Men at the Economic Margins Dear Members

Men at the Economic Margins dear members

This Connection completes NETW RK this year’s looks at the needs Injustice anywhere A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby of different segments of our NETWORK—a Catholic leader society—children, women, is a threat to justice in the global movement for justice and peace—edu- and now men. As we have everywhere. cates, organizes and lobbies done this, I have been struck for economic by the fact that our natural and social transformation. inclination at NETWORK Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. NETWORK Board of Directors Regina Ann Brummel, CSJ is to focus on women and Kevin M. Callahan children. It is women who Tom Cordaro Ouisa Davis are paid less than men for Contents Patricia Mullahy Fugere the same work. It is women Delia Gomez envisioning Lorena G. Gonzalez who are principally respon- Mary Beth Hamm, SSJ sible for child rearing. And 3 Everyday Struggles of Men Thomas Kelly more single women and Our focus on the needs of women and children Donna Marie Korba, IHM doesn’t mean that we ignore the struggles of Patricia Mejia children live in poverty than Ann Scholz, SSND many men. any other family structure. Sandra Thibodeaux, MMB We wanted to focus this cover story NETWORK Education Program Board of Directors issue on men because they, 4 Beyond Stereotypes of Dierdre Griffin too, are a critical part of the “Deadbeat Dads” in Diane Guerin, RSM Barbara Lange economic struggle to make Low-income Communities Dean Manternach ends meet. The new census An important study by two Harvard Anna Sandidge Jerry Zurek data out in September made researchers. NETWORK/NEP Staff crystal clear that all parts of focus on the hill Managing Editor, Communications/Media our society are struggling 8 Coordinator—Stephanie Niedringhaus Fall in Congress: Annual Giving Coordinator—Maggie Brevig with poverty. So we are The Season for Showdowns Education Associate—Katie Miller focusing on the challenges Action needed on many critical issues. So what Education Program Manager—Shannon faced by men in our nation is Congress doing? Hughes and our world. Executive Assistant—LaTreviette Matthews toward a global community Executive Director—Simone Campbell, SSS As we do this, I have to Fellows—Carolyn Burstein (Communications); 10 From the Unthinkable to say thank you to you and all Nancy Groth (Management); Nancy Thinkable and Possible McKenzie (Development); Joan Neal of our NETWORK members A courageous woman in Pakistan steers boys (Lobby) and supporters. Because of away from extremism and suicide bombing. Field & Lobby Assistant—Ashley Wilson Field Associate—Claire Markham your support and advocacy Field Organizing Manager—Shantha Ready highlighting people we continue to have unprec- Alonso edented opportunities on 12 Finding Room for Men Lobby Associate—James Luisi in the Safety Net Lobbyist—Marge Clark, BVM Capitol Hill. We are being Managing Director—Paul Marchione Groups are beginning to look more closely at Membership Assistant—Megan Dominy sought after for our opinions how we can do a better job of helping men who Technology Coordinator—Joy Wigwe and influence on the issues struggle at the economic margins. of poverty, struggling fami- Articles in NETWORK Connection may be re- spread the word printed. Please include the following on the re- lies and immigration. This is prints: “Reprinted by permission of NETWORK, making a difference. 13 Fiscal Responsibility: Tax a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, 25 E Justice for the Common Good Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20001, I hope that our ongoing www.networklobby.org.” Please send us a partnership of advocacy in Building toward tax justice can do a lot for the copy of the reprinted article. common good. Photocopy this information for Fourth Quarter 2013—Vol. 41, No. 4 DC and your advocacy at use in your communities! NETWORK Connection home can continue to stir ISSN 0199-5723 the political system so that making a difference Published quarterly by 15 “Reasonable Revenue for NETWORK people are able to live in phone: 202-347-9797 fax: 202-347-9864 peace, raise their families, Responsible Programs” e-mail: [email protected] How to better understand the connections website: www.networklobby.org and contribute to the com- between taxes and economic justice. Postmaster: mon good. It is a big goal, Send address changes to: NETWORK • 25 E Street NW, Suite 200 but one that is grounded Washington, DC 20001 in faith and well worth the Stay connected with us! Annual dues: $50/$60 international. effort. www.facebook.com/NetworkLobby Copyright © 2013 NETWORK. Cover photo: FND Photography http://twitter.com/#!/networklobby

