insurance covered the whole thing. If they would have found something wrong with me, they would have been able to begin treating it now, rather than waiting until it got really bad and I end up in the hospital.

The whole thing — including a tetanus shot which is killing my left shoulder right now — took 30 minutes. I was on my to work by 9:15, glad to check it off my list of "things I need to do."

The thing is, it really wasn't that big of a deal to me. It's just something that you're supposed to do once a year. But for a lot of Minnesotans, health care is a really big deal, because they need it, and they can't afford it.

Toby Pearson addressed this issue in this week's Catholic Spirit. He's the executive director of the Catholic Health Association of Minnesota. In his letter to the editor, he presented six core values that should set the statewide health care debate:

1. The health and well-being of each person is intertwined with the health and well-being of the broader community. Access to healthcare is an essential element contributing to the common good, alongside others such as education, employment and a safe environment.

2. The measure of our society is how we treat the poor and vulnerable, who are particularly marginalized by a lack of access to health care.

3. Our societal resources are finite, and we must make wise choices for how they are allocated. Health care resources should focus on the well-being of the community and be structured to deliver the care that is most medically beneficial and promotes public health.

4. Health care is a basic human right alongside food and shelter, all of which are necessary for individuals to participate fully in society.

5. The health care system should allow and encourage involvement of the public and private sectors including voluntary, religious and not-for-profit organizations, and it should respect the religious and ethical values of patients and health care providers alike.

6. Health care is essential to promoting and protecting the inherent dignity of every individual from conception to natural death.

"If we take these core values under consideration during our debate on health care, we will have a better product at the end of the day," he wrote.

What do you think? Leave a comment and start the conversation.

A case against the 4 a.m. (public) Scotch

In his Catholic Spirit column this week, Archbishop John Nienstedt questions a bill to open downtown St. Paul bars until 4 a.m. during the Republican National Convention, September 1-4. The legislation also pushes for liquor stores to be open the Sunday of the convention.

The archbishop is against both changes.

He writes that Minnesota shouldn't have to change who she is (or her policies) just for some guests. He also argues that Sunday is a day dedicated to the Lord and should be set apart, even if its something as simple as closed liquor stores.

"Please don't get me wrong," he wrote. "I like to have a cocktail before dinner and a glass of wine while dining with friends. But somehow I see the camel's nose coming under the tent."

If someone can drink until 4 a.m., why not leave the bars open until 6 a.m. to accommodate the late-shifters? Why do it just during the convention? Why close them at all? And why would we open the liquor stores for the out-of-towners, but leave them closed the other Sundays?

"[Limiting public consumption of alcohol and closing liquor stores on Sundays are] part of the cultural heritage we wish to maintain in this state of Minnesota," he wrote. "We are pleased to have our visitors with us, and we do want them to know they are welcome. But we also want them to believe that, when they go home, they have met a people who embody in their culture a respect for values that transcend themselves."

The archbishop's not saying that drinking on Sunday is wrong. He's saying that by retaining these limits on alcohol purchase, Minnesota helps its citizens practice moderation in some way.

My friends and I cap every weekend with a big Sunday night meal, and I admit, I've been known to go into a 6 p.m. Sunday rant about Minnesota liquor laws when I've been cooking pasta and suddenly realize I'm out of wine to serve with it.

But it's also a reminder that Sunday is a special day set apart, and that's why we're sharing that meal in the first place.

And, if you're curious about what MN's laws currently are and how they came to be, City Pages has a (somewhat irreverent) FAQ for MN liquor laws.

Waiting to boost wage

The Minimum Wage bill passed the Senate and is waiting for its final vote in the house.

In mid-February, Archbishop Harry Flynn testified to increase minimum wage. According to the Minnesota Catholic Conference, Minnesota’s current minimum wage ($6.15 for large businesses and $5.25 for small businesses) is not a living wage, and working Minnesota families cite economic issues as their biggest concern.

The bill (HF 456/SF 875) would raise minimum wage for both large and small businesses. The large business minimum wage would raise from $6.15 to $6.90 on July 24, 2008, and then to $7.90 on July 24, 2009. The small business minimum wage would rise from $5.25 to $5.75 on July 24, 2008, and then to $6.75 on July 24, 2009.

As the law currently stands, employers can pay workers under 20 years old $4.90 for the first 90 days of their employment. This bill also repeals this sub-minimum wage category.

Back when he testified, Archbishop Flynn was asked to sign in, as all testifiers do. He signed his name, and in the column where it asked who he represented, he didn't put "Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis," like one might expect.

Instead, he wrote "workers."

Budget slashing and pregnancy help

Yesterday the House Housing Policy and Finance and Public Health Finance Committee voted to cut $1.9 million from the Positive Alternatives Act. It was an effort to save money and balance the budget, but it also leaves a gaping hole in Minnesota's outreach to pregnant women.

The Positive Alternatives Acts helps fund services for pregnant women and their unborn babies including medical attention, nutritional support, housing assistance, adoption services, education and employment assistance, and parenting education and support.

It was initially funded at $2.4 million. The pro-life advocacy group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life described the spending cut as a "gutting" — a word that sends shivers up my spine. When you gut something, you tear it apart and take out something vital, like the meat of a fish or deer.

But this is serious, and the legislature is voting to take something vital away from Minnesota women. MCCL is concerned that without this funding, organizations that aid women in difficult or unplanned pregnancies won't be able to offer enough outreach or necessary services. And without the support these organizations try to offer, women will turn instead to abortion.

