Citing Impact on Common Good, WCC Opposes Taxpayer Protection Amendment

In this press release, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference announced the Wisconsin bishops' opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment limiting tax increases unless approved in a referendum. Most interesting was not only that they opposed it in principle, but on what principle. In written testimony to the Legislature, John Huebscher, the bishops' lobbyist said,

"... It [the amendment] relies on an impersonal formula rather than the judgment of elected officials to define the scope of our government response to society's needs ..."

An argument better suited to testimony to the British Parliament a few decades ago. Here in America, constitutions are very much about limitations on the judgment of elected officials.

Seems to me that Catholic bishops aren't, at the moment, in the best position to argue for relying on the judgment of the people in charge rather than impersonal rules. They're more of an object lesson for the other side of that debate.