2 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org envisioning

Everyday Struggles of Men By Sister Simone Campbell, SSS

As I have traveled the country, I have that under the circumstances this was the bottom 20% of income in the United Amet so many people with important the best they could do. States. He was stunned, and his reaction stories to tell. I want to share some of In Trenton, I met a young college stu- to my talk was unexpected. He said that those stories with you. Often, I think dent who told me he had always thought he now understood how his dad had of women in poverty and struggling as that his family was middle class. Then, protected him and his sister from the single parents. This issue of Connec- in the workshop I was giving, he dis- worry his parents must have felt. His tion, however, focuses on the struggle covered that his family was actually in parents made sure that both he and his of low-income men in our society. With sister attended college. He had tears in 50% of the jobs in the United States his eyes as he realized what their strug- paying less than $36,000 a year, it is gle must have been. He said that he had obvious that many men are working in to call them to say thank you. jobs that pay poverty wages. And often On the Bus this year, I was able to they are unseen. meet Representatives Pete Gallego and In 2010, NETWORK completed a Joaquin Castro in San Antonio. Both follow-up study to our earlier welfare men are new to Congress. I heard them reports. This new report was called each speak in their own way about the “TANF Tested: Lives of Families in Pov- challenging adjustment to DC life and erty during the Recession.” During the politics. They are striving to represent study, one of the researchers reported their districts and be advocates for the that men at soup kitchens and food people who struggle at the margins of banks were reluctant to talk to them our society. They are dealing with being while women were eager to share their new and in the minority party. They are stories. We interpreted that reluctance to still trying to find their way, but each is indicate that the men felt some shame committed to making a difference for for using these supportive services. It their constituents and for our nation. is a tremendous struggle in our cur- Their visions include making room for rent economy for many men to meet everyone who lives here. This makes the societal expectation that they be the comprehensive immigration reform a principal providers. The reality is that top priority for them. But it also makes many continue to valiantly struggle to them frustrated at the gridlock in Con- feed their families. gress and unsure how to make the In St. Louis, for example, I met Mike biggest impact. They left me with the when he drove me to a television studio. feeling that it is quite like trying to care I asked him about his life, and he said for a family, but feeling challenged and that he and his wife had three (almost unsure about how to proceed. four) children. They had thought that All of these men model for me that if she went back to school they would struggle to be faithful in our society. have a better income for their family. These day-in, day-out efforts are at the They decided that she should enroll in a heart of forming a more perfect union. for-profit educational facility and learn The struggles of Mike in St. Louis, the to be a medical technologist. She did young man in Trenton, the representa- well and completed the course. How- tives in DC, and millions of others help ever, once she graduated the best job build our families and nation. We can’t she could find paid $10.25 an hour— afford to take their efforts for granted. not even enough to make the payments Each of us should value their fidelity on the $25,000 loan they took out to and care for family and country. By their pay for her education. Mike had to take commitments they are building a more a second job driving limos to pay the faithful world for the 100%, and this is bills, so he was missing evening time good news indeed. with his family. He was especially wor- ried about not being home after the Simone Campbell, SSS, is NETWORK’s birth of their new baby. But he knew Executive Director.

www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 3 Beyond Stereotypes of “Deadbeat Dads” in Low-income Communities By Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson (from Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City)

For decades, legislators across the political spectrum and many time.” (pp. 44-45) Many fathers try to create strong father- in the media have promoted caricatures of low-income unmar- child bonds even when their relationships with the mothers ried fathers, often described as “deadbeat dads.” Harvard Pro- falter. But then their deep-seated hopes bump up against the fessors Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson have investigated everyday realities of their lives. how those stereotypes do or do not reflect inner-city realities. This is an important book that should help dispel some Operating out of a tiny apartment in East Camden, New Jer- myths. In particular, Edin and Nelson address what may sey, they interviewed more than 100 fathers and chronicled always have been an inaccurate portrayal of low-income their findings in their new book, Doing the Best I Can. fathers but is an increasingly racist and classist stereotype Among other findings, they discovered that “[t]enuous given the changing landscape of the American family. This relationships and a lack of sufficient desire to avoid pregnancy unjustly undercuts efforts by men who wish to be an active produce unplanned conceptions and births. Drawn by the and contributory presence in the lives of their children. possibility of a profound connection to another human being, a We are pleased to publish these excerpts from the book’s child of one’s own, future fathers and mothers—young people introduction with the hope they will encourage further who may barely know each other—often work fairly hard to investigation of the origins of struggles facing separated forge a significant relationship around the impending birth. families, as well as discussion about solutions that include The new baby often spurs these efforts further, at least for a and support all parents.

“It is unmarried fathers who are miss- who they have taken as sexual partners, child,” Bill Cosby declared in 2004 at ing in record numbers, who impregnate and whose lives they have created, they the NAACP’s gala commemorating the “Iwomen and selfishly flee,” raged conser- strike at the heart of the marital ideal, fiftieth anniversary ofBrown versus Board vative former U.S. secretary of education traduce generations yet to come, and of Education, as he publicly indicted William Bennett in his 2001 book, The disgrace their very manhood.” unwed fathers for merely “inserting the Broken Hearth. “And it is these absent “No longer is a boy considered an sperm cell” while blithely eschewing the men, above all, who deserve our censure embarrassment if he tries to run away responsibilities of fatherhood. and disesteem. Abandoning alike those from being the father of the unmarried Then, in 2007, two days before Father’s Day, presidential candidate Barack Obama admonished the congre- gants of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, saying, “There are a lot of men out there who need to stop acting like boys, who need to realize that responsibility does not end at conception, who need to know that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.” Across the political spectrum, from Bennett to Obama, unwed fatherhood is denounced as one of the leading social problems of our day. These men are irre- sponsible, so the story goes. They hit and then run—run away, selfishly flee, act like boys rather than men. Accord- ing to these portrayals, such men are interested in sex, not fatherhood. When their female conquests come up preg- nant, they quickly flee the scene, leaving

Linda Yol the expectant mother holding the dia- per bag. Unwed fathers, you see, simply

anda don’t care. About a decade before we began our

4 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org exploration of the topic, the archetype of to order a copy for each of the 7,500 this “hit and run” unwed father made a schools in their system. “It is the largest dramatic media debut straight from the demand for a CBS News product we’ve devastated streets of Newark, New Jer- ever had,” marveled senior vice presi- sey, in a 1986 CBS Special Report, The dent David Fuchs. Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America. The response to Timothy McSeed The program’s host, Great Society liberal was particularly intense and visceral. An Bill Moyers, promised viewers a vivid editorialist in The Washington Post could glimpse into the lives of the real peo- barely contain his outrage, writing, “One ple behind the ever-mounting statistics man Moyers talked to had six children chronicling family breakdown. by four different women. He recited his But by far the most sensational aspect accomplishments with a grin you wanted of the documentary—the segment ref- to smash a fist into.” William Raspber- erenced by almost every review, edi- ry’s brother-in-law wrote the noted col- torial, and commentary following the umnist that the day after viewing the broadcast—was the footage of Timo- program, he drove past a young black thy McSeed. As the camera zooms in couple and found himself react- on McSeed and Moyers on a Newark ing with violent emotion. “I street corner, the voiceover reveals that was looking at a problem, a McSeed has fathered six children by four threat, a catastrophe, a dis- different women. “I got strong sperm,” ease. Suspicion, disgust and he says, grinning into the camera. When contempt welled up within me.” But Moyers asks why he doesn’t use con- it was George Will who reached the doms, he scoffs, “Girls don’t like them heights of outraged rhetoric in his things.” Yet Timothy says he doesn’t syndicated column, declaring that worry about any pregnancies that might “the Timothies are more of a menace result. “If a girl, you know, she’s having to black progress than the Bull Con- a baby, carryin’ a baby, that’s on her, you nors ever were.” know? I’m not going to stop my plea- The Vanishing Family went on to sures.” Moyers then takes us back sev- win every major award in journal- eral weeks to the moment when Alice ism. Those commenting publicly Johnson delivers Timothy’s sixth child. on the broadcast were nearly unanimous McSeed dances around the delivery in their ready acceptance of Timothy as room with glee, fists raised in the air like the archetype of unmarried fatherhood. a victorious prizefighter. “I’m the king!” Congressional action soon followed: he shouts repeatedly. Later, Timothy in May 1986 Senator Bill Bradley pro- blithely admits to Moyers that he doesn’t posed the famous Bradley Amendment, support any of his children. When the first of several of “deadbeat dad”