This is most true for low-income women who can't afford medical care or may not have healthy support systems as they go through their pregnancies.

“Last evening’s action by pro-abortion representatives is purely political,” said MCCL Legislative Associate Andrea Rau in a press release. “The House must not attempt to balance the budget on the backs of women and children by plundering Positive Alternatives funds. The Minnesota House must restore the much-needed Positive Alternatives funds to make sure that pregnant women receive the support and services they need to choose life.”

MCCL also pointed out that the $1.9 million budget cut is one-fifth of one percent of the expected deficit.

Where does the stork come into all of this?

It's about sex. 

And babies. But babies have a lot to do with sex. Usually. 

A piece of legislation concerning the regulation of "gestational carrier arrangements" is awaiting its third and final hearing in both the House and the Senate before legislators vote. And the Minnesota Catholic Conference is hoping it fails to pass.

The bill (SF 2956 / HF 3448) addresses legal parentage of children born as a result of in vitro fertilization. The church teaches against in vitro fertilization, and so local Catholic leaders oppose the bill. The problem is that in vitro fertilization (or "artificial reproduction") separates the creation of a child from the act of sex. And you just can't do that.

Archbishop Nienstedt wrote about the church's position on in vitro fertilization in his Nov. 2, 2007, column in The Catholic Spirit.

Couples who cannot conceive on their own may look to in vitro fertilization as a way to have a child. However, the process is morally problematic in two ways: 1) the aforementioned separation of sex from the act of reproduction (The couple's ova and sperm are united outside of the body in a laboratory) and 2) the process usually results in more than one embryo (read "itty bitty human being"), thus leaving the parents the decision to throw away or indefinitely freeze their offspring that they do not plan to bring to full term.

This is a tough issue, though, and one that should be handled with compassion, as couples who are engaging in his procedure are doing it because they so desire to be parents. However, Archbishop Nienstedt points out that children are a gift from God, and nobody has a "right" to them. Also, couples who desire children have the option of adopting children, which is a beautiful, selfless act.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting from the Vatican document Donum Vitae, (Instruction on respect for human life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation) asserts:

"Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus) are gravely immoral. These techniques infringe on the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him, and bound to each other by marriage…”

Archbishop Nienstedt (who did his doctoral thesis on bioethics) isn't the only one speaking out on this. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston also addressed this same topic in a 2004 pastoral letter:

“The plight of a couple who have difficulties in conceiving a child is something that concerns the Church community. We are pleased that the scientific community has developed some morally acceptable procedures that assist the conjugal act and not replace it… and Natural Family Planning techniques that allow couples to know when they have the best chance of conceiving.

"Given the Biblical injunction to care for widows and orphans and to welcome strangers, the childless couple might in the spirit of our faith consider adopting a child. It is a decision that should be made after prayer and reflection… Those who embrace the Gospel of Life must be enthusiastic supporters of adoption.”

MCC is also concerned about the Senate's version of the bill substituting the term "partner" for "husband" and "wife." "This change would undermine not only the sanctity of marriage but the reality of marriage as we have defined it these past 2,000 years," MCC said in a statement.

A little political jargon for fun

Happy Easter Monday! 

While the MN Legislature continues to enjoy a long weekend away from the capitol, I'm taking a quick side trip through the campaign landscape. Merriam-Webster online compiled definitions of commonly used politican jargon, which can be of great help to anyone following the campaigns. (Also, their etymologies are a lot of fun to read.)  Check it out! 

Two of my favorites:

mugwump \MUG-wump\ noun

: an independent in politics

The Story Behind the Word

A 17th-century Massachuset Indian might not recognize his people's word for "war leader" if he saw it used today. In colonial America, "mugwump" derisively implied someone who was a "big shot." The first political mugwumps were Republicans in the presidential race of 1884 who chose to support Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland rather than their own party's nominee. Their independence prompted one 1930s humorist to define a mugwump as "a bird who sits with its mug on one side of the fence and its wump on the other."

pork barrel \PORK-ba-rul\ noun

: government projects or appropriations yielding rich patronage benefits

The Story Behind the Word

You might expect that the original pork barrels were barrels for storing pork—and you're right. In the early 19th century, that's exactly what "pork barrel" meant. But the term was also used figuratively to mean "a supply of money" or "one's livelihood" (a farmer, after all, could readily turn pork into cash). When 20th-century legislators doled out appropriations that benefited their home districts, someone apparently made an association between the profit a farmer got from a barrel of pork and the benefits derived from certain state and federal projects. By 1909, "pork barrel" was being used as a noun naming such government appropriations, and today the term is often used attributively in constructions such as "pork barrel politics" or "pork barrel project."

God Bless the Troops

Yesterday was Minnesota's annual 48th Prayer Breakfast. Gov. Pawlenty asked Minnesotans to keep the military and veterans "at or near the top of your list."

As a girl in a military family (my brother's preparing to go to Iraq this summer), I appreciate his gesture of faith and support.

U.S. Representatives Jim Ramstad and Betty McCollum read from the Bible at the event. It was designed to be a non-partisan gathering in the spirit of the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. which was held in February.

Blessed Triduum to you all, home or abroad.

God said what?!?

VOX POPULORUM EST VOX DEI

The voice of the people is the voice of God.

