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 Coadjutor Archbishop José H. Gomez made one of his first public appearances in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Monday morning when he presided over the annual Labor Day Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Gomez, who will succeed Cardinal Roger Mahony and likely become the only Hispanic Cardinal in the U.S., blessed the predominantly Latino workers in attendance and spoke about the value of justice and dignity for human life in his homily.
The Mass, which was conducted alternately in Spanish and English, began with a procession led by a female worker carrying a mop and other workers dressed in uniform. After that, Coadjutor Archbishop Gomez delivered the introductory rites, during which he emphasized prayer for the unemployed and an improved economic climate.
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 In his Labor Day statement on behalf of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, William F. Murphy, Bishop of Rockville Center, emphasizes the need to protect workers, help the unemployed and exam the impact of globalization on today’s workers.
Bishop Murphy draws heavily on Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, Charity in Truth. He examines the parallels between adjustments needed in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution to those needed now with the challenges created by globalization. Both Leo XII who wrote Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things”) in 1891 and Pope Benedict XVI stressed the ethical and moral imperative to keep people in the forefront as markets and economies bend to new realities.
“This Labor Day we must seek to protect the life and dignity of each worker in a renewed and robust economy,” wrote Bishop Murphy, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “Workers need to have a real voice and effective protections in economic life. The market, the state and civil society, unions and employers all have roles to pay and they must be exercised in creative and fruitful interrelationships.”
Download the full statement in English or Spanish. |
 The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), created by the Federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997, helps states insure low income children that are ineligible for Medicaid/Medical and cannot afford private insurance. After allocating over $20 billion during the program’s initial years, it was reauthorized in 2009 to provide $33 billion thru September 2013. The amended CHIP legislation expanded eligibility to serve 4.1 million more children and mental health services, along with offering dental benefits and improved access to private coverage. Federal funding contributes on average $2 for $1 provided by the state.
California’s version of CHIP is called the Healthy Families Program (HFP). Children up to age 19 are offered health, dental and vision coverage if their family earns more than Med-Cal allows, yet cannot afford private insurance premiums. For a family of four, for example, they could earn up to $4,954 per month and qualify for HFP. Premiums for income levels from 150 to 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines (family of four earning $2,758 to $3,675 per month) cost $13 per child each month with a community provider or $16 per month if the parent opts for HFP thru a private insurer like Blue Cross, Blue Shield or Kaiser. The maximum premium per family is capped at $39 monthly with the community option or $48 per month with the private insurer in that income bracket. Each county offers a variety of plans. Currently, more than 900,000 children are enrolled in the program statewide.
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 Supplementary Security Income (SSI) is a federally funded program for the the aged (over 65), the blind and the disabled, including children. The program serves 7.7 million people nationally.
State Supplementary Program (SSP), is a state program that strengthens SSI benefits for 1.26 million Californians, of which 69 percent are disabled, 29 percent are aged and 2 percent are blind.
SSI is funded through the Federal government's general fund, while SSP is funded through California’s annual budget process. Both programs are administered by the Social Security Administration which also determines eligibility for the program using its guidelines.
With budget cutbacks in Sacramento, SSI/SSP benefits for California’s senior citizens, blind and disabled residents have sustained significant cutbacks. For example, in January 2009, an individual received a maximum benefit of $907, with about two-thirds funded by the Federal government and one-third by the state. The monthly payment was cut 6.8 percent at the beginning of this year. Couples received maximum benefits of $1,579 ($1,011 Federal and $568 state) in 2009, but budget reductions also saw their monthly checks decrease by 10.9 percent to a maximum of $1,407 now.
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In the mid 1990's, welfare transitioned from financial aid to a system attempting to address the root causes of poverty. Federal legislation created a format of block grants, with states contributing matching funds in assisting low income residents. This allowed states to structure programs for the needs of their region.
In California, this lead to CalWORKs: California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program. CalWORKs serves 1.3 million Californians, with one million participants being children under age eighteen. (This is why the state has more recipients compared to other states.) The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant supplies $3.7 billion annually for more than 575,000 families.
CalWORKs provides cash assistance to families. A family of three receives an average of $743 per month, supplemented with $350 in food stamps. The cash assistance has remained relatively static since the mid 1990's and is 17 percent lower in real dollars compared to 1997 payments. Recipients receive job skills assessment and training for employment opportunities.
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