From NOEBIE.net
Since the election of Donald Trump, bigots in the United States have been emboldened, and racist attacks are on the rise. I’ve been looking for practical steps that we can take to protect our neighbors and friends who may become victims.
This video, produced in the wake of the Brexit vote by the UK Racial Justice Network, is excellent.
I’ll continue to research this subject and share anything of value here in future posts.
If you have resources to share, please comment or shoot me an email.
We are now in the twelfth month of an unprecedented budget crisis in the State of Illinois. It’s past time to move toward a progressive system of taxation that will ensure that the needs of the people are met, and the wealthy pay their fair share.
On Tuesday, June 7th, a joint Illinois Senate and House Subject Matter hearing on the proposed LaSalle Street Tax will be held at the Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle in Chicago. The legislation would impose a very small tax on the trading of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies and their derivatives. The average person pays more than six percent sales tax on purchases of daily necessities in our state, and yet the rich speculators pay absolutely no tax when buying or selling on the financial exchanges in Illinois. Although the proposed tax rate is very low, since the number of trades is so large, the LST would raise between 10 and 12 billion dollars per year for Illinois. Here’s a fact sheet on the tax from the Chicago Political Economy Group.
If you’d like to help advocate for this important step forward in Illinois, now is the time. Here’s how you can help.
If you’re concerned about our pensioners, our schools and effective human services in Illinois, please join in this important struggle.
I’m pleased to be working on a new podcast project for the Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The first episode of the program is an interview with renowned theologian and ethicist Gary Dorrien of Union Theological Seminary. Professor Dorrien discusses the relationship between Christianity and socialism, and particularly focuses on issues of racial justice in the United States.
Here’s the iTunes listing. You can also find the program at Soundcloud or click on the player below to listen in your browser.
I was very happy to run across a resource this morning for Catholic unionists and those who are interested in the Church’s teaching on economic justice. It’s called the Catholic Labor Network.
Here’s the description from their Website.
“The Catholic Labor Network hopes to be a place for those Catholics, lay, religious and clergy, who are active in their churches and in unions to learn about their Church’s teachings as regards to labor issues, pray for those who are working for economic justice and share information about events and struggles that may be taking place in their area. For over one hundred years, the Catholic Church has been a voice of support for workers, and a conscience to the body politic when it pondered issues dealing with the distribution of wealth and the condition of workers.”
Here are some links.
“I firmly believe that our salvation depends on the poor.”
– Dorothy Day