That's what's above the House chamber in the Minnesota Capitol building. It's what the Minnesota representatives see as they cast their votes, making laws. I don't know if it's supposed to be humbling or empowering. Either way, I think it's kind of terrifying.

It should serve as a reminder to the legislators of the impact of their decisions, and that they are held to a higher moral authority. However, some would argue that some legislators like to play God, and make decisions in their own interest.

Either way, they're all on Easter holiday right now. They'll be back at noon on Tuesday.

Why fund private edu with public dollars?

I’ve been researching a story for this week’s Catholic Spirit on the Equity and Opportunity in Education Tax Credit Legislation. As I’ve written here before, the legislation — through a tax-credit-based incentive giving program — would provide a pool of money to help low-income students bridge the education gap.

Though special foundations created to distribute the funds, the money could be used to pay for a tutor, a field trip, or even better clothes — whatever will help that student succeed. It could also help low-income students pay for private education, if their current school situations are not meeting their needs.

So, low-income kids could get a tutor in a challenging subject, or go to private school? Is private school that much better than public school, that they could skip the tutor and succeed anyway?

Maybe.

I'll disclose that I'm the product of 12 years of public education, so I was ready to challenge this. And I’m sure that the Coalition for Kids, the organization created to pass this bill in Minnesota, wouldn’t say that private schools are "better" than public schools, but there’s a good handful of evidence suggesting that when it comes to getting high schoolers their diploma, private schools have a leg up.

Each year, around 25 percent Minnesota kids attending Catholic school transfer from a Catholic school to a public school between eighth grade and ninth grade, presumably because of cost. Many of these students are from low-income families.

“If we can keep some of those poverty kids able to go to Catholic school, there’s a 99 percent chance they’ll graduate,” said Jim Field, president of the Minnesota Independent School Forum.

It also saves Minnesota money. For every kid in Catholic or private school, it saves Minnesota about $10,000 per year. Between kindergarten and 12th grade, private schools lose almost 12,000 kids. “If we kept just 1,000 of them in the [Catholic/private school] system, that would save the state almost $10 million per year,” he added.

And why, besides moolah, would want to keep kids in Catholic schools? Because private schools have that 99 percent graduation rate. In 2006, Minnesota had a 99 percent graduation rate both for white and minority students. However, Minnesota public schools graduated 83 percent of their white students, but only 44 percent of their black students.

It’s the low-income kids that drop out. This legislation will try to give them whatever it is that they need to get their diploma and not be held back by their poverty.

We're not alone.

Minnesota isn't the only state experiencing budget woes. Today's New York Times points out that there are several states across the U.S. that are planning to make program cuts or increase taxes to compensate for their fiscal floundering. 

“Good state budget managers kind of manage their budgets like a household,” Jennifer Davis, the director of Delaware's State Office of Management and Budget, told the NY Times. “When gas and milk costs go up, there are only so many ways to solve it. You don’t eat out, you stop going to movies, you cut out the discretionary stuff.”

So what's the legislative equivalent to giving up restaurants and movies? Governor Pawlenty's given his imput — what do you think?

Kill Bill . . . maybe

It's a deadline day up at the capitol. All week, legislators have been hurrying to get their bills heard by committee in the house of origin. If it's not heard by the end of today, the bill's dead and will have to be reintroduced next session.

Deadlines don't apply to the House committees on Capital Investment, Ways and Means, Taxes, or Rules and Legislative Administration, or to the Senate committees on Capital Investment, Finance, Taxes, or Rules and Administration.

Not only are the session deadlines are a way to make the process clip along, they are also ways for legislators to kill bills they don't like. 

However, there's no Hanzo sword involved.

Congratulations due

Each year, JRLC honors a regular citizen for his or her work on justice issues. This year, it awards the Lawrence D. Gibson Interfaith Social Justice Award to Ellen Raeker, a member of St. William in Fridley. She's a member of an Office for Social Justice action team and is really top notch, according to Adam Robinson, OSJ's public policy coordinator.

She was obviously moved by the award. Her eyes were tearing as Rev. Chris Morton, the JRLC board chair, introduced her.

She considers her award shared with her parents, teachers and others who work for justice, she told those gathered in the capitol's rotunda. However, she said, "The people who really deserve this award are the people who struggle to keep a roof over their head."

I got to see Ellen in action March 3 at OSJ's legislative briefing at St. William. It was evident that she's passionate, smart and committed to social action and wants to inspire and guide others.

We'll be recognizing Ellen and her award in this week's Catholic Spirit. Look for it!

"NO MORE POOR!"

She was urging everyone — all 900 of us — in the room to shout it. "NO MORE POOR!" After all, it was the main message of the day. Bishop Sally Dyck of the United Methodist Church Minnesota Conference keynoted the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition's annual Day on the Hill this morning.

As I write this, hundreds of Minnesotans are meeting with their legislators at the capitol urging them to support legislation that will benefit the state's most vulnerable citizens — those struggling to provide food and shelter for their families, those struggling to to afford health care, those struggling to make it at all.

This morning 900 concerned citizens met at St. Paul's RiverCentre to get fired up for their afternoon of lobbying. They were high school students and grandmothers, community organizers and former homeless. I talked to some students from St. Thomas Academy who were there for their social justice religion class. They said they wanted to speak with their legislators about health care and housing issues.