. . . you couldn’t find a black American more perfectly calculated to arouse loathing, contempt and fear. pressed on this point, he shrugs, grins, laws aimed at tightening the screws on and offers up the show’s most quoted unwed fathers who fell behind on their line: “Well, the majority of the mothers child support, even if nonpayment was are on welfare, [so] what I’m not doing due to unemployment or incarceration. the government does.” Only a lone correspondent from Cana- The impact of The Vanishing Family da’s Globe and Mail offered a rebuttal, was immediate and powerful, creating fuming that Timothy “could have been an almost instantaneous buzz in the edi- cast by the Ku Klux Klan: you couldn’t torial columns of leading newspapers. find a black American more perfectly In the week after the broadcast, CBS calculated to arouse loathing, contempt News received hundreds of requests for and fear.” tapes of the show, including three from Bill Moyers’s interest in the black fam- U.S. senators. The California public ily was not new. In 1965, two decades schools created a logjam when they tried before The Vanishing Family was first www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 5 broadcast, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then assistant secretary of labor for Pres- ident Lyndon Johnson, penned the now- infamous report titled The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Moynihan claimed that due to the sharp increase in out-of-wedlock childbearing—a con- dition affecting only a small fraction of white children but one in five African

Americans at the time—the black fam- She lly Perr ily, particularly in America’s inner cities, was nearing what he called “complete breakdown.” Moynihan was labeled a y racist for his views, and Moyers, then an (29 percent) than black fathers did in fathers of these children. Part of the assistant press secretary to the president, Moynihan’s time, but rates among blacks problem is that most surveys have pro- helped manage the controversy. and Hispanics have also grown dramati- vided very little systematic information Moynihan drew his data from the cally—to 56 and 73 percent respectively. from which to draw any kind of repre- early 1960s, when America stood on And the gap between unskilled Ameri- sentative picture. Unwed fathers’ often- the threshold of seismic social change. cans and the educated elite is especially tenuous connections to households At the dawn of that decade, in February, wide. Here, the statistics are stunning: make them hard to find, and many refuse four young African Americans refused only about 6 percent of college-educated to admit to survey researchers that they to leave a segregated lunch counter in mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 have fathered children. Thus, vast num- Greensboro, North Carolina, an action percent of those of high school dropouts. bers have been invisible to even the larg- soon emulated across the South. In In the wake of this dramatic increase est, most carefully conducted studies. March the Eisenhower administra- in so-called fatherless families, public The conventional wisdom spun by tion announced that 3,500 U.S. troops outrage has grown and policy makers pundits and public intellectuals across would be sent to a country called Viet- have responded. In the 1960s and 1970s the political spectrum blames the signif- nam. In May the public approved the liberals worked to help supplement the icant difficulties that so many children first oral contraceptive for use. And in incomes of single mothers, who were born to unwed parents face—poor per- November an Irish Catholic was narrow- disproportionately poor, while conser- formance in school, teen pregnancy and ly elected to the White House. Yet across vatives balked, believing this would low school-completion rates, criminal the nation as a whole, nine in ten Ameri- only reward those who put mother- behavior, and difficulty securing a steady can children still went to bed each night hood before marriage and would thus job—on their fathers’ failure to care. The in the same household as their biological lead to more such families. Meanwhile, question that first prompted our multi- father; black children were the outliers, surly taxpayers increasingly demanded year exploration into the lives of inner- as one in four lived without benefit of answers as to why their hard-earned dol- city, unmarried fathers is whether this is, their father’s presence at home. lars were going to support what many in fact, the case. Now, a half century after the Moyni- saw as an immoral lifestyle choice and …The question that originally han report was written, and two- not an unavoidable hardship. This tax- prompted our study—is it true that and-a-half decades since Moyer’s payer sentiment fueled Ronald Reagan’s these fathers simply don’t care about the award-winning broadcast, nearly three efforts to sharply curtail welfare benefits children they conceive?—led to a deeper in ten American children live apart from in the 1980s and prompted Bill Clinton’s and more complex focus of inquiry: what their fathers. Divorce played a significant promise to “end welfare as we know it,” does fatherhood mean in the lives of low-income, inner-city men? This query . . . what does fatherhood mean in the lives spurred us to chronicle the processes of of low-income, inner-city men? courtship, conception, and the breakup of the romantic bond. We then looked at role in boosting these rates in the 1960s which he fulfilled in 1996. how fathers viewed both the traditional and 1970s, but by the mid-1980s, when Meanwhile, scholars have responded aspects of the fatherhood role—being a Timothy McSeed shocked the nation, to the trend by devoting a huge amount breadwinner and role model—and its the change was being driven solely by of attention to studying single-parent softer side. Finally, we elicited the barri- increases in unwed parenthood. About families, detailing the struggles of the ers men faced as they tried to father their four in every ten (41 percent) American parents and documenting the deleteri- children in the way that they desired, children in 2008 were born outside of ous effects on the children. These stud- and how they responded to these chal- marriage, and, like Timothy’s six chil- ies have offered the American public a lenges. Our goal was to offer honest, on- dren, they are disproportionately minor- wealth of knowledge about the lives of the-ground answers to the questions so ity and poor. A higher portion of white the mothers and their progeny, yet they many Americans ask about these men fathers give birth outside of marriage have told us next to nothing about the and their lives.

