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Today, Florida faces the elimination or reduction of many needed
programs in order to meet a budget deficit caused in part by the current
recession and in part by our inequitable tax structure.
As the Catholic bishops of Florida, we would like to address certain
moral implications of the current fiscal crisis. Our statement entitled
"Justice and Equality in Florida," in November, 1989, spoke to some of the
needs in Florida, and said "the needs of our people, especially the poor,
the homeless and the marginalized, have been overlooked and neglected. Of the
fifty states, Florida ranks fourth from last in per capita spending on human
service.
Our statement was based in large part on the encyclical of Pope John
Paul II, "Sollicitudo Rei
Socialis," and on the statement of the Catholic
Bishops of the United States: "Economic Justice for All: A Pastoral Letter
on the Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy." We set out as basic
moral principles that all members of society have a special obligation to
the poor and the vulnerable. In our national pastoral, Economic Justice for
All we said:
The dignity of the human person, realized in community with
others, is the criterion against which all aspects of economic life must
be measured. All human beings, therefore, are ends to be served by the
institutions that make up the economy, not means to be exploited for more
narrowly defined goals... all economic institutions must support the bonds
of community and solidarity that are essential to the dignity of persons.
Wherever our economic arrangements fail to conform to the demands of human
dignity lived in community, they must be questioned and transformed. These
convictions have a biblical basis. They are also supported by a long
tradition of theological and philosophical reflection and through the
reasoned analysis of human experience by contemporary men and women.
(paragraph 28)
The first step in (an effort to secure social and economic rights)
is the development of a new cultural consensus that the basic economic
conditions of human welfare are essential to human dignity and are due
persons by right. Second, the securing of these rights will make demands
on all members of society, on all private sector institutions, and on
government. A concerted effort on all levels in our society is needed to
meet these basic demands of justice and solidarity. Indeed political
democracy and a commitment to secure economic rights are mutually
reinforcing. (paragraph 83)
For this reason, it is all the more significant that the teachings
of the Church insist that government has a moral function: protecting
human rights and securing basic justice for all members of the
commonwealth. Society as a whole and in all its diversity is responsible
for building up the common good. But it is government's role to guarantee
the minimum conditions that make this rich social activity possible,
namely, human rights and justice. This obligation also falls on individual
citizens as they choose their representatives and participate in shaping
public opinion. (paragraph 122)
Since our statement, the people of Florida have established a
Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, empowered to make recommendations and
propose Constitutional amendments on the issue of taxes. Both Houses of the
legislature have appointed special committees to deal with the tax aspects
of our current fiscal crisis. Those committees hopefully will be addressing
long term tax reform as well as the means of meeting the current crisis.
How often has the state of Florida undertaken expensive projects and
programs while the pressing needs of the most vulnerable people in our
society remained under-funded? These basic needs for food, clothing, shelter
or health care should have the highest priority. In today's crisis we face
budget cuts even in the meager programs for the poor that do exist.
Inefficiency and waste are recurring problems in government, and
must be dealt with. This is an especially appropriate time for strenuous
efforts to eliminate them. These efforts, however, will not resolve the
deficits in programs for health, education, housing, food and other social
needs.
In meeting these social obligations, we must deal with the
development of a fair and just tax policy in Florida.
We urge that several principles be followed.
- That the tax burden in our society must be based on the ability to
pay. Social justice must be on the basis of tax policy.
- Inequities in existing taxation should be addressed.
- Taxing and spending policies in Florida should both be fair and known
to the citizenry as fair. The people of Florida must have confidence in
the economic policies of the state. Serious consideration should be given
to a personal income tax in Florida, as a means of achieving a fair and
equitable tax system.
- Food, housing and other basic necessities should be exempted from
taxation to as great an extent as possible. In addition, the tax policy of
this state should recognize the vast array of services that are rendered
by the myriads of private agencies and organizations to children in
school, the elderly, AIDS victims and all those in need. These
organizations, including churches, have been terribly burdened in this era
of governmental cutbacks and limitations, and stagger under the increased
demands placed upon them. Tax exemptions are appropriate means of
encouraging and expanding their work.
We ask Catholics and all people of good will in Florida to join in
the debate over these issues, to support efforts for a just system of
taxation and spending, and to demand that the needs of the poor and
vulnerable be met.
Edward A. McCarthy
Archbishop of Miami
John J. Snyder
Bishop of St. Augustine
J. Keith Symons
Bishop of Palm Beach
John J. Nevins
Bishop of Venice
John C. Favalora
Bishop of St. Petersburg
Norbert M. Dorsey
Bishop of Orlando
John M. Smith
Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Agustin A. Roman
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
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