faith in action

Budgets are moral documents

This week, the House Budget Committee advanced a proposal that would reorder the spending priorities of the United States government. This budget resolution creates a spending plan both for the coming year and for the next decade. In simplest terms, this proposal would shift trillions of dollars away from anti-poverty programs including nutrition, housing, international development assistance and health care in order to fund tax cuts and a dramatic buildup of the United States military.


Each morning as I walk into the United Methodist Building, I look up at the words of the prophet Isaiah inscribed in our foyer: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” (Isaiah 2:4) Far from heeding the words of the prophet, the proposed budget would turn them on their head — quite explicitly taking resources that would feed and support the hungry in the United States and around the world and using them instead to increase the United States’ stockpile of weapons.

The United Methodist Church is unambiguous in declaring our priorities: “We call upon our governments to reduce spending on militaries … [and] to reapportion national revenue diverted from military spending, prioritizing domestic programs that invest in the needs of the nation’s people.” (Book of Resolutions, 4061)

Further, the Church has affirmed the importance of taxes as “necessary to provide adequate revenue that supports our shared commitment to a just society, including the maintenance of a safety net of services and opportunities for those most in need.” (Book of Resolutions, 4063)

While the resolution voted out of the Budget Committee is deeply troubling, this week’s action is only one step in a long process and it is imperative that our voices help shape the coming debate.

As a former budget aide to a member of Congress, I can attest to the fact that statistics and budget tables are endlessly debated and can be configured to support almost any position. But the stories from constituents — your story and those of your neighbors — are irrefutable.

Our elected officials must understand that behind the budget numbers are the names and lives of people with whom we are in ministry. And as we witnessed in the health care debate, these stories — the voices of women, men and children whose lives are directly impacted by these proposals — are the most powerful force in changing the hearts and minds of representatives.

Leadership in Congress needs to hear from us. They need to hear our vision for our common life together rooted in peace and justice. They must understand that budgets are moral documents — reflections of who and what we value. And this budget — which prioritizes war-making over peace and the greed of a few over the needs of the many is not a reflection of our values.