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) works with Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities to advocate together for issues of justice. Bishop Richard Pates opened the gathering in prayer, in which he quoted Pope Benedict XVI: "Love needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community."

This organizing of love is what JRLC does, its executive director Brian Rusche told the crowd.

"As people of faith, we have a moral responsibility to make sure there are no more poor," Bishop Dyck said. Referring to Gov. Pawlenty's budget proposal, she added, "We cannot balance the budget on the back of the poor people in our state, especially when a high percentage of them are children."

In this time of economic uncertainty, those in the middle class will be tempted not to be generous because of their own self interests, she said. "Yield not to temptation!" she said. A Christian's moral obligation is to work to eradicate poverty, she said before shouting "No More Poor!" again.

"That's your message — take it to your legislators!" she said.

(The photo's of JRLC's director, Brian Rusche, at the capitol rotunda speaking to Day on the Hill advocates before they met with their legislators.)

"I'm just a bill . . . "

I'm not sure I even saw it as a kid, but because it seems EVERY American kid of my generation did, I must have, too. And it probably had a deep and lasting effect my subconscious, forming my desire to be a politically informed citizen.

Well maybe. Maybe not.

I'm talking about Schoolhouse Rock. And more specifically, the "I'm just a bill" song. It's a pretty simple way of explaining exactly how a bill becomes a law. It's created for bills in Congress, but if you exchange "Congressman" for "legislator" and "President" with "Governor Pawlenty," it'll give you a fairly accurate picture of things.

(Also, the boy in the beginning is dead on with the "Whew! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get into this capitol building . . " I was thinking about that this morning as I hurried up them on my way to a hearing.)

This far into the session, I thought we might need a little primer.

So, I think it's worth checking out. I'll do a little more detailed process summary at another time for those of you who have the basic process down. But I'm trying not to make any assumptions . . .

Gov. Pawlenty's balancing act

Friday afternoon Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his proposal for balancing the state budget — meaning pulling it out of a $938 million deficit. His plan includes no tax increases; in fact, it cuts 1/8 of the sales tax so that the money can be pumped back into our economy. However, to make the numbers balance, he suggests the Legislature cut nearly $341 million from its program spending and move funds from the budget reserves and from the health care access fund. The highlights of his plan are that it doesn't cut from K to 12 education or local government aid. (He does cut from higher education, though.)

He doesn't want to raise taxes because of the strain that puts on Minnesotans who are already facing economic challenges, he said.

However, his plan is hard on health care. His budget cuts the most from Health and Human Services and asks for $250 million from the health care access fund. The health care access fund supports MinnesotaCare, the program that supplies low-cost health care to Minnesotans who do not have access to affordable health care.

Saturday's Pioneer Press gives a thorough look at what his cuts would mean for Minnesota health care. Something I found particularly interesting: His plan is to get rid of outreach grants to Minnesotans who are eligible for subsidized health care, but don't know how to access it. Because this would mean fewer people would be insured, it would save the state $11 million this year and $55.4 million the two years after.

This strikes me as a serious injustice. Basically, it's saying "Let's not give the resources necessary to help the uninsured to get insured." It's a measure to allow people to stay in the dark and not get the medical care they need. If someone doesn't have insurance, he (or she) is not going to go in for preventative care, like yearly checkups. He's also not going to go to the doctor when something's minor, like a little pain in the knee. He's going to wait until it's unbearable, and the treatment the ailment's going to require is going to be a lot more expensive at that point. Preventative care is the least expensive care, but without insurance, the working poor aren't going to be able to receive it.

It's important to remember that this is Gov. Pawlenty's proposal to the Legislature — it's still up to them to craft the legislation.

Understanding 'Faithful Citizenship'

I made the mistake of printing it off the USCCB Web site. All 44 pages of it. Now, the document "Faithful Citizenship" is shoved under some old papers and Post Its, waiting for the recycling. I've found something that makes searching and understanding the document much easier.

It's the "Faithful Citizenship" Web site that's meant to help regular Catholics learn and teach how the U.S. bishops think Catholics should engage civic life and politics. It's divided into sections designed specifically for parish leaders, community leaders and young people. (There's a section for "All Catholics" too, so don't feel left out if you don't fit in the other categories.)

There's also a family guide to help parents guide their kids through these issues and even resources for prayer and reflection. It also can connect Catholics to organizations working for justice on issues like immigration, education and pro-life outreach. It also offers clarity on what parishes can and can't do to help politically inform its parishioners — for example, it can educate its members on Catholic Social Teaching, but it can't show partisanship in any way.

It's worth checking out. Let me know what you think.

Don't kick them when they're down

There's no money, but we've got to find some somewhere.

Last week, Minnesota's budget forecast was released, and the prediction was as stormy as expected: The state's $935 million in the red, and with inflation, the deficit is expected to exceed $1 billion. Governor Pawlenty said that the budget must be balanced without raising taxes. "I will not allow this session to turn into a parade of DFL tax hikes,” he said through a press release.

So, depending on who you ask, Gov. Pawlenty is trying to protect taxpayers or hurting state-funded programs. But the $935 million has to come from somewhere, so it will come in the form of budget cuts.

Catholic Charities' Office for Social Justice wants to make sure that the cuts don't hurt the most vulnerable in the state. Kathy Tomlin, OSJ's director, addresses in this week's Catholic Spirit the temptation the Legislature may feel to cut social service spending. Minnesota does not spend too much on welfare programs, Tomlin says.

