WI Faith Voices for Justice
  • Home
    • Newsletter
    • About >
      • Programs >
        • Dane Sanctuary Coalition
        • Interfaith Community Building
        • Advocacy Workshop
        • Minimum Wage Challenge
        • Poverty Simulation
      • Sacred Site Visits
    • Annual Reports
    • Blog
    • Contact
  • Donate
  • Annual Celebration
    • A Voice for Justice Award
  • 2023 Ramadan Iftar

CURRENT PROPOSALS WILL HARM LOW-INCOME WISCONSINITES

2/15/2018

1 Comment

 
You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer (Deuteronomy 24:14)
 
As people of faith, we believe that work is sacred and brings dignity to the worker. However, current proposals before our state legislature and coming from our federal government threaten that dignity and will harm low-income Wisconsinites’ ability to make ends meet. Our faith traditions teach us to honor the worker, to pay her appropriately and in a timely way, and to reach out a helping hand to those in need.
 
Many of these proposals – such as drug testing and work requirements, have no purpose other than to shame and stigmatize the poor. The real shame, though, is to a society whose policies and structures serve to keep people in poverty.
 
These proposals, Special Session AB/SB 1-5, and Special Session AB/SB 8-10, have passed in the Assemby and next week will be before the Senate. Among the provisions of these bills:
  • Work requirements for ‘able-bodied adults’ to qualify for FoodShare (food stamps)
    • Exempted are adults caring for children under the age of 6. However, there is no provision for job placements to take place only during the school day. This leaves parents with the choice of losing food benefits or paying for after-school care.
    • Further, the FoodShare Education and Training program has been shown to be inadequate to providing stable, well-paying employment, but it has been shown to result in needy Wisconsinites losing access to nutrition.
    • The reality is, when an adult loses their FoodShare benefits, the whole family suffers, as FoodShare is allocated per household, not per family member. This legislation will result in increased hunger for low-income Wisconsinites. 
  • Photo ID for FoodShare cards – Photo ID’s are expensive, and ultimately unworkable, as many states have found.
  • Drug testing and employability for low-income housing –
    • low-income able-bodied Wisconsin residents who otherwise qualify for public housing would be required to be screened by local housing authorities to determine if they are unemployed or underemployed, requires the housing authority to create an employment plan, and the resident to follow the plan. However, local housing authorities have no expertise in creating or administering employment plans. Further, to deny public housing to someone based on their employment status only serves to exacerbate unemployment, as stable housing is an important factor in obtaining stable employment.
    • Drug-testing is simply an effort to stigmatize the poor and discourage them from applying for benefits.  There is no evidence to suggest low-income Wisconsinites are any more likely than the general population to engage in drug use. Further, no additional funding or support services are offered, either to assist with employment or to address treatment for drug use.
Click here for more information on these and other Special Session proposals.
Please call your Senator and ask them to oppose these bills.  Find your legislators here 
1 Comment
Teagan W link
1/26/2021 12:37:31 pm

This was lovely, thanks for sharing this

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    about

    The latest news from WFVJ, contributed by board members, interns, members, and friends.  
    Share your experiences with our Minimum Wage Challenge and discuss other economic justice issues.

    Archives

    January 2022
    November 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    Economic Justice
    Living Wage
    Minimum Wage Challenge
    #raisethewage


    Follow WFVJ's blog by clicking on the RSS Feed below:

    RSS Feed

Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice | Moving from Charity to Justice
c/o Madison Christian Community
7118 Old Sauk Road
Madison, WI 53717
608-513-7121
wifaithvoices4justice@gmail.com
Website managed by Rooted Consulting
Picture