Subject:
A big step toward a Moral Economy - tell the Governor to sign AB 1078
Date: September 24, 2007

ISSUE: Help lift people from welfare
ACTION: Ask the Governor to sign AB 1078

You know from past email that IMPACT and the California Council of Churches is stressing the importance of creating a truly Moral Economy that offers people sustainable self-sufficiency.

In 1996 when Temporary Aid to Needy Families was created, the point was to help people get educated, trained, and into good jobs that would free them from dependence. In California the program was dubbed CalWORKs, and it has, indeed, helped many to better and more self-sufficient lives. However, recent experience has shown that the emphasis on education and uplift has given way to a more punitive attitude toward the poor who now have longer work hours and thus very little opportunity for improvement.

Once in a rare while there is a piece of legislation that actually advances people so significantly that it is life altering. AB 1078 (Lieber-Mt.View) is such a measure. It will allow, at first on a limited basis, some CalWORKs grants to be counted as income because it then allows the recipient to obtain Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) money from the federal government.

EITC gives those in need an asset, not just income. It is money that can be saved and later used to lift up the entire family for education, their children's education, job training, and ultimately a home. EITC savings move people from dependence to greater self-sufficiency so they can leave the CalWORKS program economically stronger and personally more resourceful than they began.

Please contact the Governor today and urge him to sign this life-changing bill. It costs the state no more than currently appropriated but can permanently improve the lives of families in poverty. That is an enormous social good for everyone.

You can write an email to the Governor via our site:
http://www.capwiz.com/cachurches/state/main/?state=CA&view=myofficials#0

You may also send a FAX to the Governor at:

916.445-2841-Sacramento
559.445.5328-Fresno
213.897.0319-Los Angeles
619.525.4640-San Diego
415-703.2803-San Francisco

Please tell the Governor that this is a fiscally responsible measure that may help eradicate poverty and substantially uplift thousands of dependent families now and in the future. This is precisely the sort of 'new ideas' that he promised, and he needs to make this one a reality.

Please remember to include your name and address in the contact information, and urge your friends and members of your congregations to send messages, too.

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