The highest-costing Minnesotans who receive state funding are the elderly and disabled. To abandon them would be wrong. They're not capable of supporting their needs, and many do not have family to provide stability. At the same time, the number of children living in poverty has increased, as have the number of people living in extreme poverty.

And all this while we're facing what may be an economic recession. According to Tomlin, Minnesotans lost 23,000 jobs in the final six months of 2007.

I don't know where the budget needs to be cut. (If I figure it out, I'll let you know.) However, we can't remove the safety nets upon which thousands of people in Minnesota rely. These are the services that provide basic needs, like food and shelter, when they have nothing. These are the services that help them develop skills to be productive in the work force and, hopefully, eventually leave poverty behind. These are the services that affirm each person as having worth, whether or not they have had a rough go of it and can't make it on their own.

More than a dream?

Today at the capitol, high school students are meeting with their legislators in support of the Minnesota Dream Act. The legislation would allow all Minnesota High School graduates to attend college at the in-state tuition costs, regardless of their citizenship status.

This is the fourth time it’s been presented to the legislature. Last year the legislation passed in both the Senate and the House as part of an education bill, but it was struck when Governor Pawlenty threatened to veto the bill because of it.

At the University of Minnesota, it costs a Minnesotan $3,975 to take a “full-load” — or 13 or more credits — per semester. A non-resident pays more than double — $9,790.

Non-resident tuition is a lot of money, especially for someone who may not be at the top of the socio-economic ladder, like many of Minnesota’s immigrants, documented and undocumented.

Here’s the case: There’s a lot of kids who were born somewhere else and were brought to Minnesota when they were very young. They’ve attended public schools, been in school plays, captained the football team and been honor students. For all intents and purposes, they’re all-around good Minnesotan students.

Of course they’re accepted to college, but, because they’re not Minnesota residents, they don’t get in-state tuition rates. And for many, the $11,600 yearly cost difference between going to college as a resident or non-resident is enough to keep them from college. So they work in low-paying jobs where their potential is all but lost.

It’s good for Minnesota to have college-educated people living in our state, whether they’re documented or not. According to research conducted by the College Board, higher levels of education correspond to lower unemployment and poverty rates for the state. College grads are less likely to need social “safety net” programs. They have lower smoking rates and overall healthier lifestyles than non-college grads. College grads are also more likely to engage in civic work, volunteer and donate blood. Some research suggests they’re also less likely to divorce.

And it’s also good for the individual. For those who want it, a college education is an opportunity for students to grow in their understanding of themselves and the world, and to develop knowledge and skills that will serve both them and their families. Education itself is a dignified thing that serves to affirm the dignity of those who pursue it.

However, the Minnesota Dream Act does point to its authors’ desire for federal immigration reform. After all, how likely is it that an undocumented person will risk deportment to go to college? What are his or her chances of securing a good job after college if he or she is not a citizen?

Archbishop Nienstedt on ESCR

In his column last week, Archbishop John Nienstedt encouraged Catholic Spirit readers to contact their legislators in opposition of SF100, which would allow tax-funded embryonic stem cell research in Minnesota. He addresses the issue more thoroughly in his column this week.

Not only is embryonic stem cell research unethical, he said, it pushes researchers down a slippery slope, with human cloning at the the bottom of the hill. Both are huge violations of the dignity of the human person.

He also points to the medical advances made with other pluripotent cells (think "cells that can morph into any kind of cell") and from adult stem cells.

"Doesn't it make sense for our government to fund this kind of research, rather than using your tax dollars and mind to continue the slaughter of innocent human life?" he asked.

S.F. 100 has had its second reading on the House floor. After its third reading, legislators will vote.

My extra 5 cents (or, what the bishops want from the Legislature)

First off, the Legislature overrode Pawlenty's veto of the transportation bill by one vote. Six House Republicans voted for the DFL-supported bill. Pawlenty's not pleased with what he called "a whole bucket of tax increases." Drivers will notice the 5 cent per gallon increase at the pump. So, I'll be paying 80 more cents when I put 16 gallons in my Buick. That does add up, but so do Starbucks gande lattes, at $3.20 a pop.

The thing is, there's no money. The February forecast will be unveiled Feb. 28, and analysts are expecting it to be grim. We're in debt, and the way we make money is by increasing the way the state gets money — taxes. However, so many things are demanding financial assistance — good things, like programs that help people in poverty and support education.

But taxes can realistically only be raised so high. And these things aren't the type of things that are bonded. It's not a good idea to put milk and cereal on your credit card because you don't know when you'll pay it off.

******

Some of the Minnesota bishops met with legislators and Gov. Pawlenty last Wednesday to share their priorities for the session. It's a good time to meet with legislators because it's early in the session, said Chris Leifeld, the director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. However, it's also too early to get a full picture of this session's political landscape, he said.

The bishops — Archbishop Flynn, Archbishop Nienstedt, Bishop Pates, Bishop Kinney (St. Cloud) and Msgr. Grams (New Ulm diocesan administrator) — planned which issues they wanted to discuss with Gov. Pawlenty and the legislative leaders. They addressed embryonic stem cell research, the education tax credit, housing issues, increasing minimum wage, repealing the Minnesota Family Investment Program family cap and the question of using the language "domestic partner" instead of "spouse" in legislation.

