REMEMBERING THE COMMON GOOD IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL CRISIS
A Policy Statement Adopted by the House of Delegates
The Situation
Our state continues to face budget shortfalls. Each of the past
three fiscal years has seen a shortfall of $1 billion or more (out of a total
budget of about $14 billion).
It is worth recalling how we came to these budget crises.
First and foremost, the General Assembly and the Governor enacted major tax
cuts, most of which primarily benefited people in upper income brackets. Those
cuts, which were initiated in the mid-’90’s and phased in over a period of
several years, now amount to an estimated $1.5 billion per year. That is $1.5
billion in revenue that the state would be receiving but for those tax cuts.
A second reason for current shortfalls comes from programs
initiated in the ’90’s and now fully funded. These include Smart Start and
increases in teacher salaries, both worthy efforts, but not inexpensive. Third,
the state’s budgets were thrown out of kilter when, in short order, the state
lost two large lawsuits which together cost about $1.2 billion and then got hit
by Hurricane Floyd, which cost the state budget more than $800 million in
unexpected spending. Most recently, the nation’s recession and a sharp increase
in health care costs have hit the state budget.
In each year of budget shortfalls, efforts have been made to
fix the problem solely through cuts in spending. These proposed cuts have
seemed most draconian and inhumane in programs to help people with mental
illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse problems. But they
have also impacted education, environmental protection, health care, abused
children, and, in fact, virtually the whole spectrum of vulnerable people
assisted by the state. While advocates for these people have succeeded in
protecting some services by persuading legislators to raise revenues, many of
these revenue-enhancers have been regressive in nature, falling disproportionately
on people of low income.
Throughout these budget discussions (and in similar debates
at the national level), it seems that public policy decision-making is
increasingly being driven by self-centeredness, what is best for me, for
my family, for my company. What seems not to get enough attention
is the importance of the common good in these matters.
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no
one claimed that their possessions were their own, but they had everything in
common. With great power the apostles
bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was
accorded them all. There was no needy
person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and
they were distributed to each according to need (Acts 4:32-35).
Faith demands that the basic ordering of society has as its
goal the promotion of the common good. Grounded in the fundamental dignity of
every human being – just by their being – the common good is the sum total of
all those conditions of social living and exchange that make it possible for
every man, woman, and child to readily and fully achieve the perfection of
their humanity. The common good at once
realizes the uniqueness and giftedness of every person and maintains that,
because we are social in nature, the individual is bound to and benefited from
others.
Marks of the common good are
Finally, the common good maintains a preferential option for
and with people who are
poor and vulnerable, just as God in Christ has taught and lived.
Under the light of life ordered to the common good, it is
abundantly clear that people come first above all else. Economics, technology, government, education,
must be at the service of the people – all people – and not the other way
around. Indeed nations will be judged
according to how they serve all, and how the least among them fare.
Every person is created in the image and likeness of
God. We are each a breath of God, given
life in relationship with our Creator and each other for the participation in
creation itself. When one person is
diminished, everyone is diminished. The
common good then orders right relationships through which creation and its
fruit flourish, because God’s people flourish.
Because of human sin and selfishness, the common good is
always at risk, and the best of governments can quickly turn callous. Therefore, to uphold the common good of
society, political, economic, and social structures depend on human hearts that
have turned from selfishness, pride, and greed.
Human hearts require conversion, a need to see and treat other people
not as objects but as brothers and sisters of a common loving God.
In our times, a special obligation binds us to make
ourselves the neighbor of all persons, without exception, and to actively help
them when they come across our path, whether they be an old person abandoned by
all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, or a hungry person
who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of the Lord, “As long as you
did it for one of these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it for
me” (Matthew 25:40).
Many of the Council’s legislative positions over the years
have been grounded in our support for the common good, and we now reaffirm
these positions:
It is our belief that our state’s budget problems will be
best resolved if our debates can shift away from arguments of self-centeredness
and toward promotion of the common good.