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Nuns On The Bus Tour To Make Three Stops in Michigan

June 14, 2012 By 1 Comment

The Nuns On The Bus Tour Will Be Stopping in Grand Rapids, Jackson and Detroit on Saturday, June 23rd

About the Tour

Every hour of each day, Catholic Sisters stand in solidarity with all who live in poverty, and we confront injustice and systems that cause suffering.

We cannot stand by silently when the U.S. Congress considers further enriching the wealthiest Americans at the expense of struggling, impoverished families.

As part of our campaign for budget fairness we are taking a bus trip. Our bus will travel to places in many states where Sisters actively serve people in need. For they are our best witnesses to the suffering our federal government must not ignore.

We ask all who visit this website to join us in prayer and to support our work to defeat government actions that would add to the suffering of already struggling families.

This bus trip has been organized and is sponsored by NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and the NETWORK Education Program.

How the Ryan Budget Hurts Michigan

Head Start

  • Cuts $67.7 million out of Michigan’s Head Start budget over two years
  • Eliminates 9,471 Head Start preschool slots for Michigan children over two years
  • Results in 3,060 lost jobs over two years

Special Education

  • Cuts more than $101 million out of special education funding for Michigan
  • Affects nearly 54,000 special education students in Michigan

Title I

  • Reduces educational services for 148,400 disadvantaged Michigan students by 2014
  • Results in 1,470 job losses

Medicaid

  • 1,304,000 fewer Michigan seniors and children receive health care
  • Between 140,989 and 149,178 Michigan jobs lost over five years, mostly in the private sector

 

Health insurance for small businesses and their employees

  • Ends tax credit that would help 99,570 Michigan small business offer health insurance to their employees
  • Takes an average of $897 out of the pocket of the approximately 583,800 Michigan small business employees who would be helped by the tax credit to their employers to purchase health insurance

Medicare prescription drugs

  • Costs Michigan seniors approximately $51,034,000 a year
  • Takes approximately $580 a year out of the pockets of 87,500 Michigan seniors.

Supplementary Nutrition/Food Stamps

  • 4,357 fewer Michigan jobs
  • 187 million fewer meals for low-income Michigan families
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  • Hector Solon

    Look forward to these events. Nuns are popping up all over the place and glad they are speaking for the least among us (sort of like the nurses – who see all the troubles of our society stream thru their ER’s) – we need it. Of course some nuns are getting grief for helping the poor too much.

    Here we get from the Michigan GOP “What poor?” Like their unbelievably poorly politically timed social legislative cocktail this week will make people (particularly women both catholic and not) with any sort of social conscience forget all their greed and past sins?

    PRINT OUT this LETTER from the “Michigan Catholic Conference” or any number of long string of press releases and reports full of hard-knocks on the poor data from the “Michigan League of Human Services” and hand those out right there on the spot.

    This is the real story of the abomination that is called “policy” now flying out of the GOP / Tea Party / Mackinac Center in Lansing. Cuts for the big business rich and taxing the poor, literally.

    Greedy people go to hell is what my old preacher granddad used to say, no ambiguity on that one, simple as that.

    From the MCC Letter to Snyder and the Michigan Legislature sent on April 11, 2011 a couple clips:

    “Various policy proposals addressed in committee and others that have been put forward, if enacted, would
    adversely impact the state’s destitute and working poor population and will likely create additional
    hardships for those for whom we are collectively responsible – you as elected leaders, and we, the
    spiritual leaders, of the people of this state.”
    (break)
    “While this is not an exhaustive list of proposals that merit a renewed attention to the needs of the poor and
    vulnerable, it does represent three areas where the state can uphold its responsibility to maintain policies
    that serve “the least of these.” Just as we have grave concern that shared sacrifice will unfairly burden
    those already suffering, we are mindful of the state’s poor economic health over the past decade.”
    (break)
    “We (the Michigan Catholic
    Conference and staff) stand ready to assist in your efforts to reform and reinvent Michigan while at the same time
    ensuring the dignity of all persons in our state, especially the poor and vulnerable. With deep appreciation for the difficult choices ahead of you, and with ardent prayers for God to bring
    wisdom and guidance to your deliberations….”

    Amen, Sister(s).

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0