{"id":24316,"date":"2021-11-01T09:44:59","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T13:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=24316"},"modified":"2022-07-13T18:35:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T22:35:05","slug":"start-with-build-back-better-end-in-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/start-with-build-back-better-end-in-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Start With Build Back Better, End In Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"As Unitarian Universalists, we hold sacred the inherent worth and dignity of every person. In the practice of our values, this means we care for those suffering from society’s indifference and marginalization, with an eye and ear for those facing the most egregious harms.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Build Back Better legislation does take bold action as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is a meaningful recalibration to a more<\/em> just \u2018new normal,\u2019 a more<\/em> just \u2018new equilibrium\u2019 between people and the economy. But it represents the minimum needed for sowing seeds of a compassionate and faithful recovery. It is not a glide-path toward a people-centered economy nor the paradigm shift of action needed for the environment and crisis response to climate change. And it is an insufficient substitute for the long-promised, and discussed comprehensive immigration reform.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the expected positive results for children, working families, and immigrants are significant. The steps for the environment are urgent first steps toward our national resilience, human species continuation, and protecting planetary biodiversity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

America needs this package — from universal pre-K to expanded Child Tax Credits and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credits), from Medicaid expansions to housing funding for affordable homes, from reductions in greenhouse gases to necessary reform of our broken and hostile immigration system. And America wants it now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While this is a good bill, many UUSJ allies observe that much more could be done, should be done for our families — and we agree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like paid medical and family leave, or real pathways to citizenship as well as viable routes to permanent residency. It should have been larger and closer to the original proposals, which would have generated an even greater economic impact. A showcase of more American ingenuity and gumption: more assistance for working families, more intervention opportunities to end multigenerational poverty. Bigger goals on greenhouse gases. Programs and strategies that democratize access to the prospect of \u201cliberty and justice for all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is particularly stark when viewed in comparison to the military-industrial complex spending we as Americans are asked to bear.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Congress is projected to spend more than $7 trillion on the Pentagon over the next 10 years, which is more than double the cost of the Build Back Better Act over the same timeframe.” (Sources: Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) <\/span>Tweet<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>10\/19 Newsweek Article<\/span><\/a> they shared as a source.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Like so many efforts in recent decades, the<\/span> least powerful and most vulnerable in our communities suffer even when noteworthy progress is made. Clearly, the need for faith-grounded advocacy like ours remains evident.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It brings to the fore the perennial tension in social justice work and federal direct advocacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n