6 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org …This is the story of disadvantaged man their baby’s mother thinks family es, particularly because of the “stupid fathers living in a struggling rustbelt life requires. But in the end, the bond— s***” he often finds so hard to shake. metropolis at the turn of the twenty-first which is all about the baby—is usually In this situation, it can require incred- century. By examining each father’s story too weak to bring about the transforma- ible tenacity and inner strength to stay as it unfolds, we offer a strong correc- tion required. involved. But few of these men give tive to the conventional wisdom regard- Not surprisingly, these relationships fatherhood only one try. Each new rela- ing fatherhood in America’s inner cities. usually end, but instead of walking away tionship offers another opportunity for There is seldom anything fixed about from their kids, these men are often “one thing” to “just lead to another” yet the lives of the men in this book—not determined to play a vital role in their again. And a new baby with a new part- their romantic attachments, their jobs, children’s lives. This turns out to be far ner offers the tantalizing possibility of a or their ties to their kids. Only by reveal- harder than they had envisioned. None- fresh start. In the end, most men believe ing how they grapple with shifting con- theless, they try to reclaim fatherhood by they’ve succeeded at fatherhood because texts over time can we fully understand radically redefining the father role. These they are managing to parent at least one how so many will ultimately fail to play disadvantaged dads recoil at the notion of their children well at any given time. a significant and ongoing role in their that they are just a paycheck—they insist Yet this pattern of selective fathering children’s lives. that their role is to “be there:” to show leaves many children without much in The men in these pages seldom delib- love and spend quality time. In their view, the way of a dad. erately choose whom to have a child with; what’s most important is to become their By examining the unfolding stories instead “one thing just leads to another” children’s best friends. But this definition of these men’s lives beginning at court- and a baby is born. Yet men often greet of fatherhood leaves all the hard jobs— ship, and moving through conception, the news that they’re going to become a the breadwinning, the discipline, and the birth, and beyond, we come to see dad with enthusiasm and a burst of opti- moral guidance—to the moms. that the “hit and run” image of unwed mism that despite past failures they can As children age, an inner-city father’s fatherhood Moyers created by showcas- turn things around. Conception usually scorecard can easily show far more fail- ing Timothy McSeed is a caricature and happens so quickly that the “real rela- ures than success- not an accurate rendering—a caricature tionship” doesn’t begin until the fuse of that obscures more than it reveals. Some impending parenthood has been lit. readers will argue that our portrayal is For these couples, children aren’t no more sympathetic, or less disturbing, the expression of commitment; than Moyers’s. Others will find seeds of they are the source. In these hope in these stories, albeit mixed with early days, men often work a strong dose of disheartening reality. hard to “get it together” for But getting the story right is critical if the sake of the baby—they we hope to craft policies to improve the try to stop doing the “stu- lives of inner-city men and women and, pid s***” (a term for the of course, their children. risky behavior that has led to past troubles) and Kathryn Edin is Professor of Public Policy to become the and Management at the Kennedy School of Government and a Faculty Affiliate with the Sociology Department at Harvard University. Timothy Nelson is Lecturer in Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. This article is based on the introduction to their book Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City ©2013, University of California Press. Used by permission. A . Bejon

Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 7 focus on the hill Fall in Congress: The Season for Showdowns

By the NETWORK Issue Staff

Congress returned from their August Budget, Debt and Sequestration far more serious effects on people already Crecess to a bevy of issues and politi- As this Connection went to press, con- struggling at the economic margins. cal theatrics that altered their gressional gridlock had led to a govern- The closure affected funding and staff- planned legislative calendar. Though ment shutdown, and our elected leaders ing for vital programs that provide nutri- Congress has been distressingly slow were engaged in political brinksmanship tion assistance for mothers and young to help the 100%, recent legislative at the expense of the entire nation. children (WIC), education for young activity underscores the desperate Turning democracy on its head, a children (Head Start), job training, ener- need to stand with marginalized small minority of legislators on the far gy assistance, public housing, and much members of our communities. right (mostly those affiliated with the Tea more. When added to the deep cuts NETWORK has juggled respond- Party movement) had ignored the will of already imposed by sequestration, the ing to unexpected issues, such as the the people and most of the legislators, effects on struggling families were dra- planned-then-postponed U.S. mili- forcing the shutdown. Their goal was ini- matic and deeply unjust. tary intervention in Syria, with man- tially to attack and dismantle the Afford- At the same time, Congress debated to aging ongoing advocacy for priorities able Care Act, which is now the law of the last minute about how to deal with the like a responsible federal budget, the land. Their demands fluctuated over debt ceiling. House Republicans initially immigration reform, and dignified the final weeks as they shifted among demanded that strings be attached to any access to quality healthcare. Most delaying the ACA for a year, repealing a vote to raise the limit and pay our nation’s recently, we spoke out about the gov- medical device tax, piecemeal funding of bills. This would have created another ernment shutdown and looming debt government services, and miscellaneous financial crisis and is an unconscionable crisis. other fiscal demands. dereliction of duty. NETWORK strongly Today, we repeat our call to Con- While much of the media coverage opposed any actions other than a “clean” gress that they abandon empty focused on barricades in front of parks raising of the limit. What we have spent, political theater and focus on desper- and monuments along with disappoint- we have spent. And every bill must be paid. ately needed solutions for our pressed tourists, NETWORK and others spoke Our nation has dealt with numerous ing financial and legislative woes. out about the government shutdown’s crises over the years, but we at NET- WORK have rarely witnessed such a dysfunctional legislative branch. Recent polling shows that the American people agree with our assessment. A very recent poll conducted by the Associated Press revealed that only 5% of the American public approved of Congress, with 68% saying that the government shutdown was a “major problem.” According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, a record 60% of Americans reported that, if given the chance to vote, they would replace every member of Congress, including their own. Two- thirds also said that the shutdown was doing substantial harm to the economy. NETWORK will continue to speak out loudly and strongly for a functional Con- gress that serves the common good. The American people deserve no less.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) This same Tea Party group has a second significant goal: to severely cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The House

