Post by ousdidou on Dec 20, 2017 3:30:12 GMT -5
Keep Pandora's box shut on public funding for religious institutions
pandora disney charms 2017 Last week, the Florida Legislature decided to give voters an opportunity to determine whether our state constitution should maintain language prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to supporting the activities of religious institutions. The question will be on the ballot in 2012, perfectly timed for the presidential election, and is surely intended to impact voter turnout.
Supporters such as Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, believe that eliminating the Blaine Amendment's ban on taxpayer support for religious institutions will "primarily help our state to help the most vulnerable." His desire is that groups linked to churches be allowed to receive public dollars to provide or expand social services. Opponents like the Anti-Defamation League believe removing the language, similar to that which has been adopted in 36 other states, is a Pandora's box and will allow for taxpayer funds to be used for discrimination by extremist groups and will run the risk that public funds may be used to support a variety of proselytizing activities. pandora christmas charms It is hard to be surprised that we have gotten to the point where we are questioning the financial separation between church and state, especially when that is the underlying angst fueling so many hot-button political issues of recent years. After all, the attack on Title X funding for Planned Parenthood, the rebuke against marriage equality, and the public uprising against providing parochial school vouchers are all rooted in attempts to imbed moral mandates within our masses — masses taxed indiscriminately, with no regard to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
To be clear, I think there are plenty of religious institutions that provide important services to their local communities. Institutions progressive enough to adopt sweeping policies assuring that they will not discriminate in employment, accommodation or in the provision of services — or those that accept people for who they are without shaming people into being someone they are not — have taken important steps to enter an arena that requires acceptance of diversity and unwavering tolerance of the different circumstances that individuals and families face.But for those organizations bent on injecting their moral values into the public realm, our limited state resources — collected from everyone but allocated by only a few — cannot be spent on initiatives known to create barriers for the people who are most vulnerable, those without legal protection and the ones most marginalized. Such institutions already receive tax relief and are able to provide members with tax incentives to support their individual missions. State funding for such initiatives would be a disaster for Florida and a disservice to its residents. But like Pandora, I do see hope and a silver lining to bringing this debate fully into the sunshine. pandora disney collection 2017 All of the message testing and twisting will never hide the fact that this move only serves to chip away at a core American value and agreement — the division of church and state.
Besides, public funding often comes with anti-discrimination mandates and public policy restrictions that many religious institutions, and the people who support them, may not be willing to accept. After all, drawing from the public dole comes with the cost of public scrutiny, and being gagged at the pulpit is often more of a pain than a privilege.
pandora disney charms 2017 Last week, the Florida Legislature decided to give voters an opportunity to determine whether our state constitution should maintain language prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to supporting the activities of religious institutions. The question will be on the ballot in 2012, perfectly timed for the presidential election, and is surely intended to impact voter turnout.
Supporters such as Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, believe that eliminating the Blaine Amendment's ban on taxpayer support for religious institutions will "primarily help our state to help the most vulnerable." His desire is that groups linked to churches be allowed to receive public dollars to provide or expand social services. Opponents like the Anti-Defamation League believe removing the language, similar to that which has been adopted in 36 other states, is a Pandora's box and will allow for taxpayer funds to be used for discrimination by extremist groups and will run the risk that public funds may be used to support a variety of proselytizing activities. pandora christmas charms It is hard to be surprised that we have gotten to the point where we are questioning the financial separation between church and state, especially when that is the underlying angst fueling so many hot-button political issues of recent years. After all, the attack on Title X funding for Planned Parenthood, the rebuke against marriage equality, and the public uprising against providing parochial school vouchers are all rooted in attempts to imbed moral mandates within our masses — masses taxed indiscriminately, with no regard to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
To be clear, I think there are plenty of religious institutions that provide important services to their local communities. Institutions progressive enough to adopt sweeping policies assuring that they will not discriminate in employment, accommodation or in the provision of services — or those that accept people for who they are without shaming people into being someone they are not — have taken important steps to enter an arena that requires acceptance of diversity and unwavering tolerance of the different circumstances that individuals and families face.But for those organizations bent on injecting their moral values into the public realm, our limited state resources — collected from everyone but allocated by only a few — cannot be spent on initiatives known to create barriers for the people who are most vulnerable, those without legal protection and the ones most marginalized. Such institutions already receive tax relief and are able to provide members with tax incentives to support their individual missions. State funding for such initiatives would be a disaster for Florida and a disservice to its residents. But like Pandora, I do see hope and a silver lining to bringing this debate fully into the sunshine. pandora disney collection 2017 All of the message testing and twisting will never hide the fact that this move only serves to chip away at a core American value and agreement — the division of church and state.
Besides, public funding often comes with anti-discrimination mandates and public policy restrictions that many religious institutions, and the people who support them, may not be willing to accept. After all, drawing from the public dole comes with the cost of public scrutiny, and being gagged at the pulpit is often more of a pain than a privilege.