"I would characterize [the meeting] as very engaged," said Pete Noll of MCC. "There was good listening from both directions. Of course, no promises were made or anything . . . but there was good interchange, a good responsiveness."

Bye-bye proposed gas tax?

The $6.6 billion (yes, that 'b' is right) transportation bill passed in both the House and Senate, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed it today. It's not clear whether the bill could garner the two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate (that's 90 legislators in the House and 45 in the Senate), but the House said might attempt an override as soon as Monday.

Pawlenty called the bill “an overreaching, massive tax increase.”

The bill would raise gas taxes for the first time since 1980. The money would speed up repairs on MN roads and bridges.

(I wrote an article on transportation as a moral issue in the Feb. 14 issue of the Catholic Spirit. Check it out.)

I grew up in southwest Minnesota, and the highway that runs 1/4 mile from my parents' farm is considered one of the most dangerous in the state. A story in The Mankato Free Press Feb. 5 highlights just a stretch of it between Mankato and New Ulm — a stretch familiar to me on the 3 1/2 hour drive from St. Paul to the farm.

"I'm sick of pulling dead bodies out of the ditches," emergency responder Brian Luepke told the Press. "If Highway 14 is one of the most dangerous in the state, why hasn't something been done yet?'

It's the funding, and Jim Swanson of MnDOT told the Press that even if the Legislature decides to do something, upgrading the road to its needed alignment and bypass alternatives might still be 10 to 15 years away.

That's a long time to wait. And I know that's not the only part of Hwy 14 in need of upgrading. Or the only highway — or bridge — in Minnesota that needs attention.

There's no money in the budget, and DFLers are resisting to bond transportation. And, really, this is a life issue. People are dying because the roads are in disrepair, or are not suited to accommodate the kind of traffic they're handling.

This might be worth a few more cents at the pump.

Something extra for the kids

Today Sen. Dan Larson (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced a bill (S.F. 2951) that seeks to enrich Minnesota schools. It’s got a chewy name: Equity and Opportunity in Education Tax Credit, but it’s a tasty deal.

If passed, this bill enhances parental choice in education, said Pete Noll of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. It would provide more opportunities for low and moderate income families to augment their children’s education.

This is how it proposes to work: Corporations or individual taxpayers can apply to contribute to an educational foundation. The foundations may have a specific purposes, like summer tutoring, or tuition-assistance for a private school. Parents can then apply to receive funds from the particular foundation to meet the specific need.

This would benefit all kinds of schools, including public schools, Noll said. Foundations set up for school districts can accept donations, he said. Even homeschoolers could benefit — they could apply for a membership to the Science Museum, for example.

“It’s designed to help the whole educational enterprise — whether that be public, private, religious, homeschool or charter,” Noll said.

The proposal also would help to “level the playing fields” and allow parents to choose quality education for their kids, Noll said. And both parities — those giving and those getting — have to meet requirements outlined in the bill.

However, the whole thing depends on these corporations or individuals giving to these education foundations. The incentive? The donation is 100% reimbursed by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

The embryos strike back

This is the last of the Star Wars references, I swear. The cliché was just too obvious, and I couldn't help myself.

Last year, S.F. 100 — the bill allotting tax monies to embryonic stem cell research — passed in the Senate and passed through all the committees it needed to in the House. It just never came to a full-House vote on the floor. Since it’s still the same biennium, all the bills from last year are still alive. Rep. Phyllis Kahn reintroduced her bill this session, and it was passed in committee Feb. 14. Now it’s waiting for a vote on the House floor, which will likely come next week.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, a pro-life activist organization, is encouraging legislators to support the Emmer Minority Report, which introduces alternative language to Rep. Kahn’s bill.

A minority report works like an amendment. The Emmer Minority Report would replace the language in the bill that allows for research using human embryos, and redirect the taxpayer dollars to research using alternative pluripotent (or research-flexible) stem cells.

The minority report would also replace the language that currently allows cloning. Right now, S.F. 100 allows cloning of the embryo-baby. It also allows experimentation on that clone, as long as the clone is not allowed to live to 9 months.

Rep. Kahn says her bill does not allow cloning, but what she’s actually done is redefine the term, said Bill Poehler of MCCL. Her bill still allows for somatic nuclear cell transfer, which is the scientific cloning technique.

Under all the scientific and legal language, the issue really addresses the question of when life begins. Is the embryo a human life? If not, when does it become one? Is it at a certain point in time? At three or six months? At birth? How is it, then, that it could be a human person at one point, but not a second before? What changes? Why would it be ethical (according to Rep. Kahn’s bill) to experiment on an 8-month-old fetus, but not on baby that was just born (a few weeks later)?

(The Catholic Church, of course, says an embryo — and the unborn baby at every step of development — should be treated with full human dignity.)

These questions are just the iceberg’s brink of the ethical issues ESCR and SCNT introduce. The question of personhood is deep, and maybe this bill will cause more legislators to consider it.

Attack of the clones

I realize that title's a bit dramatic. But maybe not TOO dramatic.

Sen. Phyllis Kahn (D-Minneapolis) has taken up her embryonic stem cell research bill again. I followed this closely last year. In the 2007 session, Kahn's bill passed in the Senate, and it was being heard in the House at the end of the session. It seeks to provide tax-based funding to embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) to the University of Minnesota. The U of M is home to the nation's first stem cell Institute.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference strongly opposed this bill because of the Catholic Church's position on human life. ESCR not only requires the destruction of a human embryo (one of the first stages of a human life), but it could also lead to human cloning.