Need up-to-date information about legislation in Congress? Check out NETWORK’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/bills/. ★ To learn what happened to legislation you followed in the past, go to http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/votes/ and enter your zip code in the “Key Votes” field.

8 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org Currently, there are five piecemeal bills that have gone through the committee markup process. They are the Strength- en and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act (H.R. 2278), Ag Act (H.R. 1773), Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772), SKILLS Visa Act (H.R. 2131) and the Border Secu- rity Results Act (H.R. 417). None of these bills provide solutions for aspiring Americans who are already in the United States, and the SAFE Act, which would criminalize being undocumented, is particularly worrisome for our families, neighbors and communities. We are pleased that other bills could gain traction. Representative Roybal- Allard’s Protect Family Values at the did not approve the farm bill, part of concern NETWORK is that, in the 25 Border Act would significantly improve which is funding for nutrition assistance. states that have thus far chosen to refuse repatriation practices and treatment of Rather, they returned the bill to the Sen- Affordable Care Act federal funding individuals in detention. We are also ate, minus the nutrition assistance sec- to expand Medicaid, many struggling waiting for the KIDS Act, the House tion. They then passed the Nutrition families will neither qualify for coverage version of the DREAM Act, designed Reform and Work Opportunity Act under Medicaid nor will they be able to to provide a pathway to citizenship for (H.R. 3102) to cut $40 billion from get tax credits to enroll under the new people who were brought to the U.S. as SNAP over the next 10 years. Estimates healthcare exchanges. NETWORK has children without documentation. by the Congressional Budget Office and active teams organizing for Medicaid NETWORK will continue to work advocacy groups are that almost four expansion in Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, for commonsense reform that includes million people would lose SNAP bene- Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Wisconsin, a pathway to citizenship for aspiring fits. In eliminating categorical eligibility, Missouri and South Dakota. Email net- Americans. If you would like to con- an estimated 280,000 children would be [email protected] if you nect more with our work, or let us denied school meals. NETWORK con- want to join efforts with these teams to know about a local event in your com- tinues to work for passage of a farm bill advocate to the governors and state leg- munity or visit you had with your mem- that adequately funds SNAP. Even with- islatures for dignified access to quality ber of Congress please email awilson@ out the House’s damaging legislation, all healthcare for all. networklobby.org. SNAP benefits will be decreased effective 2013 as the 2009 Recovery Act’s tempo- Immigration Syria rary boost to funding ends. Before September 20, our best hope On September 4, when military for comprehensive immigration reform action against Syria seemed imminent Healthcare: Affordable Care Act with a pathway to citizenship was the after the use of chemical weapons on The NETWORK community was influ- bipartisan “Gang of 7” group working in the Syrian people, NETWORK issued ential in passing the Affordable Care Act, the House of Representatives. Now, more a statement deploring the violence and and we are continuing to see the fruits options are emerging. Democratic Repre- suffering Syrians continue to experience. of our labor. On October 1, an estimated sentatives Grijalva and Vela introduced We opposed any U.S. bombing, know- 44 million uninsured people gained new CIR ASAP (H.R. 3163) and Democrats ing it would result in more violence. opportunities to get health insurance. At in the House of Representatives have We continue to believe that diplo- this point, 15 states and Washington, DC introduced and cosponsored H.R. 15, a matic and political solutions, combined have state healthcare exchanges. States bill similar to the Senate-passed biparti- with humanitarian aid, are more effec- without their own exchange may have san bill S. 744 with some border security tive than military force when address- less access to information about how to adjustments. Despite these comprehen- ing complex crises such as this and are get health insurance. Go to enrollameri- sive options, it looks like leadership in the hopeful that the U.N. can make strides ca.org to learn more. House of Representatives will continue to for peace in securing Syrian’s chemical One matter that continues to deeply address reform in a piecemeal fashion. weapons.

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www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 9 toward a global community

From the Unthinkable to Thinkable and Possible: Helping Young Pakistani Boys Turn Away from Extremism

