News Archives » North America
Big banks must clean up their mess June 17th, 2014
“Hannah Senft, Candy Savannah and Ron Taylor have been neighbors for more than 20 years in Georgetown South, a community of 800 town homes in Manassas, Virginia. It’s a diverse, working-class suburban neighborhood about 30 miles from the White House.”
“And it’s being decimated.”
Thus begins a powerful Op Ed calling for requiring banks to rebuild communities they destroyed through predatory loans and resulting foreclosures published today in the The Hill, a daily newspaper/On-Line news site read extensively by Congress, their staff, and other Federal officials. The Oblate JPIC Office has been working with VOICE to try to get JP Morgan to agree to participate in the rebuilding of the devastated Northern Virginia communities.
The Op Ed details the suffering still experienced by communities hit by numerous foreclosures, but says: “… there is a sliver of hope: In November 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) secured a $13 billion settlement from J.P. Morgan Chase over its issuance of toxic mortgage-backed securities, including $4 billion for consumer relief. VOICE worked with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), federal officials and other allies to include an option in the settlement for the bank to fulfill this obligation through grants to capitalize community equity restoration funds.”
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“Investing for the Poor: How Impact Investing Can Serve the Common Good in the Light of Evangelii Gaudium” June 16th, 2014
The Vatican is convening a two-day conference on of impact investing – investments that directly benefit the poor. Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI is one of the conference speakers.
Read the Impact Investment Conference Program
See who is speaking at the conference…
Supreme Court Refuses Argentina Hedge Fund Debt Case June 16th, 2014
Lower Court Ruling Stands and Validates Hedge Fund Predatory Behavior
Washington DC – The US Supreme Court denied hearing Argentina’s appeal today and a lower court ruling stands that validates predatory behavior targeted towards countries in financial distress. The high court also denied a related appeal on behalf of the more than 92% of bond holders who had accepted Argentina’s restructuring deal after the default.
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious anti-poverty organization Jubilee USA, releases the following statement:
“I am blown away by the decision. For heavily indebted countries trying to support extremely poor people, this is a devastating blow. These hedge funds are equipped with an instrument that forces struggling economies into submission.
“For 15 years, Republicans and Democrats have agreed that the world’s poorest countries need to have their debt burdens reduced. Today, that bipartisan policy is threatened by the court’s decision.
“The religious community is saddened that these extreme actors will now broaden their efforts to collect assets that belong to the poor.
“One loser today is New York State. Given today’s ruling, countries wishing to borrow money are going to find other places to sign their contracts. That’s why legitimate Wall Street investors have joined the IMF, World Bank, United Nations and the United States Government in opposing this behavior.
“Given the ruling, we need to see what legislative remedies we can implement to stop these hedge funds.”
Read a history and timeline of the case.
Read Jubilee’s USA’s filing urging the Supreme Court to take case.
US Catholic Bishops Come to Washington on a Mission for Migrants May 28th, 2014
Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’(USCCB) Committee on Migration, including those who celebrated Mass at the US-Mexico border in Arizona on April 1, will travel to Capitol Hill on May 29, 2014 to urge lawmakers in the House of Representatives to act on immigration reform legislation. They will be celebrating a special Mass for Immigrants and Immigrant Families. Please join them on Thursday, May 29th at 8:30 AM at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 313 2nd Street SE Washington, DC (Capitol Hill neighborhood).
The Mass will be offered for immigrants and their families who are being subjected to separation because of our broken immigration system.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski (Miami), Bishop Eusebio Elizondo (Seattle), Bishop Oscar Cantu (Las Cruces, NM), Bishop Gerald Kicanas (Tucson), Bishop Ricardo Ramirez (Las Cruces, NM), and Bishop Martin Holley (Washington, D.C.) will co-celebrate.
If you cannot attend in person, we encourage you to watch the live video stream of the Mass at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67pLeiEfOYI
If you are tweeting, the hashtags for the Mass are #MassontheHill and #Mission4Migrants.
Justice for Immigrants – the program of the USCCB – is calling for a national call-in day to the US House of Representatives. Please participate in this and spread the word to you friends and families. Download a flyer for the event here…
The toll-free number is 1-855-589-5698 and our ask is for Members of Congress to:
- Vote for immigration reform,
- Support a path to citizenship,
- Preserve family unity, and
- Employ safe and humane immigration enforcement practices.
Shareholder Proposal Succeeds in Bringing Google to the Table to Talk about Corporate Taxes May 23rd, 2014
The Oblates supported a shareholder proposal filed by Domini Social Investments with Internet giant, Google, seeking a responsible code of conduct on global tax strategies. Google has agreed to sit down with the investor group and discuss this issue, which is an important element in the conversation around the role of government and the revenue sources available to it to meet its responsibilities.
Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and General Counsel at Domini, wrote an Op Ed to explain the thinking behind the investor position that corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes. In it, he dispels a few myths about US corporate taxes, and argues that a deeper analysis shows that “Corporate tax minimization strategies present serious threats to long-term wealth creation and might pose greater risks than corporate taxation itself.”
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