The bill (S.F. 100) was taken up in a House committee Thursday. Chris Leifeld at the Minnesota Catholic Conference submitted a letter to the House Public Safety and Civil Justice committee. He wrote:

"Regardless of the potential medical benefits, it is wrong to rely upon the destruction of some human beings for the possible benefit of others." He pointed to alternative means of obtaining stem cells, such as from adults and umbilical cord blood, as the direction to which legislators should focus their attention.

Justice, not charity

Raising minimum wage is not an issue of charity; It's an issue of justice, Archbishop Harry Flynn told the House Commerce Committee late Thursday afternoon.

He was testifying to advocate DFL Rep. Tom Rukavina's bill that would raise minimum wage to $7.90 by 2009.

Currently, the state minimum wage for large employers is $6.15. For small employers, it's $5.25. The Federal wage is currently $5.85, and if an employee is subject to both state and Fed. minimum wage laws, then he or she receives the higher rate.

In July, the Federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55, which exceeds MN's minimum wage. The Fed. min. wage will be $7.25 by July 2009.

Right now, 32 states have minimum wages higher than the Federal minimum wage. Three states have minimum wages lower than the Federal minimum wage. If Minnesota fails to pass legislation this session increasing the minimum wage, it will be included among those few states with minimum wages lower than the federal rate.

The archbishop spoke with conviction and passion. "Increasing the minimum wage to $7.90 doesn’t quite get us where we need to be, but it would be a significant improvement from where we are and the limitations of the federal minimum wage law," he said.

From some of the legislators' aside comments, it was clear that the archbishop's public work over the years has been greatly admired by Catholics and non-Catholics like. In anticipation of the archbishop's retirement, Committee Chair Joe Atkins thanked him for his service.

One of the best parts of the whole thing, however, was the playful banter between Archbishop Flynn, Rep. Rukavina and Rep. Atkins.

When those testifying in opposition to the bill (the MN Chamber of Commerce, MN restaurants, MN grocers) were introduced, Ret. Rukavina said, "The Archbishop will pray for them."

Rep. Atkins replied "Rep. Rukavina, I just hope he's praying for you."

Planes, trains and automobiles

The 2008 legislative session kicked off yesterday, and right away the DFLers threw transportation on the table.

Why does it matter so much this year? Because it’s a bonding year — the Legislature is planning to run the state credit card on long-lasting projects. Roads, bridges, light rail — they’re going to be around awhile.

When I talked to the Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy last week, he said that everybody — Republicans and Democrats (and the Independents, too, I suppose) — realizes that something needs to be done about the transportation infrastructure. They just disagree on how to pay for it.

He really wants to reduce the number of deaths and accidents on Minnesota roads, which is what keeps him fighting for money to fund transportation issues. However, Sen. Murphy isn’t keen on bonding the expenses. He’d rather see the gas tax raised.

Yesterday, DFLers proposed a 7 ½ cent/gallon gas tax for transportation projects. They also want a half-cent increase in metro area sales tax to fund public transit, like buses and the light rail.

Governor Pawlenty, who allotted almost 40 percent of his $1 billion bonding proposal to transportation projects, opposes the tax increase. He said he would veto the bill. He vetoed something similar last year.

It’s true that the 35W bridge collapse Aug. 1 has put our state’s aging infrastructure in the public forefront, but it’s something that legislators have been working on for years, Sen. Murphy said. He’d like to see a 10-year overhaul of the whole system.

So, why do I, a Catholic, care? Because it’s money, and the way we spend it says something about our priorities. Because transportation projects work toward the common good. Safer roads mean less deaths, which shows a value for human life. Better public transit means that more people can get around on less fuel, so that’s better for the environment. It also means that low-income people and homeless people who may not have cars are able to better access our community, which affirms their dignity.

The frontpage story of this week’s Catholic Spirit takes a deeper look into the morality of the transportation debate. Give it a read, and let me know what you think. How do you think the Legislature should handle this?

Be informed

Yesterday, the Star Tribune ran an overview of some of the issues Minnesota legislators will be facing this session. It listed abortion, the budget, heath care, bonding, energy, illegal immigration, the outdoors amendment and transportation. Glancing over the agendas put forth by the Minnesota Catholic Conference and Catholic Charities’ Office for Social Justice, there’s a lot of overlap — abortion, health care, immigration, the environment.

MCC might take special interest in the energy debate — in 2006, Archbishop Flynn presented a letter signed by 30 religious leaders to Senator Norm Coleman which stated that global warming is a religious issue and called for energy policies guaranteeing the decrease of “global warming emissions.” Last year, he spoke to the MN legislature on the issue.

I have to admit, the number and complexity of the legislative issues that matter to the church can seem daunting. How does a person figure out what’s even going on, much less know how a solution should be sought?

Here’s a suggestion:

The Office for Social Justice will be sharing its legislative agenda at four briefings around the Twin Cities starting in two weeks. They’ll be addressing affordable housing, immigration, health care, criminal justice, child care and MFIP and global warming.

(FYI, “MFIP” is the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which is the state’s welfare program for low-income families with children.)