By Mossarat Qadeem Pakistan in general, and the province PAIMAN’s center for conflict trans- We reach out to radicalized and vul- of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally formation and peacebuilding has built nerable youth through their mothers. We Administered Tribal Areas in particu- the capacity of thousands of male and use the text of the Quran in its context Plar, have suffered immensely as violence female youth in conflict transformation, to address and help transform the minds surged to unprecedented levels in these peacebuilding and mediation across the of the youth who have been forced to act regions of my country for the last few Federally Administered Tribal Areas wrongly using the same text but without years. Many reasons are attributed to (FATA) and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa prov- the context. this unprecedented increase in violent ince to help build social cohesion in So far, 80 young boys have turned extremism, but chief among them are the most volatile region of Pakistan. We to a new life after PAIMAN in our own said to have been the weaponization bring in youth from different ethnic and subtle manner shattered their smug of communities, the transformation of sectarian groups and put them togeth- world of falsified indoctrination. I and youth into becoming extremists, and the er to think and act collectively and to my partners in this sojourn have taken influx of money that is being pumped in learn the skills needed to address violent upon ourselves to purge the society of from different channels. Rectifying mea- extremism through non-violent ways of nefarious designs of extremists who have sures are the need of the hour, but the engaging and building networks of like- affected the psyche of people in Pakistan process of rehabilitation, reintegration, minded youth. in general and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa peacebuilding and social cohesion can- and Federally Administered Tribal Areas not be successful in any society unless How We Work bordering strife-torn Afghanistan in par- women are involved as they play vital PAIMAN works directly with moth- ticular—where every home has lost one roles in averting violence, resolving con- ers of radicalized youths, builds their or more male family members to the flict, and helping rebuild their societies. capacity in critical thinking, and infuses violence or false indoctrination aimed at We founded PAIMAN (an Urdu word a sense of confidence to ask questions. bringing destruction. After transforma- meaning “promise”) Alumni Trust in We help them understand the signs of tion from an extremist person, we ensure 2004. It is a nonprofit group promoting resentment or any behavioral or attitu- that the boys receive job training and sociopolitical and economic empow- dinal change in their sons. We also train education, and work with them through erment of marginalized Pakistanis. them in various marketable skills to start the difficult phase of reintegration into PAIMAN Trust saves not only individual earning a living so they can have a say in their families as well as find them jobs. lives; it saves families. their families’ affairs. People often ask me and my col-

Ciminieri leagues which model do we follow for de-radicalization; do we follow an Indo- nesian Model or Cuban Model? But we can proudly say that ours is a unique, indigenous and innovative model of engaging the mothers and also keeping in view our religious realities and cul- tural sensibilities. The innovative method of working through mothers has helped transform hundreds of youth, and we have brought mothers from different ethnic and sectarian groups to work collectively to moderate extremism. I did not imagine doing all this, but perhaps providence has its own ways. I majored in Gender Studies at the Insti- tute of Social Sciences in the Netherlands, received my M.Phil. degree in Interna- tional Politics (major: Conflict Studies) from the University of Hull, and taught Three young men of Bahawalnagar, a border town with India. at the prestigious Peshawar University

10 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org Patri c k Poend l Islam. He was sent to a rugged hilly ter- ullah completed his masters’ degree and rain where he was given military training now he is employed at a respectable posi- and sermons on the importance of sac- tion in a private bank. He still regrets the rificing one’s life for the cause of Islam. day when two innocent girls came in the His utopia was full of fanciful settings; line of firing and breathed their last in public beheadings, suicide bombings, front of him, when the hit men opened seventy nymphs in paradise; his trainer fire on him and the bullets erroneously also told him that Holy Prophet (PBUH) hit the innocent girls. Though it was not would “greet” him at the doors of heaven his fault, Safiullah visited the house of if he lays down his life and kills the “infi- both girls to express his condolences. dels” in a suicide attack. “There will be seventy nymphs wait- Women and Peace ing for you and you will be allowed to I am also the national coordinator drink like fish,” his trainer told him one of Amn-O-Nisa (Women and Peace) a At the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. day. In the heat of the moment, Safiullah coalition of women leaders throughout made up his mind to sacrifice his life. Pakistan striving to moderate violent for thirteen years before joining the social When his “D” day arrived, the extrem- extremism and promote understand- sector. I also served as the Minister for ists gave him new clothes and new shoes, ing among diverse ethnic and religious Information and Public Relations, Cul- and all hugged him as if he were going issues. Amn-O-Nisa is the Pakistani ture, Education, Women Development to enter into paradise.”You are fortunate, Women’s Coalition Against Extremism and Social Welfare in the caretaker gov- brother, as you are leaving this tempo- and finds strength in six R’s (Reconcile, ernment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. ral abode,” his best friend hugged him Resolve, Reintegrate, Redefine, Rehabili- Extremists in this part of Pakistan not and continued, “Pay my Salam to Holy tate, and Rebuild). PWCAE reflects the only recklessly slaughter, but they are Prophet (PBUH) when you meet him.” vision of Pakistani women to change covetous of glory as well in the name Safiullah reached the target point the country for the better by eradicating of Islam. For me it had always been where he was supposed to explode him- extremism. They have been experiencing tragic to witness boys taking interest in self. He entered into the crowd to cause irremediable losses of their bread-earner all sorts of ghoulish events taking place maximum damage; when he pushed male family members and are constantly around them; the sights of the killings, the button to explode himself, the vest going through physical, financial and the shootings, the hostage-taking and did not blow off completely due to emotional insecurities. the lamentations of victims. some technical flaw, but left him badly My humble efforts of moderating injured. Two hit men were also covert- extremism have resulted in the publica- One Young Man’s Story ly dispatched with him by the outfit to tion of two books, a series of articles, and Let me recall here the story of one shoot him in case he did not blow him- many documentaries on topics including Safiullah, a young boy in his early self up. The hit men opened fire on him mothers for change and women’s experi- twenties who once became part of vio- but he narrowly escaped. Sensing what a ences with conflict and extremism. lent extremists prior to his transforma- blunder he had committed, he made his tion. Just like other boys of his age, he escape from the scene and hid in different Mossarat Qadeem is Executive Director of developed a liking for worn-out clichés places. Fortunately, in one of his hideouts PAIMAN Alumni Trust, which is based in of extremists and the false promises he met PAIMAN’s peace practitioners who Islamabad. www.paimantrust.org. they made to the public. He joined a brought him to my organization. militant organization and soon he was I knew from the onset that it was an “promoted” to upper echelons because uphill task to transform the boy, but I was of his extraordinary commitment. Safi- determined to metamorphize the young ullah would do anything on the com- lad, come what may. I started conducting mand of higher authorities. Given his exclusive sessions with him and showed personality traits, he was daggers drawn to him the other ugly side of the coin. to everyone and did not spare anyone. “This conflict is about humans and their One day, Safiullah was told that he ulterior motives; it’s not about religion,” was being sent on “training.” Safiul- I told him during one of the sessions. lah was overjoyed when he heard this It took us two months before Safiullah since he wanted to do something for understood how such unscrupulous ele- the cause of extremists and extremism, ments turned the ordinary people around and wanted to gain prominence. He had and made their lives a living hell; he start- been indoctrinated to the extent that he ed showing the signs of repentance. was ready to do anything in the name of Under supervision of PAIMAN, Safi- www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 11 highlighting people

