Protecting Ineffective Programs Doesn’t Protect the Poor

Ryan Messmore / May 16, 2011

On Saturday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH) delivered the commencement address at the Catholic University of America. In advance of his speech, a group of Catholic academics sent a public letter to Boehner, who is a practicing Catholic, accusing him of going against the teachings of his Church. At issue are proposed cuts to government welfare programs. Based largely on the 2012 budget that Boehner helped pass in the House, the academics charge him with undermining a moral obligation to help the poor.

Their letter calls on Boehner to sign the “Circle of Protection,” an ecumenical statement by American Christian leaders who resist budget cuts for anti-poverty programs. Both the letter and the Circle of Protection statement declare that the budget debate is a moral debate and that Christians should care for the “least of these.” But both statements also jump directly from these moral principles to policy recommendations, with the implied assumption that disagreeing with these recommendations means refusing to prioritize the poor. (more…)