I went to a briefing last year, and it was fascinating. Patrick Ness, the public policy manager for OSJ, has a knack for explaining the issues without using too much jargon. So, if you go, you’ll learn something important whether you’re just curious but green or this is old-hat.

The briefings will start at 7 p.m. and last until 9. The schedule is:

Feb. 28
Guardian Angels Church
8260 Hudson Blvd N
Oakdale, MN 55128
(651) 738-2223
www.guardian-angels.org

March 3
St. William Church
6120 5th St. NE
Fridley, MN 55432
(763) 571-5600
www.stwilliams.com

March 6
Christ the King
5029 Zenith Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55410
(612) 920-5030
www.ctkmpls.org

March 11
Faithful Shepherd Catholic School
(Sponsored by St. John Neumann)
2244 Columbia Dr.
Eagan, MN 55121
(651) 406-4747
www.fscsm.org

Can we still wear a dragon costume?

So, it's a bonding year, you say. Well, it's also the Chinese Year of the Rat. What does that even mean? 

Every odd-numbered legislative year is a  budget year (like 2007). Every even-numbered legislative year is a bonding year (like 2008). 

The difference? 

A politically savvy friend of mine compared it to the way people typically spend their money:

"A budget [year] is like a checking account — you put money into it," he said. "You take your paycheck and put that money into your checking account, and then you stay in your budget.

"A bonding year is like using your credit card. You borrow money, essentially, and the state is the guarenteer of the bonds. You buy really expensive but really long-term things. . . . Things that are public infrastructure get built with bonding dollars, and they get bought with the 'state credit card.'"

So, in a budget year, it's like buying eggs, laundry detergent and paying rent. The state will spend money on the things that need funding, but will continue to need funding or are smaller needs. In bonding years, you buy the new car, the boat,  the house, which, for the state, are things like roads and bridges, waste water treatment plants and university buildings. These are things that won't be paid off for generations. 

OK, I realize most people don't put their cars on their credit card. Or their houses. But bear with me for the analogy here. Just like credit cards have limits, do do the bonding bills. They can only bond a predetermined amount. 

And sorry, I have very little say say about the Year of the Rat, other than what you can find on Wikipedia. However, I was born in a Rat year, so I'm a pretty big fan in general. 

Nuts and bolts

The 2008 Minnesota legislative session starts in five days. I have to admit, before last year, this wasn’t really circled on my calendar the way Christmas, Easter and the season premiere of The Office were. I’m guessing that most of you are in the same camp. So, here’s a rundown of some of the basic things that are helpful to know about this legislative session:

• Duration: February 12 to May 19.

• It’s the second session in the legislative biennium.
(“Biennium” has two meanings, but they’re related. Biennium refers to the two-year legislative term, which begins on January of an odd-numbered year, and ends in December of an even numbered year. This is what I meant above, but just to be clear . . .
Biennium also refers to the two-year period by which the budget is set. Last year the legislature laid out the budget for July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009. Next year, the legislature will pass bills on how to appropriate funds for July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011.)

• It’s a shorter session than last year's. All second sessions are.

• It’s a “bonding year.” Last year, the legislators passed a budget. This year, they’ll be working on bonding bills.

• We’re facing a budget deficit. Basically, the economy didn’t work in the favor of the budget set last year. Twice a year, in February and November, the budget is forecasted. In November, a $373 million deficit was projected. Some expect it to be closer to $1 billion when the February forecast comes out later this month.

Why do we care?

That’s really the first question, isn’t it? Why does the Catholic Church in Minnesota care about what goes on down the hill from its beloved Cathedral?

(By “down the hill,” I mean the Capitol, which is technically a down-hill jaunt from the Cathedral and the Catholic Spirit offices. I know this, because it is definitely an uphill walk on the way back.)

Back to the question: Why does the Catholic Church have something to say about politics? Isn’t there a separation between church and state?

Well, yes, and no. The U.S. bishops address these questions in their 2007 document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility.” The bishops issue a document every four years on political responsibility and faithful citizenship. And in a keen anticipation of our query, the first question the document answers is “Why does the church teach about issues affecting public policy?”

Hmmmm . . . Why indeed?

“The church’s obligation to participate in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith. It is a basic part of the mission we have received from Jesus Christ . . . . Christ, the teacher, shows us what is true and good, that is, what is in accord with our human nature as free, intelligent beings created in God’s image and likeness and endowed by the Creator with dignity and rights.”

It goes on to say that respect for the dignity of the human person is the core of Catholic moral and social teaching, and that Catholics must promote the well-being of all people. It reminds us that Pope Benedict XVI wrote in "Deus Caritas Est" that “charity must animate the entire lives of the lay faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived as ‘social charity’.”

I like how “Faithful Citizenship” (let’s call it FC for short) lays out the big question: “Some question whether it is appropriate for the church to play a role in public life.” Not only is it appropriate, it’s NECESSARY for the church to get involved, it argues. One, Christ told us to. He obliged us to teach about the “moral values that shape our lives — including our public lives,” FC states. Second, the U.S. Constitution lets us. “[It] protects the rights of individual believers and religious bodies to participate and speak out without government interference, favoritism, or discrimination,” the document states.

Thus, “Our nation’s tradition of pluralism is enhanced, not threatened, when religious groups and people of faith bring their convictions and concerns into public life. Indeed, our church’s teaching is in accord with the foundational values that have shaped our nation’s history: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”