Finding Room for Men in the Safety Net By Joy Moses

A relatively small but growing group of fied as being at a disadvantage in the care of their kids—even worse, employ- Avoices has been championing the cause economy and workforce. Other social ment and incarceration rates can feed of low-income men and fathers—they services were later created with the stereotypes painting all low-income come from grassroots groups, national same target population and reasoning men as dangerous criminals who don’t organizations, foundations, Congress, in mind. Men were considered able to work. Within these narratives men have and even the White House. Their rea- take care of themselves. With the chang- no value to their families or no value sons may vary but, at heart, all of generally. those involved in the movement These notions don’t exclusively seem to agree that low-income belong to the political right or left. men and fathers have an inherent And they take the conversation in value that is not being fully real- some wrong directions spiritually, ized. Currently, far too many men politically, practically and racially. are simply disconnected in far too Spiritually, we have to question many ways—from employment, whether God created any group of their families and society. people with no inherent value or Employment rates for men that is unworthy of a helping hand with a high school diploma or when in need. less dropped more than 20 per- Politically, we should question centage points between 1970 paths that divide and conquer and 2000, and those rates have efforts to help families. Invest- not substantially increased since ments in both mothers and fathers that time. Poverty is contributing ultimately benefit children. to family breakdowns as 9.3 mil- Practically, we have to think lion poor children now live apart about how we could possibly from their fathers and 44 percent solve the problem of poverty by of mothers in these families report only focusing on half the adults that their children have no contact (the women) in families and com- with their dads. Although growths munities. in mass incarceration are subsid- Racially, we have to wonder ing, there are still 1.4 million men whether generalized notions of currently in prison—most having low-income men are also influ- entered the system with limited enced by racial stereotypes, with education and therefore limited the blocking of services reflecting A employment opportunities. Men wakened Ey e where the nation stands on racial of color are disproportionately justice. affected in all of these areas. All of these factors suggest These challenges suggest that the need for unified movement men should receive the best possible ing fortunes of male workers, however, towards improving the safety net— help from the safety net. However, limit has become clear that gender is not a movement that considers whole fami- ited numbers of men have access to job determining factor in who might need a lies, or at least the needs of men and help and SNAP food assistance. Health- hand-up in their efforts to achieve eco- fathers in conjunction with those of care reform is just beginning to open the nomic security. women and children. doors to Medicaid in those states that History aside, the role of men in the choose to participate in a federal expan- safety net is affected by reactions to sion of services. Overall, however, there resource constraints and perceptions Joy Moses is a isn’t much available for men unless they about the value of serving men. When Senior Policy are in the direst of circumstances and are critical services such as child care and Analyst in the able to get a cot in a homeless shelter. housing assistance fall short of reach- Poverty and The lack of assistance men receive is ing all of the mothers who need help, Prosperity Program rooted in the origins of welfare. Emerg- the idea of investing some resources in at the Center for ing during the New Deal, this income men is challenged. Marriage and child American Progress assistance program was created for sin- support payment rates cause some to in Washington, DC. gle mothers who were correctly identi- devalue men as people who do not take

12 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org spread the word Fiscal Responsibility: Tax Justice for the Common Good

“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”— Luke 12:48

s people of faith, we are called to care for our sisters and brothers, especially those Amost in need. In addition to working in our own neighborhoods and faith communities, we are called to work in the political sphere to help build a system of government—including a tax system—that promotes our values of community and caring for those struggling on the economic margins. How is the Current Tax System Unfair? Though the federal tax code is relatively progressive, there are real injustices in the * system. For example, flat taxes like payroll and sales taxes have a regressive effect and disproportionately affect lower-income people. The top tax rate in the 1950s was 91%—today it is 35%. Due to a multitude of tax * credits, many of the wealthiest individuals pay an effective rate as little as 11%. Due to both unintentional and intentional tax loopholes, many large corporations * and extremely wealthy individuals pay zero federal income tax. What Can the Tax System Do Better? Loopholes for wealthy individuals and corporations must be examined and some * must be closed to ensure everyone is contributing to the revenue that drives our country’s important social programs and long-term infrastructure investments, which help people climb out of poverty. Capital gains (income from selling stocks, bonds and other investments) should * be taxed at the same rate as earned income. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) should be * strengthened. These are tax expenditures that help hardworking families and individuals, promote economic mobility, and help grow the economy. What Can We Do For Tax Justice? Lobby Congress for a fairer tax code that ensures the wealthiest among us pay * at least the same effective tax rate as middle class families. Contact your senators and representatives in Congress to tell them you support an * increase in reasonable revenue to reduce inequality. For more information about how to fight income inequality and move to a more just * tax code, check out NETWORK Education Program’s Mind the Gap!, Mend the Gap, and We the Taxpayer programs: http://www.networklobby.org/nep/campaigns

We encourage the reproduction and distribution of this back-to-back fact sheet.

NETWORK—a Catholic leader in the global movement for justice and peace NETW RK 25 E Street NW, Suite 200 • Washington DC 20001 A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby 202-347-9797 • www.networklobby.org

www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 13 spread the word

Educate and Advocate for Tax Justice!

NETWORK has excellent resources for anyone looking to learn more about wealth inequality.

If you want to learn more about how to heal inequality . . .

