WWJD with the current budget crisis?

This past week, the U.S. government accomplished a distributing milestone.

The U.S. Treasury reached its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. That’s the limit that Congress has set for the government to borrow money. Only Congress can raise the debt ceiling.

Meanwhile, the government is borrowing money from other funds that are not presently being used.

This is similar to a household that runs out of money and cannot get a loan from a lending institution. The parents raid their kids’ piggy banks to pay for operational expenses.

The government’s “piggy bank money” runs out in August. Just about everyone agrees that we need to cut spending, increase our income and starting paying off our debt. The big issue is where do we make the cuts.

Many Christian groups have come together to remind everyone that the budget is not just about dollars and cents. There are political, economic and moral questions that need to be examined.

Stephen F. Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., said this about the recent House budget, “One of the most ancient teachings of Christianity is preferential treatment of the poor, and it seemed that in the way in which the budget tried to address the deficit and the debt, it was particularly targeting programs that serve the poor.”

The faith-based PICO Network echoed this in their “Pro-Family Plan to Reduce the Federal Deficit.”

“We should be guided by a simple moral principle: Deficit reduction should not increase poverty or inequality. The House budget puts two-thirds of spending cuts on low-income families, while giving people with incomes more than one million dollars an average tax cut of $125,000 each year.

“It is immoral to impose crushing cuts on children and families of limited means, while lowering taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

“Nor should we place arbitrary caps on spending that would force deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. We must seek shared-prosperity rather than austerity imposed on those who have the least.”

A group of religious leaders has called for a “Circle of Protection” to be formed around federal programs for the poor. This group includes Protestant, Catholic and evangelical leaders who are disturbed about the direction some people want to take our country.

The PICO document also reminds us what has happened to our nation during the past 90 years.

“Income inequality is higher than at any time since the 1920s. The top 1 percent of all earners has captured almost all of the growth in income over the past 30 years and tax rates on the wealthy are historically low. It is only fair that the wealthy accept a fair share of reducing the deficit. We should allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire. This would save $700 billion over 10 years. The House budget would make tax cuts for high-income people permanent, as well as lowering estate taxes on the wealthy. If this happened, millionaires would receive a tax cut of one million dollars over the next decade.”

It is time we go back to Jesus’ values. In Luke’s gospel Jesus is quite strong about whose side he defends. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” Then he blasts the rich for their insensitivity, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.” (Luke 6:20-21, 24-25)

Shared-sacrifices by everyone will solve the budget crisis. Companies like General Electric did not pay any taxes last year. It is not fair that the solution to the budget crisis be placed on the backs of the poor.