Register to receive the Mend the Gap! email series Throughout the fall, you can receive weekly emails with tools addressing the wealth gap in four areas of federal policy: Tax Policy, Asset Building, Housing, and Labor.

And register your friends, family and representatives Your loved ones and our elected officials need tools to heal wealth inequality as well. Sign them up, or refer them to the campaign’s website (below).

Visit NETWORK Education Program’s campaign website Explore the entire Mend the Gap! campaign, where each lesson is broken down for easy navigation.

For more information and to register for the email series, visit www.networklobby.org/nep/mendthegap or email Shannon Hughes, NETWORK Education Program Manager, at [email protected].

If you are an educator interested in resources for teaching tax justice . . .

Investigate We the Taxpayers resources We the Taxpayers addresses the structure of our current tax system, what our taxes support, and how we might adjust the tax system to better represent our values.

Become a We the Taxpayers workshop facilitator You can learn more about the We the Taxpayers curriculum by attending a facilitator training. October 2013 trainings are currently scheduled in Cincinnati, OH. Other opportunities will be available soon!

For more information or to inquire about We the Taxpayers facilitator trainings, visit www.networklobby.org/nep/WeTheTaxpayers or email Shantha Ready Alonso, NETWORK Field Organizing Manager, at [email protected].

We encourage the reproduction and distribution of this back-to-back fact sheet.

14 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org making a difference

“Reasonable Revenue for Responsible Programs” By Shannon Hughes

Right now, many elected officials are earliest days, Judaism, Christianity federal budget that reflects our values: saying we don’t have enough money to and Islam have concerned themselves a “Faithful Budget.” NETWORK Educa- Rcreate the communities we want—com- with how our money does or does not tion staff is working with local leaders munities with quality education, digni- contribute to economic justice and a to set up facilitator-training days. We fied healthcare, and clean, safe places to healthy spiritual life. All of these faiths can train groups of eight to ten people, live, work, play and pray. In truth, all work toward an ideal of increased fair- and give each leader a facilitator’s guide we need is public support for a strong ness, opportunity and equality among and DVD of the five short videos that enough tax base to build those things humankind, and each of them points bring this topic to life. After the train- together, but it’s not easy to start an toward organized financial systems as ing, our staff will offer the support you informative, exciting and hopeful con- one crucial way to get there. need to lead a small group through the

versation about . . . taxes. GUS six lessons. Check out

TA the introductory video on V E DORE , 1875 A Personal Journey our website today (www. Like so many NET- networklobby.org/nep/ WORK members, I’ve WeTheTaxpayers). learned to connect my If you’re not ready to faith to loads of personal lead a small group, but choices—I’ve attended would like to learn more church, volunteered at about the issues of econom- an Earth Center, soup ic justice facing our nation, kitchens and afterschool you can sign up to receive programs, started drink- our email series, Mend the ing fair trade coffee, and Gap!, an individual, online dabbled in vegetarian- learning experience about ism. My faith moved strategies to heal wealth me around the world to inequality through federal teach high school in a policies on Taxes, Asset developing nation, and Building, Labor and Hous- back again to work for ing. The lessons explore affordable housing in my the history of anti-poverty hometown. But I never movements and policy talked about faith and . . . choices we could make my taxes. today to reverse the widen- My spiritual life and ing wealth gap. my financial contribu- It’s up to us to decide tions to my government what we want our taxes seemed unrelated. But to do. Our choices about last summer, as the Nuns the way we use and move on the Bus chanted about “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” money can bring us clos- “reasonable revenue for er to God’s intentions for responsible programs,” I started to think Taxes are one of the most direct ways abundance, or drive fragments of our about all the ways we care for our neigh- that we—the people—are connected to nation farther apart. We have the ability bors, brothers and sisters, and about the each other and to the society we share. to reject the economic injustice in our ways that revenues determine what we The way we use and share resources can nation today, and trust in a God who can do together. Taxes—from what we bring us closer to each other and to our desires a common good, where each pay, to the exclusions we allow, to the faith, or drive us apart. person in society has enough. Moving programs and infrastructure they sup- from our commitment to each other, we port—connect me directly to the struc- What You Can Do can make a positive change. tures and people around me. NETWORK’s new tax curriculum, Join us today by using the tools on We the Taxpayers, aims to transform our pages 13-14 in this issue to spread the A Shared/Interfaith History national conversation about revenue in word! With just a little digging, I learned six lessons. Through instructive videos, that in many faith traditions, my con- discussions and guided activities, we hope Shannon Hughes is NETWORK’s nection wasn’t a new one. Since their people of faith will start talking about a Education Program Manager.

www.networklobby.org Fourth Quarter 2013 Connection 15 NETWORK recommends NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION NETW RK U.S. POSTAGE A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby PAID PERMIT NO. 6962 25 E Street NW, Suite 200 WASHINGTON, DC Washington, DC, 20001 phone 202-347-9797 fax 202-347-9864 www.networklobby.org

A Maryknoll Liturgical Year; Reflections on the Readings for Year A, ed. by Judy Coode and Kathy McNeely, Orbis http:// www.orbisbooks.com/a-maryknoll-liturgical- year-en.html

s the holy season of Advent arrives in the coming Aweeks, we hope you will remember NETWORK’s continued work for justice. A great way to increase the impact of our community is to give a NETWORK membership to a loved one this holiday season. We will send your recipient a welcome package introducing them to our movement for social Inequality for All, a Robert Reich film justice, as well as issues of Connection through 2014. directed by Jacob Kornbluth http:// inequalityforall.com/ You can order gift memberships by filling out the enclosed envelope, or call Megan Dominy at 202-347-9797 ext. 200, or go online at www.networklobby.org/gift.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb; Little, Brown and Co. http://www.littlebrown.com/malala.html

16 Connection Fourth Quarter 2013 www.networklobby.org